Getting married without a royal wedding-sized budget

With all the hype and news reports about the royal wedding, it got us thinking about how much the average Aussie couple spends on their wedding. Wedding app BrideBook estimates the royal wedding budget at a massive £32 million (~$57,470,400). The average Aussie wedding budget is just over $36,000, according to MoneySmart.

For most couples, $36,000 is a big deal.

In fact, that same MoneySmart survey found that 98% of people surveyed made sacrifices in order to have a wedding. 32% simply had a cheaper wedding than the one they wanted. 25% delayed other plans, such as buying a home or having a baby. Others put their social life on hold (20%), sold their cars (10%), or moved back in with their parents (5%).

What would you give up?

Don’t want to give up all that just to throw a wedding? Wondering how engaged couples even do it? You’re not alone; we wondered the same thing when we read those stats. But it doesn’t have to be all two-minute-noodles and FOMO for couples with big wedding dreams. Well-rounded financial education can make a massive difference to a person’s financial and general wellbeing. It can help people set and reach goals, and achieve greater life balance.

When we looked at our core range of off-the-shelf titles, we realised we didn’t have anything to cover those big life events that throw those massive curveballs at your plans and balance. Things like getting engaged and planning a wedding. That’s why we’ve created a brand-new module – Getting Married. It’s part of Life Happens, the latest stream to be added to the Money101 flagship range (it also includes fur babies!).

What’s in Getting Married?

Getting Married is the perfect just-in-time education for couples who have no idea where to start with their wedding budgeting (hint: your wedding budget is the first thing you need to do after you get engaged and set a date). This module covers:

• Average wedding budget breakdowns
• Building a budget that suits your wants and needs
• Choosing your spending priorities
• Ways to save on the big-ticket items
• Deciding what to do with wedding gift money

It’s packed full of practical tips that engaged couples (and their loved ones) can use straight away. At the same time, it’s designed to help give learners a decision-making framework they can use through other major life events. This includes key concepts around goal-setting, getting financial advice, and more.

This quick-rollout education initiative is designed to engage (get it?) your audience on their terms, to help them make smarter decisions at an important time in their lives. So if you watched the royal wedding on Saturday, checking out the cake that cost more than the average Aussie wedding, you can feel good about making a difference to your peoples’ lives.

Source: bridebook.co.uk, moneysmart.gov.au