Wedding Koozies

My grandparents have just celebrated their 25th year anniversary. Mom and her siblings thought to give them a grand celebration. They came up with this idea to have them take their second wedding after twenty five years. I know what all of you are thinking. Cool, right? While, some of you might be thinking it was impractical. I would say, no. This is the wedding that did not have to be costly. Yes, there was a reception, visitors were from different provinces so there was a need to plan for their accommodation, and there was catering and all that. Everything as if my grandparents were marrying for the first time. But, believe me; events like this need not be dreaded that you might be blowing away significant amount of money.

Everyone has their share of contribution. The invitations and giveaways were prepared by my youngest aunt, mom was in charge of the reception, their cousins took care of the food and drinks, video and photographs were taken cared by other relatives, mom’s oldest sister took care of the church scheduling with the priest and many others worked with everyone to make the wedding possible. Everyone has their own designated task to do. So, the whole thing went really smooth and manageable.

The reception was held at the ancestral house, so there was no need for them to spend for a place, which could have cost them some more cash. Tables and chairs for the visitors were hand-crafted by my uncle and some friends. We borrowed loud speakers for the sound system and all else that was needed were provided by friends and friends of friends.

I could not believe how the wedding went just as perfectly as we planned without much expense. I have heard of people complaining about wedding expenses and some rather avoid a wedding ceremony and reception. But my grandparents’ second wedding and 25th anniversary celebration is a proof that we can in fact go on with any wedding plan (or celebration for that matter) that would not require considerable amount of money. This is by having people to help with all the preparations and planning. Yes, planning is very important especially if there is budget constraint. Just considering how much could be spent for occasions like this would make you lose hope that you can still pursue with the plan. But if you are resourceful enough and if you have long list of friends, you almost have everything that you will ever need.

To plan for a cost-friendly wedding, it is important to list all that needs to be worked on from wedding church to visitors’ accommodation and fare. Everything should be written down on paper and you have to make sure that you don’t miss a thing. Once everything is written down, think of people who could contribute and help. Contact the people you think that can help or lend you some things that are necessary for the event. And weeks before the wedding and reception, make sure you have everything all ready.

Although, this option is very much helpful, you have to know that you will still have to shell-out some cash. You cannot expect everything to be free of charge. There are things that are not under your control like the wedding ceremony and minister fees, cost of menus, and still many others. This option only can help you spend less.

Wedding practicality is being a practice right now in my country. Because of poverty it’s really practical to be wed in front of a Mayor or even a judge. In that case you will not be forced to invite a lot of people and accommodate them by giving a wonderful party. You can keep your marriage a secret too because no one will know. But it’s your choice if you won’t allow anyone to know.

And how about mass wedding? It’s very common to a lot of people. I’ve always heard it from the news that even those couples being married for 50 years attended the mass wedding. They are so sweet, can you imagine that! I hope we as couples can last that long too. They are really made for each other and it’s their fate to be as one for the rest of their lives. Mass wedding is very useful for a lot of government officials too here in the Philippines especially policemen. Well I got it from the news too a couple of days ago. Some can’t afford to pay attention on having a simple or even a grand wedding because of busy and threatening schedules. But for me if they really love each other they should atleast gave attention to that matter.

If a couple really loves each other there’s no hindrance to be wed because there’s a lot of options and it’s for you to choose. I remember the day when we are planning our wedding, they said that we will be having a simple wedding because of financial reasons but in the end although it’s not that large I could not consider it as a simple one.

Some argue that a wedding should only be about the couple and their love. But I argue that it is a family affair. Your family is yours forever and on our wedding day, in addition to exchanging vows, we are standing up there so that our loved ones may share in our joy. Having a close-knit family like I do, take every measure to ensure that they are welcomed and comfortable on your wedding day, even if it inconveniences you a little.
We even should take care of our in-law, showing them that our marriage is a marriage of our family as well. Introductions from one family to another must be done. Nothing can beat seeing two families unite for the purpose of love. Groom & bride, I believe we must exert effort to make the party lively. Having a wedding party is for others to see how love grows in us. We kept our wedding as a family affair and didn’t turn it into a society event.

I didn’t know planning the wedding is almost as tough as maintaining a marriage. If you are attending a wedding as a guest and you are just observing things, it would only seem like everything is so smooth and orderly. But the scenario behind the preparation is not even a bit close to this. From the preparation of invitation letters, to the wedding cake, to the wedding rings and many others all require careful planning. And talk about the expenses. When I was younger, it didn’t really occur to me to even ask who pays for everything. The wedding cake alone eats up a big portion of the budget. But when you are a kid, you just enjoy the event as if it is just one short-lived occasion. People will come and people will go. In fact, it really looks as simple as that but truth of the matter is, planning a wedding is a chore. More so, it is pain in the pocket. Who really pays for all the wedding costs by the way?

Traditionally, the groom pays for the bride’s ring, for his attire, marriage license, accommodations for groomsmen, gifts, flowers, corsages, honeymoon, transportation , fee for the wedding priest and for some other small stuffs I forgot to mention. Nowadays, the total expenses are being shouldered by both bride and groom. This is of course, a relief for the groom. Wedding costs are becoming more and more demanding these days. Maybe it’s the reason why present-day couples resolve to just living-in together.