Any bride on a wedding budget is most likely monitoring it closely and trying not to overspend. But what if there’s something you forget to add to the budget — or just want to splurge on? If you’re looking into what last-minute purchases you may want to make, here are six splurges brides are thrilled they made during wedding planning.
1 A day-of coordinator
“I thought hiring someone to oversee the day would be a waste, especially because we got married at a hotel and they assured us there would be someone there we could work with. It was the best last-minute thing to spend money on. We paid about R10 000 for someone to be at the wedding for 8-hours and make sure it was set up perfectly and our vendors came on time. She also troubleshooted all the things that went wrong, so that I didn’t even know about them.” — Mary D., 32
2 A dessert bar
“We almost spent about R6 500 on a wedding cake and then my fiancé decided that since we are not really cake lovers, we should spend the money on a dessert we enjoy. We scrapped the cake and instead paid the cater extra to present a dessert bar. It was such a delicious way to end the night and to be honest, nobody even noticed that we didn’t cut a cake.” — Danielle H., 29
3 The photo booth
“I know everyone has a photo booth, but it was something we almost didn’t do because it’s an added expense, and I didn’t think people would care to use it because every wedding has one now. I noticed, however, that it was such a good way to get guests out of their chairs, especially the ones who didn’t want to dance. It was also a great icebreaker for guests who didn’t know each other and just met that night.” — Sarah P., 27
4 Bottles of water
“We did bottles of water with customised labels on them for our party favour. So glad we spent the money to do that. Everyone is thirsty leaving a wedding. They don’t care about anything else or any other kind of party favour. They will take the bottle of water, and they will drink it.” — Marissa B., 30
5 An extension with the venue
“Our wedding should have ended at midnight. At around 11pm, everyone was having so much fun. Nobody wanted to leave. We didn’t have an after-party or anything planned, so I spoke to the venue owner and we got to keep the party going until 2am. Of course, we paid a pretty penny to make that happen, but it was surely worth It.” — Jessica V., 31
6 A videographer
“The one thing I’m glad I did for my own personal wedding, is pay for a videographer. I was so busy the whole night and having someone videotape every moment was the only way I could recap the night knowing exactly what happened. It was cool seeing things I missed and remembering moments I enjoyed.” — Barbara C., 31
Taken from Brides . Click here to read the original.
Looking for more ways to save on your big day? Here are 6 tips to budget for your engagement ring and 3 ways to avoid extra costs at your wedding.
