While Europe grapples with recession, is it time to tighten the purse strings and scale down those wedding plans, Deana Luchia asks.
While Malta is a popular destination for European neighbours wanting a budget wedding, the amount spent by the Maltese on their nuptials is considerable – anything from €10,000 to €25,000; more than most people can scrape together for a deposit on a decent apartment.
You could go for a truly personal wedding by hitting the beach for a luxury picnic by the sea
Make no mistake about it, weddings are big business on the island; we’ve all come to expect a certain amount of excess when it comes to the big day, whether we’re guests or the main attraction, with designer dresses, hundreds of guests, flower-crammed churches, even luxuriously detailed wedding invitations now the norm.
Yet, with doubts about the future of the euro, and with it being increasingly difficult to get onto the property ladder, overblown weddings, all of them with the non-too-subtle aroma of one-upmanship about them, are starting to leave an unpleasant taste in our mouths.
Who wants to start off married life in debt? Who wants to ask parents to sacrifice part of their hard-earned retirement fund? Who wants to have to forgo annual holidays for the foreseeable future, all for one day of excess? A day that bears no relation whatsoever to married life.
That’s not to say that weddings shouldn’t be a wonderful, heady celebration. Everyone wants a day to remember. Yet you can have that without breaking the bank.
The dress is one of the first things a bride-to-be thinks about when planning a wedding. It’s also one of the most expensive items on the long, long list of what needs to be booked and purchased.
However, no guest remembers anything much about someone else’s wedding dress aside from whether or not it suited the bride. Expensive doesn’t mean better. It’s possible to find beautiful dresses at bargain prices.
Ebay is a fantastic source, and buying something vintage is a sure-fire way of saving money and having a unique dress. And don’t forget to resell your dress afterwards. No matter how a designer may try to convince you that it will look good dyed and shortened after the wedding, it won’t. Ever.
You can try eBay for bridesmaids’ dresses and for that all-important mother-of-the-bride outfit too. (eBay doesn’t always mean second hand. You can find thousands of never-been-worn dresses all at a fraction of the cost of what you would pay in a boutique).
For men, it’s worth hiring a formal dinner jacket and trousers rather than buying, or you could simply purchase a new suit. Not only will this be worn again at work and at other people’s weddings, but it’s a whole lot cooler than black tie.
Venues are another big expense, yet on an island the size of Malta chances are that all your guests have attended dozens of weddings at the same spot. Ask to hire a friend’s garden, farm or field for the day, somewhere where you can set up a small marquee, or create some type of cover, or rent out a room in a hotel rather than an entire venue.
You could go for a truly personal wedding and forgo the venue entirely and opt to have a small group of family and friends celebrate with you at a fabulous restaurant or hit the beach for a luxury picnic by the sea, followed by a romantic twilight swim.
With wedding guest lists stretching into infinity, cutting back on numbers not only saves you money but ensures your wedding is a personal occasion, not an opportunity for parents to impress their friends or work colleagues. Having smaller numbers can also mean you can afford something really special.
Why have 400 people at a stand-up buffet and open bar when you could have 20 people sitting down to a sumptuous feast? Definitely cheaper and so much more personal.
Forgoing a professional photographer is another way to cut costs. With everyone these days in possession of a good camera and with so many people a dab hand at Photoshop, chances are you could pay a friend to take photos at a fraction of the price a professional would charge and, what’s more, there’ll be none of those terribly staged looking-into-the-distance shots that seem to form the bulk of wedding albums.
The same goes for a wedding film. Have a few friends film different parts of the big day – it will make it much more personal. And infinitely more fun.
Rather than buying a cake from an expensive wedding cake shop, ask a friend to make one for you. Buy the ingredients yourself and then ask the friend to make the cake as their wedding present to you – donating their time. You could line up several friends to do this.
One to shop for ingredients, one to make it, one to decorate. Not only will you save money, but asking friends to donate their time is much nicer than asking them to check off something from a wedding list.
The same idea can be used when it comes to a band. Ask musical friends to come up with a set list and watch them have a blast as they get to perform in front of a live audience. You don’t have to ask wannabe rock stars, you can ask anyone who can play an instrument (pianists, violinists) to donate their time (as a wedding present) and play.
Any of these suggestions will not only save you money but will guarantee that your wedding is personal and unique – one to remember for all the right reasons.