Preventing Fluctuations in Estimates! A Checklist of Must-Have Ideas Before Visiting Wedding Venues

2018.06.22 published

Preventing Cost Increases in Wedding Estimates!

It’s a well-known fact that the amount paid to wedding venues often varies by about one million yen between the initial estimate and the final confirmed price.

For the bride and groom, it’s important to prepare mentally with the amount given in the first estimate, so hearing “It’s an increase of xx yen” or “It’s an additional xx thousand yen” as preparations continue can be quite disheartening...

The same goes for nail salons and beauty clinics.

“This art will cost an additional 1,000 yen.”

“It’s over two hours, so it will be an additional charge.”

“This treatment costs an extra 5,000 yen.”

When told this, even if you want to go ahead, you might hesitate thinking about the money and decide to skip it, or even though you really wanted it, you might hold back...

Have you ever experienced compromising on your ideal outcome due to such circumstances??

To eliminate this compromise,

it’s crucial to “eliminate the discrepancies between what you envisioned initially and the final price, and receive estimates that reflect your ideals from the beginning!”

Even when paying the same amount of 10,000 yen, there’s a significant difference in the acceptance of paying that price at a beauty salon where you expected it to be 5,000 yen versus one where you knew it was 10,000 yen.

How to Get Stable Estimates for Your Wedding?

It’s possible to get stable estimates for your wedding as well ♩

The secret is, "to clearly determine what you want to do!"

The initial estimate given by the wedding venue is usually a low-tier, low-price quote.

This happens because, at the time of the estimate, the bride and groom are usually not fully aware of what kind of wedding they want or what they want to include.

Therefore, if you present your ideal vision by saying,

“We want to have a wedding like this!”

then you can receive a quote without being pegged to the minimum tier, ensuring that you get a fair calculation of the necessary amount.

In this article, I’ve picked up some items where the price difference from the minimum tier can change significantly based on your choices.

Before going to venue viewings, decide on how you'd like things to be and what you want to choose, and communicate that to the wedding venue before receiving the estimates ♡

① Choose Your Ideal Dress ♡

First, one of the most expensive aspects of a wedding can often be the wedding dress.

Wedding dresses range from below 100,000 yen to over 1,000,000 yen.

The average cost is about 400,000 yen, but often the initial quote will be for a minimum price plan of around 150,000 yen.

So, it might be a good idea to pick out several dresses that you find “cute” and ask, “How much would this type of dress cost?”

(Dress prices vary by shop, but you can find out rankings.)

Additionally, there may be extra fees for bringing in a dress that the venue doesn’t carry (or it might not even be allowed), so whether you have a favorite brand or a specific dress you want will also affect the costs.

Do some research on wedding dresses and colored dresses before you visit the wedding venue ♩

➡ Check out articles on dress brands

② Will You Have a Change of Dress?

Deciding whether or not to change outfits is directly related to the cost.

☑ Will you wear the same wedding dress for both the ceremony and reception?

☑ Will you have a color dress change?

☑ Will you change dresses between the ceremony and reception?

☑ Will you wear traditional Japanese attire?

☑ Will you change your hair arrangement during the outfit change?

In addition to outfit costs, there are also costs for dressing and hair arrangements, so be mentally prepared. Be sure to choose your attire as it will be your once-in-a-lifetime bridal appearance ♡

➡ Check out an article listing ideas for dress changes here

③ Choose the Design for Guest Tables ♡

Do you want a lot of flowers?

What kind of small items do you want to place?

Keep a general image of your ideal in mind and show it by saying, “I want something like this.”

"I think this could be made within this price per table"

or "We don’t have these kinds of small items"

They might help you with their selections.

➡ Here are articles about guest table floral arrangements＊

@moca_wd503

④ Choose the Design for the Head Table ♡

The decoration of the head table can often vary greatly in price based on the details you want.

Adorable head tables filled with flowers that you see in photos often come with additional charges.

Be sure to show multiple photos of your ideal and ask, “If it’s like this, how much would it be?”

The type of flowers can also change with the season, which is important!

For instance, peonies are spring to early summer flowers, so wanting to use many peonies at a wedding in mid-winter could either be impossible or very costly.

➡ Here are various images for head table decorations

@rie1224a

⑤ Will You Include Cocktails on the Drink Menu?

How many types of drinks do you want to offer during the reception?

Will the selection be limited or extensive?

If the selection is limited, typically the drinks available will be:

Oolong tea, orange juice, beer, red wine, and white wine.

Adding options like cocktails, champagne, pineapple juice, or cola will change the cost from about 3,000 to 5,000 yen per person, so it might be good to decide on this in advance.

Additionally, whether or not to request a welcome drink during the time between the end of the ceremony and the start of the reception will also affect prices, so it's worth considering ♩

⑥ Is a Minimum Tier Meal Good Enough?

The meal for the reception is often calculated at the minimum tier in the initial estimate.

Depending on the venue, it's common not to select the minimum tier meal, so

it might be better to have them calculate it based on a mid-tier option from the beginning ♡

⑦ How Many Tiers for the Wedding Cake?

Designing the wedding cake is also one of the fun points ♡

The price varies based on the design, but the first thing that determines the price is whether it’s one tier, two tiers, or three tiers.

A little tip,

if you want to serve the wedding cake as dessert, it won’t be counted as the final dessert component of the meal, which may incur an additional cost.

That's something you might overlook.

➡ To select the design of the wedding cake, check here＊

@xoxo._.ayaka

⑧ What Will Be Done During the Table Rounds?

The types of activities during the table rounds upon re-entry can vary based on the performance ideas, so it’s wise to solidify your vision to some extent.

Will it be a candle service, balloon spark, making fruit wine, or carrying a beer server...?

Find what you want to do ♩

➡ Check out types of table round ideas here＊

@mr_____.wed

⑨ Will You Request Same-Day End Roll?

The same-day end roll is a “live-cut” video that summarizes footage or photos from preparation, the ceremony, and the reception, shown at the end of the reception.

It’s that touching video that's always played at the end of the reception!

Many girls dream of playing that video at their wedding ♡

However, since that video involves a lot of filming and editing requiring significant manpower, it can be on the pricier side.

The average cost is about 150,000 to 250,000 yen, and it can be as high as 300,000 yen, so if it’s something you definitely want, remember to include it in the initial estimates!

@nagisa_marry

Clarifying What You Want Makes for Easier Estimates ♩

When you go to the wedding venue and say, “I don't really know but I want a normal wedding!”, the staff will likely have trouble and provide an estimate based on minimum tiers and basic wedding productions.

Thus, as preparations continue and you’re exposed to various pieces of information, your wants and priorities can increase, and estimates rise gradually...

But!!

If you can express even a vague idea like,

“I want a wedding like this!”

“I want to do this specific production!”

You will receive an estimate aimed at fulfilling that vision, which is reassuring ♡

The gap between the initial estimate and the final amount should also narrow ♩

Wedding photos and ideas are so cute that just looking at them brings happiness, so it’s a good idea to research and gather ideas before attending bridal fairs or venue viewings ♡

Check out various things on marry articles ♩