Tuesday, February 24, 2009
I’m throwing a $5,000 (per table) wedding banquet
And that’s in USD for you…. (The last time I checked on Yahoo Finance, that converts to about SGD7662).
Nah, I’m just kidding….. (relax guys!!!)
Had lunch with some friends last week, and heard that a particular acquaintance was throwing her wedding banquet at a very fancy, 5-star (or 6-star) hotel on Sunday.
For simplicity’s sake, let’s just call this particular acquaintance Miss K.
Anyway, I don’t know the exact setting at which she came to announce the “per table cost” of her wedding banquet to my friends, but it did came out as close to $1,500, with each table seating 10 people.
Of course, upon hearing the cost, my friends, being very kind-hearted souls, came to a conclusion that they had to present a $150 angbao each. Apparently, the so-called “market rate” of $100 ain’t enough…
(In case you’re wondering, yes, woe to my friends, they were all invited to the said wedding banquet…)
Let me just put it straight that my friends do not belong to the “wealthy, well-to-do, well-off” category. No, I’m not trying to put down my friends here. We are not exactly destitute, we do make enough to get by, enough to perhaps squeeze into the “middle class” category.
But still, that doesn’t give anyone the right to “siphon” money off friends this way. For goodness’ sake, you’re throwing your own wedding banquet!! Not holding a charity auction!! Why should people have to bear the consequence of your costly choice of venue!!!
I talked to dad about this, and he agrees as well… It doesn’t make sense at all!! You don’t budget for a wedding banquet, invite your friends, and expect them to cover the costs for you!!!
If that were the case, why don’t I start sending out invitations to all my friends to my wedding banquet….with the extra information that each table costs $5000??!! This means, my dear friends, you will each have to pamper me with a $500 angbao….
Of course, it’s very nice if people lavish you with big fat angbaos on your wedding…. But these are just bonuses!!! Not to be taken for granted!!! When you plan your wedding (or banquet, for that matter), you should plan according to what you can afford, out of your own pocket, before expecting any additional cash from friends or whatsoever.
Hello, this is called “Managing Your Finances”, or “Budgeting” can?
Oh, I forgot…. Miss K isn’t exactly from a business background…. So maybe that term seems tad unfamiliar to her.
Moral of the story: CUT YOUR COAT ACCORDING TO YOUR CLOTH
Of course, you will say that nobody forced my friends to give a $150 angbao… you should give what your heart tells you to….. blah blah blah blah…..
Again, for goodness’ sake!!! Do you really believe that Miss K, out of an angelic and innocent heart, would let slip of the per table cost to my friends, without any intention, none at all, of recouping back her losses from the angbao collection?
Oh wait, I seem to recall my friends saying that her husband’s family was pretty wealthy….which means she doesn’t need the pitiful angbao at all….
Ah….That explains it… the $1500 per table banquet….is more for “face” reasons.
Which, if that’s the case, then next time, don’t go around announcing your costs to people!!!
Eh, hello, we are still living in the Asian culture…. It’s too bad we have this “must match angbao money” mentality…..
Don’t tell me that you disclosed the cost of your wedding banquet with only the truest intention of providing pure, yet useless information….
Hello, many of the above-mentioned friends only recently entered the workforce… we are all still very junior-level staff here….
Some of them are even working on contract basis, with no guarantee that their contracts will be renewed after expiry.
And hello, in case you haven’t noticed, the economy is currently in a recession period now…. People are being retrenched… or even if they’re not, everybody is walking a tightrope nowadays… nobody knows what will happen tomorrow… or whether we have already hit rock bottom yet.
Or… maybe… just maybe, Miss K doesn’t know about the realities of life yet!!
Opps… did I just burst the bubble here?
Did I mention that said Miss K is a school teacher?
I always thought teachers were very “in the know” of news…. But maybe she’s a different class of teacher…. Maybe she teaches about fairytales…. And princesses… and expensive feasts….and how one day, when you wake up, you’ll find yourself surrounded by big fat angbaos all over……..
Buahahahaha….
Alright alright, I admit, I’m just being plain mean….
And yes, I know you out there, will say that I’m jealous of Miss K….
Yes, you’re right, I’m sooooo jealous……..sooooo jealous that I have to put off my wedding for another year so that I can gather sufficient funds for my $5000 per table banquet!!
Buahahahaha….
Just U & Me .
11:01 AM
