Savvy Spending: Your Ultimate Wedding Budget Guide + Free Downloadable Spreadsheet

Planning a wedding is exciting, but let's face it – one of the most challenging aspects is nailing down a realistic and achievable budget. Fear not, we've got you covered! Dive into the details with our Free Wedding Budget and Tracker, the ultimate tool to streamline your wedding planning process.

Unlike other cookie-cutter approaches, we believe in tailoring your budget to your unique preferences and financial capacity. It's not about adhering to generic percentages; it's about what you can genuinely afford and what matters most to you.

Reality Check

Weddings are undoubtedly costly, not because of the "wedding" label, but because you're hosting a day-long celebration for numerous guests. Consider this – a night out with good food, drinks, entertainment, and transport, then multiply it by 100. And that's just the beginning; you've still got flowers, décor, makeup, attire, and more to factor in.

How Much Do Weddings Cost?

In New Zealand, the average wedding falls within the $35,000 - $45,000 range (excluding the honeymoon). Understanding what's typically included in wedding costs is crucial, so let's delve into the details.

What Can You Afford?

Let's talk about the often-overlooked flip side – what can you realistically afford? Start by openly discussing these questions with your partner:

• How much do we currently have in savings?

• What's our average monthly savings?

• Is anyone else contributing (e.g., parents)?

• When do we ideally want the wedding?

These answers provide a clear picture of your financial standing. If others are contributing, ensure expectations are laid out clearly – are they giving money or specific contributions to vendors? Open communication avoids future misunderstandings.

Considerations that Impact Cost

1.      Location

It shouldn’t come as a shock that some places are more expensive to host a wedding than others – Christchurch weddings will be cheaper than a Queenstown wedding and more remote wedding locations will be more expensive than one in a city due to travel and availability of vendors.

2.      Guest List

The number of guests you’d like on your day will considerably impact your budget. You will be seating them, feeding them and watering them all day and night and this is a fairly large chunk of your overall budget.

Want to know our way of trimming the guestlist? Let’s use the estimate of $150 per guest for food/drink, divide that by your take-home hourly wage. Are you OK working that many hours to have them there on your day? It’s a bit ruthless yes, but it’s 100% the reality and will quickly make those decisions for you.

3.      Venue

If you have a smaller budget, you may want to consider a backyard wedding, or even a venue that allows you to BYO alcohol which can save you thousands. Do be mindful though that venues like community halls mean you need to allow for a larger hire budget for furniture and linens aswell as delivery and setup costs – so weigh this up when making these decisions. Similarly, a marquee wedding has so many options, but it will cost more than the average wedding venue.

4.      Wedding Date + Timings

Opting for a later start time, even a twilight ceremony so no cocktail hour/canapes are needed will save you – as will considering a shorter wedding day. You may want to consider opting for a lunchtime affair instead.

Setting Your Priorities

Identify your must-haves and discuss them openly. Whether it's food, florals, or other elements, create a list to guide you through quotes and decision-making.

Wedding Costs

You want your wedding to be unforgettable, but you also don't want to break the bank. Let's navigate the budget minefield together, exploring where to splurge and where to save to create a celebration that's both special and financially viable for you.

Of course, there are more parts than just these below, but these are main parts and give a good guideline of costs.

Food

Most weddings have guests arriving from 2.30pm and leaving at about midnight. This is a long time to keep guests fed and hydrated. You’d be looking at canapes, main meal and supper for this duration so keep this in mind when you are looking at what you can comfortably afford or want to spend and this will dictate the timings and structure of your day.

Pricing: $100 - $140 pp (canapes, main meal, dessert and supper)

Drinks

This varies on whether you have a BYO venue or your venue has their own bar service, and whether you choose to have a cocktails or other spirits. We haven’t included bar service costs in here if you’re BYO so this is something to also consider (pricing can range from $1500 - $3000 for bar service and can include staffing only, cleaning, glassware and other sundries)

Pricing: $40 - $80 pp

Photographer/Videographer

This is the biggest day of your lives, so capturing it is super important. You’ll find vendors with varying skills and with that varying pricing. Find a style you love, and ask to see full galleries of weddings to get a true overview of their work on a wedding day.

Pricing: $4000 - $8000 (each)

Hire and Styling

Linens, candles and signage all elevate your wedding's aesthetic. Linens add texture and dimension. If you're on a budget, consider textured linens and candles as centerpieces or skip the welcome sign unless it serves a practical purpose.

Given this is our forte, the range below is the minimum we’d recommend for small hire and signage, and towards max end would include furniture and service costs such as delivery and setup.

Pricing: $2500 - $8000

Florals

Florals set the tone of your wedding. If you’re on a budget we would recommend budvases, and repurposing your ceremony floral to your head table area for the reception. You can also have more simple bouquets for bridesmaids.

Consider the style of your florals – if you’re inspirational photos are floral heavy with no greenery then this will significantly increase your floral costs. As will any installations or large floral arrangements for key areas such as your bar or ceremony.

Pricing: $4000 - $9000

Entertainment

Band or DJ? You’ll have a preference, and each option comes with a range of pricing depending the experience and quality of equipment.

Pricing: $1500 - $4000

Celebrant

Last but absolutely not least - you can’t get married without one! Do remember that your celebrant will not only meet with you, write your ceremony and be there for your rehearsal – there is a LOT of admin work that goes into this before the day. It is the one area we see so often undervalued for the true work they do.

Pricing: $500 - $1200

Where To Save On

There are some non-essentials you could

• Invitations – save yourself hundreds of dollars by going digital.

• Favours – these are much a thing of the past, they are something that is often left behind by guests so they’re an easy pass.

• Transportation – if your venue isn’t out of town and has easy access to public transport, Ubers and taxis this is something that you could consider cutting from your budget.

• Next Day Lunch – this may be a controversial one! Unless someone else is hosting, organising (and paying for) the day after brunch or lunch, then consider skipping this one. You’ve just had a big day and night, you don’t need to put further expectations on you.

Unexpected Costs

• Remember your catering charge per person may not include other service or equipment fees such as serving tables, cutlery and crockery and travel so check this with your caterer.

• Meals on the leadup, catch-ups with out-of-town guests prior to the wedding day

• Alterations of any wedding attire

• Travel costs for any vendors needing to get to you (e.g. photographer, videographer, makeup/hair, floral delivery etc)

Ultimately, It’s Your Day!

Striking a balance is key. Allocate funds to what matters most, and don't hesitate to make cuts elsewhere. Remember, the goal is a memorable wedding within your means. Download our Free Wedding Budget and Tracker spreadsheet to stay organized and make informed decisions throughout your planning journey. Your dream wedding is within reach – let's make it happen!

Download the Free Wedding Budget and Tracker

Of course, we wouldn’t leave you empty handed! We’ve got our free downloadable Wedding Budget + Tracker spreadsheet available for you to download right now. This has every single area covered that we could think of, so you can dive in and not only track your budget well, but also quotes, deposits and contact details of vendors no matter where you are in your planning journey.

Grab this below!