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Wedding Budget Australia: Build a Budget That Matches Your Guest List

The guest list drives almost every wedding cost. Catering, venue size, invitations, chairs, favours, even how long the photographer stays. So the smartest wedding budget doesn't start with "how much do weddings cost", it starts with "how many people, and how much do we have?"

Start with your total, then the guest count

Agree on a total you can pay without debt: savings now, what you can save each fortnight until the date, and any family contributions that are actually confirmed. Then pick a rough guest count. Divide the total by guests to get a per-head number. If venue and catering quotes per head are close to or above that number on their own, the guest list or the venue needs to change before you book anything.

Split the budget by category

• Venue and catering (usually the biggest share).
• Photography and videography.
• Attire, hair and makeup.
• Ceremony: celebrant, licence fees, music.
• Flowers and styling.
• Entertainment.
• Stationery, rings, transport, cake.
• A contingency of around 5 to 10 percent.

Track deposits and due dates

Wedding suppliers usually want a deposit to book and the balance closer to the day. Track every supplier's deposit, balance and due date in one place. Laying them out by month shows when the cash crunch hits, which is often the final six weeks.

The usual blowouts

Small extras add up: delivery and setup fees, cake cutting fees, overtime for photographers, extra staff, card surcharges, and alterations. Ask every supplier what isn't included in the quote, and add a line for each.

Ways to save that guests won't notice

• Choose an off-peak day or month.
• Use seasonal, local flowers.
• Have a shorter photography package that covers the moments that matter most.
• Do digital invitations with a printed version only for older relatives.

Plan payments to match your fortnightly pay, so every payday you know exactly what's due and what's covered.

Worked example

Here's a worked example. Ella and Sam have $14,000 saved and can put away $900 a fortnight for the 20 fortnights until their wedding, giving $32,000 total. Both sets of parents offer help but nothing is confirmed, so they leave it out. They'd like 100 guests, which makes $320 a head. The first venue they love quotes $210 a head for food and drinks alone, before the room hire, which would leave far too little for everything else. They have two options: cut the list to 70 guests, or look at venues with lower minimum spends. They choose a Sunday at a different venue at $165 a head with no room hire, keep 90 guests, and now have room for a photographer, a celebrant, flowers and a 7% contingency. They load each supplier's deposit and due date into their tracker, and spot that four balances fall due in the same month, so they move the photographer's balance earlier. All figures here are made up for illustration.

How to do it: step by step

1. Agree a debt-free total from savings, future fortnightly savings and confirmed contributions.
2. Pick a guest count and work out your per-head budget.
3. Split the total across categories and include a 5 to 10% contingency.
4. Track each supplier's quote, deposit, balance and due date.
5. Check the plan each payday and adjust before booking anything new.

Frequently asked questions

General information only, not financial or tax advice.