Yahoo Finance How To Spend Like A European On Weddings
According to The Knot (the biggest US wedding planning media company whose NYSE stock ticker is XOXO), the Europeans spend an average €5,000 (~S$7,650) on weddings. Of course, this amount will deviate depending on the financial ability of the couple. In addition, the amount reported excludes the cost of wedding rings.
In France, the average wedding budget is €8,257 for 70 guests, with the bulk of expenses (61%) spent on food while venue (12%), honeymoon (8%), and wedding outfits (8%) take up a lesser portion of the total cost.
In comparison, an American couple would spend an average of US$33,000 (~S$44,880) while a Singaporean couple would spend between a range of S$30,000 to S$50,000.
Read Also: The True Cost Of A Wedding In Singapore
We believe many of us would be shocked by this figure, wondering what a European couple can get for a mere $7650. Doesn’t an all-day photographer and videographer already cost half of that amount?
How Can We Trim Down Our Expenses?
For many of the Europeans, a wedding is synonymous with ‘financial constraints’ and they would rather spend less on a wedding and more on a honeymoon or housing. Here are some fun ways to cut down on your wedding expenses without looking cheap.
Guest List And Wedding Venue
We believe that the number of guests and the cost of food per head are main reasons why Europeans are spending so much lesser than their Asian counterparts. With a banquet dinner costing over $1000 per table, there must be wiser ways to spend your money.
If you think that it is hard to compromise on the venue of the wedding, perhaps it is good to cut down on the number of guests you intend to invite. Keep the guest list to close friends and family members, perhaps a few of your close colleagues. We are sure that those who barely know you are not keen to receive a ‘red bomb’ from you.
Wedding Outfit
Do you know that Shu Qi, a Hong Kong actress with a net worth of $20 million, wore a wedding gown from H&M which was given to her for free from a few years ago? Of course, most of us will not get to have free wedding gown, but perhaps this is something we can learn from her.
We will only get to wear the gown once. Without compromising on what we like, we can still rent or buy a used wedding gown that is in perfect condition, for a fraction of the price of a new gown.
Wedding Photo Album And Video
Get creative and get out of the studio. There are many outdoor places in Singapore that are suitable for wedding photos. Perhaps the place where both of you initially met? Or the place where you had your first date? These places are way more memorable than the usual studio background. Get friends who are good at photography to help the both of you out. You can also get the bridesmaids and groomsmen to join your photoshoot outing.
During a wedding banquet, it is also not necessary to hire someone to make a video of your love life. If you are inviting those who are truly close to the both of you, shouldn’t they already know your love story, or even have been part of it? Instead, get your friends who are talented to perform for the guests! Perhaps, you and you’re the other half could also perform for each other.
Miscellaneous
Some of the wedding expenses may seem little at first, but small things add up to a big sum. Sometimes, these expenses could be trimmed down by easily. For instance, invitation cards could be made and sent via emails using free online graphic tools like Canva.
The tall, sugar-laden cake can also be omitted completely. Because 99.9% of the time, nobody is going to eat the cake at the end of the applause.
Conclusion
The celebration of marriage is a joyous occasion that usually happens once in a lifetime. We understand that many of us would want to make it grand or simply follow the ‘norm’. However, the wedding is only the mere start of your marriage journey, and money could be used more wisely in areas such as your child’s education, retirement and the repayment of housing loans.
Of course, both of you can discuss thoroughly and choose 1 or 2 things that can’t be compromised, be it studio wedding photos or wedding outfits. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is who you are marrying.
Read Also: Why The Annual Price Hike For Wedding Dinner Will Not Be Sustainable
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