What You Can Save On A Wedding

Let's face it, when you decide to get married, be prepared that it would cost you. Weddings, especially in the Philippines, are practically a production number and a big celebration. Even if you do initially plan for a small, intimate wedding, chances are your celebration gets bigger as you plan it either you're inspired, you want to invite more friends, or your parents would want it bigger because they want to invite their friends.

Be a happy, frugal bride by saving on a few things. 

If your frugal self would want to save on certain things on the actual ceremony without compromising the beautiful wedding you envision, don't fret! There are certain things that you can save and scrimp on, and you won't get any of those expectation vs. reality like memes you see online. I'll write a separate post on items that you should spend on, however. This time, let's talk about those you would rather save on.

Shoes

These shoes were bought on sale at a mall. Photo by Owee Salva

Your wedding shoes will be seen probably only in the SDE (same-day edit video)  and photos. Most likely, they would be covered by the gown 95% of the time. During that day. everyone will be looking at your face but not at your feet. Rather than spending thousands of pesos on a designer shoe in this cute color of your motif with Swarovski crystals and 24K gold plating  that would be seen for only 5 minutes, opt for modestly-priced shoes that are also pretty and fit you right.


Invitations

"Everyone keeps the invitations they get, as a reference to when they have their own invitations" said no one ever. Since we use ecobags when we do the grocery and follow strawless Fridays in some cities, let's be more Earth-friendly by opting not to have printed invitations. Since almost everyone are online anyway, you can create a Facebook invite where you can also post wedding details and updates such as maps, pegs, motifs, bridal registry details, and so on. Understandably, there are still those who are old-fashioned and want a hard copy of the invitation so just print a select few for the principal sponsors or your grandparents. Less carbon footprint, more happy vibes!


Entourage dresses.

White kaftan custom-made by Katricewear 

Buy fabric of the same color scheme and have the your girls just take them to each of their preferred seamstress so she gets the design that she wants made by their trusted mananahi who makes their clothes for all occasions. They can also buy off-the-rack clothes with the same motif that may cost way cheaper than having a gown that costs probably Php5,000 - Php 8,000 each.  That can be the personal gift your entourage give you, instead of another rice cooker or toaster oven.


Souvenirs

My April bride Paula's souvenir of choice: fans for a breezy outdoor summer wedding

You can get creative with giveaways but choose souvenirs that are affordable or won't pile up dust in your guests' homes. Do away with figurines or tiny bells and opt for fans, eco bags, or pastries. Opt not for photobooth photos since they end up being a pile of printouts that are tucked away in shelves and just come up with a witty hashtag that your guests can use when snapping and uploading photos in social media.


Flowers

Sky full of stars 🌟🌟🌟 #paperflowers #paperflorist #handmade #handmadeweddings #papercraft #diyweddings #olivereverafter

A photo posted by Victoria Velasco (@victoriavelasco) on Jan 7, 2016 at 6:26pm PST

Real flowers are expensive because these are high maintenance, are dependent on the season, and have a shorter shelf life. Instead of real flowers, opt for paper flowers. My friend Victoria Velasco is an excellent paper florist and she has done paper flowers and decor for a lot of weddings and events.   You and your entourage can go DIY on this months before the wedding by booking her for a workshop. The paper flowers can be used as a decor for your new home or can have new life as confetti for children's birthdays or random parties in the house eventually.

Weddings are beautiful and we all want to make it beautiful. However, being beautiful doesn't necessarily mean exhausting all your savings. Spend only on the essentials. Work smart around your budget and your own needs and have happy guests, happy suppliers, and a happy couple.


Directory

Katricewear
facebook.com/katricewear.mendoza

Owee Salva
facebook.com/Cartwheel.Images; oweesalva.com

People Are People
G/F Glorietta 4, Hotel Drive corner East Drive, Ayala Center, Makati City

Victoria Velasco Paper Florist
victoriavelasco.com

A Crafty Floral Afternoon

It's ironic that some people think just because that I can do makeup, I can do all artsy things naturally. On the contrary, my crafty skills are zilch. I can't draw things at the top of my head and it's super hard for me to style an outfit (hence why most of my clothes are all dark colors, solids, animal prints, etc and I'm usually in my uniform of sando, shorts, and FitFlops). Funny, no, since they both involve the same side of the brain.

My friend Victoria (I call her Vicky), who I love feeding my food, is a paper florist. She makes paper flowers and arranges them much like how a florist makes bouquets and floral arrangement. She started out with this craft when she was assigned to make paper flowers for a shoot and somehow she got addicted to it. Some of her sample works are those below:

papercraft and Plueys

hey look! It's my muse Eriko! 

Oh, and she's an amazing pole dancer and aerialist.

Image Source

Vicky shares her knowledge to others by conducting paper flower workshops. For the month of May, she had one at my own nook - at Fully Booked BHS! Oh and thankfully, I was available that day to try it out.

I immediately signed up and got super excited in getting the crafty skills on cue. Vicky also assured me that I would be able to do something, despite my lack of skills in the foreign realm of arts and crafts or cutting very straight lines.

Ready to do something new.

Vicky demonstrated us how to make the basic flower patterns which she does, sharing with us tips on how to make the flowers look neat and even where to glue and easy ways to make things even for OC people like myself.

She gave us a pattern that was both pretty and easy to do, and showed us how to modify things when we get to be more advanced in our skills.

A few minutes later, I was able to make my first paper flower. Yay me!

She was also very hands-on with us and gave demos in small clusters so each participant had her undivided attention. She even gave suggestions if we seemed lost in transition on what to do and aside from being teacher of the day, even went around doing trash collection,

Aside from the basic paper flower technique, she also taught us how to make pom-pom flowers out of crepe paper, which resemble chrysanthemums. They can also be used as centers for flowers.

An update on my bouquet, getting there!

Paper flowers are a great idea for gift-wrapping or for giving flowers instead of buying expensive fresh flowers which wilt the next day. I'm personally not fond of fresh flowers because of that reasoning. Also, since I have pets, there are plants and flowers which might be harmful for them, which is also the reason why I don't keep flowers in the apartment. Paper flowers can also be their toys. They don't wilt by the end of the day and also, they're recyclable. During Christmas, we can make paper poinsettias since fresh poinsettias are poisonous to pets.

Vicky made this paper wreath from red and green paper for Christmas

 Paper flowers can also be an alternative to wedding bouquets. It can even be a great and fun activity for your entourage, or you can make it part of your bridal shower,

Finally! save for the (paper) leaves, my bouquet is done! I know, it's super bright!

A group photo with our teacher! Thank you for a fun, fun afternoon!

Just like any skill learned, we do not become awesome at it by just one workshop. Just like makeup, pole dancing, and cooking, things like these take practice. We had our take-home kits with templates and step-by-step tutorials for us to remember when we make our own at home. I'm glad my first attempt turned out quite prettily and rest assured I'll be tagging her in my creations and also have an alternative way to present gifts rather than dunking them in paper bags.

For more of her works, you may check out Victoria Velasco's site at http://www.victoriavelasco.com also to get updates on her upcoming workshops in various venues. You may also follow her at Twitter and Instagram or get in touch with her at hello@victoriavelasco.com


IMAGE SOURCES:
sample works and poster: http://www.victoriavelasco.com
pole photo: http://www.polecatsmanila.com