Your wedding day should be one of the happiest days of your life, but for many, the planning process leading up to it is a long and expensive one. In a time of higher interest rates, rising inflation and an increasing cost of living, getting married in Sydney is more expensive than ever. Here are some tips and tricks to help you cut costs when planning your Sydney wedding.
Downsize
On average, the greatest expenses at a wedding are the venue and the catering, who tend to price packages per head. Without a doubt, the most effective way to cut wedding costs in Sydney is to invite fewer guests. There is no hard and fast rule about how to execute the difficult task of narrowing down a list of the people close to you, but if you feel the constraints of a budget, this will inform your decision-making and boundary-setting. Get to know your budget and expenses intimately, and work from there.
On the flip side, a downsized wedding doesn’t necessarily mean inviting fewer guests. A downsized wedding can mean having a private ceremony and choosing to invite your guests only to the reception. It can also mean simplifying or abandoning some traditions. In cases like these, it’s worth exploring alternative catering and venues. Three-course meals and ballrooms do not make a wedding. As long as it feels like a wedding, details like the ‘where’ and the ‘menu’ can be re-jigged to suit you and your budget.
Change The dayÂ
It’s convenient to get married on a Saturday when people tend to be free of work and have the day after to recover. However, if you’re looking to cut costs and simply can’t cull your guest list any further, switching to a Friday or a Sunday might be a good fit for you.
Hire
Online, you can hire almost anything, and the savings that stand to be made could convince you to hire something, rather than have it new. Wedding decorations, cars, tableware, utensils, and glassware are well-established as being available to be hired, but there are lesser-explored options available. Some of these include wardrobes, dancefloors, generators (to generate power in an outdoor setting), portaloos, and more. It’s useful to know these options are available when you’re considering different venues because they may help to open up more affordable venues to be suitable for hosting your wedding.
Budget-Friendly Decorations
When decorating your wedding, the most expensive part can often be the focal point. At the ceremony, this is the space where the couple stands, and at the reception, this is usually the place where the couple sits. For the budget-conscious, choosing a feature decoration that can be used at the ceremony and then moved to the reception is a great solution. This includes wedding backdrops and wedding arches, which can be decorated with flowers, and latex balloons, or paper balls, which are also versatile and reusable.
Items that need to be personalised for a wedding can be a hidden expense, but there are ways around it. Welcome signs, seating plans, and place cards all need to be personalised, and paying a graphic designer can be an expense you might prefer to avoid. This is a good time to ask friends who have photoshop skills for some help or to manage the designs yourself using chalkboard products designed for event use. Chalkboard pens are a handy tool for personalising items without the bulkiness of traditional chalk, and in addition to decorating chalkboards, they can be used to personalise glass or acrylic items, such as wedding wishing wells. For those cutting costs without wanting to skimp on personalised details, a cardboard or wooden wishing well is customisable with pens, flowers, or stickers.
