How much does a destination wedding cost?

Australian couples heading overseas for their wedding can expect to spend a minimum of about $300 per guest for catering, photography, a celebrant, ceremony flowers, and the ceremony and reception setup. Here, we break down the basic destination wedding budget.

Whether you’re planning a wedding in Fiji, Bali, Thailand, or another overseas destination, setting a realistic budget is an integral part of the early stages.

In our recent survey of 4,000+ engaged and recently married Australian couples (2024-26), we found that the average wedding in Australia costs $35,315 and has an average guest list of about 88. That’s around $400 spent per guest.

For destination weddings, the numbers are pretty similar in terms of per-person cost, with most destination wedding venue packages starting at a minimum of $300 per guest. However, Easy Weddings’ Destination Wedding Manager, Amelia Gravina, says, “Most couples choose to invite fewer guests to a destination wedding for various reasons, which usually ends up in a smaller overall budget.”

Did you know that Easy Weddings plans weddings in Bali, Fiji, and Thailand? Meet our team and get started today.

What’s included in this article:

1. What to include in your destination wedding budget

2. What the couple covers vs what guests cover

3. Sample Bali wedding budgets

4. Sample Thailand wedding budgets

5. Sample Fiji wedding budgets

What to include in your destination wedding budget

The cost of a destination wedding varies tremendously based on the location, time of year, venue, guest count, currency exchange rate, number of events, and more. Amelia says, “We typically tell couples they can get away with a tropical destination wedding near Australia – in a place like Bali or Fiji – for about $300-500 per guest. For a wedding with about 50 guests, we’d say that’s around $15,000-25,000 as a starting point.”

At Easy Weddings, our destination wedding packages combine the essential elements of your wedding day with transparent pricing upfront. This way, there’s no guessing along the way and no surprise, hidden costs. We’re able to provide couples with packages that bring together a lot of the basics like music, a celebrant, venue hire fees, catering, and more.

Here, we break down each individual wedding component with a range and explanation for each. This guide is meant to help you have those difficult conversations about whether a destination wedding is within your means. That said, there will always be more affordable and more extravagant options. 

To provide approximate ranges, we’ve considered three to five-star wedding venues in Bali, Fiji, and Thailand. Approximate values based on 50 wedding guests:

Venue and catering $12,500-35,000 AUD

Based on a budget of $250-700 per guest. On the lower end, you’re looking at venue hire and furniture for ceremony and reception, catering with a buffet-style meal and a standard bar. On the higher end, you’re looking at upgraded meal options, a premium bar, and likely, a longer reception.

Photographer $1,000-7,500 AUD

Most local photographers offer minimal photography packages that start as low as $1,000. However, we do find most couples opting for 8 to 12 hours of coverage, which is likely to run closer to $2,000-5,000 depending on the photographers’ experience level. If you’re planning to fly a photographer from Australia, you’ll be looking at covering expenses and you’ll likely spend more like $10,000-15,000.

Videographer $1,000-$6,000 AUD

Most couples go local with video, and the options start around $1,000 in most of our tropical destinations. A typical full day of coverage will run more in the range of $2,500-4,500. If you’re planning to bring a video team from Australia, expenses will quickly drive the cost up, and you can expect to spend as much as $10,000.

Floral design $1,000-$15,000 AUD

Floral design runs the gamut from baseline inclusions of a simple bouquet and ceremony arrangements to all the bells and whistles of large centrepieces, bar arrangements, escort card displays, hanging installations, and more. “Most of our clients keep the florals simple for their destination wedding and only spend something like $1,500-3,500 on flowers,” Amelia says. That’s usually enough to have a beautiful ceremony, personal flowers, and something splashy at the reception, whether that’s a few centrepieces or a bold arrangement on the bar.

Hair and makeup $400-$3,500 AUD

For hair and makeup services to suit an Australian wedding, rates for a bride are usually around $300-500 plus an additional $200-250 for each additional person (bridesmaids, mums). Keep in mind, stylists like to give double the time and attention to the bride, which justifies the higher price.

Musicians or DJs $1,500-6,000 AUD

A DJ is usually the most affordable form of entertainment for a wedding, and they typically start their packages at around $1,000 for a reception. You’ll likely also want some kind of music for the ceremony, cocktails, and dinner, which we’d suggest allotting at least another $500-1,000 toward. The pricing for bands varies depending on the size of the band, but you can expect to probably spend more like $2,500-5,000 for a multi-piece band to play the entire event.

Ceremony setup $0-3,000 AUD

Most ceremony venues include a space with minimal setup, likely a set number of chairs and a tidy aisle like raked sand or a floating floor. If you’d like a specific chair style or want to create an interesting arbour or dramatic ceremony look, you’ll want to add some buffer to your budget here.

Reception setup $0-8,000 AUD

Most venues include a basic reception setup with standard tables, chairs, and white linens for a wedding reception. You may find that you’d like to upgrade your linens, rent a chair you like more, bring in more festive lighting, or even create a custom dancefloor. This line item varies greatly depending on what you envision for your reception and what the venue provides.

Accommodation $0-3,000 AUD

Some hotel venues will include a complimentary two or three-night stay for the couple during their wedding weekend, but this depends on the hotel’s wedding package inclusions and it’s not always possible to negotiate such a thing. You also might find that you still want to allocate some budget toward upgrading your room or covering the cost for someone like your closest friend or a family member.

Extra entertainment $1,000-3,000 AUD

In places like Fiji, Bali, or Thailand, many couples decide to add unique experiences to their wedding, allowing them to embrace the local culture. This could mean bringing in local Fijian warriors to escort you down the aisle or adding a beachfront fireworks display in Thailand. In most cases, these are options you’ll add later on, but it might be helpful to include them in your budget plans. Amelia recommends adding an additional/optional entertainment line item of $1,000-3,000 so you can make these decisions later down the track.

Favours or welcome bags $250-750 AUD

If you’re doing favours, you’ll probably want to have at least $5-10 per guest for this budget item. If you prefer welcome bags, which are a bit more common for a destination wedding, you can plan to have one bag per room, but with more inclusions and variety. For welcome bags, you’d probably want a budget that’s more like $10-30 per bag to include some local snacks and drinks.

Transportation $0-2,500 AUD

Not everyone who’s planning a destination wedding will have to cover transportation costs. For the most part, guests will cover their own transportation to and from the airport. However, if you want to get more involved, you can always offer to cover this expense. Another circumstance in which you’d have transportation costs is if you’re hosting your wedding at a private property where guests are not all staying. In this case, you’d likely hire shuttles for those guests.

Stationery $500-2,500 AUD

According to our annual survey, Australians spend about $10/guest on stationery for a wedding in Australia. That’s likely to be the same for a destination wedding, as you’d be working with Australian stationery suppliers. For a destination wedding, you’ll likely have more inclusions in your invitations and you’ll want to send a save-the-date as well. Add a bit more to this line item if you think you’ll include day-of paper materials like menu cards, escort cards, or signage.

Cake $0-1,000 AUD

A lot of resorts and venues actually include a small wedding cake in their pricing. However, if you’d like something custom-made or more traditional, you may have to bring in a local cake maker to do the job. Most cakes in tropical destinations are going to be in the hundreds of dollars – you can plan to spend something like $5-8/slice. But, if you want something truly spectacular, you might want to buffer this estimate to more like $10-15/slice. You may also have to pay extra for delivery from a larger nearby city.

Additional decor $0-5,000 AUD

Special tables and chairs, cosy couches, colourful linens, bold bar setups, marquees, custom lighting, outdoor umbrellas, accent chairs, coloured glassware, and special cutlery are just a few examples of additional decor you might want to include in your wedding plans.

Wedding planner $0-25,000 AUD

Local wedding planners will probably cost you under $5,000 for a full planning service, but this fee will go way up if you’re planning to bring an Australian planning team to your chosen destination. Realistically, this could cost anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 plus expenses. At Easy Weddings, we include all the wedding planning services you need for free.

Wedding attire $2,500-20,000 AUD

The average Australian wedding dress costs about $2,400. Suits for about 8 men will cost, on average, about $1,800. Most couples spend less than $200 per dress, so about $1,600 for bridesmaids’ dresses. Some couples cover their wedding party’s attire, though many do not.

Gratuities $0-500 AUD

In Bali, Thailand, and Fiji, tipping is neither mandatory nor expected. However, many Western couples will extend a little extra cash to housekeepers and the main point of contact for the wedding who’s on-site on the day (usually a few hundred dollars).

What the couple covers vs what guests cover

Every couple handles their guests’ expenses for a destination wedding in the way that works best for them. “The majority of Australian couples we work with cover the costs of any events they’re hosting, and the guests cover their travel and accommodation expenses,” says Amelia.

Of course, there are exceptions. Some couples choose to subsidise the cost of their guests’ hotel rooms, working with the hotel to cover a specific percentage of each room and allowing guests a more affordable rate. 

There are also many couples who choose to cover all accommodation costs for their guests. Amelia says, “This is more typically done when the couple has chosen to buy out an entire venue for their wedding (usually a smaller boutique hotel), and they want to be able to assign specific rooms to their guests.”

It’s fairly uncommon for a couple to cover airfares for guests unless they’re doing so as a gift to VIP guests like their wedding party or close family members. More common, however, is that they might cover the costs of airport transportation to the resort, particularly if the hotel can arrange that directly for them.

Sample Bali wedding budgets

One of the reasons Aussies love to travel to Bali is that there are so many options for hotels. You can easily stay somewhere low-key or splash out and get really flash accommodations. “For most of our wedding recommendations, we usually aim to suggest venues that have beautiful beachfront ceremony options and accommodation that’s reasonably priced for guests,” says Amelia.

For a 2025 wedding at a Bali resort, we quoted a couple $16,980 AUD for 50 guests (appx. $340/guest). This quote included:

• Ceremony chapel hire and seating
• Getting ready suite
• Ceremony florals
• 1 bouquet
• 1 boutonniere
• Celebrant
• Welcome drinks
• Sound system
• Reception venue hire and furniture
• Buffet-style dinner service
• 3-hour bar package
• 8-hour photography package
• Hair and makeup for 1 bride
• Live singer and keyboard or guitarist for reception
• Couples’ accommodation for 2 nights
• Couples’ massage

For a 2025 wedding at a luxury 5-star Bali resort, we quoted a couple $63,830 AUD for 60 guests (appx. $1,064/guest). For this particular couple, they wished to include all of their guests’ accommodation in the total cost of the wedding. The complete quote included:

• 2 nights of guests’ accommodation across 32 suites
• Ceremony venue hire and seating
• Reception venue hire and furniture
• Wedding celebrant
• 5-piece band
• Hair and makeup for 1 bride
• All-day wedding photography
• Dedicated buggy for the couple on wedding day

Sample Thailand wedding budgets

“Thailand is home to some of the most beautiful private resorts in the world,” Amelia says, “and those with wedding venues are just stunning.” Couples can expect to start their budget planning around $350 per guest in this region, with many variables depending on what they want to include in their wedding plans.

For a 2025 wedding at a 5-star property in a private area of Phuket, we quoted a couple $17,546 AUD for 50 guests (appx. $350/guest). Inclusions:

• Ceremony venue hire and setup
• Reception venue hire and setup
• 1 Bouquet and up to 10 boutonnieres
• Floral arch and two flower stands for the ceremony
• Flowers for recessional floral toss
• Buffet-style reception dinner
• Drinks package for 2 hours
• Wedding cake
• 8 hours of photography
• Hair and makeup for 1 bride
• Couples’ accommodations for two nights, in an upgraded room
• Couples’ massage
• Dinner for two on couples’ private balcony
• 2-night stay on first anniversary for the couple
• Round-trip airport transfers

For a 2025 wedding at a Koh Samui 5-star hotel and wedding venue, we quoted a couple $30,530 AUD for 50 guests (appx. $610/guest). This quote included:

• 8 hours of photography
• 8 hours of videography
• Hair and makeup for 6 people
• Live band (duet) with sound and lighting
• Fire dancers
• Beach ceremony venue hire and setup
• Seasonal florals throughout ceremony and reception
• Wedding celebrant
• Welcome drinks
• Reception venue hire and setup
• Buffet-style reception
• 6-hour bar package
• Honeymoon accommodation setup for couple
• Couples’ massage

Sample Fiji wedding budgets

Fiji offers a wide range of resorts with varying price points for guests and couples alike. Amelia says she typically recommends venues that range around $300-600 per guest, depending on the inclusions couples opt into.

For a 2025 wedding at a Fiji venue on the Coral Coast, we quoted a couple $17,800 AUD for 52 guests (appx. $342/guest). This quote included:

• Ceremony venue hire and seating
• Reception venue hire and setup
• Celebrant
• Hair and makeup for the bride
• All-day photography
• All-day videography
• Tropical ceremony floral arrangements
• 1 bouquet
• 1 boutonniere
• Ceremony serenaders
• Fijian buffet-style reception
• 4-hour bar package
• 4-hour DJ package
• 2-tier wedding cake
• Couples’ accommodation for 4 nights with daily brekkie
• 1 Dinner for the couple

For a 2025 wedding at a Fiji venue on a private island, we quoted a couple $2,358 AUD for 40 guests (appx. $559/guest). This quote included:

• Ceremony setup
• Two Fijian warriors to escort the couple in the processional
• Floral arrangements for the ceremony table
• 1 bouquet
• 1 boutonniere
• Reception setup
• 5-hour bar package
• Buffet-style dinner service
• 8 hours of photography & videography
• Hair and makeup for bride and 4 bridesmaids
• Couples’ accommodation for 4 nights
• Couples’ massages
• Champagne cruise for couple

In each case, there are options to upgrade additional services from hair and makeup, longer hours for photography, more floral arrangements, upgraded furniture, custom linens and napkins, and more.

Planning your destination wedding

When you’re ready to start planning your destination wedding, or simply have a few questions about how to get started, reach out to our Destination Wedding Manager, Amelia. You can reach her via email Amelia@easyweddings.com.au or send through an enquiry with more details about the wedding of your dreams.