Last Updated on 2017-07-28 , 11:07 am

Everyone knows how expensive a Chinese wedding dinner in Singapore can be—it cost so much that each ang pao has to be, usually, at least $100 if not the newly wed couple would have to fork out tens of thousands of dollars just to cover the cost.

It has now become a culture that has made many stressed—from the couple who wonder whether they can recoup their expenses to the guests who might earn just $900 a month and have to give a $150 ang pao.

Recently, a pretty viral blog post emerged, written by the fellows from TheBigPlan.com.

Apparently, the writer has a plan to have a wedding dinner done with less than $200—and that includes everything, even the wedding photos. Here’s the link to the blog post that you really have to check out: The Absurdly Low Singapore Wedding Budget

Shocked? Don’t be.

If you don’t mind what she plans (which I’m sure all guests won’t mind—after all, a $10 ang pao wedding invitation is the best invitation ever!), here’s how it can be done.

For the venue, she rented the function room in the condominium that she stayed in, which is only $12.78. That would have included even the chairs and tables, but less the decorations. For that, she suggested using “Free Printables” online, which means you just print out the decorations and do the cutting yourself. While ink and toner still cost money, it’s a lot cheaper…and free if you print it from your office. Woohoo.

Her wedding gowns are from Salvation Army thrift store. To be honest, we didn’t even know the store stocks wedding gowns—heck, we didn’t even know what Salvation Army thrift store sells. Now we know!

According to her, it’s less than $200, at around $150. Well, it’s a lot cheaper (and I presume she gets to keep it: that’s a bonus, too!). So, almost $200 spent, eh? Now, how the heck do we stop spending now?

She came out with an ingenious idea for the food (okay, not ingenious, but it’s something that not many would have thought of)—potluck. For the uninitiated, potluck party is a party whereby everyone brings some food to the party and shares them together in a buffet style.

Whoever, except parents and grandparents, says that a wedding dinner has to be an 8-course meal? To be honest, a potluck is more filling!

Okay, how about the photographer? Among your friends, there should be at least two friends who are aspiring photographers who have got a high-end camera but no clients. Just get them to do it pro-bono—it’ll give them the exposure and experience.

For my case, even without going through my Facebook friends list, I can easily name at least three friends who are aspiring photographers. Go figure. Total cost so far? Still less than $200.

Okay, it’s just a plan by the writer, but it’s indeed a feasible plan if anyone doesn’t mind this less-than- extravagance wedding. After all, it’s 2015—why have we forgone so many traditions, yet are so adamant about the style of wedding dinners?

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com