Average wedding cost

The average cost of getting married in Ireland is somewhere in the region of €22,000.

http://www.mrs2be.ie/wedding-business/irish-wedding-survey-2013/

But always haggle and get the best price and rely on friends and family who may have special skills you can put to good use (baking etc)

The above cost is part of the reason I'm having mine away - we've managed to trim our guestlist and our budget down to a lovely €5k ish

Oh and congrats!

To be honest, I would go on the basis of something closer to €30k for that number. Weddings are so expensive and you just keep getting shocked at the costs and how quickly they accrue.

Once you know your max, then try to see what you can do without so you can start brining the price down (if that is your intention).

For example, think carefully about the numbers of bridesmaids/groomsmen. Assuming you want matching numbers, 3 is going to cost you around €500 more than 2.

Do you know someone who has a nice car who is willing to be chauffeur? There's another €300-€400

Bridal jewellery - funnily enough Groupon is always doing deals on pearl jewellery - I got my bridesmaids lovely pearl earrings and bracelets for next to nothing compared to buying in bridal shops which cost a fortune.

Invitations - we got lovely invites very cheaply - I was horrified at how some of these cost €4,€5 an invite in some cases!

I could go on all day, but you get the drift

Oh, and most of all, congratulations and good luck!

adocholiday wrote: »

Thanks, I've seen that survey but that 22k is where the average number of guests is 100-150. If I have an additional 100 guests then my costs will go up considerably. At 50 per head I would be looking at another 5k. Will have to get saving!

Would love to go away but the mother would kill me

Ours is going to be about €13,000 for 190 people and that includes beef fillet and sea bass for dinner etc. My advice is keep the bridal party small and just shop wisely. NO impulse purchases and really think things through. Haggle your reception cost until you can't do it anymore. Get a sample dress or an end of line dress. We got our rings in the sale. We made our own invitations and hand delivered the bulk (which was lovely because we got to meet everyone face to face). Got a local to do the flowers. We spent a LOT on some things but don't have anything like favors, candy carts etc. You can still have a great quality wedding and still be sensible with the cost. Try and see if there is anybody in your area handy at doing flowers (sacristan in church?), you can save a FORTUNE on them. Youtube is your best friend for DIY.

Just don't lose the run of yourself during the excitement of your engagement! I think we all get blinded at that stage. I bought cake toppers and don't even need them. Its the little things that add up tbh.

Don't be afraid to haggle!!!!

Also just remember, while it is a very big and important day, it is only one day. I know for us, we have much bigger fish to fry in the long term i.e a home.

Set a budget in mind and stick to it as best as you can. We went to the hotel and said we wanted X, Y and Z. They came back with a price and we said we only can afford €x and we got it at our price.

Also just to note there is a huge difference in price in the Winter package than the Summer package. We all know the weather is pot luck in this country so if you were open to any month (unless you are absolutely set on the Summer) then that could be a real nice little saving.

Congratulations by the way

That 22K usually includes the honeymoon which can be quite a lot for some people.

With most things wedding related, it's really up to you how much or how little you spend.

Usual Costs other than the meal:
Band and/or DJ
Church/Registry Office
Flowers
Cake
Car(s)
Invitations
Clothes
Makeup
Hair

I'm afraid to say what our budget is after reading all this. Honestly, I think €22k is on the light side of an Irish wedding. I know my sister got married last year, and did things on an extremely tight budget but had 220 guests and it came in at around this, but she cut out or did a cheap version of loads of stuff. We are doing a much smaller (150 people) wedding but in a more personal venue. I bought my dress for under €500 in a sample sale, have family doing flowers, cake, makeup, not getting a car will do loads of DIY ourselves, and still can't see it coming in at under €30k before the honeymoon.

That said, there are some things we won't compromise on, like a good photographer (that's what you're left with when the day is over), good food, lots of drink for the guests (don't want to appear stingy), a Saturday wedding date and a small day 2 celebration, so maybe that's what's bringing it up.

I know it's just one day and we had this debate when we got engaged - do you blow it all on just one day and say 'what a waste' or do you do things tightly and 'average' and look back on the best day of your life and wish you had made it just that bit more special and stand out. It is the biggest and happiest day of your life after all....or should be!!

adocholiday wrote: »

Agreed. This is exactly our mentality. We want it to be the best day of our lives, celebrated with our extended families and friends and I want to ensure that our funds are allocated mainly to the things that will achieve that. My fiancees sister got married a few years ago and people still talk about how great their wedding was. Their venue was great, the band was great, and they cut out loads of things that were unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Made for a great time and they will look back on it fondly for years to come

Totally agree. The way we are looking at it is that anything that just affects us (dress, car, videographer, etc.) we're happy to cut back on, but stuff that helps the guests to have a better, more memorable, fun day is where we are not willing to compromise (date, band, food, etc.). Photographer is the one exception to that, but even at that, we're not going excessive.

I think it would be difficult to talk about averages as a guideline to what a wedding should/may cost. You'll probably get a better idea if they supplied information like standard deviation or spread from that average.
Peoples attitudes to what should be spent on a wedding differs quite a lot, you just need to read a few threads on that topic (even including this one) here on boards to get the picture. "One man's junk is another man's treasure" - as the saying goes (please don't take that to mean I think a cheaper wedding as being junk).

I'd say you're better off doing up a budget first and having and idea of the time-frame within which you'd like to get married. If you don't mind being engaged 2 years, then obviously you'll save more than if you want to get married in the next few months. Set a detailed budget of your income and spending and see what you can save in that time. Budget your wedding accordingly.

We budgeted for what was at the time an average wedding, but we spent almost 50% more than budgeted (be careful of overspend creep ). It was fine as we managed to save quite well and we had set a date almost 2 years down the line. We've no regrets, other than we wish we had invited more of our friends we wanted to ask, but didn't think we could fit in or afford.
It was money well spent to us and we'd no plans on spending it on anything alternative anyway. Someone else may see as a waste of money though...

The new rule is: 6 months combined wages :pac:

Why would anyone blow such an obscene amount of money on one day? It really boggles my mind :-P you can be budget friendly and classy at the same time

A car I could justify, because you're getting more than a day out of it, but spending that kind of money on one day is absurd. The amount of things you could do with it! Most people would be more inclined to agree with you but I think I'll stay on the sensible side!

Sligo1 wrote: »

Lol... Not if ur one for changing the car every 6 months-year to get the new number plate. Lol

Ah here, there's not many who do that anymore surely? A car is an investment, a wedding day ain't really. Clearly you and most people will never agree with me, and thats fine, blow 20-30k on one day, but I'll stick to my 5k budget for a small wedding abroad and have tons of change to put towards a deposit or car.

clumsyklutz wrote: »

Ah here, there's not many who do that anymore surely? A car is an investment, a wedding day ain't really. Clearly you and most people will never agree with me, and thats fine, blow 20-30k on one day, but I'll stick to my 5k budget for a small wedding abroad and have tons of change to put towards a deposit or car.

I totally see your point, and it's something we discussed at the start too.

The way we ended up looking at it was it's not just "one day". It is, or should be, the biggest and happiest day of your life (after kids....although how happy can 10-30 hours of pain be?!), and one you will discuss, look back on and reminisce on for years and years after, so shouldn't it be as special as you wish it to be?! Different things are important to different people, for some, none of it is and it's just a waste of money, for others it's feeling like a princess for a day, for others it's about showing off what you have...for us, we've decided we want to treat our nearest and dearest to a really fun, relaxed day that is a celebration of our relationship. You don't need loads of money to do that, but some of the stuff we've chosen happens to cost a lot, and we're happy to pay that to create the life long memories we want, and to show our families and friends what they mean to us!

Everybody's priorities in life are different, and I suppose we all just have to respect that!