Wedding crumbs for Lovebirds

Considering the millions of decisions and emotional ups and downs a couple go through when they decide to get married, it is not surprising that they sometimes lose sight of some of the simplest but key things that need to be addressed. This blog post is to hopefully make it easier for the soon-to-wed. I hope you enjoy these crumbs of advise. It is the least I could do for you lovebirds.

DON’T CUT CORNERS, JUST THE CAKE.
Knowing that weddings are once-in-a-lifetime events for most people, does it really make sense to cut corners? If you manage to turn your wedding into a nightmare, it will be one that will haunt you for life. At least, once every year, on your wedding anniversary the demons of “cheaptitude” will come out to haunt you… and trust me. You don’t want that to happen. From my experience photographing a lot of weddings, one of the things I’ve noticed, is that the couple who compromise on the quality of anything from cake to dress to photographer to venue are not necessarily the ones who don’t have money. They are normally victims of inadequate planning and research.

MONEY CAN’T BUY CLASS
You’ve worked so hard to save a million dollars and you want an out-of-this world wedding. Or more realistically, you have a few thousands of dollars and you want the world to notice your great day. Now, here is where you must p-p-p-p-pause.
I’ve seen a beautiful woman step into a wedding dress that made her look like a bloated white peacock that just got mangled by a boerbull . I still shiver from the memory of once watching a bride’s face move from beautiful to pretty to okay to ugly to scary with each application of make up by an apparently expensive make up artist who obviously lacked the requisite skills.
I once attended a wedding where the bride arrived with ten maids and the groom also hand ten men all dressed in some designer clothes, which obviously cost the couple a lot of money but guess what? They had the wedding in some uncompleted church building that was hidden in the corner of a dusty road in a very undeveloped part of Accra. I bet they will get upset anytime they see their album.
Considering how many wedding catalogues and magazines and planners exist, I wonder why couples just won’t borrow class from these experts?

DO MICROSCOPIC AND TELESCOPIC PLANNING
It doesn’t take much to ruin a wedding. Actually most weddings aren’t ruined by an absconded groom or a fainting bride. Weddings are often ruined by little things like… the cake that doesn’t arrive on time or the wedding rings that can’t be found because the best man has too many pockets or the unregistered wedding vehicle that gets arrested by the police or the bride’s shoe that broke as she was getting out of the car but there is no spare. I remember being an MC at a wedding where the bride had to be whisked away during the exchange of vows because her period had come out of the blue. Even the pen to sign the register can hold up a wedding for an uncomfortably long time. Plan to the minutest details. Leave nothing to chance.

MONEY SAVED IS MARRIAGE SAVED
You don’t want to start your married life with debt. Try as much as possible to have a debt free wedding. Cutting down expenditure whilst maintaining quality requires far more skill than you might think but it is possible. One of the best ways to cut down on a wedding budget is to plan and book for services way in advance. Lots of wedding vendors book couples for at least one year ahead and offer reasonable packages for early birds.

GOOD WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS COST A LOT OF MONEY
“WHAT??? $3000 for just one day wedding?” Lord knows how many times I’ve heard that at the other end of the line. What most couples don’t consider is that even though they are marrying in one day, the photographer’s job goes on for far longer than the one day. Good photographers are good photographers because of the amount of respectable time they put into planning, taking and editing their photographs and albums. A typical wedding can take up to a month to edit. So, what the pro wedding photographer charges for, is not just a day’s work but actually all the other hours that will go into making your images look as adorable as you dreamed them. If there is one area in life where the saying, “You get what you pay for” is so true, it is with wedding photography. Imagine trying to create over 300 iconic images that a couple’s great grandchildren are supposed to come and appreciate.

Most good wedding photographers also have special packages for early birds or offer a payment plan that often makes the payment less burdensome even though they often require 100% deposit before they turn up and shoot at the wedding.

LAST DAYS ARE DANGEROUS
That’s what we used to say back in school and it is very true for couples who are about to get married too. There is nothing as pathetic as an overly stressed bride and groom on their wedding day. Normally, you notice they get short tempered, they can’t manage a smile and even look dissociated from the event. Every bride must have her beauty sleep before the d day. Planning in advance and delegating tasks to reliable friends, family and colleagues can also ensure that there is very little to worry about come that day.

It is also not uncommon to hear just a few days or weeks to a wedding that a couple have broken up. Even worse, some divorce immediately after the wedding. Planning a wedding can be extremely stressful. Throw in the money dimension and your stress levels can be life threatening. So please strategize because if you fail to plan… I know, it is such a cliche but it is true.

Thanks for reading and do have the best time of your life on your wedding day.

*Feel free to ask any questions you might have and I will try and answer them here. Cheers, Nana Kofi