If you’ve been following my blog, you’ve probably read this a few times – we have a tight budget for our wedding.
While that is the case, I didn’t want people, especially our entourage, to feel that they are under appreciated. Giving gifts/money to the entourage, I’d say, is customary for Chinese weddings. I think it is one of the things that couples forget sometimes.
Searching in Google for “low-cost” ideas was unsuccessful. I’ve read articles and blogs and it seemed they have the same ideas: it’s one customized thing after another; and that I cannot afford. I want something they will be able to use and appreciate regardless of the price.
MONEY SAVING TIP: Scout for multiple vendors before buying anything. I searched for a couple of options before I decided on these. My husband-to-be gets surprised whenever I come up with another idea!
BUDGET:
TOTAL: Php 21,600
- Php 3,000 for the Maid of Honor + 2 Secondary Sponsors + 3 Bridesmaids
- Php 3,600 for the Best Man + 2 Secondary Sponsors + 3 Groomsmen
- Php 15,000 for 8 pairs of Principal Sponsors + Pastor + Family Friend
FOR THE LADIES:
Sling Bags from Bags on Demand. If you’re buying multiple bags, they will give you discounts depending on the quantity. I got these for a total of Php 1285. Transaction was very fast and smooth.
Supplier Rating: 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Jewelry & Watch Box from Dapitan Arcade. We went to Dapitan Arcade to look for baskets and other materials for the principal sponsors’ gifts. One stall was selling these and for only Php 150 per box, that’s a much lower price than in malls. What a steal! I bought 5 small ones for a total of Php 750 and 1 big one for my maid of honor for Php 500. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
With all these plus packaging, I have about Php 400 to spare! Can you believe that?!
FOR THE GENTLEMEN:
It is so much harder to look for gifts for men! Don couldn’t decide what he wants to give, plus, they don’t come cheap! Instead of restricting him to what should have been the same budget as the ladies, I told him he could spend a reasonable amount for it. As long as he’s happy with the purchase.
After contemplating for months, he decided to give swiss army knives to his entourage. We bought 6 Black Victorinox Classic Swiss Army Knives from Cutting Edge in Shangri-la Plaza Mall for Php 550 each with free name engraving.
Supplier Rating: 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
FOR THE PRINCIPAL SPONSORS:
I didn’t want to give the oh-so-traditional wine. If I can say anything about our wedding – it is far from traditional.
So after bouncing from one idea to another, I finally decided to give gift baskets. This just makes the most sense to me.
I got the idea of gift baskets when I saw a somewhat similar one from a bridal fair. The only thing is, buying from that supplier costs more than double the budget . So I decided to DIY it as usual! I bought different food products and re-packaged them to make the basket more cohesive. 🙂
What’s inside?
Personalized Cheeseboards from Katzen. This is the most affordable cheeseboard supplier I’ve come across with. This kind was Php 300 per cheese board if you’re using one of their default designs. It went up to Php 437.50 per cheese board based on the design we sent them. We’re quite pleased with the results! I will order one for myself after the wedding. Definitely. The supplier was very kind and they were able to answer my questions and accommodate my requests. Although we were only corresponding via email, they were able to reply promptly.
Supplier Rating: 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Bottles and Baskets from Dapitan Arcade. I found bottles at Gourdo’s for Php 135 each. But we were only able to buy 2 because the locking mechanism for the other bottles were not as good. When we went to Dapitan Arcade we found cheaper bottles. They were slightly smaller compared the ones from Gourdo’s, but at half the price. Good enough for me!
Supplier Rating: 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
There were a lot of vendors selling baskets there, but one caught our attention because it had the proper size that we need at a very affordable price of Php 50 per piece. We just spruced it up by putting varnish.
Jars and Ribbons from Divisoria. I found cheaper jars online, but with the shipping cost, it will add up to a more expensive buy. So I bought a box (24pcs) of 4oz jars from a vendor along Tabora St. for Php 360. So that’s Php 15 per jar. The ribbons were a last minute purchase, mainly to beautify the baskets so they don’t look too plain. I bought them from Everson Modiste Center in Tabora Street. Those are the jars with tags. I have not filled them at this point and have only done so 2 days before the wedding.
Supplier Rating: 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Food Products. I bought the pasta, pesto and sundried tomato pesto at the local grocery store; the EVOO at S&R; and the tea from our trip in Korea. NOTE: The EVOO I used is not the one in the photo, but it is of the same brand. I already transferred the contents to the bottles before this photo was taken. 🙂
Others. I have also included recipe cards, instruction cards for the tea and thank you cards in each basket. We just printed them and I hand painted the details. We bought packaging materials at a local bookstore. Later on we decided to buy sinamay rolls in one of the random stalls along Tabora Street for packaging as well: Php 230 for 16 yards.
Special thanks to my friends, Beverlie and Mitch for helping me pack these baskets!
*** All food tags/labels were downloaded from Limeshot.
Suppliers List:
Bags on Demand
B22 L23 PH26 Blush St., Mabuhay Subdivision, Cabuyao, Laguna
+639499926374
http://www.facebook.com/bagsondemandph
Dapitan Arcade
37 Dapitan corner Kanlaon St., Laurges, Quezon City
Cutting Edge
6th floor East Wing, Shangri-la Plaza Mall, EDSA corner Shaw Blvd., Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City
+6326568761
Katzen Laser Technologies
83 Cabrera Road, Kaytikling, Brgy. Dolores, Taytay Rizal 1920
http://www.katzenlaser.ph
+639178550221
Everson Modiste Center
869 Tabora St., Binondo, Manila
Gourdo’s
Level 4, Mega Fashion Hall Bldg. D, SM Megamall, EDSA corner Julia Vargas Ave., Mandaluyong City
http://www.gourdos.com
+6325314801
S&R Membership Shopping
514 Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City
http://www.snrshopping.com
+6325332888
serendipityandbliss.com 