What having a wedding budget means

Any successful wedding involves planning and having a budget to work with. Even when money is not an objection, clearly there are costs that the wedding couple are comfortable stretching to meet. Whether your budget in Kenya shillings is below 200,000/- or above 1.5 million, that usually means there is an amount you're willing to work with. Even those who call a wedding committee to raise cash for their wedding, most usually have drawn out what they need for their wedding, that is the cost for each item, deposits they have paid or is to be paid to the vendors and what they hopefully require to be raised by the committee.

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When a wedding planner or vendor asks what your budget is, I've met a lot of assumptions locally that responding to it means you'll not get a good bargain or that prices might be inflated to meet the stated amount. That could not be any further from the truth. Instead, you save yourself a lot of time spend visiting too many vendors to compare prices when its clear to you what you want to spend.

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When you are aware that your wedding budget on venue doesn't allow you to do an indoor venue in a hotel, you can still negotiate with your preferred hotel to see if they're willing to adjust to your budget. If it doesn't fall through, have in mind a plan B venue that might be a garden reception that can comfortably fit into your budget

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A good wedding budget is flexible enough to the point that a surplus from one vendor can mean a reduction in what is to be spend on another vendor as one of the available scenarios. The other flexibility that can be offered by a good budget is an emergency fund that can be used should you need to exceed the planned budget. With whats considered, work out a budget and spend it right for your wedding because no two wedding budgets are the same.

Nairobi poolside receptions

I have thought of writing this article since May. It came into my mind during the rainy and flood season of Nairobi. I have seen it rain a lot over the years but not as destructive as was seen then. It did remind me though that as the year progresses, we expect or hopefully the sunshine days are ahead. Weddings aren't planned overnight neither are venue selection hence the idea of having a poolside reception takes careful thought into it.

When its sunny, a lot of people prefer garden weddings and very few swimming pools in Nairobi are in enclosed places. Whether a poolside reception occurs in a rental venue, an individual's home or at a hotel, a lot of factors can be considered when selecting the  venue.

The size of the venue in relation to the guest list. Some of the spaces are too small for a large crowd. A consideration of that factor will be important. Are you looking for complete privacy for your reception? If its a hotel, will they allow their regular guests access the area? Not having this information in advance can surprise you during the day of your wedding. I once did this poolside event on a weekday that the manager mentioned to me they would not deny their paid members use of the pool if they needed to. This might not be what the bride and groom would like to see on their wedding photos.

 When it comes to the decor of the venue during the event, its only important to know what's allowed into the pool. There are lovely flowers, balloons or other decorative elements that can look great in the pool to tie it in with the venue or wedding theme. If its allowed by the venue or not is another thing all together.

There are great ways to work around swimming pool venues to make them a great venue for an intimate wedding. The rules of the place can only provide for more out of the box thinking as far as set up is concerned but they don't make it any less fun for a wedding reception.