How much should a wedding venue cost?

Your wedding venue is usually the first step in your wedding planning process. Starting that process often comes with setting a budget, which will be largely determined by what sort of wedding venue you choose for your big day. To help make this process easier, we’ve broken down how much a venue should cost you on your big day.

More than 90% of couples hire a wedding venue for their wedding day, with around 11% of those picking their wedding date specifically around when their venue is available. This just goes to show how important the location of a wedding is to Australian couples, and why we’re willing to pay more each year to make sure that we get that day we want (and let’s face it, deserve).

With the entire cost of a wedding on the rise, it’s no wonder that modern Aussie couples are looking for venues that will give them value for money. Which is why many couples want to be able to chat with suppliers who have several custom packages that can be tailored to their individual needs. Having a set venue manager who doesn’t change halfway through the planning process, offering alternatives for bad weather, and supplying friendly, passionate and accommodating staff are all elements of a good wedding venue that previous couples recommend.

wedding venue cost

To book a wedding venue in Australia you can expect to pay a total of $14,512. This has gone up by around 10% in the last year and is consistent with the average price of a wedding rising year on year as well. We’ve calculated this average with the average amount of wedding guests that attend a wedding to bring you more accurate data on what you can expect to pay. When it comes to price per head, you can now expect to pay a national average of $150 per guest, compared to $135 per head in 2016. Which is a useful stat to have the next time someone asks you for a surprise plus one!

That said, the wedding venue is arguably your first, and one of your biggest, decisions in the wedding planning process. It can kickstart your wedding planning, determine your theme and colour scheme, set the aesthetic for your wedding, and even determine your wedding date and anniversary in the years to come. It’s also going to play a major feature in the memories you have of your wedding, whether it’s how you remember it or how you see it when you’re looking through your wedding photos. So making sure that you choose the right venue for you and your partner is just as important as factoring it into your budget.

What are your main priorities after the wedding?

While most couples get married in their hometown or state, there are of course some who travel back interstate for their wedding or choose a destination wedding in Australia for their big day. Whatever your wedding location, we’ve broken down how much you can expect to pay for a wedding venue in most Australia states and territories.

Victoria

The so-called ‘garden state’ takes the prize as the most expensive Australian state to get married in this year. While the price has only increased by an average amount, Victoria has been bumped up from the second most expensive state last year. Coming in at an average of $15,580 to book a wedding venue, you can expect to pay an average of $161 per head if you’re getting married in Vic.

wedding venue cost

New South Wales

NSW comes in a close second after Victoria, averaging in at $160 per head. The cost of a wedding venue here has increased by around 12% over the last 12 months. Coming in above the national average, a wedding venue in NSW will cost you around $15,503.

South Australia

Couples in South Australia might have more wriggle room in their budgets with the cost of a wedding venue in SA dropping from first place last year down into third. Remaining fairly steady in price over the last year, a South Australian wedding venue will cost you around $14,936. This works out to be around $154 per head.

Western Australia

Travelling west now and the cost of a wedding venue in Western Australia has gone up the most over the past 12 months. However, it still comes in under the national average, with a wedding venue in WA costing you around $145 per person, or $14,076 for a venue.

wedding venue cost

Queensland

Dropping right below the national average now, if you’re getting married up north your wedding venue should cost you around $10,472. This works out to be around $108 per guest. Maybe there is room for that extra plus one after all!

Tasmania

Tasmania makes an appearance on our list of wedding venue cost this year, with our 2017 Easy Weddings Annual Wedding Survey gathering more data for the southern state than in previous years. At an average of just $105 per head, a wedding venue in Tassie should cost you around $10,200.

Australian Capital Territory

The most modestly priced wedding venues are in the nation’s capital, with the ACT closing off our list. Wedding venues here have actually decreased in price by a whopping 10% over the last year, with a wedding venue in our capital city expected to cost you less than $10,000. You can expect to pay an average of $100 per person, or $9,685 for your wedding venue in the ACT.

wedding venue cost

Predictions for 2018

Over the past two years, our Easy Weddings Annual Wedding Survey has seen a rise in the price of weddings and wedding venues. However, we’ve found that the range of this is definitely dependent on a state by state basis, with some states rising significantly, while others remain steady in price, and some costs even dropping.

While it’s too early to tell what sort of costs we’ll see for wedding venues by the end of the year, based on previous data an increase of between 9% and 11% could be possible. However, like the years before, we expect this to vary greatly from state to state.

But while we can’t give a definite figure on how much a wedding venue will cost you in 2019, we can predict that the importance of a wedding venue to the special couple will continue to grow. No matter the cost.