Perspective

Wedding Costs: Singaporeans Share What Their Biggest Waste Of Money Was

Saving Money On Wedding

Let’s be real, brides-to-be can sometimes go overboard when planning their wedding. Most want a grand celebration because, if everything goes well, you only get married once.

But after the wedding and honeymoon bliss wears off, they realise splurging S$12,000 on a tulip arch or buying five gowns was unnecessary.

To save a pretty penny and prevent buyer’s regret, we scoured this Reddit thread to find out what married couples feel they should have saved on during their big day.

Having more than one wedding dress

“My two wedding dresses. Looking back, I feel really stupid for spending so much money on two dresses that I wore only once.”

“They were both bespoke pieces from JessicaCindy, so think of the highest price you would pay for two wedding dress and add a zero behind that.”
penguinQP

Alternatively, you could get a dress from Taobao or other online retail sites, and then bring it to the tailor to have it altered. This way, you avoid spending S$2000 on dress rental and have a dress which fits amazing for less than S$500.

The wedding banquet itself

“Wasting money on nosy relatives (they will never ever be happy, no matter how much you spend on their welcome). #ICouldHaveGotAnExoticHoneymoon.”
13peejay

“Spent tens/hundreds of thousands for one extravagant night to please people that wouldn’t likely give AF. Use the money for yourselves instead; house, furniture, baby, honeymoon.“
Jlonso

“That is why I told my friends if I ever get married (probably won’t) they won’t know it because fk the wedding ceremony. Not only do you waste money, you force other people to waste money for you by giving red packets.”
Nomasturchief117

Having a ballroom wedding

“Having to find enough people to fill the hotel ballroom to hit the minimum tables was a chore. My wife didn’t have many friends, and neither did I (we both spent some time overseas working or studying). But parents still wanted a ballroom wedding.”
ilovepinknips

 

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Designer wedding rings

“The designer wedding rings! We should’ve just bought from the mall for half the price LOL.”
TylerDurdensCult

Some users also mentioned they found diamond rings to be a “scam”.

“Idk how to buy diamond rings online here but that’s the best option. Even paying import tax might be worth it. But other rocks are a better choice or even a normal ring that you can wear frequently after the wedding.”
Pannerin

Photo albums for pre-wedding shots

“Photo albums and…. diamond ring.”
LamPard31

“Photo albums are bulky things that today lie in some dark storage in my mom’s house—TOTAL WASTAGE.”
13peejay

“Married for 5 years, photos taken 6 years ago. Time looked at the big grand album after wedding night = 1.”
kFG7ddeDgQ

One user, reize, mentioned how he avoided buying photo packages with albums and outfits. Instead, he splurged on makeup artists and a professional photographer for the actual day. The images were then shared digitally with family and friends, the nicest shots framed, and the rest duplicated and stored in hard drives.

Often, good photographers don’t come cheap. But expensive doesn’t always deliver quality.

Spending On Weddings

However you choose to say “I do”, it’s important not to saddle yourself in debt. You don’t want to spend the first ten years of married life stressing over money. So spend responsibly and if you can afford a baller wedding, congrats!

Cover image: Source
This post was first published by Cheryl Chiew on 7 September 2018 and last updated by Nicole Yong on 6 September 2023.

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Team Zula

By the ZULA team.