How to Budget For A Wedding in Australia

Just search “wedding budget” in a search engine and you will be bombarded by a barrage of “experts” telling you how much you should budget on each vendor and part of your day.
Similarly, if you go looking in a bridal magazine, they also are ready to tell you what you should spend on what suppliers.

Here is the problem … THEY DON’T KNOW YOU! (But neither do we!)

That is why we wouldn’t be assumptive enough to know what you actually want from your wedding day.

Furthermore, a lot of the wedding budgets you find are from the US, so not applicable when you are looking for how to budget for a wedding in Australia!

So … how do I budget for a wedding in Australia?

Well, Australian prices will differ considerably to the US counterparts. Also, in the US there are some things they have at weddings that we don’t really have.
For example, vegetable platters are a common thing there, not so much here.

The big problem with most wedding budgets and wedding budget calculators you find online (or in magazines) is that they are not tailored to what is important to YOU!

If the wedding budget you find was written by a stylist, they are going to suggest (because of their bias) you spent more on styling.
A make-up artist will skew it towards make-up and so forth.

As an entertainer, I believe that entertainment is the only element that actually gives people a “good time” for your day, so I would be biased towards allocating more of the budget towards entertainment.

You need to actually ask yourself what is really important to YOU and not let others tell you what they think you should spend your money on.

So … what’s the answer?

There IS no clear answer.  That’s the point!  I, nor any other “expert” should be the one to tell you what you should spend your wedding budget on.
We don’t know what you want or what is most important to you.

However, I would suggest you break down your wedding elements and consider what is most significant for you.

If the most important thing for your day is that you want to look amazing and feel like a real life princess … allocate more to your hair, make-up and dress.
If the most important thing for your day is that you have an amazing meal … allocate more to your food.
If  the most important thing for your day is that the room looks amazing … allocate more to your styling and florist.
If the most important thing for you is that everyone has a good time … allocate more to your entertainment.

There is NO right budget.  There is no ONE budget that suits all.

It is crazy to see all these budgets which don’t even bother to take into consideration in any way what your vision for the “perfect day” is!

How arrogant of these creators of these budgets!

We hope this little insight into working out your budget helps.

We would love to talk to you about your entertainment, and, even if you are budgeting a low figure, help you to find the right supplier for your budget.
We love helping couples even when we are not a part of their journey. We are not the right match for everyone and don’t aim to be.

Warmly,

Nik & Natalie

Here is a link to what the “average” wedding budget was in Australia in 2012. – Money Smart Wedding Budget
(This link is to an Australian Government owned website, so they are not biased like many wedding magazines etc).
This is the perfect link for how to budget for a wedding in Australia!