Brianna Parkins: How to plan a wedding, without breaking the bank

Irish people love going to weddings as much as they love giving out about how expensive they are.

This year we may not hear the speeches over the whispers that it all “cost an ABSOLUTE fortune” as the price of Irish weddings has risen, seemingly along with the cost of everything else.

In 2019 a survey from Confetti magazine pegged the average Irish wedding budget at €25,000 all up. Fast-forward a few short years and couples should now aim for between €35,000-€40,000, according to experts.

Wedding website OneFabDay.com, which regularly breaks down real-life Irish wedding budgets, put the average cost of an Irish wedding at €36,000 last year.

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One Fab Day editor Jessica O’Sullivan says the figures were compiled from a survey of the site’s readers who, O’Sullivan says, tend “to be on the upper end” of wedding budgets.

Veteran wedding planner Sharon McMeel told The Irish Times the prices for guests in wedding venues had been on the increase in the last couple of years, with couples looking at a “realistic” price tag of €35,000 and up for a wedding of 120 guests at an Irish venue.

“Everybody is feeling the change in prices,” she says, putting the increase down to inflation rather than quiet Covid years causing vendors to try to claw back income with hikes.

“Actually with Covid in the first year back, a lot of suppliers and venues were very, very good.

“They didn’t put their prices up, what you are seeing with the price at the moment is in-line with a jump in everything else.”

Borris House, a luxury country house and wedding venue in Carlow, increased the advertised wedding package price by €20 per head during the summer season between 2020 and 2023.

The 2020 wedding brochure advertised a price of €130 per person for dates between June-August; their 2023 brochure lists that price at €150.

These figures were based on a “minimum guest number of 130″, according to the 2023 brochure. That means that a couple getting married with 130 guests in 2020 would have paid €16,900 for the package, while that same couple in 2023 would potentially pay €2,600 more for their wedding, at a total of €19,500.

Venues may be more exposed to inflation because they face hikes across multiple sectors in their operations – food, beverages and energy, for example.

It can be tricky trying to figure out what a wedding budget should be when past guide figures don’t reflect the current reality of rising costs but there are some basics that prevail.

The first thing to do, says McMeel, is figure out the length of the guest list. The number of attendees will determine two things. One is the venue due to guest limits, and the second is the cost.

“Everything will be multiplied by that number,” says McMeel, with guest headcount determining the costs of drinks, food and extras such as optional canapés and cocktails.

Although it might seem counterproductive to her bottom line as a planner, McMeel’s second golden rule of wedding finances is don’t go over the top so much that you end up in debt.

“You don’t want to be paying credit cards and loans after you get married,” she says.

Couples can avoid starting their lives together without debt hangovers by aiming for a wedding date that gives them enough time to save up to cover the expense.

McMeel suggests couples budget “around 50 per cent” of their wedding fund towards the venue/reception.

Savings can be made by marrying at different times of the year or less popular midweek dates.

If couples are eyeing up getting hitched abroad as a way to escape Irish price hikes, they may be disappointed to find the pinch is global. But they may be able to “manipulate the budget” based on what’s on offer.

“The thing people need to watch abroad is a lot of the time things that might be initially included at home might be worth extra and different countries might not charge extra for things at all,” she says.

“For example, in Portugal some are fully inclusive of all drinks and food for the entire event, which can sometimes be great value.”

McMeel, a destination wedding expert, warns “you do have to make sure everything is in writing, the same goes even with Irish venues and suppliers”.

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Some contracts have clauses that allow prices to rise with inflation even after the initial agreement.

“Some venues will have in their contract, even if they don’t do it, that they may put prices up the next year so you do have to watch the fine print,” she says.

She advises “anybody who has booked last year for this year” to “check in” with their supplier to see if they intend to raise their previously agreed fee. Then at least couples know in advance if they have to adjust their budget or savings.

As the editor of a bridal website, O’Sullivan has noticed that instead of couples just copping the extra costs and upping their wedding budget accordingly, they are looking for savings.

“People usually have a set amount for their wedding and they make it work,” she says.

This tends to look like going with a cheaper wedding dress or not going with a cake from “the baker you had wanted for years”, says O’Sullivan.

However, she warns bargain-hunting brides to be wary of paying more for the little extras that complete the white dress.

O’Sullivan and her team compile lists of the best bridal shoe and purse styles every year which shows that, because of their classic nature, the same things tend to pop up again and again.

The editor says she has noticed a “huge markup on shoes and accessories” in the last few months with the same styles jumping from €425 to €465 in some cases.

“The shoes I bought for my wedding in 2022 are now €50 more expensive,” says O’Sullivan.

People like to wheel out the old trope of the “wedding tax”, whereby anything that comes in white or has the words “just married” will have a markup because people will pay anything when it comes to their special day.

But there’s a reason wedding costs might look different from other functions such as a company convention.

In the best case scenario for the couple, the wedding is a once-off event that can’t be redone and, therefore, should receive extra care, communication and personalisation from the people supplying the services to make it happen.

Those people, like the rest of us, are now paying more for the things that they require to keep their business afloat.

Especially if they have to travel like wedding photographer Katie Kavanagh, whose work can take her across the country.

“For me the price and availability of accommodation for weddings I’d have to travel for is more expensive this year than any year previously,” she says.

Hotel rooms have increased by 29 per cent since 2019, according to March 2023 figures.

“Album production costs have increased for me too,” says Kavanagh, who stresses that she doesn’t think inflation “has an across-the-board impact”.

“It seems to be on a business-to-business basis,” she says.

The in-demand photographer’s prices start at €2,500 “for prep to dinner coverage with an album” but could change subject to location and other inclusions.

“There’s no such thing as a standard wedding photography package, to be honest,” she says.

When it comes to areas where couples can make savings, photography is the one place to avoid scrimping, maintains McMeel.

“It’s the one thing you’re going to have forever. Those are the photographs you have to look at when people in your family pass on,” she says.

“There’s nothing more heartbreaking than not getting the photos you want.”

Kavanagh advises couples to “be realistic in your expectations of your photography and the services you want to receive”.

“If you want someone with plenty of experience, insurance and solid reviews to back that up, be prepared to pay,” she says.

Overall, when it comes to planning a wedding, it pays to work with suppliers to see what is available in your budget.

Can you work with a florist to choose local flowers that are in season to keep costs down? Can you hire a band that will also supply a DJ afterwards to avoid double transport costs?

It’s down to the couple to prioritise what they think is important in their wedding budget and to cut down the rest.

Except the food, warns McMeel.

“The Irish always talk about the food at a wedding.”