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Having just made the biggest emotional decision of your life (when you said yes), it’s already time to make one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever face when you say yes (together) to your venue and other wedding providers.
“How much will my wedding cost?” is the question we hear daily. There is no short answer but we are on a mission to provide clarity and to equip couples with the information they need to make the right choice.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
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Venue, food & beverages
First of all, roughly 50% of your budget will be allocated to your venue, food and beverages. This is the biggest slice of your wedding cash. As one of the premier venues in South Africa, it’s the part we are ready to answer comprehensively. We’ve put together an online cost calculator, which will walk you through the various options and give you an estimated overall total within minutes. You can re-work this as many times as you like to mould your wedding to your budget.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
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Everything else
To give you an overall picture, next we wanted to research average costs for the other goods and services that make up a wedding. When we started looking for data like this relevant to South Africa we found it didn’t exist. So we conducted our own survey and received almost 100 responses. We only used information for weddings that took place since May 2018 or will take place prior to December 2020, in the Western Cape of South Africa. 25% of respondents named Hudson’s as their venue. Below are the averages of the data we accumulated.
| Element | Average spend per wedding |
| Décor and flowers | R160.00 per guest |
| Bride’s dress | R10370.00 |
| Bridesmaid’s dresses | R2900.00 |
| Suits | R3200.00 |
| Marriage officer or pastor | R1600.00 |
| Hair and make-up | R2750.00 |
| DJ | R4160.00 |
| Wedding cake | R2200.00 |
| Photographer | R10900.00 |
| Videographer | R9500.00 |
| Accommodation | R4750.00 |
| Transport | R3530.00 |
| Stationery | R2500.00 |
| Favours | R2000.00 |
| Rings | R17000.00 |
It’s important to note there are a lot of factors that go into determining these costs for each couple. For example, some brides might have connections that allow them to pay less for their wedding cake. Some hire wedding dresses, while others purchase. The pastor from your church is likely to charge a much lower fee that a professional marriage officer. Lots of couples decide to forgo a videographer or hiring of wedding cars. The averages listed here will give you a good ball park indication but we recommend contacting the providers relevant to you directly for personalised quotations. Always bear in mind the adage “you get what you pay for”. We provide a list of recommended suppliers with contact details on the last page of our information pack.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
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Extras
We want to make sure you’ve considered all of the possible costs so here are a few extra services that weren’t included in our survey you might want to factor in.
- Additional entertainment like a photo booth or live musicians
- Pre-nuptial contract and associated legal fees
- Shoes and accessories
- Beauty treatments such as manicures and pedicures
- Gifts for the bridal party
- Honeymoon – this isn’t technically part of the wedding itself and lots of couples are either postponing their honeymoon or having a “minimoon”.
- Coordination – this is a cost you won’t incur if you book at Hudson’s as we specialise in helping to arrange your wedding without the need for an external coordinator, even if you’re planning from overseas.
We’re committed to walking the wedding planning journey with you and assisting and advising on all aspects to make it the magical occasion it should be. Contact us to speak to one of our in-house wedding planners and begin making your plans a reality – without breaking the bank.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]