Here comes the bill

A fairy talewedding is the dream of every girl. But real fairy tales do not come packagedwith a fairy godmother who will provide for the glass slippers and beautifulgown along with all else that goes into the making of a wedding. While this dayis one that a girl will cherish all her life (with pleasant memories we hope),how can this be done while not leaving the couple reeling at the sheer cost ofmaking their dream of being together come true?

A decentCatholic wedding with around 600 guests costs approximately Rs 3.5 lakhs and aHindu wedding would cost an average of Rs 1.5 lakh for 500 guests.

“One can cut costsby keeping the wedding invitation cards simpler. The guests will probably notnotice the fancy paper, fancy folds in the cards, fancy ink and fancyenvelopes,” says Rosa Fernandes who is busy preparing for her wedding in May2013. There is a lot of wastage of food that occurs in Goan weddings becausethe number of people who will attend the wedding is overestimated. Askingguests to RSVP to the wedding invite would help ascertain the number andconsequently the catering. “Putting a limit on the number of people you invitewould also cut costs on the food and drinks. Goans have the tendency to invitefriends of friends and relatives of relatives,” Rosa continues.

“One can save onthe décor by choosing a venue that is already pretty. Thus one would not needthe added accessories such as fabrics, flowers, stands, etc,” says weddingplanner Lyndon Alves of Dreamy Horizons. “Sound, lights and food are essentialfor a party. One has to know to get quality sound at the right price. The trickfor a budget wedding is to cut costs and still not lose the flavour,” he adds.He goes on to say that one can save money on the drinks by using smaller brandsof alcohol and introducing cocktails at the bar. People use expensive brands ofalcohol to show off to the guests. With cocktails, the guests would never knowthe brands of alcohol that go into the drink.