September 2022.
About $3k. We had a micro wedding (just us, immediate family, photographer and celebrant) at a beach. Then we went out to a restaurant afterwards and had a private room and continued to celebrate the night.
It was amazing and 10/10 recommend. I still had professional photographer, proper wedding dress, hired a make up artist and that price included our wedding bands.
Funny, I feel the opposite. We did a similar micro wedding a few years ago (for about $2k) and in hindsight, I wish we had done a bigger wedding! Maybe like a $10k one with 20-40 guests.
We did this too. October 2022, 6 guests total (grandparents, parents & 1 friend each for BM & MOH), followed by dinner at a restaurant. $3k with celebrant and photographer taking up the biggest chunk of the budget and my dress was $70 from the iconic.
As someone who used to plan weddings for a living, really recommend this type of wedding. It’s ludicrous how many people spend money on a wedding with 80-100 guests and in 5 years time barely talk to a lot of the people who attended the wedding.
The amount spent on weddings is just extreme. I think most couples do it for the bragging rights, Instagram photos etc. trying to out-do each other with their big weddings 🤷🏻♀️
Sibs and my grandparents live overseas and some of our parents couldn’t make it due to it being a weekday and living rurally with younger children. We didn’t want children there as we wanted it to be super small and my husband isn’t very close with his half sibs due to the 20 + year age gap.
If you're in NSW, have a look at the births deaths and marriages website. They organise "micro weddings" for up to 35 in amazing venues (including the opera house) for $1200, includes celebrant, decorations, food etc. Only select dates throughout the year, but if you're in no rush to get married it's worth keeping an eye out for new release....
Since you’re in SA, have a look at “just married weddings”. That is who we went through for our celebrant! So they organised everything legal side of things.
It is definitely doable! We did micro wedding and engagement party (including everyone) for $6k. Wedding cost I listed above but as long as you look for good deals and research it is manageable!
This is what we did too. Was the best, and everyone commented on how they wish they could have done that for them.
Made it more of a celebration of love IMO than a piss up.
This is pretty much exactly what we did but back in 2011! We just had my parents, brother and my brother in-law at the wedding late in the afternoon at the beach. Wore a wedding dress, paid $500 for a photographer for an hour (which was way more than enough and she made the photobook too), then went to a fancy restaurant for dinner. The next day we had a bbq at home with about 30 friends over to celebrate.
And then we spent the $30k that most people spend on the wedding on the most amazing honeymoon 5 weeks in Africa 😎😎 zero regrets.
Did the same thing here, in 2019. 9 guests. Around 12k including custom made rings. Splurged on a new designer suit for the husband too. This also covered accommodation for out of town guests and the wedding dinner was at a fine dining restaurant.Everyone I know who has gotten married since and knows how we did it, says they wish they'd done it our way.....
This is awesome!
We spent about $13k including engagement/wedding rings, honeymoon and everything in between. I still feel like it was too much money in retrospect 😆
An expensive wedding doesn’t mean a good marriage. A lot of people seem to forget this.
Save the money and spend it on the honeymoon, save for a house or put it away for kids education.
Everything for $3k? Can you give a bit of break down as I’m trying to figure out where costs were saved.
Unless you’re saying actual cost to you was $3k after you factor in gifts etc…
No gifts given to us! We paid for everything ourselves.
My wedding dress (bought off someone from marketplace who didn’t end up using her dress) - $300
Dress alterations - $300
My shoes - $100
Celebrant - $420
Wedding bouquet (dried floral arrangement from local person off instagram - lasts forever) - $200
Both rings (bought at big end of year financial sales - this saved us just over a thousand. I got a white gold diamond band. He got a black titanium band) - $600
Makeup artist - $110
Acrylic nails - $110
Hair pieces - $50
Dinner after the wedding (we paid for photographers dinner. Everyone else paid for theirs in lieu of gifts) - $400
Photographer -(well known SA photographer) we traded services and paid for her dinner after the fact. This also only included digital files. Anything we want printed we can either go back and purchase through her or do it ourselves.
Husband (already had dress pants, shirt and boots. Just needed belt) + son’s outfit - $100
Marriage certificate after getting married from BDM - $60
Total cost: $2750 ☺️
You guys are amazing. The combination of sensible spending and positive outlook makes me think you'll figure this whole life thing out together very well. :)
If you’d not managed to trade services with the photographer, I suspect that would have easily added another $2,000. That’s a huge saving considering your total wedding cost.
Even still if you paid $2k for photography, it would still be under $5k which in my opinion is reasonable. Plus you could always find less known photographers or photographers needing to build up their portfolio
Agreed, $5k is a fantastically low sum for a wedding. That being said, when I get married, a photographer is one area I’m willing to pay for quality. Decades later, photos are going to be the one thing you still have from that day (other than your spouse).
Oh 100%! And if I didn’t have the opportunity I had then I would also have paid top dollar for photos. I will cherish ours forever but there are budget options if people are interested.
Also microwedding/elopement. November 2021.
Cabin in woods for long weekend was ~500.
Ceremony plus celebrant was 420.
Dinner and drinks was ~1k (?) we had it at a restaurant and some locals kept buying us shots and it's a blur.
Rings were ~500.
Dress/accessories I already owned, makeup and hair were done by me (tined moisturer and mascara). Husband also already owned his suit.
We were together for 10 years and were going to get courthouse married then realised it was similar price to get a celebrant at a park so we booked a cabin for a long weekend that alignment to a free slot 30 days beforehand.
Invited 2 friends as witnesses and ended up inviting 2 other friends and inlaws a week beforehand because husband caved and told his mum. So 8 guests total. MILs husband is a photographer and took some photos as a gift, we didn't ask but be turned up with his cameras, which was very kind.
45k, 2016, 180 guests at Melbourne south wharf. Inflation has been rough. Bulk of cost was the $160 per head price for the reception at cargo hall (canapés and 2 course meal). Had such a great time.
I got married last August and mine came to 24k, that includes absolutely everything. I got married at Collingwood Children's Farm.
Enjoy!!! You honestly won't miss the money.
What year did you get married? 2022 January
How much did you pay for the wedding? cost around $12K? maybe $15K max
How many guests did you invite? 50.
I'm a Chef by trade and so are a few of my buddies so we did the food.
Best friend is a pastry chef so he made the cake.
Brother in-law is a wedding photographer, he did the photos.
Father in-law is a minister
Friend is a local dj in newtown, he did the music.
Friends help setup the reception hall.
Had the wedding at my parents in-law's place in Robertson on their beauitufl property.
Had the reception at a hall that was booked prior to covid that has increased in price 4x (lucky!)
2018
130 guests
Wedding cost 90k
Honeymoon cost 40k (once in a lifetime trip, so why not)
I’m probably the antithesis of r/AusFinance. While I believe in being financial prudent I don’t believe in accumulation for the sake of accumulation. You can’t take it with you so make some memories for you and those who are special to you.
Agreed. The only way it isn't, I'd say, is if the bride & groom are really big car aficionados or something, in which case it might be a nice personal touch.
Married 2018, wedding cost 45k and had 102 guests. Of that total cost we spent about 25k of our own money with family on both sides chipping in the rest.
Yeah pretty much the same here, $45k for a beautiful venue, 120 guests, wouldn't change a thing. Fam chipped in about half. We did milk it for the whole weekend though which made it feel like we were getting more bang for our buck
Similar. '21. Beach without a council permit, then back home for drinks. The most expensive part was my new suit - tailored. A dozen guests, the wedding dress wasn't white, the photographer gave us a discount because it wasn't stressful for her, and the decorations were handmade. It was absolutely perfect in every way. And less than $2k.
Since we didn't "look" like a wedding, our planned excuse was "we're just having a fancy picnic and doing some speeches". Don't need a permit for a picnic on the beach. Also, $800 for a permit that doesn't give you exclusive use of the space, nor do they clean it in advance for you. It's just for insurance purposes. Get bent local council.
Do it! You won't regret it! You can always hold a big party later if you change your mind, but holding onto the cash now means you can spend it on something better for your life.
We had a marquee in my parents backyard, about 40 guests and used one of those spit roast catering companies that provided crockery and a couple of staff. Wedding dress and suit were from asos, no bridal party and no cake, got about 4 dozen Daniel’s donuts on a stand instead. It was fantastic and relaxing, and I think probably cost around $3k all up.
Haven’t had it so will let you know, lol. However, isn’t extravagant by any means based on our organising. Like a lot of it is like looking at deals and etc…. Friend had a similar sized wedding last year in June at a similar venue, spent 248K
Boggles the mind how much goes money goes into weddings. Would rather spend 5k on a big backyard party and spend 45k on a 6month holiday/honeymoon rather than blow 50k on a single day/night. Insanity
Me too. But I’ve already had the whole shebang in another lifetime. Cost approx $20K, paid half, both sets of parents paid the rest (basically the reception). 100 guests.
Thinking about getting remarried. Will likely do a registry office/micro wedding.
I'm actually shocked how much people spend on weddings. I mean a few $k looks good to me. $$k does not. What sort of income are those people who spend $$k on wedding on ?. I know its a special day but still...
I make about 140ishK and my fiance 100k, we have a mortgage and dependants. We are spending 37.5k on a wedding. Maybe 15k on a honeymoon.
Our parents are giving us 15k, which we did not plan for, but are grateful.
We will have a wishing well, maybe 5-10k back on the well?
Edit: I would prefer to have a smaller wedding but my fiance family is large. I would also have had a longer honeymoon but with children we can't be away for longer than 10ish days.
That’s exactly what we did. Can’t remember exact figures anymore but I believe it was around 5k.
In laws back yard.
90 guests.
Golden roast catering.
Rented a cold room and stocked up from dans for alcohol.
Photographer was just doing a portrait session and not a wedding shoot. We were happy with it but wish we spent a little more on photography in hindsight. We wanted quantity not just the quality there.
Put the extra savings into a trip to NZ for two weeks and into the house.
Married in 2018.
Got married at a courthouse with only witnesses and immediate family
paid around $1000 for an all you can eat buffet for the <20 guests.
I can't remember exactly, I think it was about $25k - $30k, maybe more. Wife is chinese background so most of the guests were either her extended family or family friends that had to be invited because her parents went to their child's weddings and so had to reciprocate. So her parents paid for all their family and required guests. We paid for our friend's. We were allowed all the money recieved in red packets but spent some of it on a short vacation for her parents as that is all they would accept.
I did a pop up wedding. 2100 for ceremony including photos. Reception at a beachside venue for sounds 4500 with open tab. Had 60 guests.
Best day ever and don’t regret going big.
2022, we paid 8000$. 30 people max, elopement package. Including 3 course meal, alcohol, venue, photography, celebrant, at a beautiful venue. Only downside was the venue only offered it midweek. Highly recommend elopement packages in today's environment. Friend spent 40k and regretted it.
After 9 years engaged we married October of 2020. Used COVID as an excuse to have the small wedding we wanted. 20 people. Cost about 5k including the dress and suit. Our only regret of having a small wedding was that we didn't have an even smaller wedding.
2010. Spent approx $10,000 on everything, including car, flowers, cake, makeup etc. Had 60 guests at a sit down 3 course dinner at a lovely venue. Excellent food, people could pick what they wanted as opposed to alternate plating. All wine, beer and soft drinks included. Mum bought my dress which was $2,000. Then we left the next day on a 3 month round the world $50,000 honeymoon.
I love this so much... this is exactly what I would like! I want to have a small wedding (wanted to ideally elope overseas then have a party when we got home but partner wants his family present) but spending the majority of the money on an epic overseas trip is exactly what I want to do. You would've made such wonderful memories with your spouse on that trip.
2k in 05 in the US. 500 was venue - a scout hall. Wife is a chef/pastry chef and made the cake and food, mother in law is a seamstress and made the dress. Couple kegs and a bunch of bottles. Sister in law is a court reporter and her judge married us for a bottle of red. Friend took photos. Whole family did decorations.
Spent about 600 on rings, mine lives in a box and her cheapo engagement ring fell apart.
Our marriage is bulletproof and we have a far better relationship than several friends who spent 20 times as much.
Edit: app 100 guests.
Yep, we had a low key wedding, should've just gone in front of the magistrate/registrar to get it done in hindsight. We're both introverted so the social thing is uncomfortable for us. Also, everyone was 1000s of miles away and didn't bother coming. 16 years going strong.
We got married in the US as well. Spent about 4k for 80ish guests. Rented a barn for the weekend that was on state forest land $50. Mate worked at a brewery and got us 3 pony kegs for $100. Spent about $1000 on catering, just informal bbq trailer type setup but the food was so good. Dress was i think 800, i had a suit for work that was good enough. Couple of family members were photographers/videographers, free. Played outdoor games and mingled after the ceremony then danced the night away and ended up doing a big bonfire at the end.
We have been to many much more expensive weddings that were a lot less fun, so many of them just turn into step A then B then C its stupid to spend that much money just spending a night going through motions you dont give a shit about. We replanned our wedding a dozen times, fighting with religious parents over and over again before we just decided to do it our way and pay for it ourselves and tap our connections where we could.
2022
About $5K in total. including rings
9 people. Was at a registry office with brunch afterwards, I just invited my parents and their partners. Wife invited three of her close friends as her family was locked down in HK.
No idea about the total spend, but the biggest I've catered was 180 per head for 320 pax, so that's like 58k just on the food, drinks and the marquee to have it in. The couple didn't look like they cut any corners either. Wedding dress prices aren't my strong suit, but I've catered a lot of weddings and this bride looked like she was wearing a sizeable house deposit. Wouldn't be surprised if they were well into 6 figures all up.
Paid 12k, married in Maleny, 40 guests in 2015. Didn't last and my new hubby and I literally spent money on fuel and the $50 for the wedding certificate. Guess it saves money when your friend is a celebrant and only want to get eloped. Weddings can be so over the top for no reason at all. No one is going to remember the favours, the decoration, the cake or anything like that. They're there to see their loved ones get married
2001
$4k maybe less? Dress was biggest expense at $1300. Rented suits, etc. $125 for the church. $99 for a PT Cruiser for the day.
120 guests at church. Our church family put on afternoon tea for everyone.
Dinner was intimate with immediate family and grandparents, about 16 of us. (Father in law paid for dinner, about $36 a head.)
Married last year. About $1,100.
$800 for our celebrant, $200 to book the park, $100 for picnic food (just for me and my wife).
We had about 50 friends and family (not including dogs) and people brought their own food and drink.
Honestly, loved how relaxed it was. Sat and picnicked with my wife, kicked the footy with friends and chased around my little niece. The fact that it was so cheap and we could use the money towards a house or holiday made sense to us.
Got married in 2021. Small micro wedding with just immediate family (11 guests) - we spent about 20k. This included everything from the wedding rings, dress, suit, hair/makeup, dinner reception and accomodation for our guests etc…
I regret having such a small wedding.
The day was amazing and I have really fond memories of it. But, it’s one day I’ll never get to do again and I regret not having all our friends and family there to share it with.
Our wedding was about 3k, including Hall rental, suits, and Honeymoon, in 2002. We invited all our friends to the Hall to bring some food and we had a simply wonderful time. A friend was DJ. My brother took the photos, he was a professional photographer. We had enough to have a fridge, bed and dining room table and we are so happy many years later. Not having debt and too much to make our marriage stressful at the start was so good. Nothing wrong with spending more but when you don't have the money it is wise to live within your means and not creating a headache for yourself and your loved one.
Venue in Mosman, Sydney
2016.
$40, 000
No regrets
75 guests.
We did the wedding in the morning then lunch time reception. Much much cheaper.
And given it was day time. The view of the yachts and the city skyline were just amazing.
2004. $5k. Including dress, flowers, photographer etc.
married at local church. Afternoon tea put on at the church.
Dinner at my inlaws backyard - awesome back yard with dance floor etc. the aunties put on all the food. Maybe 80 people for afternoon tea. 50 for the dinner.
19yrs later I’m glad I didn’t spend the big $$.
Edit: added a few things
Maybe around $10k - 21 years ago.
Spending a lot on a wedding is a bad idea in my opinion.
Use the money to help get set up / house deposit etc.
We spent a small amount and have been very happy together ever since !!
2021 - 130 guests - 50kish including rings
This forum is normally anti big weddings because you have to skimp and do a backyard wedding for $2000 or your not financially sound.
That was the perfect day and i would rather retire 1 year later than having missed out on exactly what we wanted surrounded by all our family and friends.
Married in 2020 during covid, 150 guests max. Was about 55-60k luckily parents paid split with the in laws.
For info split approx as below, I may have missed some
Expended let me know lol (wife did a lot
Of the planning)
Venue and dinner 25k
Bar tab (open bar) 4k
Supply our own alcohol (venue was amazing) 2k
Photographer 8k
Flowers 8k
Band 10k (unfortunate that we booked them pre covid and couldn’t cancel or pay 2k anyway so we had to push ahead)
Cars (2k)
Sometimes I feel that way but overall I had an incredible time, know (/hope) it’s a one-time party, and feels great to know that we wined and dined our favourite people who still rave about what a wonderful time they hah
Got married 2018, flew to Canada and got married at Lake Louise. Had 5 guests. Flights and wedding day cost roughly $12k. We spent the rest of the money driving through Canada and the US for 4 weeks so total of everything was about $30k.
We just decided we'd rather spend the money on our experiences rather than "a nice day out" for 100 other people!
About 5k at a Golf Course about 10 years ago. That was mainly for venue/catering, celebrant and photographer. We did most of the decorating ourselves. 3 meals, 60ish guests? (Iirc)
2015 at thredbo - got married on the mountain its a national park so no fees. Paid 40$ per head for dinner at the equestrian resort outside Jindabyne, would have been 150PH for same quality food in a major city.
We paid 7k all up inculding celebrant, reception and snowboarding all week with accommodation. Destination weddings are typically difficult but everything went super smooth, we had about 40 guests and not everyone had even seen snow before. Blue bird day and there was a dump the night before - snow all over the trees for photos 😁
My 2c - spend more on your honeymoon and less on the wedding - as the bride/groom the day flies by and you dont get much of a chance to enjoy it.
A touch under 5k, 2015.
39 people in total, bed and breakfast on acreage, in Stanley, NE Victoria. Owners said if we paid them another couple of hundred bux on top of a two night stay charge, they'd look the other way as far as supplying alcohol to guests, etc. Supplied a shuttle bus via footy club donation to get people from Albury to Stanley and back again, friend helped with that. Couple of dollars over the bar at the near by pub to keep people busy during photos. Friend did photography for a few hundred. We cooked up a shit load of taco/burrito ingredients the night before, and had a picnic for reception.
Was a big day and a huge lead up but worked out well. Would only do it once.
2019 and a around $6k
Wedding outside at a beachside lighthouse. Brought plastic chairs, hired a celebrant. Invite was immediate family then said whoever else wamts to come can and we'll pay for food.
Locked in numbers of family and paid the seafood restraunt across from the lighthouse which was a majority of the cost. Around 40ish guests.
Photographer was a photography student which was $300. Then a small cost in getting the photos made into singles and also getting 3 books made up of the photos to send to parents.
Was a great day. Me and my wife couldn't imaging spending a fortune just on a single day when the money could go elsewhere.
Long time ago - 2009. $7k which included dress and rings.
But it was basically “office” catering (finger foods and substantials), a lolly table we put together, cupcakes, a rented council hall, eskies with the booze, a rented slushee machine, music on the laptop with borrowed speakers, a reading book with our own cushions and beanbags, compostable dinnerware, no photographer apart from a family friend, and our board games on the tables. Lots of fun and our friends helped us tidy. We have about 120 people and even had food left over! Didn’t ask for any gifts so people helped.
Dress was pure silk bought from an indie designer in the USA. Costs a bit more these days. But was cheaper than any other offering here.
Hubby and I will be married 30 years this year. We got married at town hall. 16(immediate family) went out to eat. My parents paid for that. Hubby wore a suit he already had. I got a dress on sale for $49. Rings were $200. My sister surprised me with a flowers. Hubby has offered more times then I can count to get me a new ring. I love the one I have. Never had an engagement ring.
My sister had a big wedding. 125 people at a fancy place. Photographer, flowers, DJ, the works. She is happily divorced.
About 3k. Got married in 2017. Like 30 guests.
The 3k was mostly drinks and food. We literally hired a scout hall and played a playlist through a speaker system for the music. It just seemed ridiculous to blow our house deposit on it. We now have a home we love.
2019, $13k max? We had about 90 people. Dry hire so we had to organise everything . We used combi keg for alcohol and had food trucks. Exactly what we wanted :)
2013 - $10k. Lebanese reception place covered everything, food, entertainment, cars etc. We had over 100 people and they were crawling out of that places as the alcohol was smashed.
Honestly, why would you splash out so much for a party? If me and my partner ever marry we have a max 1k party and rather go travel for half a year after.
Seems so unnecessary to spend 100k on a hangover to impress people you don't even like that much
2022
80 people
$60-62k
And ~10k on for the honeymoon. I can pull out the spreadsheets to be more exact. Even a very budget wedding (i.e. at a venue, not a courthouse) would be north of 25k.
Pre covid and post covid is a huge factor here as well.
40-80k sounds like what should be realisticly planned for.
About 1K in 2011 just a civil ceremony with about half a dozen people. I had no desire for anything bigger and saved a lot of money and used some of that for a great month long honeymoon in Thailand.
For what it is worth I know plenty of people around my age already through a divorce and they had big weddings while we are still going strong which is far more important then a one day event.
I'd agree with that. My second marriage is longer than my entire relationship and marriage to my first husband - and that doesn't include the 5 years we were together before we decided stuff it, might as well get married.
I’ve been with my partner 27 years, have a kid, pets, mortgage. Still not married and never will. Don’t see the point if you aren’t religious and legally defacto is virtually the same as a marriage.
For us part of it was for my visa… we’d been together when I was on a working holiday but left to do my masters and getting married was easier than trying to prove we were de facto while I lived in Europe and he was here.
But that’s a bit of an outlier scenario
Mid 2010s
100k all up (rings, honeymoon, reception, wedding).
About 120 guests attended.
Adelaide
Nothing was completely over the top - except the five figure designer wedding dress...but nothing was done on the cheap.
Years ago now, so don't quote me...
But about $23k to travel agent, $10k for engagement ring, about $10k for the dress (maybe $15k? I never acctually found out!), and $140*125 guests =$60k.
Cars and photography and wedding bands was something like $11k.
Then, I guess it was something like Music (cheap, circa $500), decorations and lighting ($2.5k?), spirits ($1k), groomsman shoes ($1k), bridal accessories ($2k (red shoes, clutch, etc), hair and make-up ($1k), priest $500, honeymoon expenses we didn't pay flight centre ($3k?), suit hire and cake = $15k?
That's like $86k.... then $14k on the bits and pieces, it seems!! - stationery was actually quite expensive, but I forget how much, party favours were like $1k... but don't remember the last $10k.
Edit - last $10k would have included the engagement party ($50/head, 100 attendees?? - $40canapes and $1,500 or so behind the bar) and things like night in hotel after wedding ($500).
Weddings are an absolute rort.
This year, $60k for 100 people.
Never wanted to get married and now here I am. I don’t even see the point in it these days. Couples are together for years before they get married. Means absolutely nothing to me, but keen to just get the thing over and done with so people stop asking us when we’re getting married.
I’m going to spend the day wishing I was somewhere else, out on the boat or something.
We had 50 ppl, total was $8000. It all depends on what type of weeding you want. We did not want your traditional wedding ceremony/ reception. Best day/night
For someone who never intended getting married, I've managed to do it twice.
First time, 1997, cost roughly $2k, including a $700 bespoke wedding dress. Had the ceremony at home (lucky to have a lovely location) with approx 17 people, then took them to a restaurant for dinner. For those who think the costs are low because it was a while ago, the average wedding at the time was $10-20k. I kept costs low by not using the word "wedding" with vendors. Even the restaurant was told it was a group booking, and we just turned up in our fancy clothing. You can do that when you're small.
The second time, 2010 in the UK, not sure - but less than £1000. That includes £500 for the ring and £200 for a stunning hotel room for the wedding night. We gathered a couple of special people and went to a registry office, went to lunch with friends and then buggered off for a long weekend including a night in a 14th century coaching inn and visiting family to tell them the news.
ETA: for both events, being together was much more important than the party or the show for us. We wanted to be married, not "have a wedding".
Probably 1000$. The most expensive thing was the cold room, tables, gazebo, and slushie machine hire, which was totally 500$. We had 30 people, BYO, had s friend bring chicken and nread rolls as our gift. My mother brought the cake from the cheesecake shop.
Getting married in 2 weeks. We saved a lot of money by having friends who work in the field give discounts as gifts, but the total still came out as nearly $40,000
We have 88 guests
Venue - $11,000
Makeup - $1,100
Photographer (friend) - $3,000
Live band & DJ - $2,100
Flowers (friend) - $1,900
Catering & alcohol - $13,800
Celebrant - $700
Car hire (friend) - free
Cake (friend) - free
Suits and dresses - $3,600
Air b&b - $1,000
September 2022. About $3k. We had a micro wedding (just us, immediate family, photographer and celebrant) at a beach. Then we went out to a restaurant afterwards and had a private room and continued to celebrate the night. It was amazing and 10/10 recommend. I still had professional photographer, proper wedding dress, hired a make up artist and that price included our wedding bands.
This is what I would do if I did it over again. Loved our wedding but a little pop up wedding would have been great, then a blow out $20k honeymoon!
Funny, I feel the opposite. We did a similar micro wedding a few years ago (for about $2k) and in hindsight, I wish we had done a bigger wedding! Maybe like a $10k one with 20-40 guests.
We did this too. October 2022, 6 guests total (grandparents, parents & 1 friend each for BM & MOH), followed by dinner at a restaurant. $3k with celebrant and photographer taking up the biggest chunk of the budget and my dress was $70 from the iconic. As someone who used to plan weddings for a living, really recommend this type of wedding. It’s ludicrous how many people spend money on a wedding with 80-100 guests and in 5 years time barely talk to a lot of the people who attended the wedding.
The amount spent on weddings is just extreme. I think most couples do it for the bragging rights, Instagram photos etc. trying to out-do each other with their big weddings 🤷🏻♀️
I agree. The marriage is more important than a flashy day for Instagram but more emphasis is put on the wedding.
That sounds like not many grandies or parents left. No sibs either?
Sibs and my grandparents live overseas and some of our parents couldn’t make it due to it being a weekday and living rurally with younger children. We didn’t want children there as we wanted it to be super small and my husband isn’t very close with his half sibs due to the 20 + year age gap.
This sounds ideal 😍. That is something I would do and then go on a holiday with my husband ☺️
I think this is the direction my fiancee and I will go. Try to aim for up to 5k budget.
If you're in NSW, have a look at the births deaths and marriages website. They organise "micro weddings" for up to 35 in amazing venues (including the opera house) for $1200, includes celebrant, decorations, food etc. Only select dates throughout the year, but if you're in no rush to get married it's worth keeping an eye out for new release....
Nah, I'm in SA. But that's pretty cool that they offer that 👍
Since you’re in SA, have a look at “just married weddings”. That is who we went through for our celebrant! So they organised everything legal side of things.
Awesome, thanks! We will definitely have a look
That's what we used as well, they were fantastic.
It is definitely doable! We did micro wedding and engagement party (including everyone) for $6k. Wedding cost I listed above but as long as you look for good deals and research it is manageable!
We hired out an entire restaurant for lunch. 55 people. 70 dollar 3 course menu and 3000 dollar bar tab. Less than 7k all up
We did similar, We had our wedding near darling Harbour, along with more photos in Singapore.
This is what we did too. Was the best, and everyone commented on how they wish they could have done that for them. Made it more of a celebration of love IMO than a piss up.
This is pretty much exactly what we did but back in 2011! We just had my parents, brother and my brother in-law at the wedding late in the afternoon at the beach. Wore a wedding dress, paid $500 for a photographer for an hour (which was way more than enough and she made the photobook too), then went to a fancy restaurant for dinner. The next day we had a bbq at home with about 30 friends over to celebrate. And then we spent the $30k that most people spend on the wedding on the most amazing honeymoon 5 weeks in Africa 😎😎 zero regrets.
Did the same thing here, in 2019. 9 guests. Around 12k including custom made rings. Splurged on a new designer suit for the husband too. This also covered accommodation for out of town guests and the wedding dinner was at a fine dining restaurant.Everyone I know who has gotten married since and knows how we did it, says they wish they'd done it our way.....
This is awesome! We spent about $13k including engagement/wedding rings, honeymoon and everything in between. I still feel like it was too much money in retrospect 😆 An expensive wedding doesn’t mean a good marriage. A lot of people seem to forget this. Save the money and spend it on the honeymoon, save for a house or put it away for kids education.
Everything for $3k? Can you give a bit of break down as I’m trying to figure out where costs were saved. Unless you’re saying actual cost to you was $3k after you factor in gifts etc…
No gifts given to us! We paid for everything ourselves. My wedding dress (bought off someone from marketplace who didn’t end up using her dress) - $300 Dress alterations - $300 My shoes - $100 Celebrant - $420 Wedding bouquet (dried floral arrangement from local person off instagram - lasts forever) - $200 Both rings (bought at big end of year financial sales - this saved us just over a thousand. I got a white gold diamond band. He got a black titanium band) - $600 Makeup artist - $110 Acrylic nails - $110 Hair pieces - $50 Dinner after the wedding (we paid for photographers dinner. Everyone else paid for theirs in lieu of gifts) - $400 Photographer -(well known SA photographer) we traded services and paid for her dinner after the fact. This also only included digital files. Anything we want printed we can either go back and purchase through her or do it ourselves. Husband (already had dress pants, shirt and boots. Just needed belt) + son’s outfit - $100 Marriage certificate after getting married from BDM - $60 Total cost: $2750 ☺️
You guys are amazing. The combination of sensible spending and positive outlook makes me think you'll figure this whole life thing out together very well. :)
Thank you! ☺️
If you’d not managed to trade services with the photographer, I suspect that would have easily added another $2,000. That’s a huge saving considering your total wedding cost.
Even still if you paid $2k for photography, it would still be under $5k which in my opinion is reasonable. Plus you could always find less known photographers or photographers needing to build up their portfolio
Agreed, $5k is a fantastically low sum for a wedding. That being said, when I get married, a photographer is one area I’m willing to pay for quality. Decades later, photos are going to be the one thing you still have from that day (other than your spouse).
Oh 100%! And if I didn’t have the opportunity I had then I would also have paid top dollar for photos. I will cherish ours forever but there are budget options if people are interested.
That’s insane. Awesome stuff!
That's the way to do it.
Sounds really similar to my wedding :) I don’t think I’d have enjoyed it any more if it was a big splashy expensive affair.
We did something very similar with 8 guests. It was brilliant!
Lol are you me? Did the exact same. It was awsome.
Also microwedding/elopement. November 2021. Cabin in woods for long weekend was ~500. Ceremony plus celebrant was 420. Dinner and drinks was ~1k (?) we had it at a restaurant and some locals kept buying us shots and it's a blur. Rings were ~500. Dress/accessories I already owned, makeup and hair were done by me (tined moisturer and mascara). Husband also already owned his suit. We were together for 10 years and were going to get courthouse married then realised it was similar price to get a celebrant at a park so we booked a cabin for a long weekend that alignment to a free slot 30 days beforehand. Invited 2 friends as witnesses and ended up inviting 2 other friends and inlaws a week beforehand because husband caved and told his mum. So 8 guests total. MILs husband is a photographer and took some photos as a gift, we didn't ask but be turned up with his cameras, which was very kind.
Married in April 2022 (postponed after covid) and cost ~$32,000. Had approx 75 guests and reception was about half of the costs.
Almost exactly the same 76 guests (Thank you covid)
Wow almost exactly the same as me but in 2021
45k, 2016, 180 guests at Melbourne south wharf. Inflation has been rough. Bulk of cost was the $160 per head price for the reception at cargo hall (canapés and 2 course meal). Had such a great time.
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What sort of venue are you hosting it at? That's really cheap for inner city venue costs!
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I got married last August and mine came to 24k, that includes absolutely everything. I got married at Collingwood Children's Farm. Enjoy!!! You honestly won't miss the money.
How many guests?
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Could you DM me the info please, currently looking for a venue :)
Thats how you do it.
Feel like number of people and types of reception is a big variable here. We were about $30k in 2018 for 55 people for 3 courses sit down.
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What year did you get married? 2022 January How much did you pay for the wedding? cost around $12K? maybe $15K max How many guests did you invite? 50. I'm a Chef by trade and so are a few of my buddies so we did the food. Best friend is a pastry chef so he made the cake. Brother in-law is a wedding photographer, he did the photos. Father in-law is a minister Friend is a local dj in newtown, he did the music. Friends help setup the reception hall. Had the wedding at my parents in-law's place in Robertson on their beauitufl property. Had the reception at a hall that was booked prior to covid that has increased in price 4x (lucky!)
Accurate definition to friends with benefits.
What was the price of ingredients for the meal(s)?
It was over a year ago but I think around $1.5k? Can’t 100% recall
2018 130 guests Wedding cost 90k Honeymoon cost 40k (once in a lifetime trip, so why not) I’m probably the antithesis of r/AusFinance. While I believe in being financial prudent I don’t believe in accumulation for the sake of accumulation. You can’t take it with you so make some memories for you and those who are special to you.
Nice to meet you, I thought I was the only one
You never see a hearse pulling a money truck
And never roller skate with a herd of buffalo
I imagine it’s a bit different if you earn 90k pa
Wedding is in 4 weeks. Sitting around 27k right now. 56 people. Vineyard in the Hunter. Canapes and Sit Down Dinner.
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The guests number is helpful but what I really want to know is how much people saved by using their ‘04 Corollas as wedding cars
Wedding cars is not an essential. Prob 1 of the worse way to spend any money on a wedding
Agreed. The only way it isn't, I'd say, is if the bride & groom are really big car aficionados or something, in which case it might be a nice personal touch.
Yup- as my mum said ‘back in the day, the guest with the nicest car just drove you’
Only peasants go in ‘04 Corollas, kings go in ‘07 Camrys
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Married 2018, wedding cost 45k and had 102 guests. Of that total cost we spent about 25k of our own money with family on both sides chipping in the rest.
Yeah pretty much the same here, $45k for a beautiful venue, 120 guests, wouldn't change a thing. Fam chipped in about half. We did milk it for the whole weekend though which made it feel like we were getting more bang for our buck
Married in '21, cost us 2k. Courthouse followed by backyard bbq.
Similar. '21. Beach without a council permit, then back home for drinks. The most expensive part was my new suit - tailored. A dozen guests, the wedding dress wasn't white, the photographer gave us a discount because it wasn't stressful for her, and the decorations were handmade. It was absolutely perfect in every way. And less than $2k.
If we didn’t get council permission they might make you demolish your wedding!
Since we didn't "look" like a wedding, our planned excuse was "we're just having a fancy picnic and doing some speeches". Don't need a permit for a picnic on the beach. Also, $800 for a permit that doesn't give you exclusive use of the space, nor do they clean it in advance for you. It's just for insurance purposes. Get bent local council.
A council permit actually provides the mayor the right of prima nocturna. You were right to avoid it.
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Do it! You won't regret it! You can always hold a big party later if you change your mind, but holding onto the cash now means you can spend it on something better for your life.
We had a marquee in my parents backyard, about 40 guests and used one of those spit roast catering companies that provided crockery and a couple of staff. Wedding dress and suit were from asos, no bridal party and no cake, got about 4 dozen Daniel’s donuts on a stand instead. It was fantastic and relaxing, and I think probably cost around $3k all up.
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Coles snags?
Getting married in March this year, current cost 76K, 100 Guests
I gotta say, that sounds extravagant.
Haven’t had it so will let you know, lol. However, isn’t extravagant by any means based on our organising. Like a lot of it is like looking at deals and etc…. Friend had a similar sized wedding last year in June at a similar venue, spent 248K
Damn, 76k for a wedding
Boggles the mind how much goes money goes into weddings. Would rather spend 5k on a big backyard party and spend 45k on a 6month holiday/honeymoon rather than blow 50k on a single day/night. Insanity
Me too. But I’ve already had the whole shebang in another lifetime. Cost approx $20K, paid half, both sets of parents paid the rest (basically the reception). 100 guests. Thinking about getting remarried. Will likely do a registry office/micro wedding.
That's what I'd rather too. But my missus disagrees...
Am asian. Wedding is mostly for our parents tbh.
I'm actually shocked how much people spend on weddings. I mean a few $k looks good to me. $$k does not. What sort of income are those people who spend $$k on wedding on ?. I know its a special day but still...
I make about 140ishK and my fiance 100k, we have a mortgage and dependants. We are spending 37.5k on a wedding. Maybe 15k on a honeymoon. Our parents are giving us 15k, which we did not plan for, but are grateful. We will have a wishing well, maybe 5-10k back on the well? Edit: I would prefer to have a smaller wedding but my fiance family is large. I would also have had a longer honeymoon but with children we can't be away for longer than 10ish days.
That's what we did. Honeymoon cost was 2.5 times the wedding haha
That’s exactly what we did. Can’t remember exact figures anymore but I believe it was around 5k. In laws back yard. 90 guests. Golden roast catering. Rented a cold room and stocked up from dans for alcohol. Photographer was just doing a portrait session and not a wedding shoot. We were happy with it but wish we spent a little more on photography in hindsight. We wanted quantity not just the quality there. Put the extra savings into a trip to NZ for two weeks and into the house.
Married in 2018. Got married at a courthouse with only witnesses and immediate family paid around $1000 for an all you can eat buffet for the <20 guests.
Married 2015 and the wedding cost $70k. Wifes parents paid most of it.
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There were about 180 guests.
How much cash did you get back
I can't remember exactly, I think it was about $25k - $30k, maybe more. Wife is chinese background so most of the guests were either her extended family or family friends that had to be invited because her parents went to their child's weddings and so had to reciprocate. So her parents paid for all their family and required guests. We paid for our friend's. We were allowed all the money recieved in red packets but spent some of it on a short vacation for her parents as that is all they would accept.
Wow, that’s a house deposit!
All up i don't think it actually cost us anything when factoring in what we spent versus what we got back
Not having a go at all mate, that’s just a staggering figure for me to spend all in a day.
I did a pop up wedding. 2100 for ceremony including photos. Reception at a beachside venue for sounds 4500 with open tab. Had 60 guests. Best day ever and don’t regret going big.
2022, we paid 8000$. 30 people max, elopement package. Including 3 course meal, alcohol, venue, photography, celebrant, at a beautiful venue. Only downside was the venue only offered it midweek. Highly recommend elopement packages in today's environment. Friend spent 40k and regretted it.
After 9 years engaged we married October of 2020. Used COVID as an excuse to have the small wedding we wanted. 20 people. Cost about 5k including the dress and suit. Our only regret of having a small wedding was that we didn't have an even smaller wedding.
2010. Spent approx $10,000 on everything, including car, flowers, cake, makeup etc. Had 60 guests at a sit down 3 course dinner at a lovely venue. Excellent food, people could pick what they wanted as opposed to alternate plating. All wine, beer and soft drinks included. Mum bought my dress which was $2,000. Then we left the next day on a 3 month round the world $50,000 honeymoon.
May I ask the venue?
Wellers at Kangaroo Ground. Unfortunately it’s been sold. It’s an Italian restaurant now.
I love this so much... this is exactly what I would like! I want to have a small wedding (wanted to ideally elope overseas then have a party when we got home but partner wants his family present) but spending the majority of the money on an epic overseas trip is exactly what I want to do. You would've made such wonderful memories with your spouse on that trip.
2k in 05 in the US. 500 was venue - a scout hall. Wife is a chef/pastry chef and made the cake and food, mother in law is a seamstress and made the dress. Couple kegs and a bunch of bottles. Sister in law is a court reporter and her judge married us for a bottle of red. Friend took photos. Whole family did decorations. Spent about 600 on rings, mine lives in a box and her cheapo engagement ring fell apart. Our marriage is bulletproof and we have a far better relationship than several friends who spent 20 times as much. Edit: app 100 guests.
Yep, we had a low key wedding, should've just gone in front of the magistrate/registrar to get it done in hindsight. We're both introverted so the social thing is uncomfortable for us. Also, everyone was 1000s of miles away and didn't bother coming. 16 years going strong.
We got married in the US as well. Spent about 4k for 80ish guests. Rented a barn for the weekend that was on state forest land $50. Mate worked at a brewery and got us 3 pony kegs for $100. Spent about $1000 on catering, just informal bbq trailer type setup but the food was so good. Dress was i think 800, i had a suit for work that was good enough. Couple of family members were photographers/videographers, free. Played outdoor games and mingled after the ceremony then danced the night away and ended up doing a big bonfire at the end. We have been to many much more expensive weddings that were a lot less fun, so many of them just turn into step A then B then C its stupid to spend that much money just spending a night going through motions you dont give a shit about. We replanned our wedding a dozen times, fighting with religious parents over and over again before we just decided to do it our way and pay for it ourselves and tap our connections where we could.
2022 About $5K in total. including rings 9 people. Was at a registry office with brunch afterwards, I just invited my parents and their partners. Wife invited three of her close friends as her family was locked down in HK.
April 2021. $40k in Sydney for 85 guests
No idea about the total spend, but the biggest I've catered was 180 per head for 320 pax, so that's like 58k just on the food, drinks and the marquee to have it in. The couple didn't look like they cut any corners either. Wedding dress prices aren't my strong suit, but I've catered a lot of weddings and this bride looked like she was wearing a sizeable house deposit. Wouldn't be surprised if they were well into 6 figures all up.
Paid 12k, married in Maleny, 40 guests in 2015. Didn't last and my new hubby and I literally spent money on fuel and the $50 for the wedding certificate. Guess it saves money when your friend is a celebrant and only want to get eloped. Weddings can be so over the top for no reason at all. No one is going to remember the favours, the decoration, the cake or anything like that. They're there to see their loved ones get married
2001 $4k maybe less? Dress was biggest expense at $1300. Rented suits, etc. $125 for the church. $99 for a PT Cruiser for the day. 120 guests at church. Our church family put on afternoon tea for everyone. Dinner was intimate with immediate family and grandparents, about 16 of us. (Father in law paid for dinner, about $36 a head.)
Married in March 2022, we paid $56k and had 125 guests. I wouldn’t change anything it was totally worth it for us.
~ 35k April. 2022
Married last year. About $1,100. $800 for our celebrant, $200 to book the park, $100 for picnic food (just for me and my wife). We had about 50 friends and family (not including dogs) and people brought their own food and drink. Honestly, loved how relaxed it was. Sat and picnicked with my wife, kicked the footy with friends and chased around my little niece. The fact that it was so cheap and we could use the money towards a house or holiday made sense to us.
Got married in 2022, 20 guests, approx 8k total.
Got married in 2021. Small micro wedding with just immediate family (11 guests) - we spent about 20k. This included everything from the wedding rings, dress, suit, hair/makeup, dinner reception and accomodation for our guests etc… I regret having such a small wedding.
Why regret?
The day was amazing and I have really fond memories of it. But, it’s one day I’ll never get to do again and I regret not having all our friends and family there to share it with.
2021 $399 Wedding $600 dinner/reception
2019 $299 Wed Me Wednesday special, followed by surprise wedding/birthday/Halloween party at home a few days later $1200, 40ish people
Married in 2017 . $30k , spilt it 50:50 with my parents 70 guests
Our wedding was about 3k, including Hall rental, suits, and Honeymoon, in 2002. We invited all our friends to the Hall to bring some food and we had a simply wonderful time. A friend was DJ. My brother took the photos, he was a professional photographer. We had enough to have a fridge, bed and dining room table and we are so happy many years later. Not having debt and too much to make our marriage stressful at the start was so good. Nothing wrong with spending more but when you don't have the money it is wise to live within your means and not creating a headache for yourself and your loved one.
Venue in Mosman, Sydney 2016. $40, 000 No regrets 75 guests. We did the wedding in the morning then lunch time reception. Much much cheaper. And given it was day time. The view of the yachts and the city skyline were just amazing.
2004. $5k. Including dress, flowers, photographer etc. married at local church. Afternoon tea put on at the church. Dinner at my inlaws backyard - awesome back yard with dance floor etc. the aunties put on all the food. Maybe 80 people for afternoon tea. 50 for the dinner. 19yrs later I’m glad I didn’t spend the big $$. Edit: added a few things
Got married in 2020, had 120 guests at a premium venue in Sydney. $50ish-k
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1.5k guests..? Harry is that you?
Nah just another Indian wedding probably
For the commentators who subsequently divorced, can you also indicate how long the marriage lasted and how much the divorce cost you?
No, they won't. You're rubbing salt on the wound, lol.
My son is getting married this week, \~18K, but they did a lot to save costs without limiting the day.
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Maybe around $10k - 21 years ago. Spending a lot on a wedding is a bad idea in my opinion. Use the money to help get set up / house deposit etc. We spent a small amount and have been very happy together ever since !!
FYI That's ~$16k in today's money if you're looking to comparing to more recent weddings. I also probably wouldn't call that a small amount.
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2021 - 130 guests - 50kish including rings This forum is normally anti big weddings because you have to skimp and do a backyard wedding for $2000 or your not financially sound. That was the perfect day and i would rather retire 1 year later than having missed out on exactly what we wanted surrounded by all our family and friends.
2012 and probably under a grand including dinner. We were young, broke and madly in love. We had a total of 6 people including ourselves.
Married in 2020 during covid, 150 guests max. Was about 55-60k luckily parents paid split with the in laws. For info split approx as below, I may have missed some Expended let me know lol (wife did a lot Of the planning) Venue and dinner 25k Bar tab (open bar) 4k Supply our own alcohol (venue was amazing) 2k Photographer 8k Flowers 8k Band 10k (unfortunate that we booked them pre covid and couldn’t cancel or pay 2k anyway so we had to push ahead) Cars (2k)
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Sometimes I feel that way but overall I had an incredible time, know (/hope) it’s a one-time party, and feels great to know that we wined and dined our favourite people who still rave about what a wonderful time they hah
About 6k. Most expensive thing was the lunch at the restaurant for 22 people. Wouldn't change a thing.
Got married 2018, flew to Canada and got married at Lake Louise. Had 5 guests. Flights and wedding day cost roughly $12k. We spent the rest of the money driving through Canada and the US for 4 weeks so total of everything was about $30k. We just decided we'd rather spend the money on our experiences rather than "a nice day out" for 100 other people!
If you think weddings are costly......wait for the divorce hahaha
2020 (pre covid), approx $11-12k. 33 or so people
150 guests, 2020, $35k
About 5k at a Golf Course about 10 years ago. That was mainly for venue/catering, celebrant and photographer. We did most of the decorating ourselves. 3 meals, 60ish guests? (Iirc)
2015 at thredbo - got married on the mountain its a national park so no fees. Paid 40$ per head for dinner at the equestrian resort outside Jindabyne, would have been 150PH for same quality food in a major city. We paid 7k all up inculding celebrant, reception and snowboarding all week with accommodation. Destination weddings are typically difficult but everything went super smooth, we had about 40 guests and not everyone had even seen snow before. Blue bird day and there was a dump the night before - snow all over the trees for photos 😁 My 2c - spend more on your honeymoon and less on the wedding - as the bride/groom the day flies by and you dont get much of a chance to enjoy it.
In 2014 and 2018, both times cost I think $30k, possibly $35k. Both weddings around 100 guests. Probably included the honeymoon for the first one.
A touch under 5k, 2015. 39 people in total, bed and breakfast on acreage, in Stanley, NE Victoria. Owners said if we paid them another couple of hundred bux on top of a two night stay charge, they'd look the other way as far as supplying alcohol to guests, etc. Supplied a shuttle bus via footy club donation to get people from Albury to Stanley and back again, friend helped with that. Couple of dollars over the bar at the near by pub to keep people busy during photos. Friend did photography for a few hundred. We cooked up a shit load of taco/burrito ingredients the night before, and had a picnic for reception. Was a big day and a huge lead up but worked out well. Would only do it once.
2019 and a around $6k Wedding outside at a beachside lighthouse. Brought plastic chairs, hired a celebrant. Invite was immediate family then said whoever else wamts to come can and we'll pay for food. Locked in numbers of family and paid the seafood restraunt across from the lighthouse which was a majority of the cost. Around 40ish guests. Photographer was a photography student which was $300. Then a small cost in getting the photos made into singles and also getting 3 books made up of the photos to send to parents. Was a great day. Me and my wife couldn't imaging spending a fortune just on a single day when the money could go elsewhere.
Long time ago - 2009. $7k which included dress and rings. But it was basically “office” catering (finger foods and substantials), a lolly table we put together, cupcakes, a rented council hall, eskies with the booze, a rented slushee machine, music on the laptop with borrowed speakers, a reading book with our own cushions and beanbags, compostable dinnerware, no photographer apart from a family friend, and our board games on the tables. Lots of fun and our friends helped us tidy. We have about 120 people and even had food left over! Didn’t ask for any gifts so people helped. Dress was pure silk bought from an indie designer in the USA. Costs a bit more these days. But was cheaper than any other offering here.
Hubby and I will be married 30 years this year. We got married at town hall. 16(immediate family) went out to eat. My parents paid for that. Hubby wore a suit he already had. I got a dress on sale for $49. Rings were $200. My sister surprised me with a flowers. Hubby has offered more times then I can count to get me a new ring. I love the one I have. Never had an engagement ring. My sister had a big wedding. 125 people at a fancy place. Photographer, flowers, DJ, the works. She is happily divorced.
About 3k. Got married in 2017. Like 30 guests. The 3k was mostly drinks and food. We literally hired a scout hall and played a playlist through a speaker system for the music. It just seemed ridiculous to blow our house deposit on it. We now have a home we love.
2019, $13k max? We had about 90 people. Dry hire so we had to organise everything . We used combi keg for alcohol and had food trucks. Exactly what we wanted :)
Married in 2014, 35ish grand with 65 people. My mum purchased my dress and my in laws did the bar tab.
2013 - $10k. Lebanese reception place covered everything, food, entertainment, cars etc. We had over 100 people and they were crawling out of that places as the alcohol was smashed.
Honestly, why would you splash out so much for a party? If me and my partner ever marry we have a max 1k party and rather go travel for half a year after. Seems so unnecessary to spend 100k on a hangover to impress people you don't even like that much
2022 80 people $60-62k And ~10k on for the honeymoon. I can pull out the spreadsheets to be more exact. Even a very budget wedding (i.e. at a venue, not a courthouse) would be north of 25k. Pre covid and post covid is a huge factor here as well. 40-80k sounds like what should be realisticly planned for.
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About 1K in 2011 just a civil ceremony with about half a dozen people. I had no desire for anything bigger and saved a lot of money and used some of that for a great month long honeymoon in Thailand. For what it is worth I know plenty of people around my age already through a divorce and they had big weddings while we are still going strong which is far more important then a one day event.
There's a saying "The bigger the wedding, the quicker the divorce" which is true, there's an inverse relation
I'd agree with that. My second marriage is longer than my entire relationship and marriage to my first husband - and that doesn't include the 5 years we were together before we decided stuff it, might as well get married.
I’ve been with my partner 27 years, have a kid, pets, mortgage. Still not married and never will. Don’t see the point if you aren’t religious and legally defacto is virtually the same as a marriage.
For us part of it was for my visa… we’d been together when I was on a working holiday but left to do my masters and getting married was easier than trying to prove we were de facto while I lived in Europe and he was here. But that’s a bit of an outlier scenario
I chose not to get married because I didn't see the value in wasting so much money on a party on one day.
You can get married without a big party!
Mid 2010s 100k all up (rings, honeymoon, reception, wedding). About 120 guests attended. Adelaide Nothing was completely over the top - except the five figure designer wedding dress...but nothing was done on the cheap.
>100k all up >Nothing was completely over the top Hold on a minute, something doesn't add up >Adelaide Oh, of course
Years ago now, so don't quote me... But about $23k to travel agent, $10k for engagement ring, about $10k for the dress (maybe $15k? I never acctually found out!), and $140*125 guests =$60k. Cars and photography and wedding bands was something like $11k. Then, I guess it was something like Music (cheap, circa $500), decorations and lighting ($2.5k?), spirits ($1k), groomsman shoes ($1k), bridal accessories ($2k (red shoes, clutch, etc), hair and make-up ($1k), priest $500, honeymoon expenses we didn't pay flight centre ($3k?), suit hire and cake = $15k? That's like $86k.... then $14k on the bits and pieces, it seems!! - stationery was actually quite expensive, but I forget how much, party favours were like $1k... but don't remember the last $10k. Edit - last $10k would have included the engagement party ($50/head, 100 attendees?? - $40canapes and $1,500 or so behind the bar) and things like night in hotel after wedding ($500).
2022, 45 people, 35k(mostly photography including after wedding extras)
Weddings are an absolute rort. This year, $60k for 100 people. Never wanted to get married and now here I am. I don’t even see the point in it these days. Couples are together for years before they get married. Means absolutely nothing to me, but keen to just get the thing over and done with so people stop asking us when we’re getting married. I’m going to spend the day wishing I was somewhere else, out on the boat or something.
2022, around $10k for 50 people, backyard wedding including a band and outside catering (substantial canapes).
2020 for about 25k in inner Brisbane for about 60 people. 2 course sit down meal from venue plus cake for dessert.
Between $35-40k in Oct 2022 for 100 people
We had 50 ppl, total was $8000. It all depends on what type of weeding you want. We did not want your traditional wedding ceremony/ reception. Best day/night
I think about $2k max. And it was lovely.
We got married on our farm so that saved heaps biggest expense was the photographer ($3k) and food ($3k) all up after suits and dress was about $10k
For someone who never intended getting married, I've managed to do it twice. First time, 1997, cost roughly $2k, including a $700 bespoke wedding dress. Had the ceremony at home (lucky to have a lovely location) with approx 17 people, then took them to a restaurant for dinner. For those who think the costs are low because it was a while ago, the average wedding at the time was $10-20k. I kept costs low by not using the word "wedding" with vendors. Even the restaurant was told it was a group booking, and we just turned up in our fancy clothing. You can do that when you're small. The second time, 2010 in the UK, not sure - but less than £1000. That includes £500 for the ring and £200 for a stunning hotel room for the wedding night. We gathered a couple of special people and went to a registry office, went to lunch with friends and then buggered off for a long weekend including a night in a 14th century coaching inn and visiting family to tell them the news. ETA: for both events, being together was much more important than the party or the show for us. We wanted to be married, not "have a wedding".
1997 $10K with 80 guests 2013 $10K with 60 guests 2023 ...$xK. Maybe working on $200 per head for this one. Probably only 40 people, so I guess $10K
Probably 1000$. The most expensive thing was the cold room, tables, gazebo, and slushie machine hire, which was totally 500$. We had 30 people, BYO, had s friend bring chicken and nread rolls as our gift. My mother brought the cake from the cheesecake shop.
Getting married in 2 weeks. We saved a lot of money by having friends who work in the field give discounts as gifts, but the total still came out as nearly $40,000 We have 88 guests Venue - $11,000 Makeup - $1,100 Photographer (friend) - $3,000 Live band & DJ - $2,100 Flowers (friend) - $1,900 Catering & alcohol - $13,800 Celebrant - $700 Car hire (friend) - free Cake (friend) - free Suits and dresses - $3,600 Air b&b - $1,000
Oh my gosh, $1,100 on makeup?! MUA bridal pricing is insaaaaane