How to have a wedding for 40,000 euro
Before you start reading….this article was written in 2023.
One of the most asked questions - ‘do I have enough budget for my Italian wedding?’
And it’s a tricky one to answer! Weddings are expensive (sorry guys!). And getting your wedding budget to stay inside 40,000 euros these days is going to be tight! But it can be done - and we show you how in our example below.
Watch out for the caveats and please note this is just ‘one way’ to do it, not the only way. What you spend and on what will depend on your own priorities. There are suppliers who will charge more than the prices included in this example and some will charge less. Every wedding is different and everyone’s dream of their day is different too. This budget breakdown is for a wedding that, in our opinion, is of a good quality standard…and we wouldn’t usually recommend going much lower with budget.
- Wedding for 60 people
- All on one site, 3-4 night stay
- Symbolic wedding
- Includes tax
Venue cost is based on asking guests to contribute to their accommodation on-site. So, calculate the number of guest rooms needed x number of nights x a figure you are happy charging them for their stay (per night). You might need to play around with the guest cost per night to make it work to allow venue options to open up.
You may want to consider mid-week or off season – May/September for potentially cheaper prices
Some venues add on additional fees, such as cleaning, which can come in at 1000+ euro
Event fees may apply, which can come in at 300-700 euro per event additionally on site
Consider a symbolic celebrant or even a family member conduct the ceremony (which is free....you'd hope they wouldn't charge!)
A civil ceremony will cost approx 500 euro more than a symbolic celebrant, for the town hall or legal paperwork
Based on 60 people @ 180/190 euro pp + 10% VAT
For a 7 hours service PLUS staff catering costs
A small extra budget factored in for an additional hour or a special touch
A budget of 7500 euro is very easily spent! As the price of everything has gone up - including catering chairs and the transport for suppliers to get to your venue is higher
The decor budget includes: personal flowers, small ceremony décor, ceremony chairs, simple table florals and candles (for long tables). And assumes furniture, linen, crockery and glassware is included in the catering cost
SAVE MONEY ON DECOR:
- Have menus dotted along the table as opposed to one per person
- Only use lighting over the dinner and for the party and dancefloor
- Design your own order of service, menus, welcome note and print at home through printed.com
Based on a variety of options including: Strings, PAs and DJ
Cost factors in the Music Tax (SIAE) of 345 euro
The cost is based on pre-wedding Welcome drinks hosted off-site in a bar. Without guest transport organised - so consider whether this is possible for guests to walk or arrange their own transport to get there easily before you confirm
Post-wedding pizza delivery to the venue and drinks for guests from the fridge you have stocked from a supermarket trip
No wet weather plan included in the budget, as assumes the venue used as an example has an indoor option
Should your venue not have a viable indoor option in case of bad weather, then absolutely you must factor in budget for a Plan B marquee or tent option
ADDITIONAL WAYS TO SAVE MONEY:
- Use an in-house planner; BUT check they are actually a planner and not just someone that works there and uses the same suppliers each time
- Ask guests to contribute to the shuttle bus cost, like a pre-booked taxi
DO NOT:
- Buy own wine to serve at the venue - it is often not worth the very small saving for the time and hassle
- Make your own flowers - again, precious time wasted and huge responsibility to place them out and keep them cool before the wedding
- Scrimp on the big things - it’s better not to have someone (a service/supplier) than a terrible version of it. So, work out your absolute must-haves and prioritise your budget with them. Don't waste 1000 euro in booking a 'cheap' supplier and massively regret not putting that money into something more important and increase that area's budget.
Working out a budget is complicated and often overwhelming! But you have some options thanks to our lovely La Lista team…..
Download the Budget Tracker
Download the Italian Wedding Tracker - this baby has everything from budgets to timings!
If the panic is real, book a Wedding Surgery call with esteemed wedding planner, Lucy White and get sorted from the start or at any point of struggle through planning.
Written by Lucy White, Founder of La Lista & Wiskow & White, with over 7 years and 200 weddings worth of experience.
