A Basic Guide To The Cost Of A Singapore Wedding

Are you planning to get married in 2015? DollarsAndSense.sg shares some saving tips and tricks.

First of all, Congratulations! And we say this on behalf of the Singapore Government.

While a marriage is usually a joyous occasion (especially for the hotels and the credit card companies), your saving account may not be too excited, and neither will you, once you start thinking about all the costs involved.

After all, a wedding can be considered the 3rd most money-minator (think terminator) after your house and car. And unlike those two, there is no resale value.

Breakdown of wedding cost

Most girls’ dream to have a romantic wedding −unfortunately, most of these dreams cost a lot of money, unless the dream involves having a secret wedding with no guests and only two witnesses. If only Bella Swan had done that, we will all be saving tons of money!

Aside from the bride’s expectations. It does not help when their families, relatives or even friends have additional expectations that the couples feel obliged to meet. For example, a wedding dinner held at a 5-star hotel as opposed to Ban Heng (no offense intended because Ban Heng serves good food)

Before we delve into how to cut the costs and still have a dream wedding your wife both of you always hope for, let’s take a look at the various cost components in a wedding to consider.

• Bridal Package: $3000-$10,000: Should include, wedding dress, evening gown, photoshoot, wedding album, photo frame.
• Wedding Bands: $2000 – $4000 for a pair
• Engagement Rings: $2000 and above
• Wedding Solemnization: $3000-$5000 (rental of gown, photographer and videographer, bridesmaid dresses rentals and so on)
• Wedding Banquet: $30,000-$48,000 (30 tables for $1000-$1600 each)
• Honeymoon: $4,000-$10,000 (depending on the country you are heading to)

In short, the total costs can hit a staggering minimum of $44,000 and could easily go up to $90,000 if you are not careful. Bear in mind as well that this does not include that invisible spending such as ang paos for your brothers and sisters, additional jewelry required, buying of gifts for relatives, additional decorative items. It also does not include a separate church wedding, which is getting popular in Singapore.

If the wedding of your dreams is going to cost you more than you can afford, see if you can make do with less. A simple wedding can still be an amazing one. Or consider holding your wedding only after you have saved up money for the wedding you want.

Borrowing should not even be an option. This is not a house or even a car we are talking about. A wedding comes and goes in one day.

Saving Tips and Tricks

We highlight some useful tips we learnt.

1. Check out bridal magazines & websites like weddingforums.sg in order to make an informed decision to allocate your budget appropriately. Information is essential in this scenario. You do not want to be stuck with a horrible experience organizing your own wedding because you were too lazy to do some research.

1. Start planning early. You may be able to get early bird promotions or have more room for negotiations with the other parties involved. An example is to ask the hotel to throw in additional barrel of beer or for corkage waiver.

1. Visit online forums regularly. Personally, I think that the “Marketplace” section is where you can potentially grab many bargains there. The sellers are usually those who have made amendments to their original plans due to unforeseen circumstances and selling at much lower prices. Be sure however, that they are not simply selling you a bad deal that they themselves do not want.
2. Consider a wedding lunch on a weekday instead of a weekend dinner. You might get less people coming and it will be cheaper as well. Personally, we think Sunday dinners are the worst since they are the equivalence of weekday nights and yet you pay weekend prices.

1. Think about the number of guests attending as it will have a huge impact on your overall budget. If possible, start discussions with both families early about who to invite and how many people to expect. If you cannot hit your minimum number of tables, you are going to be wasting money. If you do not have enough tables, some people are going to be unhappy.

1. Remember to pay for your wedding using credit cards as you can chuck up huge amount of miles or cash rebate.

1. For most couples, a short break is a nice way to wind down from all the excitement of a wedding and to start your married life in peace. Nevertheless, if you are forecasting that you will spend a lot on the wedding, maybe your dream vacation can wait until your finances have recovered. Either that, or you can go somewhere near or shop around for the best deal in advance.

Conclusion

To sum it up, start planning early and agree on an estimated budget both of you are willing to spend on the wedding.

Consider giving yourself time to save up for your wedding rather than holding it sooner and borrowing money to pay for it. Avoid wiping out your savings and being burdened with debt, as other obligations like renovations and baby expenses may be coming your way you shortly after that.

Wedding Preparation is fun, but also costly. This is why you shouldn't budget on Photography

Article from The Real Singapore.

Firstly, whether you're single or attached, you first need to ask yourself this. What does marriage means to you? What does marriage means to your significant other?

For most of us, it's about building a life and a family together with that special someone. For others, it's about romance.

"It's about waking up and going to bed with that special someone every day, every night. It's a commitment and pledging yourself, to remain faithful, loyal and go through all sorts of ups and down with him/her. It's about learning how to compromise, trust and love."

Now, I'm about to address something which I feel that many Singaporeans forget. After reading till here so far, you would begin to understand that Marriage is between you and your partner. No one else. Not your parents, your relatives or even your friends.

It's the same for the Wedding you will now begin planning for. The main point about having a wedding is to share the joy of this special day with your family and loved ones yes. But never forget, the wedding is and will always be, about you both. Therefore, you don't have to succumb to social pressure to have the biggest and grandest wedding because your pride is at stake and end up regretting and getting saddled up with huge debts after what could have been the happiest moment of your lives. Don't throw that all away by regretting and blaming each other (which is very possible) after that.

Okay now that you're clear about that, let's move on to the planning!

I'll give it to you straight, the costs of a wedding can, and will cost between

SGD$30,000 - SGD$100,000

That's a lot of money.. isn't it? And for most of us, we have nowhere near that amount of money. I'm talking about teenagers here, who already have a planned future in mind.

Let's break it down.

1. Your Wedding Package

Wedding Packages typically include the Bridal Gown, Evening Gown, ROM Dress, Groom Suit, Flower Bouquets, Bridal Car Decoration as well as Make-up and Hair-Do.

Don't forget that ROM Packages and Actual Day Wedding Packages are two different things.
ROM Packages price start from $400++
Actual Wedding Package price start from $500++ for Half Day and $900++ for Full Day.

Total packages cost can range from $1000++ - $10,000.

Tips on saving: If your package doesn't include Wedding Car for Rental, try and rent a more affordable one or borrow a car. Car rental prices can range from $200++ for a Volkswagen to $600+ for a Mercedes Benz and that's a promotional price!

I would say budget at least $5000 in total. If it's not that expensive, use the extra money to splurge on your honeymoon!

Total Range: $5000

2. Photoshoots, Photographer, Video Coverage

It's recommended to budget another $5000 for all of these if you want quality shots and videos that last a lifetime. Pre-Wedding Photoshoots can range from $1000 and above.

Actual day photos can range from $900++ for 5 hours to $2000++ for 15 hours depending on the hours that you booked them for.

Tips on saving: Rather than getting 1 Photographer and 1 Videographer, consider getting 1 excellent photographer to save cost.

Remember: People change, but the people in photos don't. They capture memories for you. Don't allow room for regret when the photos are out and the quality is horrible. It's not worth the money saved. You can have a smaller banquet, smaller car, cheaper gown whatever, but photos usually last a lifetime doesn't it?

Total Range: $5000

3. Your Wedding Rings & Solemnization

Wedding rings can cost from $500++ each for an affordable ring to $10,000 for a really expensive rings from well known jewellery stores like Cartier, Tiffany & Co, Harry Winston etc.

I'd recommend spending within your budget. $2000-4000 is an ideal range to budget for. It's a buffer, so if you spend lesser than that, again use the money to spend on other things!

Solemnization can set you back by at least a few thousand if you plan on holding it at scenic locations etc etc. Budget between $3000-4000 if so. Eg: Singapore Flyer Solemnization Package cost around there!

Total Range: $8000.

4. Your Wedding Banquet

Let's be brutally honest. This will be where the majority of your wedding expenses will be.
Reason: It's price / table. Prices range from $600++ per table at Bayview Hotel to $1200++ per table at Marina Bay Sands for a minimum of 20 tables at least.

Tips on saving: Lunch Banquets are usually slightly cheaper. There are places where prices range from $200++ to $500+ / table but don't expect restaurant quality food.

Since we're on that subject, a wedding banquet is all about the food right? Or not? Why not hold it at a good restaurant then? Since the food is guaranteed to better than hotel banquets. After all, a restaurant's food IS the main reason why it's established in the first place.

Anyway, I'd say budget between $30,000 - $50,000 considering the price of $1000/table for a total number of 30-50 tables.

Trust me, prices of all these will rise in the years to come due to our good friend, "INFLATION".

Wedding Banquet Packages in a hotel would usually include free flow of drinks, wedding cakes, invitation cards, guestbooks, complimentary champagne, champagne pyramid, projector screen and possibly one night stay at the hotel itself.

Total Range: $50,000

GRAND TOTAL: SGD$68,000

Now, this is only a rough estimate. There may be other costs involved. Prices stated here does not yet include a Honeymoon which can cost anywhere from $5000-$10,000.

NEW GRAND TOTAL: SGD$78,000

Now, people may tell you to splurge as much as you want because you would be receiving red packets that will offset the total price.

My opinion? No. Don't take that advice. Save the amount you need without relying on red packets.

The money you receive can be used to offset the costs or go towards your joint savings/ investments whatever. But don't put too much hope on red packets.

And if you don't have enough money to get married, then you're not ready to get married.

Like I keep emphasising, don't splurge on this dream day only to deal with huge debts in the months and years to come.

All the prices stated, are a buffer. The real costs of a wedding can be significantly lower than $78,000 and I have no doubt it can be. Spend within your means.

And one last thing. Your Wedding is a major part of your lives. But it's not the only thing that should matter. When all of it is over, your family, friends will go back to their lives. You and your partner will now have to cope with your daily expenses and new life together. So make sure you have enough savings to begin preparations for the next phase in life.

All of the information provided above was found by my own research. What you may find, or what you have spent previously may differ from the costs stated above.