A Charming Mountain Countryside Wedding on a Budget

The wedding planning of this couple seems challenging, working under a strict budget of PHP 250,000 and an ambitious vision to capture the exquisite view of Filipino mountainous countryside. With the help of many close friends and keen researches done, the budget limit was fulfilled and the dream wedding came true.

The bride, Kriszia, enthusiastically talked about the wedding planning as she detailed some tips on how to keep the wedding on budget. "We wouldn't splurge on a one-day thing because I prefer to allocate resources on experiences and learnings like travel or courses," she mentioned. Having that principle, the bride was pleased with how the couple could agree on committing to a maximum expense, even after doubling their small 50 person wedding to an intimate wedding of 100 people.

Having a budget limit does not have to limit the quality of their wedding and vendors. The key to this, as explained by Kriszia, was to use local vendors to limit transportation fee, research, and of course, pull some strings and ask friends or acquaintances to fill in vendor roles. "The wedding coordinator was our college senior who's behind Events by Diane-Joyce. Our MC and program committee as we call it, are my colleagues at work. We invested on a decent, minimalist, indigenous styled wedding dress and barong by talented homegrown designer, Heleyna Bridal and Bote's Embroidery respectively. We also got budding photographer and videographer, Bamboo Kite and Wildfire Cinema to go with a unique, candid, emotion-filled style." As for research, the couple diligently look for resources such as wedding groups where they found their caterer through someone who wed in the same location.

Another tip from the bride is to find nice alternatives. This was learnt by the couple when they were looking for a venue with scenery similar to Tagaytay, where many weddings in the Philippines took place. That's when they found out that the area where the groom was from, Rizal, has much lower venue rates. And when it comes to wedding on a budget, we don't have to sacrifice everything. Instead, prioritize and splurge on things you think as important. For this couple, it was photo, video and catering.

The final tip offered by this couple is to recognize and omit your "nice-to-haves". Things such as photobooth was crossed off the list, since it's not really necessary when you already have such a wonderful scenery. Instead of spending more for a mobile bar, they DIY-ed their very own open bar and get many drinks of their own choice. They also did not spend any on invitations and made an informative wedding website instead.

So apparently, a dream wedding can also be budget-realistic and Kriszia & Raymond's wedding really proved that to be true. How about you? How would you save budget for your dream wedding? Share tips in the comments section below to help other brides planning their wedding as well!