A cost of five figures recently established a debate on the Australian brides of ‘Weddingtok’, the Wedding Thematic Community in Tiktok.
In the video, the two hosts of podcast of Chicks Broke Sally McMullen and Alexandra Hourigan were discussing whether the couples who spent more on their wedding and commitment rings had shorter marriages.
“Australian average wedding costs $ 36,000,” said Hourigan in the video.
Cue the comments of disbelief. (There is no more meticulous budget than a girlfriend who plans a wedding in a life crisis).
No way is the average of 36! The costs of our wedding are 60k with 100 guests and we are not having a luxurious wedding …
I spent so much on my bachelorette party 🤣
My wedding is 9 weeks and I don’t even want to tell the real total, but I probably arrive in around $ 40K. Ours is not huge and luxurious in any way, but the industry is shocking 💸
Imagine trying to have an Indian wedding for 36k … Estimates are closer to 100k.
[Mine was] 35K – 9 years ago. The best day of all. I think people spend much more now surely!
The average of $ 36,000 comes from the government’s financial education website, Monysmart, led by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
But the figure was calculated more than 10 years ago, from a survey conducted in 2013.
Much has changed, so how much is the average Australian wedding?
Most Australians, and brides, know that a lot has changed since the end of 2013, we have seen a housing crisis and a peak of inflation, there have even been two Trump inaugurations since then. And the weddings now have new trends that were not dreamed or popular in 2013, from creators of wedding content to reception dresses and wedding “micro”.
The Weddings Industry Report Australian Weddings has been tracking the wedding spending of couples in the last 10 years.
The report surveyed 2,200 couples in 2015 and found a figure very similar to ASIC’s calculations in 2013. He found that the average wedding cost $ 36,200.
But the 2025 figure? Of more than 4,000 respondents, the average is (Drumroll) $ 35,315, it has actually been reduced.
So how could it be possible in an Australia after inflation? Especially with the “wedding tax” (where florists, places and suppliers increase their costs specifically for nuptial services)?
The expert in the Darcy Allen wedding industry says that the wedding range has changed, especially when couples seek to cut the guest list or marry abroad. Credit: Cooper to, Unspash
Reduce costs cutting guests
The decrease is due to the fact that the types of weddings that are hosting the Australians have changed in the last 10 years, especially taking into account the popularity of smaller weddings or abroad.
Darcy Allen of the survey matrix company, Easy Weddings, says that weddings can now vary from a “2 Pax wedding energy inside Gold Coast or in the local registration office” until “a 300 PAX Libanese wedding in Sydney’s CBD.”
“[But] The greatest decrease we have really seen, while the cost has remained more or less the same, are the numbers of guests. “
Giving the list of guests and micro weddings, when difficult decisions are made and only the closest and most loved couple are invited, it is how some couples reduce costs, according to Allen. And this He marries With Google search trends.
Google Trends shows that micro wedding traffic has increased dramatically since 2019. Credit: SBS
“We saw the emergence of micro weddings and fountains in Covid, which stayed between the Covid,” says Allen. People reduce costs by reducing guests, perhaps a particularly controversial decision for those with large families.
In general, surveyed couples wanted to invite an average of 116 people, but limited the list in 88, according to the Australian wedding industry report. They also spent 28 percent more than they originally budgeted.
How do we feel about mid -week weddings?
Couples and wedding sellers are making adjustments for the crisis of the cost of living. And there is an increase in Australian couples who get hooked abroad, says Allen, “which is another excellent way to cut their guest list … [for] A destination wedding waiting about that 20 to 30 percent [of the guest list] leave “.
Australia prices can also mean that international destinations become cheaper, with beverage packages provided in destinations such as Bali offered by luxury extras due to costs similar to Australian basic packages, according to Senior Darcy Allen wedding planner.
But international weddings savings can have a cost for guests, who probably have to spend on flights and accommodation and take time out of work.
Several luxury places that generally house high -end weddings are beginning to offer ‘micro’ or wedding packages in the middle of the week at significantly cheaper prices, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars less.
Michaela Le and her partner are planning a wedding by 2026. Michaela has begun to make Tiktok content to share what she learned about the costs of the wedding industry. Credit: Supplies: Michaela el
Micheha Le, who is what Tiktok would bend a ‘2026 girlfriend’, considered having his wedding in one day of the week in winter.
“If you marry in winter on a working day, you could pay one of the best places in the state,” he says, but it is aware that a wedding from Monday to Friday can get the guests.
“If you are not spending money, other people are spending it for you,” says Michaela.
Michaela and her partner plan a wedding in January, and has been sharing her budget findings on Tiktok. The couple is budgeting $ 45,000 for a wedding of 120 people. She estimates that weddings finally cost around $ 500 per head. She says that some places they considered summoned $ 60,000 to $ 70,000.
“Some florists will not even talk to you if you are spending less than 10,000 dollars,” she says.
“When you start looking at all these costs, you are a bit like, ‘this is a bit silly. No, we can marry the key people we need there for much.’ But my partner said: ‘No, I really want a party'”.
Brides and boyfriends are aging and saving
Not only is the economy changing the way we get married, they are couples in themselves, since they expect more to save, buy a house, have children or marry, generally tieding the knot at 31 for women, and almost 33 for men according to data from the Australian Statistics Office.
“[At that age] It is possible that he is buying his first house, it is possible that he is starting a family, so it is a quite busy moment in his life, “says Darcy, and also points out that the commitment durations have extended to two years. Thirty percent of the couples surveyed extended their commitment to save for the wedding.
Michaela says that she and her partner will save all year to cover the cost of her wedding.
But while many elements around weddings, and life, have changed in the last decade, the importance of traditional tradition has not done so.
“This is always just something privileged: throwing money to me and my partner for a party,” says Michaela.
“Technically, you say, ‘Oh, it’s for everyone else’, but nobody needs it. He is very fortunate for everyone to balance us.”
