WELCOME TO THIS BRIDE GUIDE
WELCOME TO THIS BRIDE GUIDE
you’re about to learn
HOW TO SAVE OVER $27,000 ON YOUR WEDDING
Rising wedding costs stressing you out? Making you feel like you’ll never afford the wedding you’ve always dreamed of?
Struggling to find affordable vendors? Wondering if it’s even possible to get quality services without blowing your budget?
Budget anxiety spiralling out of control? Worried you’ll end up in debt before you even walk down the aisle?
Overwhelmed by dress, floral, venue costs? Anxious you’ll have to compromise your wedding vision just to make ends meet?
Venues are quoting double your initial budget, vendors are charging fees you didn’t expect, and DIY projects are proving more costly and stressful than you imagined.
A FEW YEARS AGO I WORKED WITH A COUPLE WHO ARE RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE NOW:
determined to plan the wedding of their dreams, while simultaneously staring down the barrel of an event that was about to blow their bank accounts out of the water. The dreaded wedding day price tag, it can definitely be overwhelming at times.
By thinking creatively, breaking a few so-called “rules,” and pulling off some savvy work arounds,
THEY TRANSFORMED WHAT WAS QUOTED A $30,000 WEDDING, INTO A JAW-DROPPING EVENT THAT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS WORTH SIX FIGURES — FOR JUST $3,000
IN THIS BRIDE GUIDE YOU’RE GOING TO LEARN EXACTLY HOW THIS COUPLE SAVED OVER $27,000 ON THEIR WEDDING, IN 8 SIMPLE STEPS.
If you're dreaming of a venue that screams natural beauty, a boho-luxe vibe, or something cozy and laid-back that makes your guests feel like they’re at a backyard get-together with fairy lights everywhere, this bride guide has you covered. Let’s plan the day you’ve been dreaming of without letting the stress (or the price tags) take over.
So, chuck a sickie, make a coffee and let’s dive into the article that’s going to change everything while you’re in your wedding planning era. Whether you’re stressing about the venue, the dress, or even just how to make it all feel like the day you’ve imagined, this guide is your secret weapon to planning a day that feels special and uniquely you—without spending a fortune.
☾☽
LET'S GET INTO IT!
☾☽ LET'S GET INTO IT!
the MONEY SAVING MAGIC we’re about to UNCOVER
How this couple
had a luxurious two week honeymoon
How this couple
saved $11,000 on their wedding venue.
How this couple
had a $10,000 photographer, for $650
How the bride
had a $4,500 wedding dress, for $500
How this couple
fed their guests, and some, for $1250
How this couple
had florals worth $5,000, for $500
How this couple
bypassed a $4,000 band/DJ, for $100
How this couple
made money while planning their wed
ONTO THE MAGIC!
these are the EIGHT GREAT IDEAS
that can save you over $27,000 on your wedding
01. How to save over $11,000 on your wedding venue
Did you know the average wedding venue in Australia & New Zealand costs between $12,000 to $15,000 for a standard package? Which for most couples out there is 25%—50% of their entire budget. Not the friendliest numbers when you’re trying to save as much as you can on your wedding! Wedding venues in a city on average cost 2-3x more then rural venues if you were to drive a few hours out into nature.
Does a friend have an amazing/rustic backyard you could borrow? Perhaps you’re friends with a restaurant owner who wouldn’t mind you utilising that space for a small fee? Do you have a special skill or talent that you could barter for a free or reduced-cost wedding venue?
Look at who and what is around you and I guarantee you can find an incredible venue for literally next to nothing, that’s what this couple did! They used their work venue to host their wedding and their bosses didn’t charge them a cent.
// Price Tag: $0
// Savings: $11,000
02. How to have a multi-week honeymoon, for potentially nothing
Everyone’s experienced wanderlust at some point, travelling is probably the coolest thing since sliced bread, and honeymoons are the perfect opportunity to realise your wanderlust. The problem is, your average honeymoon costs $5,000 to $8,000! And that’s just domestic around Aus. International HM’s cop upwards of $7,000 — $10,000.
If you’re clever, do what this couple did and skip the wedding gifts, and ask your guests to put that money towards a honeymoon fund instead of going through the trouble of choosing traditional gifts and hoping you like them. Your guests love you and want to bless you with something they know you’ll really appreciate, mix what they put towards your honeymoon with your own honeymoon budget and you just saved a lot of money!
// Price Tag: $0
// Savings: $5,000 — $8,000
03. How to have epic wedding photos, without the price tag
You’re not alone to want amazing photos of your day to share with friends and family, and who doesn’t want timeless imagery to look back on in 30 years while drinking a bottle of red and reminiscing of the good times.
I’m speaking from my professional field here, experienced photographers cost more than what most are probably prepared to spend. And that’s okay! This might seem counterintuitive for me to suggest, but there are other ways to still get photos of your day that don’t have the volume some price tag.
With the amount of free education, guides and resources online nowadays, and the cost of basic camera setups being so accessible, having epic photos for next to nothing really isn’t that much of a far cry anymore. Just give your family relative who’s studying photography a coupla’ hundred bucks to take some photos, supply a Pinterest board for inspo and voila. For the opportunity to expand their portfolio and put into practise what they’ve been learning, they’d be pretty silly to say no!
This couple were very dear friends of mine and I was happy to bless them with a cheaper rate than I normally charge, which attributed to their overall wedding costs being so low.
// Price Tag: $650
// Savings: $3,000 — $10,000+
PLANNING YOUR WEDDING AND FEELING OVERWHELMED?
DOWNLOAD THE FREE CHECKLIST THAT’S HELPED HUNDREDS OF BRIDES FEEL CALM, CONFIDENT, AND COMPLETELY IN CONTROL
✔ 18+ checklists built from helping plan over 200+ weddings
✔ includes the little things most couples don’t think about
✔ bonus emergency checklist that changes everything
SAVE COUNTLESS HOURS, CONFUSION AND STRESS BETWEEN “YES” & “I DO!”
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“I had no idea how unprepared we were until I saw this”
04. The easiest way to get your dream wedding dress for under $500
Pheeeewwwyy. Girls, this pocket of knowledge gold is for you. I know, I know. When you pick up a copy of that wedding mag you tinkle a little over the designer gowns. Everyone wants to look like a princess on their wedding day, but not everyone has the coin to get every dress they see.
The average wedding dress off the shelf costs $1,500 — $3,000 with designer brands sitting perky between the $4,000 — $10,000 range! I want to show you how you can do even better than those crazy brands, without that ridiculous price tag.
Now, what this couple did may sound crazy at first, but bear with me. Six months before their wedding they looked around for second-hand lace dresses at op shops, marketplace etc., found a few, offered cash to drop the price, and had a family friend alter what they liked off each dress, together. The result was a one-off, hand made wedding dress that cost less than Harvey Specter’s haircut.
// Price Tag: $500
// Savings: $4,000 — $10,000+
05. The best wedding feast ideas that will leave your guests satisfied, and then some
Don’t be afraid to go against the pod here. The average spend on wedding catering in Australia & New Zealand is between $100— $180 per head.
This couple hired an incredible wood-burning pizza truck that made next-level gourmet pizzas with double the festive factor than a normal caterer, at less then half the price. This couple spent $25 per head when it was all said and done. That’s a decent amount of dollars straight back in your wallet.
To round this out, maybe you have an amazing neighbour who can make all the gourmet appetisers at cost. If you put your mind to it, you can be super inventive & budget-conscious at the same time, without your guests even knowing it. Think girl, think!
// Price Tag: $1,250
// Saving: $6,500 — $10,000+
06. The best kept secret to save over $4,000 on your wedding flowers.
Oh, I know you’ve been waiting for this one. I get around the smell of fresh flowers as much as the next guy, but gone are the days of needing a flower to cover every service at your reception. Think of flowers & decor as “accentuates,” not the main attraction.
What this couple did for their flower decor blew my mind, and I would never have picked up on it unless they told me.
The trick is to set aside some money and visit your local flower market (or even grocery store) the morning of your wedding. It may sound a bit strange and you may not get exactly what you want, but I guarantee you you’ll have a tsunami of options at a fraction of the cost. And, if you managed to find a great backyard for your wedding, odds are you won’t even need flowers!
Not to mention candles, candle holders and vases can be found at op shops/thrift stores for 5c a pop. No one would ever know you only spent $500 on all your decor and were able to adorn every table with sweet-smelling candles and funky vases that radiate a serious aesthetical vibe
// Price Tag: $500
// Savings: $5,000+
07. Save over $4,000 on a live band with this simple solution
Did you know live bands cost around $4,000 on average, and DJ’s cost around $1,300 on average? That’s a lot of money you can save, as well.
All you need is couple of good speakers and a Spotify playlist loaded with groovy tunes, that’s what this couple did! Do you have a local church or family friend that has access to some mean boomboxes? After a few drinks, your guests won’t even notice if you had a six-piece band or the best playlist of the century.
// Price Tag: $100
// Savings: $2,000 — $4,000+
08. The one thing that can make you thousands of dollars in the process of planning your wedding
Haha okay, I may lose you for a moment here, but give me a chance. Rings are a symbol of marriage and come in all shapes & sizes and being creative with your money doesn’t have to stop here!
You may have heard the price of gold is very high at the moment. Right now it’s jumping all over the place at around $1,500 per ounce! This couple spent an afternoon culling all of their gold jewellery and pawned it for something better.
Spend some time gathering your old pieces, take them to a reputable jewellery store and ask how much you could get for them. If you care to part with a handful of accessories you might just have enough money to get a shiny new ring on top, just like the couple did!
// Price Tag: $0
// Earnings: $1,500+
THERE YOU HAVE IT!
It’s quite possible to blow your guests away with a festive & stylish wedding that’s super affordable. Hopefully, with these simple strategies, you can start imagining your wedding with all the glitz and glamour at a fraction of the price.
Remember: there are no prizes for the most money spent on a wedding.