Budget Chic Australian Wedding

The next wedding up today is another Australian gem by Anna Rose Photography! Erin and Jake’s wedding in Perth, Australia. This wedding is a perfect example of how to make the most of your budget, and get an expensive look with a limited amount of cash. I mean, just look at Erin’s dress! It’s glitzy, gorgeous, all around amazing, and cost under $1,000! Yes, you heard me correctly. Under $1K!! The epitome of chic on a budget.

From the bride, Erin:
Our wedding was quite large for an Australian wedding, with 135 guests. We got engaged on our 10th anniversary, and married a week before our 11th anniversary. We were married in the gardens at the University of Western Australia, where I am doing my PhD in history. The spot where we got married is where I use to do all my uni homework and readings. Our reception was at a local restaurant that my husband Jake and I go to a lot. We’ve been going to the restaurant since it opened, and loved the idea of supporting local family businesses.

I recommend using local companies, and getting friends and family involved. Our celebrant was my mum’s friend, a friend acted as our MC, another friend organized the music playlist (we had our first dance to the Twin Peaks theme song), and a friend’s brother and sister played violins at the ceremony.

Try looking for a wedding dress outside the traditional bridal stores. My dress was an evening dress, not a wedding dress, so was quite a bit cheaper, costing me $AU650.

I actually had to have two wedding dresses! It wasn’t funny at the time, but my first dress was taken up by a local seamstress, and was totally butchered. I only got it back a week before the wedding, and it was 15cm to short (in bare feet!), with a jagged hem, and the bodice had been altered beyond belief. I tried to find another copy of the same dress, but was struggling. I eventually found another copy of the same dress, and got it altered in two days.

Although it was quite stressful, I eventually got the wear the dress I loved, and it made me realize that the most important thing in the person you are marrying, not the dress/flowers/shoes.

I really recommend having a cocktail style reception. We had a lot of guests who came from overseas, so they loved the chance to move around and catch up with people, rather than being stuck at a table. Plus, it was a lot less expensive.

See Also

Wedding Budget Breakdown! What a 60K Budget Looks Like with 100 Guests

We set up a photo-booth using my camera, Mac Book, and a handheld remote. We set it up against a turquoise feature wall at the restaurant, and the photos looked great. It was really easy to set up – Jake did it on the way to the wedding ceremony. However, the remote eventually ran out of battery (at 11.30pm), so it might be an idea to have a back up remote and camera battery on hand. We also had two Fujifilm Instax cameras, which were a huge hit. We are going to put the photos from the booth, and scanned copies of the Fujifilm Instax instant photos, on a website for our guests to download and print.

My advice to brides would be to include their partners in the planning the wedding. It seems that a lot of grooms get left out of the planning, and it can be fun to share it, as well as more relaxing not having to do everything yourself.

Wedding Vendors (Perth, Western Australia):

Ceremony Venue: University of Western Australia / Reception Venue: Table 78 Restaurant / Photographer: Anna Rose Photography / Bride’s Dress: Rachel Gilbert/ Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Gown Gallery / Flowers: Code Bloom / Cake: Choux Cafe/Celebrant: Jenny Carkeek / Rentals: Perth Outdoor Ceremonies