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When coming up with your wedding budget you think of those big ticket items like venue, dress, cars, suits, entertainment etc. But here's our top 12 items you probably missed...

GLAM:

Now ladies, you need to allow a decent chunk of money for your glam. Especially if you are shouting for your bridesmaids. We're talking all things from makeup, hair, nails, tans, jewellery, undergarments to lipsticks and perfumes. For hair and makeup alone you could be looking anywhere from $150-$300 per person and the bride is usually a bit more expensive too. Also, don't forget your mum and mother in law.

ALTERATIONS:

You've found your perfect dress (YAY) but if you've bought off the rack expect to need some alterations made. Alterations can be anywhere from $200-$500+. Don't forget your bridesmaids too. Not all your girls are going to have the same body shape, so if you are picking the same dress for everyone, a small alteration here or there may also be needed. That goes for the groomsmen too.

TRANSPORT:

You've just chosen the perfect winery wedding location. That's incredible! But what about transport? If the location from A to B (ceremony to reception) isn't close, you may find your wedding transport becomes a little more pricey to account for this. There's also your guests to consider. When a bit of travel is required for your guests, a guest transport van/service is a great way to accommodate, but this is again an additional cost to consider.

CHURCH FEES:

Perhaps it's always been your dream to get married in a church. A church is a beautiful traditional ceremony location. Of course, there are venue fees involved with this just like there are for any ceremony location but it is also custom to provide a small donation to the priest or deacon conducting your ceremony to account for their time.

HIRE ITEMS:

Ok let's talk hire items. You've got your tablewear, centrepieces, photobooths etc sorted in your mind but don't forget that there are almost always delivery, setup and collection fees involved with this. Some venues also require hire items to be collected the night of your wedding which can also incur a late night collection fee from vendors.

STAMPS:

Something else you probably didn't consider is the cost of stamps for your invitations. We aren't just talking about the wedding invites themselves, there's also bridal shower invites and hens and buck invitations. Thinking of having a non standard invitation size? Well just be prepared to have to pay a higher stamp cost for anything non standard sized.

BRIDAL ROOM STYLING:

Over the last few years in particular, bridal room styling has become incredibly popular. This involves displaying your bridal dress and grooms suit on a mannequin or hanger and having your accessories placed out on something such as a set of plinths. This also includes your bridal squads outfits too. So if you are wanting to do something like this, you will need to account for the hire costs of the mannequin, plinths, clothing racks etc.

ACCOMMODATION:

Most of the time you will probably end up spending the night at a hotel or your venue accommodation. So just make sure you factor this into your budget if your venue doesn't include complimentary accommodation for the newlyweds.

LIGHTING:

It's something you probably wouldn't think you need but be careful to assume the venue has lighting or the correct lighting to match the mood you are setting. Luckily enough usually a bit of up-lighting scattered around the venue is enough to set the mood but it is still something worth accounting for in your budget if you feel you need this for your venue.

PHOTO LOCATION FEES:

It may surprise you but there's a good chance you will be required to pay a fee for photo specific locations. If you want wedding photos in that super cute bar then you more than likely will need to pay a fee to utilise their space and have staff attending to you. We should also mention, this is a good time to refuel your bridal squad with food and drinks, so be sure to include this in your budget too.

MISCELLANEOUS:

We thought we would also mention just a few of those little miscellaneous items like your page boy pillow, garter, morning of wedding outfit like robes and slippers, food and drinks for the morning of and emergency sewing kits. All those little things really do add up.

PHOTOGRAPHER ALBUM:

This is definitely worth mentioning. Most photographers offer a custom wedding album option once your photos are ready. Your photographer will spend hours of time working on your album as there is a lot that goes into it, but this can also come with a hefty additional expense you may not expect. Of course, a wedding album is optional however it's worth enquiring with your photographer what the costs involved with the album are.

Ok we hope we didn't scare you 😂 A lot of the things we have mentioned are smaller ticket items but it does all add up and if you don't account for those things at the start of your budget you can start to feel it in the lead up to the day. One tip from us is anything you can get well ahead of time, do it, because then you can just focus on those larger ticket items closer to the day. Keep an eye out for those EOFY specials, boxing day sales, black friday sales etc because this is a great way to save a bit of money.

All our love, EEA admin