Money is tight, the girl is right, you’d elope tonight, but that wouldn’t be bright. What do you do? – WealthArtisan

Weddings have evolved to become some sort of a competition, with every couple trying to throw a more lavish party than the last one.

An aunt of mine tied the note a few years back, but she had to do it in style. She leased Fort Jesus court yard for an entire afternoon, served every guest ice cream as an appetizer and fruit pudding as dessert. Her evening wedding party was thrown at White Sands and she rode to church in a limousine. Her wedding had to be one to remembered, and indeed it is.

Weddings have evolved from what was a simple traditional affair to more complex, westernized expensive ceremonies. Do you remember the days when the aunts used to be in charge of cooking the wedding meals while the cousins were in charge of decorations? All duties pertaining to the wedding were distributed among the family members and this indeed helped cut down on the wedding expenses.

Times have changed; today’s successful wedding requires the hired service of 20 professionals. From the wedding planner to the caterers, decorators, rings specialist, hair stylists, the list is endless. Weddings have evolved from a simple cost effective family and friend’s affair to a very costly competition.

According to The Standard, a research by Infotrack , commissioned by Samantha Bridal stated that today’s average wedding costs about KES 800,000.

On average this is the estimated budget for today's wedding.

• Food and catering: KES 250,000
• Décor and tents: KES 200,000
• Evening Party: KES 50,000
• Church: KES 20,000
• Cake and champagne: KES 30,000
• Card and program: KES 25,000
• Transport: KES 20,000
• Photo Session: KES 20,000
• Rings: KES 22,000
• Photos and video: KES 25,000
• Entertainment: KES 40,000
• Honeymoon (Local): KES 80,000

While most brides and grooms still depend on the family and friends for financial support when it comes to financing weddings, the ever increasing wedding costs make the contribution made by family and friends seem insignificant, forcing bride and groom to take out a loan to finance their weeding.

Is it advisable to take a wedding loan? Well, find out in our next article.