What your wedding quote actually includes

You don’t know what you don’t know. And that’s never been more relevant than when starting your wedding planning.

I constantly see posts on social media asking for advice on quotes couples receive from various vendors - and asking if the figure seems right or too expensive, or asking for recommendations for alternative vendors that work in your budget.

These quotes you receive are not just for the one product or service the vendor offers. Your quote includes years of expertise, experience and learning that a vendor has done to deliver the best product or service they offer. And the quotes you receive reflect that. You get what you pay for.

Vendors have decided on their pricing to give them enough income and profit to pay for costs behind the scenes you may not have considered. To also pay their mortgage or rent, and to be able to provide for their families. 

You are paying for a range of things when you book a wedding vendor, not just their one product or service. It pays to remember what these quotes actually represent. 

You are going to find vendor prices that vary A LOT. These are all circumstantial, based on what else they are paying for (like listed above). You may find that sole traders that work alone have lower rates as they have less overheads to pay for. And you may find that the higher quotes you receive are because that vendor has a staff count of 5 people - that they need to pay for their time and work too. 

This is why the phrase “not going to cost an arm and a leg” is one of my absolute pet peeves.

Look - I get it. You don’t want to spend the money for “just one day”. You’d rather spend the money on other things.

Yes, it is one day. The best day of your lives in fact (except maybe the day/s your children are born). And yes, you could spend your money on other things.

If this is your thinking, you need to consider your wedding day priorities and budget for these accordingly.

There are so many vendors out there with all different offerings and price points. You just need to find the ones that suit you best, that fit into your budget.

But you do have to set realistic expectations for the quotes you will be receiving back from vendors and realise that you’re not just paying for *that one thing*. 

Weddings are expensive. Fact! But they don’t cost an arm and a leg. They buy you the best dream wedding day you could imagine - just how you imagined. With some of the best vendors around 😉

It’s why I created the WA Wedding Survey to try and get a more representative idea of spending from WA couples on costs for their wedding day. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing more insights into what couples surveyed spent on their wedding days over the last few wedding seasons to help you guys set your wedding budgets for your upcoming day. Keep your eyes peeled for those stats and posts over the next month!