This afternoon, I had a lunch with some of my fiance’s friend. One of whom is getting married in 2 months time. Invariably, all the conversations ended up being about weddings and engagements. I felt sorry for the two other men at lunch who had their girlfriends nearby putting more pressure on popping the question.

I asked a lot of questions about my fiance’s friend’s wedding which will be held at a private club.

Corkage Fees:

She said that one of the costs to watch out for was the corkage fee which is what the club is charging for brining their own wine to the meals. The fee is usually minimal and is considered a convenience charge to the restaurant for opening and serving wines from outside their cellar. Many establishments offer scaled corkage fees depending on the type of wine brought in and how many bottles there are. Others may waive the corkage fee if customers order a bottle or two from the restaurant’s wine list as well. She worked out that it was cheaper to pay the Corkage fee and supply her own wine than have the wine from the restaurant. Wine is a major source of markup for restaurants, and loss of wine sales can depress earnings. For this reason, most restaurants charge a corkage fee equivalent to their cheapest bottle, to recoup at least some of the potential lost revenue.

Wedding dresses:

I realise the wedding dress itself can be a very expensive affair. My fiance’s friend said she had a dressmaker make hers in the style of an evening gown so that she could use it for another occasion. That seems like a very good tip as I’ve heard other bride say that they never ever used theirs again. I wondered if she would rent her dress as she’s known to be very frugal. But she said her dress designer actually charged her less since its not a traditional wedding dress.

She asked me if I had looked at any wedding dresses. I seriously did not consider a wedding dress because I am not Christian and I also think wearing white is quite hypocritical in today’s society. However, she said that when I start trying on the dresses, I will fall in love with them and will insist on wearing one.

One interesting point was that in Chinese culture, white is a mark of death so wearing a white dress is not traditional for a Chinese bride. In that sense, Chinese bride can wear black dresses and the bride mentioned that Sarah Jessica Parker wore a black wedding dress. I would personally prefer a white dress over a black one for my wedding but I realise that a whole range of coloured wedding dresses are also very popular, such as at Jordan’s wedding.

Wedding Desserts:

My fiance’s friend then spoke about the wedding meal and said that to save costs, they decided that the guests dont need any desert! She said she was planning on serving the wedding cake as desert. When I mentioned that I saw Peyton & Bryne cupcakes as an alternative to the wedding cake, she immediately said ‘Oh thats good because its cheaper’ I actually thought cupcakes would be a good idea because it looks so pretty on a cup cake stand and very different from the traditional cake. 50 cupcakes from Peyton & Bryne costs around 120 pounds and a cake with 2 layers from ChinaTown costs about 160 pounds. This is nowhere the 800-900 pounds that someone said usual wedding cakes costs. Also, if you order a cake, you will get your deposit back for the returning the cake stand.

I realise that everyone has a different approach to weddings. On one end there are people that overspend and go all out. The bride mentioned that she had a friend who took a loan to throw a grand wedding and two years later, they were divorced and still paying the wedding loan. On the other end, there are others that go to the cheap end and scrimp and save on everything and anything. I read another blog where the bride had enlisted the help of every member of her family and friends with everyone doing a job such as cooking the food for the wedding, make the cake, or even doing her hair and make up. I think its important that whilst some family and friends do want to help, you do not overburden them to such an extent that they do not have the time to enjoy themselves. Weddings are such a social affair that it would be nice to treat your close ones to a special day and allow them to celebrate that moment.