Your Most Important Day, the Hippo Way

Planning for the big day? Let hippo help you.

Weddings are a personal reflection of the special couple. A wedding day is a memorable celebration with family and friends as the happy couple sets off on a new life journey. When planning your wedding day, it really is about having your dreams come alive, but that can be pricey. Luckily, hippo.co.za has some awesome money saving tips to help you plan and pay for a dream wedding! Wouldn’t it be awesome to have some money left in the bank for the honeymoon?

Let’s dive in with some tips.

Prioritise

The most important question to ask is: what is important to you as a couple? Think of the must-haves, the would-likes, and the not-so-important. The first step in planning your wedding is setting your budget. The big things you’ll need to budget for are the wedding dress, venue, food, photographers, videographers, music, and bar service. List these in order of importance to help establish priorities in terms of the budget.

Guests

A wedding is a celebration of you as a couple and so it should be celebrated with those nearest and dearest. Keep your guest list short and sweet, only inviting the A-listers, and scrapping the B and C list. At your wedding, much of your time will be spent chatting to guests, so invite only those you want to spend time with.

You can also choose a smaller venue, limiting how many people you can invite.

Food and Catering

A delicious menu is always an important part of the day. A cost-effective alternative to the plated meal is often a buffet, selecting your yummiest dishes and having them all set out for your guests to choose from. This can be a massive cost-saver while still being delicious.

If plated dining is your thing, consider serving only two courses; if the food is really good, your guests will remember the quality, not the quantity. You can also cut costs simply by choosing local, seasonal ingredients and dishes. In South Africa, we have a great selection of local produce right on our doorstep, but fresh strawberries may cost you dearly if you’re adding them to the menu of your winter wonderland wedding.  

Venue and Date

Saturday is typically the most expensive day to get married as it’s the most popular. Pick another day of the week and your venue, caterers, and the photographer may just give you a nice discount. Better still – have your wedding during the off-peak season too (autumn and winter) and you could see your wedding bill seriously slashed. And who doesn’t like autumn-tones? Morning and afternoon weddings are trending right now and guests may enjoy brunching or lunching.

Many venues are all-inclusive and provide all the requirements for the day. This can seriously reduce cost and time finding external providers for all the accessories and services.

The Wedding Dress

Whether you want a low-key A-line or a fabulously daring wedding dress, check online – there are often brilliant options without compromising on the look you want.

Also, consider renting a dress for a fraction of the cost, use a local dressmaker, or shop in the winter season when bridal dresses are often on sale.

Invitations

Let’s go paperless! It’s the way of the future. Not only will this save you money on the design of the invitation, but on the posting too. There are many online templates, giving you the look and feel of a professionally designed invitation without the cost of trying to outdo anyone else.

The big day is a coming-together of two people deeply in love, and after the last drops of your favourite bubbles are swallowed, and the sound of the band fades away into the night, there is a lifetime to look forward to. It is wonderful to have a memorable celebration, but even more important is the chance to share many more moments in happiness and harmony.

Prices quoted are correct at the time of publishing this article. The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or medical advice.