Cost of wedding, does this sound ok/normal/ridiculous/rip-off/stop moaning Ian etc?

[Lhailhani]

haha i bet .. Sept is cooler than April...

[WhiteBloodAda]

That's nice.... But it's November I need to worry about

[Lhailhani]

not that hot no worries wheewww morning now and im still awake

[WhiteBloodAda]

no point going to bed now haha

[Lhailhani]

Mornight!

[WhiteBloodAda]

Nighning!

[Rhose]

saw the blog site.. why don't you try inquiries in OASIS somewhere in QC too..

OASIS is a bit of expensive when it comes to wedding venue..try to watch my video sis, http://youtu.be/8h4hqBHJnyE
taken from Blue Gardens

[Lhailhani]

yup watched lil part of it.. as weddings is my frustration hahs...cant stand with the song too nice place too!

[Rory]

I only got married in May this year and i made it the best day of my wife's life, so far. I will not go in to detail of the cost of it all but it was big. We set a budget for the wedding and i think it was doubled in the end.
As what has been said before, everyone is different and has different budgets. A lot of the advice on here is meaningless as you know what you can afford or what you are willing to pay. As long as you are married and start the visa process rolling, is that not what really counts.
As Lastlid's wife says 1k - 50k, there is no set price as we are all different.

[Rhose]

yup watched lil part of it.. as weddings is my frustration hahs...cant stand with the song too nice place too!

soon we will hear from you about your wedding..

[Lhailhani]

hahahaha Rhose..... u just made me laugh really...

[grahame]

Interesting reading all this!

My wife and I married over 6 years ago in Leyte and arranged everything ourselves and with family. We catered for 150 but fed more like 200 - it isn't the food that will cost you, it is the San Miguel. Even so, a huge party, a lot of fun, plenty of Lechon (we slaughtered two pigs at around 5000 each), too much beer - a day to remember all round. Total cost was WAY under 50,000.

Sounds like your suspicions are correct.

Good luck with it all.

Grahame.

[lastlid]

I only got married in May this year and i made it the best day of my wife's life, so far. I will not go in to detail of the cost of it all but it was big. We set a budget for the wedding and i think it was doubled in the end.
As what has been said before, everyone is different and has different budgets. A lot of the advice on here is meaningless as you know what you can afford or what you are willing to pay. As long as you are married and start the visa process rolling, is that not what really counts.
As Lastlid's wife says 1k - 50k, there is no set price as we are all different.

Lastlid's work colleague.

Yes, I suppose its like buying a car. On the one hand a Smart car might be enough or on the other a Ferrari. Depends on your taste and budget and priorities.

[Steve.r]

Depends on our taste and budget and priorities.

and some people like to squeeze every last penny out of you .... if you let them

[freyter]

150k Pesos is not expensive for what it sounds like you're getting. I got married in the Philippines in April and I would say that that was what about what I ended up paying. I know I was getting a fair price as my wife arranged most of it, dealing with family and local providers.

One cow = about 18000 pesos
One pig = about 4000 pesos.

...to give you an idea of what you should be paying for the meat. If it's in Manila though, probably add 1000-2000 pesos to those prices.

There were lots of guests at my wedding who I didn't know...But the thinking is that not only you invite people who are well known to you or your wife - family or friends - but those who are important to the family and village/community as a whole. A wedding is a really important community event, especially if it's a special one that would be way beyond the budget of most Filipinos. If one family member knows about a wedding, they'll also bring their relatives. It's normal.

So I'd say let your wife shine on her special day and go with the expense. The people who attend the wedding will have the chance to share a special experience they may not ever have again.

[Steve.r]

I have been a guest at several weddings in Phils, and the bride can 'shine' even on a small budget, not everyone can afford to feed the extended family and hangers on. Why, just because you are a westerner do they/you expect an expensive wedding that they would normally only dream of.
If your wedding is on a smaller more modest budget, everyone helps and it makes the celebrations far more intimate and memorable. Of course, pay your way to happiness, but I fear you will be making a rod for your own back.

[grahamw48]

I'm loving reading about all the money I saved.

[Steve.r]

I'm loving reading about all the money I saved.

Me too... it's just crazy

[lastlid]

I have been a guest at several weddings in Phils, and the bride can 'shine' even on a small budget, not everyone can afford to feed the extended family and hangers on. Why, just because you are a westerner do they/you expect an expensive wedding that they would normally only dream of.
If your wedding is on a smaller more modest budget, everyone helps and it makes the celebrations far more intimate and memorable. Of course, pay your way to happiness, but I fear you will be making a rod for your own back.

I think I posted earlier that both my wife's sisters had nice church wedding packages and the weddings/receptions themselves were more lavish compared to ours. Both married Filipinos (one of which is a Filipino OFW). But we had the more lavish honeymoon. It was my wife that wanted it that way. I just went with what she wanted.

[RickyR]

Without a doubt, for just catering that sounds very expensive. I'd recommend planning exactly what you need and getting things separately from different suppliers.

When we had our wedding last year I was living in Cebu and we didn't use friends or family for anything. We directly approached suppliers and venues, and negotiated/played them off against each other. We had an amazing wedding, for a lot less then we expected.

Determine why you want, buy the cake, rings, photographer, venue, lechon baboy, drinks, transport all separately.

Its not about the cost, it's about getting what you deserve. For 150,000 you could expect n awful lot more.

[lastlid]

Without a doubt, for just catering that sounds very expensive. I'd recommend planning exactly what you need and getting things separately from different suppliers.

When we had our wedding last year I was living in Cebu and we didn't use friends or family for anything. We directly approached suppliers and venues, and negotiated/played them off against each other. We had an amazing wedding, for a lot less then we expected.

Determine why you want, buy the cake, rings, photographer, venue, lechon baboy, drinks, transport all separately.

Its not about the cost, it's about getting what you deserve. For 150,000 you could expect n awful lot more.

AKA. Value for money.

[freyter]

I did mean to add that in the £2k I spent there would have been my flight there and back too....Sorry if I made it sound far more expensive than it was...

[lastlid]

I did mean to add that in the £2k I spent there would have been my flight there and back too....Sorry if I made it sound far more expensive than it was...

I never considered my flight to the Philippines to be part of the cost of the wedding. But I can see how you might think of it in that way.

[MissAna]

i did not know getting married in the philippines is sooooooooooooo expensive!!! i'm having doubts now for another wedding there

[Lhailhani]

No wedding anymore for me hahaha...way too expensive

[Steve.r]

i did not know getting married in the philippines is sooooooooooooo expensive!!! i'm having doubts now for another wedding there

No wedding anymore for me hahaha...way too expensive

Exactly my point, there is no need.

I think some people get sucked into the whole over the top idea of what the media thinks makes a good wedding. The thing that gets lost is the fact that the day is all about 2 people making life long committment because they love eachother ... nothing else.

[Lhailhani]

I AGREE Steve!! thats the point

[RickyR]

Whilst I partly agree, for most women they dream about their wedding from childhood. It means a lot to celebrate in front of family, and be proud.
In almost every culture and religion weddings are momentous occasions.
For some members here the wedding will be their second or third, yet it will probably be the first for their future wife.
You don't need to spend tens of thousands, but if you really love the person you should at least make the most effort for it to be special.

My wedding wasn't particularly expensive <£2000 . But involved us getting married in a church, booking out an entire beach resort, having amazing caterers, unlimited bar, lechon baboy, special favours etc my parents and a friend came from the UK to make it extra special.
We couldn't have dreamt of a wedding like that in the UK.

[Lhailhani]

[monkey]

Hi, from my own experience having got married 2 years ago in Philippines. Is that you can do a lot with that amount of money for a wedding. for me this is including all the paper work needed 60,000 pesos. so lets say £1000 that was for the wedding , priest, rented a bar for 3 hrs had family friends good parent/witness,etc. some 50 people all together. food for all. had drinks back at our own place which is where we safed our money. 500 pesos for kareoke job done .