Romeña Mora-Del Monte

March 25, 2006

Opt for a venue + catering package. This can save you on the cost of the rental of the place.

Cut down on the number of guests. Most packages charge per head so the less people you invite, the less money you shell out. Consider inviting immediate family only and close friends that you have been in contact with the past two years.

Choose a package with just the right inclusions. There is no need to get a menu set with three types of appetizers when you can just have one appetizer in the package.

Book your caterer early. Sometimes, the advantage of being an early bird is that the suppliers’ give you a price-lock. Hence, your contract price is not subject to change should there be an increase in the prices or a change in other miscellaneous charges such as regulatory taxes like e-vat.

Find a place that is "not so famous" but is full of potential. Sometimes, it only takes creativity to have the venue of your dreams.

Browse the Net. The Internet can save you a lot on the actual going around to shortlist suppliers. You can initially scout for venues, style, etc. and start doing the actual ocular inspection after seeing something that attracted you.

Send group invites. This can save you on the number of invitations you need to have printed. For our wedding, we gave out around 6 group invites good for approximately 30 people.

Join a support group. Members can give you an idea of how much a particular service or item costs. You could also find out about good deals from your fellow members.

Limit wedding souvenirs to female guests only. Most male guests would not care to have one.

-Joanne Rodriguez-Litiatco

March 11, 2006

Work below your budget. As your wedding date approaches, the little expenses such as food for suppliers, stockings, safety pins and last minute phone calls pile up causing you to go overbudget.

Kristine Alba

September 30, 2006

Prioritize. For our wedding, we wanted to make sure that we had delicious and "overflowing" food for the reception so half of our budget went there. We saved on the souvenirs, gown, cake and bridal/entourage bouquets.

Leah Decena-Epistola

December 22, 2005

Allocate your budget properly. Decide with your husband-to-be if your priority is the wedding day itself, the honeymoon, or your house-to-be. From there, set the budget for each item - wedding gown, photographer, cake, honeymoon, furnitures/fixtures for the home, etc. Then, look for suppliers that fit your budget.

Germaine Santos-Angeles

Research, research and research. Make a shortlist of suppliers based on your set budget then filter them through feedback and rapport.

Sp Mondala

December 23, 2006

Make a list. List everything down and write how much your budget is for each item.

Stick to your budget.

Attend bridal fairs. Suppliers give you discounts if you book them on the spot.

Opt for a deejay instead of hiring a band. Provide an audio cd, list the songs for proper cueing and coordinate well with the deejay.

Use locally-grown flowers. Instead of imported flowers, you can use local calla lilies.

DIY. You can make your own misalettes, maps, invites, unity candle, souvenirs, etc.

Jovie and Keith

January 17, 2006

Find a venue that does it all for one price. I found one that included the minister for the ceremony, deejay, cake, food and drink.

Opt for an open beer and wine bar rather than a full bar.

Go with silk flowers rather than fresh. I did worry a bit that it would be obviously fake, but I found an excellent silk florist and the arrangements were fabulous! Plus, I didn’t have to spend extra for preserving a fresh arrangement after the big day.

Do your own decorating. We did our own decorating except for the table linens which were provided by the venue but coordinated to our color scheme.

Keep souvenirs simple and usable. We had candy wrapped in colored cellophane and bubbles.

Register for your honeymoon. This saved us quite a bit! We haven’t had a vacation in years and already had all the house stuff we could ever use, so we opted for contributions to our honeymoon. Most of our guests were just fine with that.

Lisa Corbett Gerhardt

August 30, 1999

Do-It-Yourself

a) Invitations, Guest Sheets, Thank You Tags, Misallettes - We bought materials and my husband did the layout, printing and cutting.

b) Souvenirs - We put together our own souvenirs - bottled paper soaps in sinamay baskets.

c) Photo mosaic - We downloaded a software from the Internet for making mosaics and had our work printed.

Attend bridal fairs. Some suppliers offer 5 - 10% discounts or add freebies. You also get to compare packages of suppliers right then and there.

Have someone sponsor parts of your wedding. We were lucky to have my parents sponsor our wedding rings. We saved about Php 12K.

Request friends to emcee your reception program. This way, it becomes a labor of love and the program becomes more personalized.

Mai Toralba-Danganan

December 17, 2005