A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime affair that is a big milestone in the lives of the couple and their families. It’s a joyous occasion that also comes with a big price tag (yes, everything is more expensive with the ‘wedding’ tag on it, e.g. ‘wedding photography’, ‘wedding flowers’…) Proper financial planning is required in order to ensure that the couple ties the knot happily and without worry.

In this post, we’ve outlined the rough costs of a wedding party/banquet depending on the type you are going for – Budget, Standard or Extravagant. We hope this helps you plan the budget for your big day.

Pre-wedding

Bride’s Gown
The cost of the Bride’s Gown is highly variable. For the low-budget bride – shop on Taobao or look to rent from a lower-priced bridal boutique to find the dream gown within your budget. Do note that dresses bought online may require further alterations, which add to the total cost. Most couples look to rent from bridal studios, which offer a large range of packages that may include the Groom’s outfit as well as Make-up and hair services. Brides with a larger budget may opt for a bespoke wedding gown which is created as per their desires and specifically tailored to their measurements. Do note that additional costs have to be incurred if the bride will be getting a new pair of shoes for the occasion.

Groom’s Outfit
The Groom’s Suit ranges from $300 onwards for a basic full-on attire including two shirts, one pair of pants, one blazer and one tie/bowtie (and excludes the cost of a new pair of dress shoes).

Photography
Most couples generally opt for a pre-wedding photoshoot. The price is varied depending on the photographer you engage. Some are ‘celebrity photographers’ and therefore command a higher price.

Videography
For many people, the pre-wedding videography is optional. Couples who choose to do a pre-wedding video will usually feature it during the wedding banquet. The actual day videography service is more important, with many engaging half or full-day video service on the actual wedding day.

Make-up and Hair
Most bridal studios bundle this service together with the bride’s gown. For those who prefer to engage their own Make-up Artist (MUA), many bridal studios will allow you to switch this service for use by another person (e.g. mother, sister, bridesmaid).

Flowers
There are many different types of florists offering varied styles of flowers. Browse the florists’ websites and Instagram and be sure to choose one who offers the style of bouquets that you love. Floral services for the pre-wedding usually consists of only the flower bouquet, whereas it may include corsages and boutonnieres for bridesmaids and groomsmen for the actual wedding day.

Venue
The venue of the pre-wedding shoot location varies greatly. The locations range from the bridal studio’s shoot locations, to reservoirs and fields in Singapore, to exotic overseas locations such as Australia, Indonesia, Europe.

Actual Day

Wedding Planner
A wedding planner is someone who assists with the design, planning and management (on the actual day) of your wedding. Engaging a wedding planner is not necessary if you have the time and effort to spare to plan and are able to trust someone to manage the activities on the actual day itself. However, you should definitely engage a wedding planner if you don’t have time to plan your wedding, or if your dream wedding is an elaborate affair. They will help you achieve your envisioned wedding.

ROM Solemnization
Some couples choose to host a separate ROM solemnization event before the wedding lunch/dinner. For the extravagant couple, you might plan this as an entirely different function from the wedding lunch/dinner. For the standard wedding, you may ask the wedding lunch/dinner venue if they have an exclusive, smaller room that is for the ROM solemnization. For the budget wedding, you may ask your wedding venue if it is possible to begin the wedding lunch/dinner slightly earlier and cater time for the solmenization before the meal.

Invitations
The cost of wedding invitations vary greatly. For the extravagant wedding, many couples choose to print elaborate invites for all invited guests. For the low-budget option, many couples choose to send e-photo invitations to most guests and only printing paper invitations for the senior members of their extended family.

Decorations
For the actual wedding day, some couples choose to have additional floral arrangements or fairy lights to lighten the space. Some couples may also choose to include photobooths for their guests.

Venue
The venue is the largest determining factor of the cost of your wedding. Some examples of venues include churches, hotels, other monument landmarks (e.g. Botanic Gardens, National Gallery, etc.) The number of invited guests also affects the cost of the wedding, and this averages around 150 to 350 invited guests.

Miscellaneous
Last but not least, do remember to factor in some buffer for miscellaneous items, such as wedding favors for your guests (if not already included as part of the hotel/wedding venue’s services), to angbaos for your bridesmaids, groomsmen, officiant of your wedding, make-up artist, etc.

We hope this post is helpful for you! Do you have any questions regarding planning for weddings? Type your questions down below.