How Much To Spend?

How much to spend for a Filipino wedding

The short answer is, it really depends – How many will you invite, what kind of flowers you like, where will the ceremony and reception be, what will you wear, what elements do you want, etc. etc.

There’s a lot of elements to be considered, and chances are, most of them come with a cost. And the cost depends on the quality, quantity, your affiliation with the seller/source (will you get a discount?). How important is the element to you (some engaged couples consider the food/caterer as most important? Others, the cake. Others, the decor), etc.

Take the wedding gown for example. It’s price can vary depending on the designer, the fabric, the design (whether with beadwork, embroidery, or plain), with or without train, with or without veil, etc. There are gowns that take more than 25 % of the wedding budget and there are those that cost no more than the dinner for one person at the wedding banquet.

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Speaking of wedding banquet, here is one area whose cost is directly related to your number of guests. Whether in a hotel or in a garden, the cost of the food you will serve will depend on how many you will invite and what kind of food you want to serve. If you are on a tight budget, a plated surf & turf dinner menu in a hotel, will probably be hitting the ball out of the park. Lobsters, prawns and steaks taken with a glass of wine in a Makati hotel ballroom do not spell B-U-D-G-E-T by any stretch.

Tips on coming up with a budget:

Decide how many guests you want to invite.
Check with a caterer or a hotel how much is the cost of their wedding package per head. Multiply this with # 1 and you will get an estimate (note: this is just an estimate) of how much your wedding banquet will cost. Are you prepared to spend this much?
Decide on other elements you want / need for your wedding (i.e. wedding gown, tux / barong, flower, event stylist, wedding rings, etc.; to find a comprehensive list, click here) and add these your computation in #2.You can use this Google sheet prepared by Themes & Motifs as your guide.