WEDDING UNDER 10K? LEARN HOW WE DID IT

Let's be honest, it deserves a celebration...

According to ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), the average cost of a wedding in Australia is $36, 200! The break down of these costs are:

Food, alcohol & venue: $18, 683

Wedding clothing & accessories: $4, 271

Photography: $3, 983

Entertainment: $2, 896

Flowers & decorations: $2, 896

Other (cars, hair, makeup, accommodation, stationary): $2, 534

This is a huge amount of money and if Jacob and I wanted to spend this much on our wedding day, we would have been saving for years. Although it may seem like you need to spend $30,000 + to have everything you want in your special day, the reality is, it can be done cheaper and still be an incredible day.

So here's my 10 tips on how we were able to have our wedding day for less then $10, 000.

1. Research All Your Options First

Before we were even engaged I was doing a ton of research into different venues and what they charged per head. I was adamant about having a two-course sit down dinner opposed to a more relaxed cocktail style (which of course can still be amazing I just really wanted the sit down style). As we were living in Sydney and majority of our guests were spread over Sydney and the South Coast, we knew whichever location we chose some guests would have to travel. Therefore, the location didn't really matter to us. We found one venue that was within our price range however, I didn't love the aesthetics of the reception room. It was more traditional and with white curtains and seat covers opposed to rustic and bohemian - the look I was going for. I am so glad that I continued my research and didn't settle for the fist 'semi- suitable' venue I found. Because eventually I stumbled across ours, it wasn't overly puplicised or known for it's weddings; in fact it was a pub. A pub that had it's own function room and lowered prices as it was new-ish to hosting weddings.

Other things that you should research deeply into include your wedding dress, hair, makeup and photographer. I think sometimes it feels as though you have to book all of these things literally the second after you're engaged. And although you do want to book them sooner rather than later, make sure you do your research first and ensure you have found the most cost-effective option that suits you and your fiance's style.

2. Create a Budget and Stick to It

I can not stress how important this is. Although you may think 'we will only spend $10, 000'. When it comes to it, you will realise there are more costs to this wedding then you originally thought. So, break down your budget allocating adequate amounts of money to each element of your wedding. Ensure you have a few hundred dollars allocated to 'unexpected costs'. Now, DO NOT GO OVER BUDGET... keep researching!

3. Save on Wedding Attire

We bought Jacobs suit online for less than $400. I researched various wedding dress companies to see which shops sold dresses for under $1000. There are budget friendly options out there. I even looked at formal stores for white dresses and the sale dresses from regular bridal stores. I understand you want to look beautiful in your wedding attire and I truly believe you don't have to spend thousands of dollars to find one!

4. Choose your Guests Wisely

This is probably the HARDEST tip of them all. Everyone wants to be invited, you want to invite everyone. People feel left out if you don't invite them. They invited you so you have to invite them... we know the list goes on. Unfortunately, the reality is if you are working on a strict budget, you can not invite everyone. Think about who you have stayed in contact with for years and evaluate who you think will still be in your life in 5-10 years. Invite these people. If you have a extended family perhaps you could invite your aunties and uncles and not your cousins or extend a few invites to them and allow them to choose who out of the whole family will attend.

5. Don't Hire a Wedding Planner

We didn't even look into hiring a wedding planner, it was actually never an option for us. Of course I think it would make the whole planning process easier and perhaps less stressful, but, it's still an added cost you don't need to indulge in. Leading into my next point... make use of the people around you and allow them (family, bridal party, friends) to help you plan.

6. Make Use of the People you Know

I'm sure the people in your world have skills that can help you save money on your wedding day. And most of the time, they would love to help out! My dad has taken several weddings in the past and was able to take both mine and my brothers wedding. I couldn't believe how much money we were saving having him take our wedding (many wedding celebrants cost over $500!). We also had a friend make our wedding cake and MC on the night, a relative make the bouquets and other family help out with all the DIY'ing, just to name a few.

7. Save Money on your Photographer & Videographer

Firstly I want you to know that having photos and video footage from your wedding is so important. It is so precious to look back on when the day passes by so fast. Unfortunately these two things cost a large amount of money however, there is a way you can save on them. Instead of having a professional photographer for the entire day, consider simply having them for half the day eg morning till after the bridal party/ bride and groom photos, or just for the ceremony and bridal party/ bride and groom photos. This will save you thousands of dollars whilst also making sure you have some high quality images from the day. For the other parts of the day where the professional photographer won't be present, have family and friends take photos for you. In regards to video footage, find a friend or family member who has some skill in videography and ask them to shoot some of your day. Even if they don't know how to edit the footage together, they can simply pass it onto you and you can do it!

8. Recognise what is Most Important vs Less Important

I think you would have been able to establish by now that if your wedding is costing under $10,000 you won't be having a five course meal with fireworks to send you off. In other words, you can't have everything! Make a list of things that are most important to you and do your best to include these things in your day. For example, a sit down meal, outside ceremony and lot's of floral arrangements were important to me. Hence, we found a way to include these things by discarding the things that weren't so important to us such as a professional photo booth.

9. DIY EVERYTHING

It's not as difficult as you think. You CAN do it. If you aren't already on Pinterest, make an account because it will be your best friend for inspiration and DIY projects.

Some things we DIY'd:

- Invites: We made our own invites and on Photoshop and ordered them through vista print.

- Arbor: with the help of family, we were able to have our own arbor made. I used fake flowers (they looked amazing) to decorate the arbor so this could be done in advance.

- Floral arrangements: I did all the floral arrangements myself (apart from the bouquets and groomsmen's flowers). This literally saved me thousands of dollars - I spent less then $160 at the flower markets!

- Wedding Sign: With the help of Jacobs mum, she drew the sign, popped it in a frame and we added some fake flowers on top.

- Seating Chart: Jacob created the seating arrangement on Photoshop and printed it out at Officeworks.

- Music: Instead of having a live band we had a playlist of songs on Spotify.

- Favours: We initially weren't going to have any as the cost was going to be too much and guests often leave them behind anyway. However, I still liked the idea of giving the guests something in return and ended up finding a budget option that was perfect! We ordered small bags and thank you tags off eBay for a few dollars each. We then bought some white covered chocolates from the reject shop and divided them among the bags.

(see pictures of some of our DIY's below)

10. Have Guests Buy their Own Alcohol

Having an alcohol package at a wedding costing under $10, 000 just wasn't realistic for us. It would have taken up too much of the budget and simply wasn't a priority of ours. We don't drink ourselves and knew that majority of our guests weren't big drinkers either. They were however, able to buy their own drinks at the bar.

Flowers for DIY arrangements

Floral arrangements

DIY welcome sign

DIY menus with name placements

DIY wishing well

DIY arbor & table decor

DIY gold rimmed candle holders

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions you want to ask! I'll happily respond and share any more information about our wedding that will be helpful for you to know. Thanks for reading!