The Cost of A Wedding in Australia 2019

Wedded Wonderland recently surveyed over 500 brides who married in the last 18 months to determine the cost of a wedding in Australia, and the results are officially in!

We’ve taken a look at stats in the past, and the results have demonstrated an interesting change in costs as a result of certain priorities and preferences.

According to our findings, the cost of a wedding across almost all fronts has steadily increased over the past two years, with the overall 2019 median cost of a wedding being $53,168, a 3.75% increase from last year.

There was a 6% increase in the average cost of weddings between 2017-2018, compared to a 3.5% increase from 2018-2019, meaning that certain benchmarks have been met with pricing, and competition is healthy allowing couples more options in certain categories.

Couples’ priorities are shifting when it comes to spending on celebrating their big day, with Honeymoon (median cost $10, 145), Engagement Ring #ringselfie (median cost $11, 753), and Entertainment (median cost $2,989) taking the cake.

Interestingly, 23% did not go on a honeymoon, 33% of Groomsmen paid for their own suits, while 31% of Bridesmaids paid for their own dresses.

“The spread this year is a lot broader in terms of spend, with more couples spending more, and more spending less. This means the actual average is not indicative of what most couples are actually spending. Budget weddings are sitting at the 10-20k mark, whereas luxury spend is excessive of 100k.

“Also, Grooms are splurging on the engagement ring making this a priority in budget and spend. We do think Instagram has something to do with the influence of size, colour, clarity, and proposal moments in general!”

“Couples’ are also becoming savvier online with product purchasing including gifting, stationery, accessories, and styling components for weddings,” says Wendy El-Khoury, founder of Wedded Wonderland.

Cakes and desserts, makeup and hair pricing has not shifted in 3 years based on our findings, indicating competitive pricing within these industries.

In terms of the guest list, there has been a slight increase from past years, with the number jumping up to 162 average attendees per wedding, from the previous 157.

Also, Wedding Day transportation was one of the most significant increases, almost doubling from last year, yet interestingly, 36% caught an uber/taxi or drove themselves to their wedding. This means transport is either a priority for the couple wanting to arrive in style, or not considering this as a priority at all!

For a complete breakdown of costs, take a look at our complete findings below.

This year we’ve added even more categories to the survey including celebrant, wedding band and stationery/invites to give you a clearer understanding of the total cost of a wedding in Australia!

Stay tuned … We will be conducting further surveys to specifically determine Destination vs. local weddings, who pays for the wedding, setting up bridal registries, hosting kitchen tea, hens night or pre-wedding, honeymoons, the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen, bridesmaid dress styles, type of transportation, type of wedding ceremony, same-sex weddings.

All images via Siempre Weddings