Image: Lum3n
Every Saturday, there is another Nigerian wedding to witness! But, one thing is for sure, the cost for one wedding is different from the other. For Nigerian weddings, a few things can affect your final wedding spend - how well you can negotiate with vendors, any family and friends discounts, etc.
However, no matter what your wedding looks like, certain expenses are hard to exclude from your budget. You’re following, abi? Think of the below items as a checklist to guide your wedding planning, so you don’t realise that you have not sorted out catering or photography two weeks to your wedding - wahala!
1. Venue
Except you plan to hold your wedding in your personal residence, paying for a wedding venue is unavoidable. Your wedding venue is key to a successful wedding event; it’s the beautifully decorated place that holds all your guests to celebrate with you.
Another associated cost with renting an external venue is decoration. The type of venue you choose will influence your decoration needs, e.g., hotels may require less decoration because they tend to look nice already.
2. Food & Drinks
If you know Nigerians, you know that we don’t play with our food. Good food adds to the experience; if the catering is good, your event will be memorable in the minds of your guests.
How much you spend on food & drinks is majorly influenced by the number of your guests. Other factors include the type of food or drink (Nigerian vs. continental or alcohol drinks vs. non-alcoholic drinks) and the number of courses served.
3. Photography and Videography
Your wedding day is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life, so why not document it? Hiring a media team means that you can look back and reminisce about your wedding day through well-captured pictures and videos.
The number of events you have will affect your media budget, as professionals will typically charge more for capturing multiple events. Another thing that can influence your spending is extra costs related to vendors traveling for your wedding - accommodation and travel fare.
4. Wedding Attire
Our dear bride or groom, it’s your wedding; play dress up and have fun! Brides will need a wedding dress for their religious or traditional ceremony and accessories from shoes to jewelry. Grooms are not left out,
A bit of an obvious one, but your number of outfits will impact your wedding attire spend. With wedding attire, you can go as glam as you wish, so be clear on how much you want to spend from the start!
5. Wedding Rings
Rings are the number one wedding jewelry! In Ancient Greek methodology, it’s believed that the finger wedding rings are widened and are directly connected to a vein that leads to the heart!!
Yes, spending a fortune on your rings can be enticing because they are your forever lovers’ mark, but consider other alternatives. The good news is gold, diamond, and platinum rings are not the only types out there; they are just the most expensive. Other options such as silver, steel, or tungsten rings can look just as good and cost several times less than gold.
6. Wedding Planner
Some couples prefer to plan their weddings themselves, and all goes well. And some like having someone else do the bulk of the planning work because of convenience or lack of experience. Hiring a wedding planner is not the cheapest thing, but it is a service that has helped some couples survive wedding planning.
Wedding planning agencies range from standard to luxury, so choose a planner that fits within your budget. Also, their pricing differs by package - you would typically pay more for packages where the planner is more hands-on vs. a package where they only handle on-the-day coordination.
Your wedding budget is very personal - even with the detail we have provided on certain typical wedding planning costs, it all still depends on how much you are willing to spend! How much can a couple and their families raise comfortably for this wedding event? Avoid going off and spending all your money on wedding expenses. Be wise, shine your eyes well well.