Recommendations for wedding planning

Fat Horny Ghost on 21/09/2023 - 12:40

Currently doing the budget + planning for wedding

Budget of $20k-30k for Australian wedding

Looking for relatively small wedding in Australia of under 50 people + one large one in China

Venue and catering - Exploring venue options for the reception we are looking for catering + alcohol with quotes ranging around $200pp for food only with wine and beer is much more expensive

Has anyone worked out if costs for Bali or Pacific islands are reasonable? Would be logistical nightmare to organise flights + hotels.

Could be cheaper to hire a mobile caterer (i.e. woodfired pizza + pasta) + supply own alcohol. However limited venues would allow this.

Coordinator/planner - Easy weddings does this for free but recommends photographer, decorations etc which I'm not sure will be great as some of them do a fairly average job. Good ones do cost more but can source a good bang for buck one so for photographer looking to hire seperately. Alternative options have mixed packages which range from 2-5k or 10-15% of budget.

Celebrant - looking for Chinese speaking one possibly can just get one of our friends to do the talking, presenting and narration instead

Decorations - Looking to buy from China or would it be better to hire? Looking to buy a mix of fake and real flowers and bouquets, partial fake and real cake, decorative frames. We have a friend who's a florist who's able to help with arrangements.

Optional fireworks - Is this worth it? May not be within our budget but would be nice touch.

Trying to get as much value from our small budget.

General Discussion

Comments

  • Benoffie on 21/09/2023 - 12:52
    +2

    Who pays and eats $200pp worth? Halve that at least.

    Good photography is expensive but there is a point where you're just paying for the name. Dont cheap out.

    Legally your ceremony must be delivered in English. If they are bilingual, thats up to you but there are specific words by law that must be spoken.

    https://civilcelebrantcanberra.com.au/legal-wording-required…

    Get married in a park, get the venue to decorate the rest.

    Fireworks? Seriously? On that budget?

    Id be looking at city parks and eithr nice hotels or public heritage landmarks for venues to keep costs down.

    Someone posted not long ago about NSW offering cheap wedding venues

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 21/09/2023 - 13:29
      +1

      i wouldnt be surprised at 200 pp, our quotes 5 years ago were 160+ pp and it wasnt even a seafood one.

    • tallkid123 on 21/09/2023 - 14:41
      +1

      Fireworks? Seriously? On that budget?

      A lot of cultures need to have a wedding to show off (face) - East Asians, Indians, Arabs, etc.

      My wife and I somehow, despite being an interracial couple where neither of use are white, got away with spending $400 at the NSW marriage registry and a $1000 dinner for the wife, her family and myself.

      I'm gonna admit that my wife and I don't even have enough friends and family who'd attend our wedding if we'd ever bothered to hold one.

      All the best, OP! I don't envy you.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 21/09/2023 - 15:53

        Fireworks?

        Is it even a vietnamese wedding without

        *few hundred litres of henny
        *fireworks
        *lion dancers
        *ample muzzing/chopping at after party

      • Benoffie on 21/09/2023 - 16:06
        +1

        Im not critical of the desire to have fireworks and I understand the cultural imperative.

        But there's a budget at play.

        At if the $200pp cant be moved then there's no way fireworks will remotely come into play, especially once permits etc are factored in.

        Either the budget is driving this, or it's not. 🤷‍♀️

    • Pcosmic on 21/09/2023 - 19:27

      Who enforces whether or not it's spoken in english?

      • Benoffie on 21/09/2023 - 20:01

        The law? Then the celebrant?

        None will risk losing their licence over the delivery. It's the one thing they tell you - like it or not, these words cannot be altered.

        🤷‍♀️

    • FezMonkey on 22/09/2023 - 10:51

      Having been through this recently there is nowhere that does $100 or less. For that price you'll be in a pub function room eating sausage rolls.

      Though usually it includes at least a basic drinks package, for it to be $200 with no drinks sounds unusual.

  • jv on 21/09/2023 - 13:01
    +4

    Budget of $20k-30k for Australian wedding

    Did someone say KFC ?

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 21/09/2023 - 13:29
      +4

      order 5000 pcs wicked wing via kfc catering ordering

      cashier: woah, must be a huge party

      me: party?

  • kolorijo on 21/09/2023 - 13:05
    +2

    If you are in NSW,

    [NSW] Micro Wedding (20-Minute Ceremony) Packages for up to 35 People, from $1299 (Limited Dates & Venues) @ NSW Government

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/797064

    • bargain huntress on 21/09/2023 - 17:53

      A government offering full wedding planning seems so strange to me.

      • KennyBrea on 21/09/2023 - 18:03
        +1

        I got married at the registry and it was actually kinda cute. If anything it brings in money for the NSW govt. haha.

      • Nillionaire on 21/09/2023 - 21:10

        Eh there's plenty of state tourism departments around the world offering that

  • omguleh on 21/09/2023 - 13:23
    +1

    We used https://www.phenomena.com.au/ for photography. They are excellent, should have got them to do the videos as well.

    We did reception and ceremony at Montsalvat.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 21/09/2023 - 13:30

    dw op, you can make it up in red packets!

  • [Deactivated] on 21/09/2023 - 13:38
    +1

    ….. partial fake and real cake ….

    Consider eloping

  • GG57 on 21/09/2023 - 14:07

    You seem to have a reasonable budget for a guest list of up to 50, but it depends where you are and what you actually want.
    There are some mandatory costs such as the authorised celebrant, but after that it is all at your own discretion.

    I would avoid a 'destination' wedding such as Bali, along with the fireworks. A lot of hassle to organise.

    My understanding is that fake flowers can cost as much if not more as real, but your florist friend can validate that for you.

  • Tiredman on 21/09/2023 - 14:13
    +2

    We had our wedding Bali. It's either a massive wedding locally or a small one overseas. If we let our parents have their way, it will easily be a 1000 people wedding. We stuck to 30 people wedding in Bali so pretty much immediate families and very close friends. The guests offered to pay for their own flights and hotel (we offered and didn't force anyone to attend if they couldn't, didn't require anyone to provide gifts too). But everyone loved it.

    • Kingsway on 21/09/2023 - 15:27

      Trying to reach out to you.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 21/09/2023 - 14:39
    +1

    30k is apparently a small budget for a 50 person wedding?

    You know what website you're on, right?

    • coffeeinmyveins on 21/09/2023 - 16:14
      +2

      30k doesn't go far nowadays with the cost of everything, trust me.

  • coffeeinmyveins on 21/09/2023 - 16:17
    +2

    based on the replies, people either got married 20 years ago or have their head in the clouds and don't realise how expensive weddings are now.

    We were looking at about 60-70 people and very quickly the budget was going up to almost 6 figures.

    Would be logistical nightmare to organise flights + hotels.

    I fail to see how an overseas holiday will be cheaper once you factor all of this in. I wouldn't expect your guests to pay for flights and accomodation for your wedding.

    Could be cheaper to hire a mobile caterer (i.e. woodfired pizza + pasta) + supply own alcohol. However limited venues would allow this.

    You've probably already realised this but most venues will have a minimum amount per person even if you just use them for the venue. They will/may even charge for an external caterer. You'd need to pay them to serve the drinks, you can't just serve yourselves. We had a look at doing this and it ended up being more expensive.

  • KennyBrea on 21/09/2023 - 17:46
    +1

    Yeah your budget for per head is far too high. We paid like $130p/head at our one. That's inclusive of drinks. Not many venues will allow you to bring in your own catering, they'll likely insist on their catering be used. But it depends on where you go for this.

    With 50 people, most venues might knock you back and might put you in their "less great rooms" So just be aware of that for the Australian part of your wedding.

    Flowers I recommend not skimping on, it's just a nice touch for the day, it made our wedding honestly.

    For a photographer ask for a portfolio of work just to see if that's the kind of vibe you want. I paid 1.4k for our photographer, but if they bring an assistant you're on the money for your guy.

    Someone's already pointed out that you can have a Chinese speaking celebrant, but they do need to do the legal bit in English.

    It's hard enough coordinating things without having to deal with coordinating fireworks at the right time (also leading into an el nino event?)

  • Mechz on 21/09/2023 - 17:57

    I know of someone having a wedding and instead of catering are asking everyone to bring a plate to share.

    • Fat Horny Ghost on 22/09/2023 - 10:23

      Sounds like something that some ozbargainers will do

  • bargain huntress on 21/09/2023 - 18:05

    You havent said what state you are in or wanting to get married in. City might be also useful for recommendations if you dont mind invading your own privacy a little.

    I think wedding advice is hard in general because they are so personal, everyone is different.

  • kiitos on 22/09/2023 - 07:34

    Fake cake? Is that for the guests that get relegated to the dunny table?

  • Rob-4x4 on 22/09/2023 - 10:03
    -1

    Why waste so much on something like that. Put the $$ towards a house and things like that

    • Fat Horny Ghost on 22/09/2023 - 10:28

      Perfect chance to throw a fun, memorable event and party for family and friends, proud moment for parents who raised their children 20+ years and have finally grown up and brings everyone together

    • coffeeinmyveins on 22/09/2023 - 10:55

      Why waste so much on something like that.

      You already know the answer.

      People have different priorities in life.

      Put the $$ towards a house and things like that

      How do you know they don't already own theirs? Or have no desire to?

  • sam-1966 on 22/09/2023 - 18:08

    Booking a 'party' as opposed to a 'wedding' can make a huge difference in the costs. Just say you want to decorate the room so you can bring flowers for the tables if you like.

    And if you want to use the wedding cake as dessert, say you're bringing your own cake - you will be charged cakeage for that - just negotiate it in advance.

    If you can book a BYO venue, even better!

  • AS2035 on 22/09/2023 - 20:31

    ELOPE.. just family

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