Covid taught us a few very important financial as well as life lessons. We never imagined a world where all commercial business activities could be stopped for almost two years. We did not foresee a future when the entire world economy could slump to negative double-digit growth. The world came to a standstill and for the majority of people around the world, life was all about accepting massive pay cuts, forced lay-offs and staring at a bleak future without any viable source of income. Government restrictions and mounting financial losses shut down many global behemoths.
Like numerous other industries, the Indian wedding industry suffered too. The big fat Indian wedding became lean and mean and in some cases even anorexic due to the terrible financial situation people were thrown into all of a sudden. Weddings were postponed. Fixed dates were no longer fixed. Venue bookings were canceled. People suddenly had no money.
But during this phase of hopeless negativity, a whole new trend emerged in the wedding industry. Private micro weddings at extremely low budgets became the order of the day. People had to get married. So what if they didn’t have money? What if the groom had to adjust himself with half his salary? Wedding organizers too joined this trend. They came up with budget wedding plans for couples at roughly 25% of what they used to cost before. Covid has left the world as of now. But the world is yet to recover from the collateral damage it has caused to the global economy. Amid this changed world order and a worldwide recession looming large above the head, it has become even more relevant to look for ways to organize a budget-friendly wedding. In this article, we have provided you with 15 expert tips that would help you organize your wedding on a considerably low budget. Check them out below,
Expert Ideas for a budget-friendly wedding
Tip 1 – Organize a private intimate wedding
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand these simple mathematics. Fewer guests mean less expense. Cut short your invitee list. Keep only them on the list whom you can’t do without like close relatives, friends and colleagues. No need to invite the chacha ki saali ki husband ka bhai ka beta. They can be treated later. Also, you can make the wedding completely private by inviting only family members and close relatives and arranging a special treat for friends and colleagues later at a restaurant.
Tip 2 – Book venues that are more affordable
If your job or business is related to a recession-resistant industry like pharma or healthcare, then it’s alright. For others, it is better to ditch the plans of booking a premium banquet hall for the wedding at a luxury 5-star hotel, at least for now. It’s not the time to go overboard by booking ultra-luxurious venues. Keep low for the time being. There are many Banquet halls in North Delhi that are reasonably priced. Look for one such banquet hall in your city. Consider farmhouses or wedding halls in the countryside as well if you have country roots.
Tip 3 – Go for in-house services
Most banquet halls, hotels, resorts or other wedding venues provide key services like catering, decoration, live music and photography in-house. While you might have a vendor of your choice whom you want to bring in, it is always advisable to book the complete package of in-house services. This not only reduces the cost but also makes your wedding a hassle-free affair. Like wedding halls in other cities, the banquet halls in West Delhi also offer discounts on these in-house services. So, grab your chance of obtaining a discount on the total package.
Tip 4 – Shop for wedding dresses at discount
The wedding dress is the most overrated yet useless item people invest in for their wedding. People spend thousands and even lakhs on this overpriced piece of attire that only sells on human sentiments and nothing else. It doesn’t offer any real value and always ends up in the darkest corner of the wardrobe for the rest of your life. So, cut down on your budget. Buy a wedding dress that looks great on you and is not too expensive at the same time. You can also keep a watch on the premium boutiques in the city or the designer houses. They often offer heavy discounts or sales on premium sample dresses from time to time. You can buy your favorite wedding dress during such offers too. Alternatively, you can also wear your mother’s wedding dress for your wedding and make your husband-to-be agree on wearing his father’s dress as well. This would provide a good sentimental angle to your wedding apart from saving you some good hard cash.
Tip 5 – Do It Yourself
Instead of spending lakhs on expensive wedding invitation cards, buy printing papers from the market at a cheap rate and make customized self-designed invitation cards. You can add individual elements on each card like adding a special line or two about the person you are inviting. This would not only save you lots of money but would also add a personal touch to the invitation process making your invitees more sentimentally attached to you.
Tip 6 – Send Online Invitations
With free internet and affordable smartphones, people have become quite tech-savvy, especially after COVID. From banking to making online purchases and from ordering food to booking movie tickets, people do a lot of stuff online these days. Chances are that your mamaji or your Fardibabaad wali bua also keep in touch with others via Whatsapp. So, it’d be a great idea to send them online invitations. Design digital invitation cards using free online software like Canva and send your relatives and friends attractive e-invites. This would save you both money and the effort you spend on invitation cards.
Tip 7 – Use seasonal and local flowers
You might have had a dream of walking to the mandap from the dressing room on a thick carpet of red roses on your wedding day. But roses are costly during summer and monsoon. So, incorporating your dream into your summer wedding could be a very expensive idea. Instead of spending lakhs on importing non-seasonal or rare flowers, you can switch over to local and seasonal flowers that look good and are affordable as well. Marigold is inexpensive and is available around the year in local markets. Use them to cut down your budget.
Tip 8 – Use artificial flowers in the decoration
Let the seasonal flowers be used in the wedding rituals and mandap decorations. For the rest of the things like the entry gates, reception areas or other parts of the venue, use artificial flowers instead of real ones. Forget about the ones made of plastic used twenty years back; artificial flowers are now made of cotton fabric and different other materials that make them look almost like real ones. This saves a lot of money too.
Tip 9 – Reduce the budget for Jewellery
This one is very tricky. Chances are that your parents and relatives won’t approve of it. Gold jewelry is the core of Indian marriages. It is part of the Indian tradition to adorn the bride with as much gold jewelry as possible. The reason is that gold is a precious metal and it was considered a natural hedge back in those days when there were no banks. It was a kind of investment that the parents of the couples made so that the newlyweds could face any unforeseen financial challenge or emergency during their entire married life. All said and done, gold is no longer the only mode of investment in the modern day. So, instead of spending a fortune on buying expensive gold jewelry before marriage, settle for those which are affordable, look great on you and without which the rituals would not be complete. Go for those items which are light on weight and yet look very artistic. You can always save money and buy diamonds later.
Tip 10 – Reduce transportation cost
If you were planning to hire luxury vintage cars for your wedding, just pause and rethink. There is no point in spending thousands for a few moments of fun. Just ditch the plan and hire a normal car instead. Also, don’t choose wedding halls that are too far from your home. This would save you a lot of money on transportation.
Tip 11 – Say goodbye to wedding choreography
Honestly speaking, your wedding guests don’t come to your wedding to check whether you have it in you to be the next dancing superstar. They don’t even expect you to shake your hips like Norah Fatehi or tap the floor like Hrithik Roshan. The idea behind organizing live music and dance at your wedding is to enjoy the day with family, friends and relatives. Nobody is going to judge you or give points based on your dancing skills. So, it’s better to practice a few steps yourself at home with music rather than joining expensive dance choreography sessions at celebrity dance schools. This would save you lots of money.
Tip 12 – Hire local DJs
Instead of spending lakhs on hiring a band or booking a celebrity DJ for live music performance, go for local DJs which would help you cut down on your budget considerably.
Tip 13 – Stop giving Return Gifts
The practice of giving return gifts is a very stupid addition to modern-day weddings. You have to understand that your guests don’t attend your wedding for return gifts. People like gifts that appeal to their tastes and preferences. And it is impossible for you to know the tastes and preferences of all your invitees. There is a high chance that the items you gift them are not even close to their liking. So, they will either throw them away in the dustbin or gift them to somebody else. And none of that serves your purpose. So, don’t spend money on this unnecessary and meaningless practice.
Tip 14 – Cut down your honeymoon budget
Don’t get us wrong. But there are easy ways to cut down on honeymoon expenses. Instead of buying travel tickets, booking hotel rooms and hiring sightseeing tour operators separately all by yourself, subscribe to a honeymoon package well in advance. A package deal would reduce the per-head cost and help bring down your budget.
Tip 15 – Do away with liquor at the reception
You know how much these little bottles of addiction cost these days. And when people get it for free, self-restraint goes for a toss. Also, you can’t set a limit to maximum consumption. You won’t be able to say no to your guests if they want more. On top of this, calculate the mandatory license fee you need to pay. Most party halls in and around Delhi charge between Rs. 15000/- to Rs. 30000/- for this liquor license. No need to add this unnecessary expense to your wedding. Just remove this episode from the event to save some money.
