What is the budget? 😰

If you are preparing to be a 2017/2018 bride 👰🏾 then you must have already heard this question a couple of times. Do you wonder why everybody keeps asking you that question? 

I am sure some brides will be having the thoughts below;

• I am asking you how much it cost and you are asking me for budget?
• How do I know how much to budget for, when I don’t know how much it costs? 

My dear, please note that it is very important to have a budget. It makes it easier for vendors to know what you can afford and what exactly to do for you.

There are 2 ways I personally think you can draw your budget.
First is by considering the kind of wedding you want (whether big or small, traditional or white wedding)
The fact that a wedding may seem small to you doesn’t mean it is less expensive. 
The number of guests invited to a wedding determines the size of a wedding. In Ghana, I believe any number under 200 people is termed as small. 
After determining the kind of wedding you want, make a list of all the things you will need. If you are not sure, you can get a wedding planning app to help you.
When you have the list ready, start assigning to individual items how much money you are willing to spend on them. This way is very advisable for anyone with limited funds. 

Second is, after listing all the things needed determine also the details of each item. eg; a natural bouquet is definitely going to cost more than an artificial bouquet. 
You can now get vendors to help you with how much the items cost. If you are satisfied with the amount, you can then start assigning them to the items. 

Do you feel the total amount is too much? 
Surprised at how much weddings cost these days? 

Below is how you can start cutting your costs to reduce your budget. 

DIY – It is not necessary to spend so much on invite cards, if you have a friend or a sibling who is good with designing you can even ask them to help you. You can also get someone who would make it good enough and at a lesser fee. What else can you do yourself? Go ahead if you can afford something extravagant, besides you are paying for it 😃

What is more important? 

If you initially wanted natural orchids for your bouquet you can change to artificial or something other than orchids. Applying this strategy means you are prioritizing the important items over special effects and that will help you beat down budget. Do you want an exotic lady to come and play the cello as you walk down the aisle or you will just go with the old piano in your church? Do you really need that celebrity MC for the reception? 

Decor – it is difficult beating this down but you can sit with your vendor to cut down on some of the items in the package. Centerpieces can be changed for something simpler, you can forfeit the fancy chairs for something also presentable but less expensive, etc 

Transportation – if you have a close relative with a good and a presentable looking car and the person doesn’t have a problem giving it out to you to use then take that opportunity other than going to rent a luxury at a very high fee. 

Reception Venue – if your church has a big space or compound you can consider using that space and save yourself some good cash. 

RSVP – this is an abbreviation of a French phrase, which means to reply to the invite. It is used at the end of invitations to request for a response. In Ghana we rather use the contact numbers for this to call and ask for directions. Why don’t you use the RSVP for its main purpose? You can insist on your RSVP with a time period where your guests have to respond to confirm, this is to help plan on how many guests you can entertain so that you don’t hear your caterer advising you to cater for additional 100 people for overflow or your decor guy telling you to rent more chairs also for overflow, remember that while you keep giving room to overflow your budget is also going to overflow.

This sample RSVP has a deadline and a menu choice PhotoCredit: Invitations by Ajalon

Keeping the menu simple – This is the most expensive item on your budget. you and your caterer can come up with at most three dishes on a menu where your guests can pick a dish while they respond to your RSVP, with this, you cater for only those that responded and also what they chose. 

Number of guests – cut down guest list. Have in mind that the more people you invite the more you have to increase everything in number and as you increase the items the more the budget is going to skyrocket.

If you take time to plan very well, stay focused and discipline enough to stay on the budget you will be surprised how you can arrive at a very classy but cost effective wedding. 

My dear bride if you have enough funds to spend and have the classy wedding you have always dreamt of, please go ahead. As I mentioned earlier, you are paying for it. 😃

thebigDUHBYUH is always here to assist. Leave your questions below if you have any.

Next post will be on body type and the dress to marry in

FIRST THINGS FIRST

I hope you are excited reading this topic as I was when writing 😀
In Ghana, most brides plan their own wedding and some do it very well 👌🏽

Have you wondered the most important thing to consider first when you decide to plan your wedding? 

Most of us move straight to the DRESS 👗 😍 and go online to search for really beautiful gowns and ideas.

Let me be real here, it’s not like I knew this when I was planning my own wedding. This only came to mind when I was drafting my previous post and was having a conversation with a friend and giving her pointers. So I asked her, what condition is your skin now? As soon as I asked her I realized she wasn’t the only one I asked this same question. 
The first thing you should do when you decide to have a wedding is to go stand in front of a mirror and examine your full body, if you like what you see then keep up whatever you are doing to stay in your element 🙌🏽 

In case there are issues here and there then you need to work on it. It is important to look your best because if you will agree with me, when you look good you are more confident and happier as an individual.

I know there are things that we don’t have control over and whatever we do can never change, examples are hairline, skin color, body type, etc. you should also know that you are beautiful and unique in your own way and need to be proud of your looks no matter what, however; there are a few things we have control over and can enhance to look better. 😃

If you think you look good or feel you are in your best element and are happy with how you look now, wait until you try the beauty tips below;

• Eating a well balanced diet everyday

• Drinking enough water everyday 

• Exercising 

• Resting 

• Natural skin treatment twice a week 

• And doing more of what makes you happy 😊 

These things are to help you prepare and plan your body and mind too, if you ask me I think your body and mind are the most important. Often times we forget to put ourselves(body) on the list of things needed for an up coming event and then last minute try to find things that can work fast for us. 

Why would you wait till some few weeks to the wedding then you start starving yourself so that your tummy doesn’t protrude in the dress? Or try to get body creams to help glow your skin when the event is in the next 5 days? 

Dear “brides to be” please avoid cutting corners and stay away from quick action remedies. Put yourself on the list and have a stress free happy planning. 
Some of these shortcuts may compromise your looks, what if the tube cream you got to make your skin glow results in rashes? Or the intense diet plan makes you ill? Please you need your strength for the event.

EAT WELL

Eating a well balanced diet, we all know is not only good to our health but also makes us look good. Substituting more fruits and vegetables in your diet will keep your skin glowing. It also means your calorie intake is reduced and you don’t gain unwanted weight. 

DRINK WATER 

I know you don’t want me to start blabbering about the benefits of drinking lots of water. I remember reading somewhere that Gabrielle Union stated that her secret to looking young and pretty is by drinking lots of water. Funny story, come and see me and a colleague in the office, we drank so much water that week, I think we abused it 🤣

SLEEP

The best form of rest is sleep. When you hear some people say that they need to get their beauty sleep, it’s not just a catchy saying, it is actually true.

Now I want you to compare your face on two different mornings, one when you woke up very satisfied with the amount of time you slept and the other when you didn’t have enough sleep. You will look refreshed and your face also doesn’t look tired when you have a good rest. So make sure to rest enough. 

EXERCISE 

You don’t need to do any strenuous exercise. I believe any activity that makes you sweat is a form of exercise, so make it fun and decide on how you want to trim down. You can decide to work on only the parts of your body that needs trimming, like your tummy and arms. You can find millions of routines online to help you trim and stay fit.

TREAT YOUR SKIN

You don’t have to spend a fortune to have a good skin. It is understandable that some people’s DNA and other conditions make this part a little difficult but all the same I believe the natural treatment works for everybody no matter what, you just need to find what works best for you, know your skin type (dry, sensitive, oily, etc) and what substance (natural ingredient) you can stand. 

You can find most of these natural ingredients in your kitchen.
Listed below are a few I know about; 

Lemons

Tomatoes 

Eggs 

Milk

Baking soda 

Sugar 

Oats 
Talking about a few I have used before; I know lemon is very good for me, it is harsh when I have scratches on my skin but aside that I love using lemon on my skin. 

How to use lemon 🍋 

1. Cut lemon into half and squeeze out the juice in your palm

2. Apply on the entire area you wish to treat especially your face and neck.

3. Now wait for 30 mins and wash if off with lukewarm water.

Lemon + Baking Soda 

1. Take a desired amount of baking soda 

2. Squeeze out some lemon juice

3. Add the juice to the power and make a paste 

4. Use it as a face mask 

How to use tomatoes 🍅 

Cut into halfs, get the juice and the “meat” out, apply on skin (face and neck or desired area)

Tomato 🍅 + oats 

Blend the oats 

Add tomato juice and “meat” to oats, make a paste 

Use it as a face mask 

 
Lemon juice+ sugar 

You can use this combination as a scrub.

Note: Pleas make sure you know your skin type before using any of these ingredients and do not ❌ let it stay for too long on your skin, 30 minutes is fine.
You will find a whole lot of simple natural skin treatment on Pinterest. 
And last on the list of todo is;

DOING MORE OF WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY

Mine is listening to good music 🎶

Next post will be about budget and the kind of wedding you want 😀

Choosing Your Colors

According to dictionary.com, color is the quality of an object when light reflects on it. The color is determined by saturation and brightness of the reflected light.

If you didn’t know, colors have meanings and may be used differently by many groups of people; a very good example is the Catholic Church and the various colors used for their masses.
There are many reasons why one may choose a particular color for her wedding. 
Some people choose colors because; 

• It’s their favorite.

• of the universal meaning of the color.

• of the skin tone of whoever will be donning the color. 

Mostly colors contribute to beauty, that is why it is very important when it comes to weddings. Always ensure that you have the right color of shade or code. 

A friend instructed her event planners to use Wine and Gold (more wine and hints of gold) for her wedding decor. When she got to the venue (both church and reception), they had used red and yellow (and this was 50% each). Imagine red and yellow, it was just too much. This is a true story and I was there 😬

Here the same colors have been used in a certain ratio that makes it really cool. Red is dominating and the yellow is just a hint. Now consider the situation where three of the maids are in red gowns and two in yellow gowns and make it worse by giving those in red gowns, yellow bouquet and vice versa, the whole idea is even hurting my brain 😨

Things may not always be as you have planned but this is something that can be avoided. If you are swamped, assign some of the duties to your siblings or friends to follow up, that is why there are bridesmaids or groomsmen and not to just follow you down the aisle or join you for pictures.

My dear “brides to be”, please don’t choose a color because it is your favorite or because it looks good on you or because someone used it and it was lovely or because that is the color you have always had in mind for your wedding when you were growing up. 
If you will agree with me, brides mostly wear white, ivory, champagne, etc, unless you are not the traditional kind of bride, so I don’t understand why you will choose a color because it looks good on you when you won’t even be wearing that color or because it is your favorite when it doesn’t even suit your bridesmaids’ skin tone.
Mostly the color you choose will be worn by your maids so consider them when choosing. It could also be that your favorite color which has a very good meaning universally, suits your maids’ skin tone. Lucky you! Go ahead and use it 😀

Pastels

Want to know what to choose for your groom and groomsmen, for their ties and vests?  You will never go wrong with pastels or any neutral palette and this includes black and white.

Considering two or more colors for the whole ceremony? Consider monochrome.

You want to use two completely different colors? I personally think you should dominate one color and then the other should just be hints (some colors combine better in ratios)

Monochrome

If you are not good with colors, seek help when choosing for an event as important as your wedding.

thebigDUHB-YUH is always here to help 😀
Next post will be on the first thing you should actually consider when you decide to have a wedding. 



Making it your own

I spent so much time working on my first post but last minute decision has caused me to hold on with it and post this instead.
*Making it your own*

Every bride wants to have a classy wedding no matter big or small. 

I believe you can achieve this when you make it your own. Often times people take a lot of great ideas from other weddings and put all together. These ideas as individuals are really great but when they come together as a unit seem out of place.

There is nothing wrong with having a great idea but you should know how to use it to make the idea achieve its purpose.

Consider two weddings.
Wedding A(very classy) and wedding B(not so cool 😬).

Whether you like it or not there is a similarity between these two.

Everybody knows there is always

A gown/dress ✅

A bouquet 💐✅

Decor ✅

Music 🎶✅

Food ✅

Rings ✅

Colors ✅

Bridal makeup 💄✅

and so on n so forth but some weddings come out really classy n others, 😬❓

So what goes wrong⁉️Trust me it is not always about money 💰 

When I talk about “making it your own” I don’t mean deviating from the traditional ways. I only mean not doing things because you saw someone do it and it was nice.

You can make it your own by;

• Choosing an amazing theme 

• Use of color 

• Some form of entertainment for the reception 

• Your own processional/recessional tune

• your gift favors, etc 
If you are not creative or great with ideas you can seek help and advice from a friend who’s wedding was really cool or anyone you believe will give you amazing ideas. 

You don’t want to wait till after the wedding and regret not asking for help.

the big DUHB-YUH is always here to help 😀

Next post will be on colors