Finally!! You’ve found the ONE! You can hardly contain your excitement as you share the fantastic news with your family and friends! Then you and your fiance start the budget conversation for your engagement party, and you realize it’s not just him that’s taking your breath away — the cost of your dream engagement party is too, and you haven’t even sat down on your plans for your actual wedding yet! Before you start thinking of doing away with your engagement party altogether to still be able to afford that honeymoon package you have been dreaming about, have no fear — numerous fashion tips can give you economical cheer and make your plans doable this year. Okay, I may have overdone the rhyming bit, but you get my drift right? Besides, holding an engagement party will be that one opportunity you will have to mentally and emotionally prep and ease everyone, including yourself, into that next big phase of your life. The event can even give your wedding guests a chance to know each other to ensure a warmer environment during the wedding day itself. So read up on these low-in-cost but high-on-style tips, and get ready to celebrate your relationship milestone, to celebrate you!
Your glam SQUAD
Teamwork makes the dream work. For and a la mode affair, you need a team of special events experts, from the overall cost to the photographer, videographer, menu planner, and so on. Now professional fees for these kinds of services can break the bank. This is where your fashionable best friend, a trendy cousin, even your perfectionist sister, can save the day. Leverage your network of family and friends by using their interests and talents to cool down the budget thermostat. Because you’re also not just asking for their talent but also for their time and energy as well, you can request their services in place of wedding gifts. So go on and ask those nearest and dearest to you. They will most likely be honored to say yes. Having done a nifty job delegating, you can now focus on doing you.
Your attire
A penny-pinching strategy doesn’t mean you can’t dress elegantly. Ask financially savvy yet fashionable friends where they were able to score designer outfits at basement prices. Stylish knock-offs, affordable even to those who weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths, are also offered by an overabundant number of online shops. Before you go into a shopping frenzy, consider the numero uno rule: Never let your engagement party outfit outdo your wedding dress. You wouldn’t want the biggest day of your life to be anti-climactic. Then there’s the venue and the theme to consider. Whether it’s a dressing-up opportunity or a casual dress-down affair, make sure your attire is in harmony with your event’s overall concept.
Your jewelry
Your fiance got you the finest budget-friendly engagement ring to flaunt. Good decision, honey! Now you’re wondering if you can ask him to stretch your budget just a bit so you can find out how beautifully the ring will be set up by other pieces. Before he reminds you that money doesn’t grow on trees, save the peace by heeding some precious gems of advice. First off, choose demi-fine jewelry. A cross-breed between fine bespoke jewelry and fancy costume jewelry, demi-fine ornaments are crafted using fine metals and plating techniques which bring the cost down. It’s snagging Holly Go Lightly’s classy look on Eliza Doolittle’s paycheck. Doesn’t mean anything to you? How about Princess Mia’s regal style on Mia Thermopolis’s pre-princess allowance? Anyway, the point is you can get posh without spending a lot. Searching for even better options? Maybe it’s time to cash in on that “something old, new, and borrowed” tradition.
Loved ones will be privileged to lend you their precious pieces to make the occasion more memorable. Oh, wait — don’t go on a shopping and borrowing spree just yet. First, be reminded that your jewelry, like your attire, needs to be in unison with your party theme. The goal is to highlight what you already have, such as your beautiful engagement ring, and not to distract from it. Oftentimes, less can be more.
Your HAIR AND Make-up
One word to keep you looking expensive on a budget: natural. There are many affordable make-up brands, such as Alima Pure, Han Cosmetics, and L.A. Girls, which can give you that sophisticated au natural look. As for hair products, the choices are too many to mention, but I’ll mention a few anyway: Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo, Big Sexy Hair Powder Play, Aveda
Rosemary Mint Shampoo and Conditioner, and Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil. All these will give you a “can-achieve” excitement about all the possibilities at your affair, without you having to ask your mom for an advance on your inheritance. Having scored affordable yet gorgeous hair and make-up products, level up on your scrimping schemes by requesting a discount from your Hair and Make-up artists in exchange for using your own products. Not only is this request sensible, but it is a hygienic one as well. How about getting the services of beauty experts-in-the-making? For their free services, you are giving them opportunities for free hands-on training as well as the chance to help them build their portfolio.
Your personal space
All the stress from the planning journey, even with a very competent and trusted glam team, can deprive you of the joy of being in the moment when you finally arrive at your big destination. And being all anxious and stressed out on your momentous day can never be a fashionable thing. Before the engagement party, take a step back.
Carve out some personal time in your calendar for some much-needed pampering. Get enough beauty sleep. Wake up late. Take it all in — all the excitement and nervousness of saying “I do.” Indulge in a deliciously slow-paced, solitary breakfast with just your thoughts as company. For a day or two, savor the enjoyment of life in the single lane while, at the same time, allowing yourself to daydream of what lies ahead.
