Figuring out your wedding budget is no easy feat. Your wedding will likely be the biggest party you’ve ever hosted—and the priciest. As Indians, we love to splurge on weddings, Indian weddings are a festival in themselves and when it comes to destination weddings in India, you have to fix on a strict budget. To make a budget, you’ll need to tally up your savings, maintain a detailed spreadsheet so you don’t go over it during the planning process, prepare for unexpected costs, and make meaningful cuts if you exceed your total budget.

It’s hard work, we know, but putting in the time and energy now ensures you’ll live happily ever after (wedding-debt free). Here’s exactly how to set a wedding budget you can stick to. 

The Wedding Date

The wedding season in India is during the chillier months following Diwali – November, December, January, and February. If you want to keep your costs down, think of getting married during the off-season months. All wedding-related expenses will be a little more affordable then.

Here’s a guide on how you can select your wedding date in 2022

Pre-wedding Festivities

Sangeet, mehndi, wedding ceremony, and reception – the events can keep adding and with each event, your cost rises. So, keep your events limited. If you’re set on a multi-event wedding, then club your events together like mehndi and sangeet at the same time and reception immediately following the wedding ceremony. Having all your events in one marriage hall will also take your costs down. You can also choose to have pre-events at your home.

The Guest List

This is a no-brainer. The more guests you invite to your wedding venue, the higher your costs are at each level, especially if you’re planning a multi-event wedding celebration. To keep your budget at bay, keep a tight leash around your guest list – edit and review it over and over again if needed. Instead of cutting corners to throw a ‘budget’ wedding for 500 people with limited finances, try trimming down the guest list and throw a better wedding for about 300 people instead! Make it an unforgettable experience for people who really matter!

Deciding The Wedding Venue

Party plots and fancy luxurious lawns come with a hefty price tag. Check out local marriage halls or hotel ballrooms to keep your budget down. Come up with creative venues like a friend’s farmhouse or a relative’s home garden, or even the common plot at your place of residence! These venues can end up building some extra special and unique memories. Instead of spending a lot on the wedding venue and the décor separately, try getting a wedding venue that doesn’t need much to look amazing! Another good idea is to have a budget ‘destination’ wedding in a beautiful place on the outskirts of big cities.

Like if you stay in Mumbai, you could choose to have a picturesque wedding in the hills of Lonavala or go to Agra. If you are from Delhi, Chattarpur farmhouses or wedding venues in South Delhi are a perfect choice. If you are looking for a destination wedding in Delhi Smaller cities can bring down the costs by quite a lot only because not too many people choose it so you can go crazy.

Catering & Food

Do you know what’s the best thing about weddings? The Khaana. Yummy, mouth-watering delicacies, so rich and so decadent that they can only be served at a wedding, with aplomb. Admit it, you slyly peek into the pantry or the menu, to see what the wedding has in store for you – chaat counters, cheesecake yummies, and loads of biryani from the “famous” vendor in the city. Instead of serving the same old food on the same old counters, get creative! Serve the food in an interesting way to make things stand out! It doesn’t even have to cost a lot extra!

This is one area that you can really go wild with. Food and beverages are a MUST at Indian weddings is such an integral part of our culture and an even bigger part of our weddings. It is easy to get carried out with caters coming up with menus that run a mile long with new and exotic dishes from cuisines all over the world. Make sure you stick to the basics and focus on the food quality and not the variety.

The Wedding Decoration At Your Wedding Venue

This is one area where the couple getting married and the elders of the families will surely disagree. The youngsters will want to have themed decor at the wedding venue and the elders will want to keep things simple. Remember, that the decor is temporary, and think about where else you can utilize the money. Every wedding venue and marriage hall has flowers, but how you use them in your decor makes a very big difference. Instead of having flowers of every color in every corner of the marriage hall, choose a simple arrangement in a single color. Use baby breaths, bougainvillea, mogra, or marigolds – but in innovative ways.

Here are some ideas on how you can amp up your wedding décor at your wedding venue

1. A detailed guide to planning your wedding venue
2. Wedding stage decoration that’s trending and will suffice your budget plans
3. Some whimsical décor ideas can also be shortlisted!

Wedding Shopping

Wedding clothes, jewelry, and other trousseau items can break your budget on a massive level. Spend wisely on the main items. Instead of big brands go to local stores for your wedding shopping. Look for different options and alternatives before you take a buying decision. For wedding outfits, raid your mother’s and grandmother’s closet and use the old, priceless sarees to create your outfits. Use your family heirloom jewelry as an added bonus.

Here are some tips on how you can maintain your budget –

1. Go for dupe lehengas and even the rented ones, they are quite on trend now.
2. For your engagement rings, here are some ideas
3. the bridal shoes can be bought from local brands and you can find ample options for the same.

Other Requirements

Here are some pointers on ways through which you can stay on budget while looking over other important details for your wedding –

1. For your photographer, hire the ones you have some contact with, a friend or friends’ friends, and guide them through your photography requirements.
2. For guest’s stay, here are some good hotels if you are planning for a destination wedding in Delhi
3. For essential pieces of jewelry, here are some modern ideas for Mangalsutras which if spent on, will be a good economical decision

Yeah, it’s possible! It might require an extra bit of effort and plan on your part, but if you’re one of those couples who like a challenge and can see it through, then you can do a lot to make your wedding look way more expensive than what it costs. Happy Wedding!