Wedding preparation can be the most challenging task for couples looking to walk down the aisle and officially tie the knot. When planning a wedding, most people are usually on a fixed budget. On most occasions, couples frequently overspend while celebrating a momentous occasion—a factor that may cost them if proper planning isn’t done from the beginning. Thus, I want to take you through how to plan a cheap wedding in Kenya.
You can plan a cheap wedding in Kenya by eliminating unnecessary costs and hiring some utilities where necessary. Buying everything brand new means spending more money which will, in turn, drive up the cost of your wedding.
Weddings are very costly and can drain you and leave you in debt. Instead of having an extravagant wedding that will leave you in financial distress, there are several steps you can take to plan a wedding that’s within your budget.
Things To Consider When Planning a Wedding
To have a cheap wedding in Kenya, you should avoid unnecessary things. The essential things in a wedding are:
- Venue
- Dowry
- Food
- Gown
- Photography
- Sound system
- Transport
How to Plan a Cheap Wedding in Kenya
To have a cheap wedding, you must be very careful with the wedding budget. Here are some tricks you can employ to cut down the wedding budget.
1. Minimize the Number of Guests
Minimizing the number of guests will help you lower the food and drink expenses. Having a large number of guests means even the cost of food and drinks will also be high.
Find Out: Best Wedding Venues in Nairobi With Their Charges
2. Transport
You can lower the wedding cost by hiring cheap vehicles or borrowing if possible. If you have relatives and friends with vehicles, you can talk to them and request to fuel the cars to use at your wedding.
3. Venue
A wedding venue is among the factors that can drive the wedding cost very high. To avoid the venue expenses to can do your wedding in a church. Most churches don’t charge for having weddings in their compound.
If you still want to do a garden wedding, you can look for a cheap wedding venue within your budget.
4. Hire a Bridal Gown
Hiring a bridal gown is cheaper than purchasing. After all, you won’t need that dress after the wedding. Also, when hiring the gown, it’s good to look for a cheaper one to minimize your wedding budget.
Alternatively, you can go for a tailor-made but unique bridal gown.
5. Rings
Rings are very costly, therefore consider going for the cheap ones. The cost of marriage rings ranges from Kshs. 5,000- Kshs. 10,000. Ensure you look for rings within your budget.
6. Cake
The cake is an essential part of the wedding. The cost of a cake varies depending on the decorations and weight, ranging from kshs20000-100,000. Opt for one that is within your financial reach.
7. Decor
You can get affordable but grand decor from professional florists. Concentrate on the critical places to be captured in videos and photos, where the guest will sit and the high table. You can look around for inexpensive florists.
8. Photography
The photography cost can raise your budget if you’re not careful. Factors determining the cost of photography include the number of photos to be taken and the number of photographers present at the wedding.
You can settle for at most 500 photos and two photographers; one for videography and the other one for photos.
9. Sound System
A sound system is necessary for entertaining guests. To save your wedding budget, go for a cheaper sound system. Alternatively, you can borrow from institutions such as schools.
Tips on How to Raise Wedding Money
Weddings are among the most memorable events we share with family and friends. How do you finance your wedding? Below are tips for raising wedding money.
1. Savings
Saving is among the ideal ways to raise money for your wedding. You don’t have to depend on family ad friends to decide how your big day will turn out. The most excellent strategy to save for a wedding is starting early as now; even if you’re 20 and single, set aside a few thousand each month for your wedding.
You need to save more money if your wedding is within a year. The first step will be to open a bank account to handle the wedding issues. Discipline is required, so it would be ideal for you to establish a standing order from your main account to your wedding account.
2. Wedding Committee
Having a wedding committee is a verified way of raising wedding funds. A committee of family members and close friends is formed and helps the couple to raise wedding funds. The committee members meet once a month to deliberate on wedding matters.
They will also pledge the amount they can donate to the wedding. While this method has previously worked so well, it’s losing popularity because people have started misusing it.
Instead of family and friends only, people are now adding acquaintances and anyone on their phonebook to the committee. It is an excellent way to raise funds; however, you should take caution to avoid losing friends or having them irritated.
3. Make Good Use of Family and Friends
Having a large family has its drawbacks, but it can also certainly have advantages. Hosting an engagement party where family and friends can leave gifts of money is a terrific and stress-free way to gather some money for your wedding.
This strategy ensures the money contributed goes back to the wedding and the guests. It’s a lovely full-circle moment that ensures the guests will be glad they contributed to the wedding day.
4. Moonlighting
If you have talent or other skills, you can use them to raise wedding funds. Moonlighting is getting an extra source of income through side jobs. If you can draw, organize some sort of an art event.
You can also ask your artistic friends to donate their art or at least a portion of the money they get from selling their art to your wedding pot. And if you can sing, consider organizing a paid concert.
5. Cut Back on Expenses
Cutting back on expenses is another great way to raise funds for your wedding. Review everything you pay for and decide which ones you can temporarily reduce. Then deposit the money saved into your wedding savings account.
You might have paid for subscriptions you rarely use, so analyze your monthly bank account statement to determine where your money is going and cut back on some expenses. For instance, if you pay for Netflix and you rarely watch, cancel them. If you have a gym membership, cancel it; instead, you can go to the park to run.
You might also be paying for data on laptops you don’t use anymore. Consider sacrificing such subscriptions for your ideal dream wedding.
Bottom Line
To reduce the cost of your wedding, shop around and compare prices. Doing so will allow you to opt where to shop or hire items. You should also consider requesting your guests to give gifts in the form of money instead of actual gifts to avoid receiving similar gifts from various people.
Working with your partner is the key to successfully raising the money for your ideal wedding. Of course, there are several ways to accomplish this, but they all begin with discipline and looking for ways to reduce expenses. I hope this guide on how to plan a cheap wedding in Kenya will be handy to you as you plan to say, “Yes I do.”
