According to a study by the Association of Wedding Professionals (AWP), the average cost of a wedding in Malaysia is RM50,000. It is no wonder then that there is a direct correlation with a recent increasing trend of Malaysians choosing to marry late in life.
In fact, according to a different study, 56 per cent of local men and 26 per cent of local woman actually do say financial problems as the reason that they marry late.
In terms of financial investments, it is not wise to spend lavishly on your wedding. Remember that life after your wedding is more important! You don’t want to end up in debt by extravagant spending during this time.
You might also want to consider another separate study conducted by two professors of economics at Emory University.
According to them, if you spend more money on your actual wedding day, you’re more likely to get divorced! Their conclusion was: “we find evidence that marriage duration is inversely associated with spending on the engagement ring and wedding ceremony.”
Here we list down 10 things you can actually do without to reduce your wedding costs:
- A wedding planner
This is perhaps the easiest way to save money. By planning your own wedding, you not only save money on a wedding planner fee but also get to take control of all other aspects of your budget. Do not get overwhelmed. Do your research online and ask the opinion of friends and family members.
- Huge guest list
It’s natural that you want to invite close friends and family. However, you might also feel pressured to expand the guest list. People might say, “The more the merrier”. The reality though is they’re not bearing any of the cost. Avoiding a huge guest list will have a positive effect on other costs too, not just on food.
- Wedding card invitations
We live in a time of social media dominance. Make use of social media such as Facebook invitations. Sure, you can print out physical cards for the much older guests but keep the number as low as you can. Also, for these physical invitations, combine the ceremonies for both groom and bride on the same card.
- Entertainment
Truth be told, most guests just attend to see the married couple and also to eat. You do not need a deejay or music.
- Photography
You can just get a few hip relatives or friends to take photos on a good camera phone like the iPhone 11 or Samsung Galaxy S10. Many youths these days have good photography skills. Just remember to treat them to a special lunch or something!
- Videography
The money you save here can be used elsewhere. Simple as that! Get the same hip relatives or friends to shoot a video.
- Expensive door gifts
Instead of expensive door gifts, you can go for DIY paper bag door gifts and fill them up with small candies or chocolates. Fruit jelly candies and chocolates can be found at RM15 for 100 pieces.
- Grand venue
Simple canopies can minimize your cost compared to renting out grand halls. Packages of three canopies along with tables and chairs can go for around RM1300.
- Multiple ceremonies
Instead of having separate ceremonies for the vows (akad nikah) and reception (majlis bersanding), hold both on the same day. Other than costs for food, you can lower the fee for a makeup artist if you choose to hire one.
- Multiple attires
Following on from the previous point, where you hold your vows and reception ceremony on the same day, you get to use just a single wedding dress.