The 9 Biggest Wedding Expenses and How to Save Money

We’re going to get right to the point to tell you something that’s a bit unpleasant but at the same time probably the most important thing you need to keep in mind from the very beginning when planning your wedding: A wedding costs money. And not just a little. Most couples start planning their wedding naively (often practically blindly) by getting quotes, then get the shock of their lives, get angry at every wedding vendor in the world, and only then start thinking about their wedding budget.

We’ll help you accurately calculate and estimate your wedding costs. To ensure you don’t end up spending more than you intended on your wedding day, there are a few things to keep in mind. We have the right tips and tools to help you allocate your expenses effectively, monitor your wedding budget—and, most importantly, plenty of advice on how to save money on your wedding.

Planning a Wedding: Costs & Budget

It’s all about the money—because, of course, as a couple, you’re really looking forward to your wedding, but at some point, the financial question always comes up. How much will our wedding cost? What major expenses should we expect for our celebration, and where are the hidden costs? If you have absolutely no idea about this, you’re not alone—most engaged couples can’t estimate how much a wedding costs at first. After all, you usually only plan your wedding once. So how are you supposed to know what a wedding invitation or a wedding ring costs? It’s a good thing we’re experts on the subject and can help you with your wedding budget and the financial planning for your big day…

Wedding Budget: First Steps

Before you even start getting quotes, you need to be very clear about how much of a budget you have available for your wedding. Only then can you turn your attention to the individual cost items or wedding vendors.

Set a fixed budget!

It should be clear that a wedding isn’t a cheap affair. That’s why you should start by setting your budget before you ask wedding venues or vendors about their prices. “We don’t know yet” or “we’ll see” are all lame excuses. Everyone has a set budget. Everyone has a maximum amount they’re willing to pay. It’s the same when buying a car, paying rent, traveling, and everything else. It’s even more important when it comes to a wedding, because many individual costs add up to the total cost. Many vendors will ask you about your budget. But they don’t do this because they want to stretch it to 100 percent. Rather, it’s because there are different options they can offer you depending on your budget. Just like at a car dealership or a travel agency: a Ferrari or a Honda; Hawaii or Mallorca.

What is a realistic budget?

Of course, planning the budget for a wedding is difficult, because it’s usually your first time getting married. You’ll find wildly varying figures online, because, unfortunately, a lot of that information is outdated. And, naturally, you don’t necessarily want to ask your newlywed friends how much they spent on their celebration. So how are you supposed to know what’s realistic? Exactly: you don’t know. But that’s exactly why you shouldn’t react with annoyance when a quote from an “oh-so-evil” rip-off vendor lands in your inbox. If you don’t understand a quote, they’ll be happy to explain why it’s broken down the way it is—what’s going on behind the scenes, and what effort and costs the vendor incurs. In the end, you’ll understand!

Cost Allocation as a Game-Changer

Preparation is everything! This also applies to planning the budget for your wedding celebration. Because once you understand what the actual costs are and can prioritize your wedding vendors accordingly, it’ll be easier for you to plan your budget and, if needed, adjust it a bit. Often, when couples plan their wedding and budget carefully, they discover that the things that matter most to them are quite different from what they might have thought at the start of the planning process.

Prioritizing services and allocating budgets is a real game-changer when it comes to staying within your wedding budget. To give you an idea of what the individual categories of your wedding cost, we’ve put together an overview of the average prices per category for you:

1. Cost of the wedding venue

The cost of your wedding venue ranges from €500 to €8,000. Yes, we realize that this range leaves a lot of wiggle room. But unfortunately, we can’t assess your specific needs and wishes for your wedding from a distance. A small venue in a restaurant is, of course, less expensive than a banquet hall for 200 people. But one thing will certainly become clear to you regarding this expense: The wedding venue is one of the biggest costs for your wedding!

Cost of the wedding venue:

Estimated range: 500 to 8,000 euros

2. Food and Catering Costs

Whether you choose a regular catering partner or in-house catering, you’ll always need to set aside at least 20 percent of your total budget for food and drinks. When deciding for or against professional catering, we would—from a financial standpoint—always lean toward a catering partner. That’s because many couples miscalculate this: Especially if you don’t have the infrastructure for catering, you’ll face huge additional costs for equipment, tableware, heating, and so on. With a catering package, on the other hand, even the service staff is included in the price. Specific costs for catering at your wedding? These typically range from 80 to 300 euros per person.

Meal and catering costs:

Estimated cost: 80 to 300 euros per person

3. How much does a wedding photographer or videographer cost?

About ten to fifteen percent of your total wedding budget will likely go toward the photographer. That might sound like a lot at first, but when you realize that the photographer—or even a videographer—is capturing nothing less than the memories of your wedding, you’ll see that this expense is justified in the long run. The cost of wedding photos ranges from 500 to 5,000 euros. Yes, there’s a wide price range here as well—but some photographers offer complete packages covering everything from the “getting ready” phase through the late evening hours, while others charge by the hour for their wedding photography services. The price often includes not only the photographer’s presence during the event but also photo editing and the delivery of images and videos via USB drive, website, or other digital formats. Some wedding photographers will even create a high-quality photo album for you.

Even though we’re starting with a guideline price of 500 euros, you should be prepared to spend a bit more when it comes to wedding photography. After all, you shouldn’t expect too much from an amateur photographer who charges five hundred euros or less. So many couples have told us about bad experiences with unprofessional photographers—so it’s better to hire a professional wedding photographer, pay a little more, and in return have beautiful memories that will last a lifetime. If you have to cut back on expenses, do so in other areas instead.

Costs for a wedding photographer and videographer:

‍Estimatedrange: 500 to 5,000 euros

4. Wedding Budget for Music

We’d recommend setting aside about 10 percent of your total budget for this. While the cost of providing music for the reception starts at around 200 euros, a full package of musical entertainment for the wedding is more expensive: If you want music for the ceremony, a wedding band in the evening, and a wedding DJ to wrap things up, spending around 4,000 euros is quite common. When calculating costs, keep in mind that it always depends on how many people are on stage, since they have to split the fee—so a five-piece band is more expensive than a single singer-songwriter. Additionally, the time of day and the duration are important factors; for the evening program, for example, musicians have to bring a lot of equipment, and that also adds to the cost.

Costs for wedding music:

‍Estimatedrange: 200 to 4,000 euros

5. Stationery Costs

Finally, a cost that stays within reason. But it’s important to note: Making your own cards requires much more effort than using invitations designed by professional stationery designers! Depending on whether you want to send save-the-date cards, invitations, and thank-you cards—and whether you also want to order name cards, menu cards, place cards, a seating chart, and favors—you can get by with a budget of about 2–5 percent of your total budget. Of course, there’s virtually no upper limit here either—invitations with gold foil stamping, wax seals, and handmade paper cost more than standard cards. Costs for wedding stationery and invitations range from about 200 to 5,000 euros—depending on whether you make them yourself, order them from a well-known online store, or have them custom-made by wedding stationery professionals in Austria.

Costs for wedding stationery:

‍Estimatedrange: 200 to 5,000 euros

6. Jewelry and Wedding Rings

Wedding rings may be small, but you shouldn’t underestimate the cost—prices naturally vary depending on the material and special features (such as embedded stones). Prices for wedding rings start at around 1,000 euros.‍‍

Here's how much wedding rings cost:

Approximate range: 1,000–2,000 euros

7. Budget for Flowers and Wedding Decorations:

Floral arrangements, bridal bouquets, floral displays, table decorations, car decorations, chair covers, and other wedding decorations & furniture account for an average of 10 percent of the total wedding budget—though there’s virtually no upper limit in this regard, especially if you want very lavish floral decorations, are also renting chairs and a wedding arch, and want the table decorations to be particularly opulent. If you hire a professional wedding florist, you won’t have to worry about decorative elements either, since these decorations are provided—so you won’t have to go through the hassle of selling vases, candles, and the like later on.

Costs for floral arrangements and decorations:

Estimated range: 500 to 10,000 euros

8. Wedding Budget: The Ceremony

The costs for the wedding ceremony include the rental fee for a church, civil registry office, or other venue, as well as—in the case of a non-religious ceremony—the fees for a professional wedding officiant, which start at around 1,000 euros.

Cost of the wedding ceremony:

Estimated cost: 200–2,000 euros (depending on the type of wedding ceremony)

9. Cost of the wedding dress and suit:

This cost category includes expenses for your wedding suit, your wedding dress, accessories such as earrings and hair pieces, shoes, a purse, and the hair and makeup artist. The wedding dress and all other essential elements for your final wedding look will cost you about 10 to 15 percent of your total budget.

Costs for the wedding dress and other items:

Approximate range: 1,000–3,000 euros

Saving Money on Your Wedding

‍As youcan see, there are quite a few costs you’ll have to factor in as a couple planning a wedding. Fortunately, though, there are also ways to save money and stay within your wedding budget:

• Choose a later date! This is recommended not only because it gives you a little more time to save up for your big day, but also because a later date generally makes wedding planning much easier. Not all venues and vendors are fully booked—so you can take your pick and secure the providers for your wedding that fit your budget. Plus, you’ll naturally be able to approach the whole thing much more relaxed when you know the big day isn’t just the day after tomorrow.
  ‍
• Shorten your guest list! Because, especially when it comes to the most expensive item—food and drink—you’re paying a per-person price. Take that per-person cost (beverage package, meal, wedding cake, etc.) and think very carefully about each individual guest on your list: are you really willing to spend that much on just that one guest? If in doubt, cross off anyone you’re even slightly unsure about—even for just a fleeting moment. Just ten fewer guests can mean huge savings! Skip inviting that coworker you haven’t seen in years, and invest that money instead in something you absolutely want for your wedding.
  

• Reducing staff, for example by opting for a buffet instead of a sit-down meal, can also save money.
  
  
• It’s also cost-effective to hold all wedding activities in a single location. A venue that’s located near the registry office—and that even hosts the reception and then organizes the entire wedding celebration—will save you money.
  
  
• Consider holding your wedding during a less popular season or on a weekday to save even more money. A later wedding time shortens the interval between the ceremony and dinner, which reduces food consumption. Paradoxically, consulting with a wedding planner can actually cut costs significantly, since they’re aware of hidden cost traps.
  
  
• When it comes to wedding dresses, it's worth asking about last year's styles. Consider whether you can rent certain items instead of buying them.
  
  
• If you prefer an intimate wedding, you generally don’t have much to worry about in terms of cost. If you’re the elopement type, you can spend your savings on your dream ideas—like a trip to your elopement destination, a great photographer, or a haute couture wedding dress.

We just can't make ends meet. What should we cut back on?

You’ve now come to terms with the fact that a wedding costs what it costs and that, unfortunately, you can’t afford everything. We’d like to congratulate you on that, because many couples, blinded by rose-colored glasses, never even get to this point. But what now?

‍Set priorities! Unfortunately,you can’t always have it all. What’s particularly important to you, and what could you do without if you had to? What’s a must-have for you, and what’s just a nice-to-have? Make a list and rank each item by importance. But don’t forget that there are some things you really should leave to the pros instead of doing them yourself—especially if they’re important to you. Photos taken by Uncle Raimund, DIY invitations, Aunt Gerti’s cake, or that secondhand wedding dress from the internet… all of these can very quickly turn into a wedding nightmare.