Weddings on a budget

When you were young, and you dreamed of your perfect wedding day, we’ll hazard a guess that the fantasy never involved you googling ‘weddings on a budget’.

But whatever – what did the young version of you know? The real world is expensive, and getting married is an industry of its own.

Wanting to make your big day as magical as possible while keeping your wedding costs low is normal. Yes, you definitely should dream as big as you want, but if your wedding finance needs look like having a significant impact on your financial future, it might be time to put your thinking cap on and start planning smarter, not harder.

We’ve put together our five top tips to help you keep your wedding budgeting cinched, while sacrificing none of the style or drama, mama. 😉

Don’t avoid setting a budget for your vendors

This is key, and might seem a little pedestrian, but giving each of your vendors a budget to work from up front can save you money and heartache down the track.

At the beginning of your process, two of the first things you should look to have nailed down are:

• How many people you want to attend your wedding, and
• How much you can affordably pay for your entire wedding – how much you’re comfortable to spend.

Once you have these figures, they’ll help massively, as you can then start dividing up your entire wedding budget into fragments for each vendor. Maybe you won’t scrimp on food and drink, or perhaps killer flowers is a must-have for you. That’s fine – you can move money around within your budget so that you get exactly what you’re after without blowing your budget ceiling.

So, when it comes to each individual vendor, you can approach them straight away with an amount you’re willing to spend, and get them to provide you with options for what they can deliver in your price range.

Put yourself in a vendor’s position – having this budget amount allows you to be honest about the best flowers, entertainment, ceremony or whatever the product or service might be. It ensures that vendor and customer can work together from the get-go as they’re on the same page.

There’s no worse feeling than seeing what’s possible (without discussing budget, first) and then having to have your expectations lowered after money becomes an object. Budgets up front, people!

Don’t forget to shop online for great deals

Whether it’s for jewellery, dresses, suits, photographers or celebrants, the online world is your oyster for planning weddings on a budget.

If you know what you want, and know where to look, you can find cheaper options for most wedding staples online, and what’s more – you’re almost always likely to find something to suit every niche.

• For your dress, if you can’t find anything in your price range and required taste in a boutique, check out non-bridal boutiques and shop the sales from brands that you love to expand your pool of options. You can always check out bridal sample sales to find unique pieces at reduced prices, too. And if you’re thinking about multiple outfit changes over the course of the day, it may work out considerably cheaper for you to just rent a number of dresses or outfits, rather than buy.
• When looking for jewellery, don’t be afraid to head outside traditional marked-up retailers and look for other options. Online antique jewellery retailers have a myriad of storied engagement and wedding rings, in a range of stones so far beyond the white diamond so many of us go for.
• When seeking a celebrant, photographer or musos for your wedding, look for up-and-comers to impress for less. So much of the cost of established wedding professionals comes down to their reputation and demand within the industry, so if you can find someone to confidently do the job for less, why not meet up with them to feel them out and see if it feels like a good fit?

KEY TIP – maximise your time with your photographer and musicians over the day. By planning where you’ll need them and when, you might be able to minimise the hours you’ll need them for, rather than paying for a full day rate, which could add up to significant savings.

Greater Bank

• Lastly, for your wedding ceremony styling, extend your search as far or as local as you need, but don’t discount paying less. After a particular type of glassware? Head onto Facebook Marketplace and start trawling. Want your floristry look to be just so? Find someone willing to think outside the box and use less-expensive greenery to create something magical.

Don’t buy alcohol unless during a sale

You’ll very quickly learn that feeding and watering hundreds of your nearest and dearest equates to a hefty portion of your wedding budget. And that’s OK – it’s a party, after all, right?

There’s no reason why planning a wedding on a budget shouldn’t extend to the drinks, too. If you know what you want to drink, utilise sales from online retailers like Vinomofo and Dan Murphy’s to stock up on your preferred tipples for less.

If you’ve headed off to a winery or destination event space for your wedding, see if they offer any deals with local wineries for bulk orders.

And if you really want to make your wedding stand out while scrimping on the budget, you can limit the choice while keeping supply flowing. Deciding on a signature cocktail or by just serving bubbly at your event, you can limit what you need to buy and hopefully get a better deal.

Don’t use expensive out-of-town vendors or entertainers

Hear us out. No matter whether you’re planning a wedding for 50 people or 500, and on a budget of $25,000 or $250,000 – when it comes to expensive out of town vendors and entertainers, you’re paying extra.

Think about it – These vendors are usually going to factor travel, accommodation and food costs into their fee so as to make their attendance as profitable for them as possible.

Not only will you potentially end up paying less for your wedding by looking local, you also end up with a big day that is unique to your local setting, which is a satisfying feeling.

Don’t forget to plan your venue outside of blackout dates

I want to get married

First of all, congratulations! If you’re getting married, you’re in for quite a ride. Whether your engagement lasts 12 weeks or 12 months, this will be one of the happiest times of your life.

Read our how-to guide

How many weddings have you been to on a Saturday? It seems to be the norm, now, right?

We’re not sure when this took hold, or when the wedding industry cottoned onto this and decided to set their fees accordingly, but thinking outside the box when planning when to hold your big day could literally save you thousands of dollars – we’re serious.

Think about it carefully – you’ll be off work anyway, right? You’ll be on cloud nine – do you really care what day of the week you get married?

Why not have it on a Friday? Or a Sunday?

And if you don’t believe us – here’s a hot tip. With each of your vendors, offer them multiple dates when requesting a quote. Ask for a Friday, a Saturday and a Sunday rate. Get a midweek rate too, if you’re really feeling adventurous.

The differences in cost, especially for venue hire, are simply staggering.

Wedding Finance From Greater Bank

We’ve been helping young couples plan for and begin their lives together for over 75 years. It’s what we do. Whether it’s helping them for their dream wedding day, a new car for baby’s arrival, or the family home to live happily ever after in, we’re here to help.

When planning your wedding, we’ve got a range of options right for every timeframe.

• If you’re a saver, and have the patience to plan your wedding and pay for it yourself, our range of savings accounts, as well as our savings goal calculator and budget calculator may be just what you need.
• If you can’t wait, and are feeling impetuous, a Personal Loan from Greater Bank can help you get what you want sooner. Complete our quick online application form, and once we get in touch to confirm some details, our loans can be approved in as little as 24 hours.