The average cost of a wedding is not as much as you may think

It appears there really is a price on love - and it’s not as much as you think.

According to a new study, cheap weddings are the norm, not the exception in Australia.

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The research, which was conducted by ServiceSeeking.com.au has revealed that one in five people who married in the last five years still managed to keep their budgets to below $5,000.

A further 28 per cent ,who have married since 2010, kept costs to no more than $10,000.

So what happened to the big lavish weddings we hear so much about?

With just four per cent of respondents admitting to spending in excess of $50,000 in the last five years on weddings, it would appear the majority of people are shunning traditionally extravagant ceremonies.

“That money which many previously lavished on big weddings is probably being funnelled into larger mortgages,” said ServiceSeeking.com.au CEO Jeremy Levitt.

“But sticking to a budget doesn’t mean cheap and nasty.

"Even those on the stringiest of budgets can find many of their wedding services easily online and at a fraction of the price they are expecting.”

However while people were scrimping and saving on their big day, sixty-six per cent of brides were still able to have their hair done and 69 per cent still hired a venue.

Interestingly, 28 per cent made their own invitations to save costs, 17 per cent had a friend make the cake and 19 per cent used their own cars or DIY’ed flowers so they could spend their budget elsewhere.

The study also revealed that 53 per cent of people married in the 70's spent less than $5,000 on their big day, as opposed to 20 per cent who spent the same amount on a wedding in the last five years.

However taking into account that the average weekly wage in 1975 was $155.90 (according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics) and today it's $1,516, we can't see how that matters much.

Moral of the story: you can have a cheap wedding but it may just mean a lot more DIY work for you and your groom.

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