Weddingguide


	The Wedding Budget
	by Papilio

	You have accepted his proposal, your engagement ring is sparkling on your
	finger, and you are both excited and happy … but then reality strikes:

	How much will the wedding cost?
	Before you start any other planning, decide together how much money is
	available for the wedding and who is paying for what, and then arrange a
	planning session for everyone who will be contributing. Decide whether to go
	the traditional route, where the bride’s parents are the host and hostess for the
	reception, or whether you prefer to opt for the modern trend of splitting the
	costs equally between both families (the parents). If the couple both work,
	they also contribute.

	If you want to go the traditional route, the costs will be divided as follows:

	The bride's parents
	The wedding dress and the bride's accessories
	The invitations and all the other printing
	The reception (renting the venue, waiters and overtime)
	Catering
	The wedding cake
	Flowers and décor for the church and reception
	The photographer and videographer
	Music for the church and reception
	The bridal car

	The bride
	Hair, make-up and beauty treatments
	The groom's wedding ring
	Gifts for the people who have done special favours for the bride

	The groom and his parents
	The engagement and wedding ring for the bride
	A wedding present for the bride
	His outfit
	All bouquets, buttonholes and corsages
	Gifts for the bridal retinue
	The antenuptial contract
	Drinks and the bar expenses
	All costs related to the church – the minister, the verger, church fees, the
	organist, etc.
	All insurance, e.g. travel, medical, life and property insurance
	Transport for the groom and the best man to the church and/or reception
	The honeymoon and travel expenses

	How are the costs calculated?
	An unrealistic budget can result in a lot of frustration and ill-feeling between
	the couple and their parents. Bear in mind that these days a very average
	South African wedding can cost between R70 000 and R80 000 for about 80
	to 100 people. This means that you need to budget about R700 to R800 per
	person. For a more lavish wedding, you need to budget at least R1500 to
	R2000 per person. Luxurious weddings at select reception venues are much
	more expensive.

	Divide the budgeted amount more or less as follows:
	Reception (venue, food and beverages): about 50% of the total amount.
	Wedding dress and accessories, photography, music, flowers, décor: about 10
	to 15% of the total each.
	The wedding cake, invitations, candles, wedding favours and so on add up to
	2% – 5% each.
	Additional expenses such as the coordination fees add up to 10% – 20% of
	the total budgeted amount.
	It is a good idea to budget about 10% to 15% more than the basic budget to
	allow for unforeseen expenses, such as travelling expenses to look at
	reception venues and to go to see service providers beforehand, consultation
	fees payable to service providers, beauty treatments, the trial runs for the
	bride’s hair and make-up, bridal shows and magazines. You also need to
	budget for additional costs if the reception venue is situated far out of town
	(delivery costs can add up to quite a lot – most suppliers travel at AA rates).
	Food and accommodation must be provided for service providers who need to
	stay the whole day and evening, e.g. for the photographer, videographer,
	musicians and wedding coordinator.

	If you are considering a haute couture wedding dress, designer flowers and
	décor, a top photographer, a band and a luxury reception venue, you may
	expect to pay much more for these services than indicated above. Remember,
	you do not only pay for the product, but also for a professional's skill,
	expertise, creativity and experience in the industry. Ask the various service
	providers about their experience, about how long they have been in the
	industry and about references that stretch over at least the last year.





	Where do we start?
	Make sure that you already have a reasonable sum available to pay the
	deposits. Most service providers ask for a 50% deposit on the total quoted sum
	just to book a date.
	The first thing you need to book is the reception venue, so that you can find
	out what is included in the venue rental, such as overnight accommodation
	for the bridal couple, table linen and chair covers, candles, a carriage or
	bridal car, champagne and waiters. That will help you to avoid incurring
	unnecessary expenses for goods or services that are provided by the reception
	venue in any case.

	You can save yourself a lot of time, effort and unnecessary expense if you use
	the services of a wedding designer or coordinator. Such a person can give you
	good advice on suitable venues for your wedding reception right from the
	start. A wedding coordinator can also refer you to professional and reliable
	service providers.
	Use this bridal guide’s comprehensive budget planner to assist you. The
	budget planner contains all the necessary aspects of a wedding.

	How does one budget for flowers and décor?
	Most service providers have fixed prices or packages. The price of décor and
	flowers for a particular wedding are difficult to determine in advance, because
	the costs will depend on the individual choices each couple makes and the
	precise time of year when you want to get married.
	The prices of the various types of flower also differ a lot and from season to
	season. Flower prices can be three to four times the normal price range in a
	week preceding special dates such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Spring
	Day and Secretaries' Day. This is also true for some religious holidays such as
	Easter, Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year) and Christmas, when there is a
	big demand for flowers. Flowers and candles have become very expensive in
	the last few years and couples need to bear this in mind when they budget.

	A good guideline to budget for flowers and décor is the following:
	Average wedding:
	Between R100 and R200 per person
	(Flowers, basic stands or containers, candles, serviette decorations and table
	gifts)

	An above-average wedding:
	Between R200 and R400 per person
	(As above, but this also includes extras such as drapery for the main and cake
	table, chair covers and bows on chairs, organza overlays or runners, under-
	plates, more flowers or more expensive flowers, etc.).

	Exclusive wedding:
	From R400 and more per person – the degree of luxury depends on the
	couple
	(This includes larger quantities of flowers, more expensive stands and
	containers, full roof drapery with fairy lights, specific table linen, crystal
	glasses, extra plants and fountains, flower balls or lanterns suspended from
	the roof, specialised lighting and special furniture).

	Couples should also bear in mind the following when they use
	professional services:
	The more detail there is, the more expensive the fee for setting up and taking
	down everything – you need to pay more workers to get everything done in
	time. Sometimes the reception venue will have to be rented for an extra day
	before the wedding, for example, when time has to be found to drape the
	whole roof and hang fairy lights. The fees for putting up and taking down
	décor is calculated at between 10% and 20% of the total quoted sum for the
	flowers and décor. These fees will be much higher for weddings held on
	public holidays, because the workers will have to be paid at overtime tariffs.
	Delivery costs: fuel has become very expensive – the further the reception
	venue is from town, the more it is going to cost. Delivery costs and pick-up
	costs are usually calculated at AA rates.

	If it is very far away, you will have to provide more food and accommodation
	to the service providers. Service providers also usually travel at AA rates.
	Weddings in a marquee are very pretty, but they cost much more than renting
	a reception venue, because every single item you need has to be rented,
	transported, set up and taken down.