How to Plan A Frugal (but not cheap!) Wedding

There are many ways to make your dream wedding come true without drowning in debt afterwards. Going frugal in your budget does not mean you will choose cheap wedding suppliers; being frugal bride and groom means allocating the budget to the top priority wedding suppliers.

Just recently I met the most frugal couple I've met in this life. We met two years before their wedding day when the couple reached out to me via email asking for wedding planning packages. We discussed what they wanted to inculde in the package and what things should be omitted. The bride has clear vision on what she wants for her wedding and how much they are going to spend for it. 

The Surprising Twist

Their wedding was nothing like mainstream weddings. It was extraordinary in so many ways. Here were the ways their wedding stood out from every wedding event I have ever handled:

FRUGALITY. 

SIMPLICTY. 

ELEGANCE.

Most weddings I've handled have all the bling, glitz and glamour but not this wedding. 

First, they have NO Best Man, Maid of Honor, Bridesmaids, Groomsmen, Flower Girls and Bearer Boys. The bride requested her sister to secure the rings and the coins that will be used in the ceremony. 

Family of the Bride

Second, the bride only wanted Baby's Breath for the wedding aisle and nothing more. She had that radiance ever since that morning!

Third, the couple wanted corsage (buottonierres) only for everyone else, including the female principal sponsors which were usually holding a bouquet of flowers in my past weddings. Nonetheless, the principal sponsors were more than glad to know that the couple chose minimal fresh flowers to save on costs and spend the budget on something of more value.

Fourth, they had not printed official invitation cards but instead used electronic mails to invite everyone. They also wanted an unplugged wedding as indicated and it was a solemn ceremony! As their Davao Emcee, I reminded the guests to turn off their phones during the ceremony. Their guests were very supportive by not using their phones especially during the bridal march! They had AMAZING GUESTS indeed!

Fifth, the reception decors centered on the woodsy rustic theme. The bride loved wood and she drew what she wanted to include in their reception venue. I had to provide the nearest materials similar to what she envisioned. The entertainment did not involve a professional wedding band but instead it was composed of raw unadulterated presentations from the couple and their families! Such a talented family converging to another exceptionally talented family! 
 

And of course, I was the Master of Ceremony during their reception program. We talked over a couple of years ago and they specifically requested me to host their wedding! Being my expertise, I gladly accepted. Being a Davao Emcee, I want the clients to express their emotions just as it comes! Just look at those happy faces (including mine!) during the entrance of the newlyweds! I love to see newlyweds flashing their happy smiles and laughter because I irked them to!

One thing was TOP PRIORITY  for these lovebirds - FOOD!
Chippens Catering was known as institution when it comes to Catering Company in Davao City. They have been in the business since time imemorial. The couple wanted to satisfy the palate of their guests and leave them wanting nothing. So the majority of the budget went to the FOOD! Salome's Garden never disappoint!

With the expertise of Michael Creations Photography in collaboration with DeeGee Sounds and Lights and Leah Jacobe Weddings and Events Team, their happy wedding moments were beautifully captured, smoothly organized and well cherished and preserved for years!

Theirs was the most frugal wedding I was ever part with but with all the right reasons! They didn't go broke after the wedding and yet the had a beautiful wedding day to remember!

Cheers to more beautiful moments in your marriage! Toast to the newlyweds Lyell and JD Escoto!

My Journey in the Events and Wedding Industry

 One day, I got an email from a group of HRM students asking if they could set an interview with me. Here below are the questions they asked and the answers I provided. It made me realized how far I've come along in this journey to the Events and Weddings industry.

  ____________________________________________

How long have you’ve been an event organizer?

I’ve been an event organizer for 8 years. I started full wedding and events planning in 2011.

What motivates you to be an Event Organizer?

        My motivation is seeing couples and clients happy because I helped them achieve a memorable, beautiful and organized event. Creating venue and floral designs give me a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.

What is your professional background?

    
I graduated in the year 2007 with the degree in Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Ateneo De Davao University. I became a Registered Nurse in 2008 and practiced the profession for a short time while I did emceeing gigs on the side during free time. It was during my emceeing experience I got transitioned into the events industry. I left my job as a nurse and pursued a career in online writing with a home-based company. During any free time, I hosted parties, debuts, weddings until I decided to enroll in a crash course in Event Planning in the later months of 2010. The following year 2011, I was already booking clients on wedding, birthday and debut planning. I left my online writing career in 2014 to pursue full time in the events industry. In 2017, I was able to have my business registered in the bureau of business and bureau of internal revenue to pay appropriate taxes.

Can you narrate your most unforgettable experience as Event organizer?

There are many unforgettable experiences I’ve had as an Event Organizer. Perhaps I would share the most recent (and most painful) instead. It happened last year 2018 when a bride, who apparently has indecision issues, changed her mind last minute about her wedding dress that she has paid in full. The dress was beautiful but she didn’t like it when she wore it. She rented another gown. Later, after the event, she wanted a full refund of the dress. I was trapped in the crossfire between her and the seamstress that I recommended. It was so stressful. It lasted for many months until we all have come to a compromise. She berated my performance during the event and forgot to acknowledge all the effort I made. Their wedding was beautiful but all she could see were my lapses. She listed all the mistakes I had but thankfully she sent it in a private message.

What are the lessons you have learned from this experiences?

                Because of the experience, I learned that I should stand grounded on my recommendations and suggestions because I know this industry better. I have worked with so many event suppliers. I’ve had my share of failures and successes. Most importantly, I learned hard lessons that became my guiding principles in doing business. I should not be easily swayed with the client’s whims when clearly what they are asking are out of context.

How that experience did affect your well-being?

                From that experience, I was resolved to weed out any undeserving clients. Usually clients with low budgets have more demands. So I am now keener in dealing with barely-paying clients and high-paying clients.

What are the challenges that you had encountered? How do you cope up with those challenges?

Challenges are always present in the event industry or in every aspect of life in general. You can’t have a rainbow without the rain, right?

• First and foremost, my personal circumstance is already a challenge. I have a 4-yo daughter, I have no yaya, I do all the house chores and we “tentatively” live in Gensan because my partner/hubby was promoted to Operations Manager in one of the call centers in Davao in 2010 and was transferred to Gensan Branch ever since. 

So to resolve this, I travel to Davao every time I have a meeting, so I only cater to set appointments ahead of time. I would plan everything from Gensan. I would ask my staff, sometimes my mom, to deposit downpayments, go to suppliers, check out dress designs, get the invites, make the souvenirs, etc… About 2 weeks before the event, if I could not find a trustworthy baby sitter in Gensan, I bring my daughter with me to Davao to prepare for the events. My daughter gets to take days of school absences because no one would stay with her when im in Davao. My hubby works at night and sleeps all morning. Just this year, 2019, we have finally decided that me and my daughter would move back to Davao while my partner does the travel back and forth.

• Second Challenge is my capital. To be able to compete well with other event planners and event stylists, I should be able to invest in expensive and nice event decors. I started this business with emceeing and I have no solid capital that can propel me fast forward and compete with others. I can only improve incrementally which thankfully God has been so generous to me giving me clients who believe in my work and in my worth.

 

So to resolve this, I just gradually buy little event decors when I have new booking. All of my professional fee in emceeing and coordination, I use them to buy fabric for the ceiling, vases, carpets, plastic flowers, backdrops, ets…. I also accepted online writing jobs in maintaining website content to make ends meet.

• Third Challenge is maintaining the sense of professionalism and performance of my team.  My team is great at following instructions. They are keen and able to perform what needs to be done. But retaining good and efficient staff is not that easy with all the opportunities presented to them. The thing about this business is that there are months where clients come in batches and there are months that leave us scratching our heads why there aren't bookings. My team is on-call basis and they have regular jobs to attend to. 

So to resolve this, I hold on to the most experienced ones and train new ones every chance I get. There are tons of lapses and it is expected of new hires even on the old hires. What Im really trying so hard to do is to increase the number of events per month so that my team will have continuous exposure to handling events.

Among the events that you have handled what is the most challenging one?

It was Dec. 22 of last year, we handled a wedding. That day, everybody was in a Christmas rushing mode and traffic was horrible. My coordinators came in late from the hotel and the ceremony music already started. I was there at the frontline and all eyes were disappointed at me for my staff not arriving on time. I was bombarded with insults and disappointed remarks that day and months later.

What insights can you share to other event organizers?

                I’m not sure if there are still insights I can share to other event organizers because I think somehow we have similar experiences in this industry and we thrive differently.

What qualities should an event organizer have to survive in the Event industry?

I think an event planner should have these qualities to survive this industry:

·         Perseverance

·         Persistence

·         Determination

·         Adaptability

·         Innovation

·         Quick Decision Making

·         Emotional Stability

·         Problem Solving Skills

·         Budgeting Skills

·         Marketing Skills

·         Creativity

·         Resilience

·         Confidence

·         Resourcefulness

·         Faith, Passion, Love for the work you do

·         Healthy Lifestyle

What else would you like to share?

You can visit my blog: www.leahjacobe.blogspot.com for the stories of my past events.

Dreams Do Come True

Since I started freelancing in the events industry in 2008, it has always been my dream to open my events shop. Through the years since our first official client in 2011, I have been working 2 jobs (as a writer and as an emcee/event planner) at a time to gain sufficient capital to build and upgrade my  events business. 

This year, 8 years later, God must have heard my prayers and have seen my efforts in my passion for creating beautiful and memorable events. He granted me not one but two life goals that I have been working on for almost a decade - my dream events shop and my storage house building! 

So I am very giddy up to share to the world that this year, one of my dreams have come true and that is to open my Events shop! God has granted me a partner in the business; and it is fitting that we complement each other's business ventures. She wants to start a bridal shop and I want to have an office for my events shop. Truly, God works in mysterious ways and indeed He knows when to deliver!

On May 18, 2019, my events shop in partnership with the bridal shop was finally open and blessed by Fr. Lauro Arcede of the Marist Fathers.  

It felt so surreal having to experience this day coming true. I could say that everything I have done in the past has led me to this day and it was a wonderful bittersweet journey! I could not believe still even at the time of writing that God would make this momentous dream come true! I had struggled so much in scaling up my business, but with the grace of God, I have survived year in and year out. I believed that someday I would have my own shop but I never knew it could come this soon! 

My gratitude to God and to all the people surrounding me is beyond the Earth's atmosphere and beyond the galaxy even. 

Now, with the help of the Almighty God, I can have an office where I can meet and discuss things with my clients. 

Our Events and bridal shop is conveniently located at Door 2, Matina Executive Homes Commercial Buildings (fronting Queensland Hotel), Matina Aplaya, Davao City, Philippines. 

Anyone looking for gown rentals or complete wedding package for their events can drop by our shop and talk to us about their dream events too!

Destination Wedding Davao: John and Chantal Nature Wedding

A destination wedding is a great option to consider when you want a different location, ambiance and wedding traditions. Planning a destination wedding can be unnerving especially if both of you are living far away from the destination. You don't know what to expect and what will transpire during the event. In this case, you will need a reliable wedding planner to arrange it all for you. 

Such is the case of John Jeff and Chantal. They are both living and working in Johannesburg, South Africa. Chantal, the bride is South African and John, the groom is Filipino. They are both born and raised in South Africa. 

The family and relatives of the groom, being Filipino, suggested that they should have a wedding ceremony in the Philippines. They have chosen Davao City as the place to hold their ceremony since it is the most feasible place for both families to come together. John's family will be coming from Butuan City and Chantal's family will be coming from South Africa.

Our wedding planning journey begins with an email. About the early weeks of the month of May 2018, I received an email inquiry for a wedding quote. They listed in details what they wanted to include in the wedding and how much they are willing to spend for the entire wedding.

They specified some dates on December 2018. From there on, I started calling venues for their updated wedding package Davao. The wedding venue should be in Davao, should have the feels of nature and should be within their budget. All their criteria points out to one wedding venue in Davao - Loleng's Mountain Resort in Eden Toril Davao City. 

I finalized the package costs and inclusions:

From the month of May, we constantly sent emails back and forth updating each other about the progress of the wedding planning process. And when the big day arrived, everything happened smoothly and beautifully.

John + Chantal Wedding Details

The Preparations

It is important in every wedding that their wedding details should be preserved in the photos. It will serve as a reminder of one beautiful day in their lives. 

The Wedding Ceremony

The wedding ceremony is the most important aspect of every wedding. It is the moment where your union will receive the blessings of God Almighty and the prayers of people who support your union. This is the time when you express your commitment to God and to your spouse to uphold your marriage at all times, until death do you part. 

The Wedding Reception

The wedding reception is the time for celebrations, singing, dancing, love and laughters. This where people usually loosen up for the party mood. John and Chantal's wedding reception is located in the same area just across the chapel where the vows took place. 

They chose a rustic romantic garden wedding theme for the set up. I've incorporated string lights to achieve the rustic feels. Their wedding color is burgundy, so I made sure their wedding color is visible in the accents of my designs. They wanted a simple set up and just want the guests to marvel more the outside nature of Loleng's Mountain Resort.

Before they headed up to the reception, they had a quick post-nuptial sessions involving the white doves that are just around the vicinity. It was absolutely a perfect sight to behold. It was like the birds understood what they need to do for the photoshoot!

Now, the best part of being an event and wedding planner is how the client evaluate you and your team on how you deliver your promises and services as stated in the package you quoted:

Thank you for appreciating us Mr. and Mrs. John Jeff and Chantal Revecho!!! I know we have some little mishaps during the wedding but you helped us improve in our future events through the feedback you gave us. We learned a lot. 

May you both continue to be kind and beautiful people inside and out! And oh please make cute babies already!!!

God bless you and your growing family!

Photos by: Philip Cuison Photography