Romance and celebrations are two things people enjoy the most, and both come together wonderfully at weddings. Indeed, it is one celebration that brides and grooms would cherish for years to come. And thus, making it beautiful and magical is important.
However, nothing good ever comes cheap and big weddings and the cost sheet later are a testament to that. Thus, it is important to focus on the budget from the get-go and create a beautiful ceremony at the end.
Average Cost of Weddings in Australia
In Australia, the average cost-estimate that most couples start with is around $23,000-$24,000. But with alterations and more fancy planning additions, this rises to $28,000 or $30,000, some even over the $30,000 bracket. This is why it is important to sort a budget limit and sticking to the most important matters would allow that.
Of course, while planning so, it is important to note your personal preferences and wishes too. Taking help from loans or parents (8% and 60% of Australian couples do so, respectively) would help. Yet, focus on the following points, and you can budget your wedding well and make it magical still.
1. Choose a good venue
Multitasking is important for budgeting, and that is the same for wedding venues. Since the ceremony and the reception are two important parts, you should choose a spot that allows both. And many of them include their own decor too, or you and your family can simply add them yourself.
To be fair, this part costs the most among all features of a wedding, with the average Australian venue costing $12,258. You can also plan a destination wedding to Fiji or Thailand aside from the ceremony-reception-combo hall. Both of these amounts can rise up later, so choose wisely.
2. Wedding and bridesmaid dresses
On average, Australians spend around $4,200-$4,500 on dresses for both the bride and bridesmaids. While you can check out high-end stores that are offering dresses at less price, sales are good options too. Or you can choose to go down the rent direction as well and get similarly-designed bridesmaid dresses in discount.
3. Invites
The first step that comes before the ceremony is invitations, and this requires a big sum too. Usually, the cost varies from $600-$800, especially when you have to invest in stamps for overseas delivery. Here, you can focus your budget on the stamp prices, and even invitation cards. Using some ‘card only’ stamps during holiday seasons would also help reduce the cost.
4. Food and drinks
In weddings, food and drinks also take a sizable portion of your expenditure, like catering or open bars. For example, most caterers charge approximately $100 each person. To reduce these costs, you can organize food trucks- it is fun and different and the food, tasty.
Or, simply opt for the cocktail hour type of reception instead of the luxurious 3-course meal. Also, if you have a good friend who owns a food place, pulling in some favours is welcome.
5. Alternative entertainment can help
If you are up for a tone-down and casual feel to your wedding, give string quartets or DJs a miss. Instead, you can curate a Spotify playlist with your friends’ suggestions or let them handle it. Then, simply focus on enjoying the party, both for the music and free service.
6. Cake anyone?
A wedding without a wedding cake- that is not something that anyone would prefer to try. Therefore, instead of shelling out $500-$700 on a fancy cake, you can ration the quantity of serving. Small desserts like cupcakes or macaroons or cake slices in smaller plates are good ways to save up money.
7. Include your family in the planning
Instead of hiring a professional planner or many employees, rely on your family members for help. After all, most marriages are family affairs, and your close ones would like helping out. This is a partnership you should consider very seriously.
8. Smartphone photos or professional photographers?
The expense of hiring a professional photographer for the ceremony is around $3000 to $4000, based on the photographer. While capturing the most important moments is important, this is one area that costs too much. You can also go forward with good photographers for your budget wedding through sites like Perfect Moment Photography.
Yet, when you are budgeting your wedding, you can choose to go down the smartphone route. Nowadays almost everyone owns smartphones with high picture quality and resolution. That is an alternative you can easily opt for and save money.
9. Budget honeymoon
Last but not the least, the honeymoon is the next phase in your itinerary. And the expenses do not stop at the ceremony. Thus, you should pay close attention to where you choose to go and keep your budget in mind. If possible, you can try out the destination wedding plan here too, and merge both the ceremony and honeymoon.
Overall, planning your wedding is important, and doing so with the budget in mind even more so. While you may have to adjust costs here and there, you can plan a good wedding focusing on each element.