Budget NZ weddings: How to get married for $500 – or less

While a designer dress and picturesque Hawke’s Bay vineyard venue a la Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford’s nuptials might be the dream wedding for some, others set their sights – and budgets –
on a smaller big day. Reporter Harriet Laughton finds out how Kiwi couples can get hitched on a shoestring.

A backyard ceremony for just over $500 – complete with celebrant and cake – dresses from Shein and Savemart, pick-your-own bouquets and asking guests to bring their own drinks.

These are a few of the ways loved-up but budget-conscious Kiwi couples are slashing the price tag on their nuptials as rising living costs drive up prices of traditional wedding services.

NZME spoke to several marriage celebrants and all said keeping it small, second-hand and having guests pitch in were good ways to cut costs.

Debbie Woodfield has put on many affordable weddings in her five years as a celebrant and offers affordable packages starting at $450 plus marriage licence costs.

Her most budget-friendly package included a ceremony often held in her garden, a bottle of bubbles, a small cake and up to 20 guests.

“If you borrow the dress and pick the flowers yourself, you’re looking at just over $500 for a beautiful day,” she said.

But couples could say “I do” for half that price, with registry weddings costing $90 for the ceremony, $150 for the marriage licence plus a $33 added fee if couples wanted a physical copy of the licence.

But Woodfield said she would not recommend the 10-minute option.

“It’s more of a legal affair and I see many couples do it after they’ve had the ceremony elsewhere, often overseas or in a cultural setting,” Woodfield said.

She said the more money spent, the more stressed couples seemed to be.

“You can spend as much money as you wish on a wedding but at the end of the day, the people who have spent a small amount are just as married as the people who have spent big,” said Woodfield.

“I’m happy to say a lot of people are starting to think they don’t have to get married the way their parents did.”

Asked about innovative ways to cut costs, Woodfield said her daughter walked down the aisle with Pak’n’Save daffodils and aunties brought dishes for afternoon tea.

Her nephew had a backyard barbecue wedding where guests brought their chilly bins and drinks. An “incredible” wedding on a fishing boat had just four guests, plus her and the skipper.

“People are saying ‘let’s not do tradition for the sake of tradition, let’s be different’ and I love that,” Woodfield said.

Free (or very cheap) Bay of Plenty wedding venues included beaches, Te Puna Quarry Park (excluding the use of the building, which costs $300 to $600), McLaren Falls Park, the platform by Pāpāmoa Surf Lifesaving Club, Kulim Park, Yatton Park and Moturiki Island.

Affordable Rotorua options included Klamath Falls Gardens and The Band Rotunda in Government Gardens , Murray Linton Rose Gardens, Centennial Park and Redwoods.

Hiring a student photographer, skipping the “getting ready” photos or hiring a professional for just an hour were Woodfield’s suggestions for affordable quality photos.

As for the guest list: “If you haven’t gone out to dinner with people on your list, should they really be on it?”

Celebrant Maree Brookes said, “The most important thing is to have the people that mean the most in the world to you witness your vows.”

She recommended flower gardens that allowed visitors to pick their own, such as Miss Mandy’s Flower Emporium in Tauranga where a bucket of flowers – about 10-20 stems – could be picked for $35.

Louise Newton, a celebrant for eight years, said her favourite ceremony was for two students in a parent’s backyard.

“The couple could not afford much and their only condition was to get married as the sun was setting,” she said.

Their only large expense was hers, and she halved her price to $150 for the occasion.

The wedding clothes and a beautiful red carpet came from SaveMart and the catering was beers and cooked marshmallows.

She officiated another wedding at a beach house belonging to the couple’s friend, with just a bridesmaid and best man.

“The bridesmaid was the photographer and a suit, dress, cheese, crackers and a bottle of wine was all they needed,” she said.

The couple took their extended family out to dinner afterwards, breaking the news they got married in the afternoon.

Newton said her top three tips were to have guests bring their own drinks, have an afternoon tea to cut back on the food cost and have a donation box instead of gift.

Celebrant Alan Clements said registry weddings were the most affordable he had seen, with couples doing “what they wish afterwards”, including a barbecue at home or pizza.

Pop-up weddings

Little Wedding Planner owner Brie Stewart started offering “pop-up weddings” in Tauranga two years ago, where couples “just needed to turn up” to an already-decorated venue.

A 20-person ceremony, at Te Puke’s No 2 Rd hall, lasted 90 minutes and supplier costs were shared between the couples who married throughout the day.

Stewart said there were many reasons to have her “back to the basics” pop-up wedding, which came to $4995.

“During that time in Covid-19 where the maximum capacity was 50 people or even less, I think people realised they don’t need to invite everyone from high school,” she said.

“The cost-of-living crisis hasn’t made weddings any more affordable either and people have got other things to pay for like a mortgage or a business or kids.”

Social media made it easy for couples to get caught up in the look of the wedding and by providing a day completely organised, she said people were more relaxed.

All the traditional trimmings, half the usual cost

Kimberley James managed to keep all the elements of a traditional wedding – flowers, photographers, decorations, food – and keep the cost under $8000 for 50 guests.

That worked out to $160 per head – about a third of one expert’s estimated average price for a New Zealand wedding of $400-$500 per person.

She originally set her budget around $10,000.

“After some shopping around, I was able to cut my budget back in a lot of ways.

“My wedding dress was my biggest sacrifice,” said James. She cut the price of her gown from $2000 to $100 by ordering it online from Shein.

Instead of having professional photographers, she said she paid $200 to both a student photographer and a friend.

Te Puna Quarry was $300 for use of the garden and reception hall, and she and her partner planned to buy the most affordable sterling silver rings they could find.

Potluck and “bring-your-own drinks” allowed her to ditch catering costs, she dried flowers for the bouquet, and bought decorations via a budget weddings Facebook page – where she planned to resell them after the big day.

Harriet Laughton is a multi-media journalist based in the Bay of Plenty.