{"id":36252,"date":"2015-07-28T01:26:10","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T15:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/au\/articles\/nine-wedding-costs-couples-forget\/"},"modified":"2021-11-10T04:08:42","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T17:08:42","slug":"nine-wedding-costs-couples-forget","status":"publish","type":"au-article","link":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/articles\/nine-wedding-costs-couples-forget\/","title":{"rendered":"Nine wedding costs (most) couples forget about"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"wedding-costs-most-couples-forget\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pulling off the perfect wedding is all about organisation \u2013 and planning, right down to the colour of the bridesmaids\u2019 nails and who will be carting home all the wedding presents at the end of your big day. But, no matter how organised a couple may be, there will always be a few little somethings they forget about \u2013 or don\u2019t even know about – until it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

While some of these extra bits and pieces are easily fixable and affordable, others can have a bigger, more detrimental impact on your bottom line, so here are nine wedding costs (most) couples forget to factor into their wedding budgets:<\/p>\n

Postage<\/h2>\n

Couples spend time, effort and, of course, money creating their perfect wedding invitations<\/a> but many couples forget that most of those gorgeous invitations need to be posted.<\/p>\n

Given postage costs start at 70c for a standard-sized envelope (and upwards of $1.20 a pop for larger items) and, given a typical Australian wedding is attended by about 100 guests, couples should factor in about $70 to $120 in postage costs \u2013 or, potentially, more if your invitations require couriering.<\/p>\n

Find beautiful, hand-crafted wedding invitations here.<\/a><\/p>\n

[ew-supplier-carousel]<\/p>\n

Bridal party add-ons<\/h2>\n

Your bridesmaids and groomsmen will keep you sane during your wedding planning. They\u2019ll help you go dress and suit shopping, they\u2019ll organise awesome pre-wedding parties; they\u2019ll provide endless bits of advice and moral support, and, of course, they\u2019ll join you at the top of the altar on the big day itself.<\/p>\n

In thanks for this support, many couples make a point of sharing their bridal party\u2019s costs, understanding that the role can come with some hefty price tags. Some couples choose to pay for the entire bridal party\u2019s outfits, others may spring for beauty treatments or weekends away.<\/p>\n

These are all lovely gestures, but they can add up, so if you are planning to pamper your wedding party, ensure the potential costs are included in your original budget <\/a>or you\u2019ll find yourself with several hundred (if not several thousand) dollars in costs you suddenly don\u2019t have the money for.<\/p>\n

All the legals<\/h2>\n

You may be getting married for love but, for many, there\u2019s a slightly more pragmatic side to the whole affair, which is ensuring everything is legal. This could be anything from the legalities of lodging your pre-wedding forms to, in some cases, the drawing up of pre-nuptial agreements (called binding financial agreements in Australia), which will involve a lawyer.<\/p>\n

Though your celebrant will ensure the legal side of the wedding is covered, in some states, you may need to pay any associated fees separate to the costs of hiring a celebrant.<\/p>\n

\"wedding-costs-couples-forget\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The night before<\/h2>\n

Many couples choose to stay at a hotel<\/a> on the night of their big day – and it\u2019s becoming increasingly popular for them to stay the night before as well, often with their attendants in tow to ensure the day prior to the wedding flow smoothly.<\/p>\n

Just remember that, though you may get the wedding night\u2019s accommodation gratis courtesy of your wedding venue, the other night\/s won\u2019t, likely, be on the house, so ensure you allow enough money to cover at the cost of any hotel rooms you may need to pay for and consider that you may have to pay for more than just your own suite.<\/p>\n

Extra guests<\/h2>\n

In an ideal world, the RSVP process would work as it\u2019s supposed to: Everyone would understand who is and who isn\u2019t invited, and they would respond accordingly \u2013 and on time! But, we\u2019ve all heard the stories of miscommunication that sees extra guests turn up on the day \u2013 whether they mistakenly thought they had RSVP\u2019d or they were brought along by someone who misunderstood the absence of a plus-one on their invitation.<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s going to be frustrating, but for the sake of not blighting your big day, have extra meals catered for, and extra chairs available, so that way you can brief someone on how to handle unexpected guests if they turn up.<\/p>\n

Also, don\u2019t forget you may have to pay for the meals of the band, photographers and or videographers, either as per their contracts \u2013 or the goodness of your hearts! Thankfully, many venues will offer discount meals provided to wedding suppliers, but you\u2019ll still, likely, be in for a few hundred dollars you didn\u2019t foresee.<\/p>\n

Emergency fund<\/h2>\n

No matter how carefully you\u2019ve prepared for the big day, there\u2019s always a risk things won\u2019t go exactly to plan and, typically, it\u2019s always at the last-minute when time is of the essence!<\/p>\n

When (and if) this happens, you\u2019ll need to be able to respond quickly to get things back on an even keel. Such emergencies could be anything from needing last-minute alterations on a bridesmaid\u2019s gown to hiring an extra car to get Mum and Dad to the ceremony or reception. All these \u2018little\u2019 emergencies will require extra cash.<\/p>\n

So, with this in mind, one terrific idea is to set aside a small wedding emergency fund. It doesn\u2019t have to be huge but it will mean there\u2019s no risk of getting caught short \u2013 and peace of mind during a period when you don\u2019t need one drop of extra stress in your life!<\/p>\n

<\/a>\nAlterations<\/h2>\n

Sadly, not every bride can slip straight into an off-the-rack gown<\/a>\u00a0 and have it fit absolutely perfectly the first time around. The same applies if you\u2019re wearing a pre-loved or heirloom wedding gown.
\nMany ready-made gowns will require some form of alteration, even a minor one, be for style, size or, perhaps, height. However, altering a wedding dress is a complex task that is, typically, more difficult than altering an every-day outfit because the materials used tend to be more delicate. They\u2019re often laces and silks that require some serious seamstressing, while the actual design can be difficult to modify quickly or easily \u2013 if at all.
\nIf you\u2019re in need of alterations to your wedding gown, expect it to set you back in the vicinity of $300 to $500 (for, say, hemming a multi-layered wedding gown) but, again, depending on how extreme your changes are, alterations could cost between $800 and $1000.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget the decor<\/h2>\n

When it comes to hiring equipment such as tables, chairs and marquees for your wedding reception, suppliers are very transparent about pricing, so there aren\u2019t often surprises on that front, however, many couples don\u2019t factor in other costs such as delivery charges or weekend labour fees \u2013 and, let\u2019s face it, most weddings take place on a weekend.<\/p>\n

Delivery charges, which cover the cost of travel to and from a destination, plus the delivery and return of all equipment can cost between $100 to $200, depending on how far away from the company\u2019s headquarters your reception venue is located.<\/p>\n

Oh, and don\u2019t forget that delivery charges may apply to other services such as your wedding cake or your floral arrangements.
\nWhile this will vary based on how much staff is involved in pulling off your big day, weekend labour rates will, likely, set you back $150+.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a further $200 – 300 you probably didn\u2019t account for in your initial budge<\/a>t.<\/p>\n

Head here for beautiful wedding decorations and accessories.<\/a><\/p>\n

Over-time costs<\/h2>\n

Once you know about the costs above, it\u2019s easy to, at least, factor them into your budgets, however, one thing you won\u2019t know until the day of your wedding is how long your reception will run.\u00a0Be sure to check with your suppliers if over-time fees apply should your wedding reception carry on longer than planned.<\/p>\n

While most wedding vendors will give couples 15 or 20 minutes leeway, after that grace period, suppliers such as photographers and videographers will, likely, charge overtime rates by the hour.<\/p>\n

So, for example, if your reception runs late and your limo driver must wait 45 extra minutes for you, expect to pay an overtime fee. This will, most likely, be in the vicinity of about $100 – $150 per hour, depending on the time of day, location of your reception and the overall length of the delay.<\/p>\n

A really useful way to keep track of all your wedding costs is with this free wedding budget calculator. It allows you to easily keep track of\u00a0your wedding costs.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15382,"template":"","au_article_tag":[181,995,256],"class_list":["post-36252","au-article","type-au-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","au_article_category-expert-advice","au_article_tag-budget","au_article_tag-finances","au_article_tag-wedding-budget"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/36252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/au-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/36252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"au_article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_article_tag?post=36252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}