💍 2026 Bride: We already spent $80K?!
This is a realistic write up of what a 2-year planning of a wedding looks like with little to minimal taobao help (I did not want to look through millions of decorations and stress myself and my friends with the DIY decor). Why 2-years of planning because we initially wanted to get married early in 2024 but due to parents being ‘bantang’ we had no choice but to postponed it until 2Q2026.
So far we have locked in almost $80K of costs 💥‼️
1️⃣ Wedding bands: $4.7k
Our bands are from VCA as we have contemplated and browsed all the other brands that you probably can find in ION/MBS that VCA is the most comfortable for daily wear. I didn’t get the ring locally in SG as I traveled often, so I got it tax free somewhere else ($5.3K vs $4.7K 😆). I’m gonna skip out on the proposal ring since it was a gift from my fiancé.
2️⃣ AD PG / MUA & PWS: $3.7K + $1.8K + $3.3K
we engaged different vendors for our PG/VG and PWS even though our AD PG/VG gave free PWS during the time we signed with them. On hindsight I should’ve went with it but we were quite dead set for indoor shoot hence… 🫠 The 2 vendors were signed at the wedding fair. Was fairly easy as we know what we were looking for so we went down to sign and also tried our luck for the lucky draw 😆 We also decided later recently that we are going to skip VG but extend PG to a full day since we are not doing gate crash etc so we saved additional $2.1K!
MUA I also engaged separately going with the style I was looking for, as well as engaging another MUA to do both mothers’ makeup! My AD MUA costs $1220 (with early surcharge of $150) + $300 for trial. Mother’s makeup came up to $700.
3️⃣ Wedding venue & decoration: $47K + $7K
We locked in The Palm Ballroom ‘TPB’ at 140pax $258++ per pax with Raffles Hotel but later our WC gave us an option to upgrade to Jubilee Ballroom ‘JB’ (at lower min. tables) if we do have an extensive list of guests to invite. Venue decor we engaged an external vendor for everything from photo gallery, reception table, ballroom design, bridal bouquet and car florals. We are expecting more if we were to switch up to the JB but so far it’s $6.7K for TPB. We are also going to extend 1 more night and extra room as we will be doing the fetching of bride all at the wedding venue.
4️⃣ Actual day gown: $2.4K
So far I have only chosen 1 gown as I know I wouldn’t want to do a 2nd march-in. But… still sourcing for a tea ceremony gown/cheongsam. But I really don’t want to spend $$$$ on a 1 hour dress that day lol
5️⃣ Wedding Emcee: $3.4K
We actually burst our budget from <$1K (lol cries) but the Emcee we engaged have really good reputation and reviews (my friend in the industry mentioned he’s the best!) And after a late night call with him my fiancé is sold, so!
6️⃣ Wedding shoes: $3K
Bought something versatile that we can still wear off the wedding! Less heart pain like that 😆
So here it is! Everything that we have booked upfront for our big wedding day and I think that settles it for us except for Groom’s suit which we are still sourcing a tailor for and other miscellaneous expenses such as live bands and angbao and guo da li decorations…
And then… it’s time to prepare the invitations!!!! 🥂
PS/ I will only share the vendors that I have engaged with after dust has settled for a more thorough review!
In my wedding planning experience, one major lesson I learned was the advantage of booking decor and vendors early. For example, securing The Palm Ballroom early allowed us to negotiate rates and consider a possible upgrade to the Jubilee Ballroom depending on guest count. This flexibility was invaluable and saved potential last-minute stress. Another tip is to be mindful of hidden costs that quickly add up—like makeup artists for mothers and extra days for venue use. While it might seem tempting to delay bookings to save money, early bookings often include perks like lucky draws or bundled services, which we benefited from at the wedding fair. Regarding angbao (red packet) rates and other traditional customs like guo da li decorations, it’s essential to prepare in advance and research what’s customary for your specific culture and guest circle, especially if you’re planning a wedding in Singapore or Malaysia in 2026. Finally, when it comes to gowns and suits, I recommend choosing versatile pieces you can wear again to avoid the guilt of spending big on something used just once. I also found it helpful to get advice from friends and industry experts, especially for choosing reliable vendors with good reputations, as I did with our wedding emcee and photographers. Overall, thorough early planning, budgeting realistic costs, and balancing traditional expectations with personal preferences helped me maintain control and excitement throughout the wedding journey.
Hi!! Nice post and the really helpful 🥺 Could you let me know who is the MUA helping to do both mothers makeup? I’m also thinking of engaging 2 different MUA Thank you in advance! 🥰