As the story goes, as soon as you mention the word “Wedding” the price triples, right? Hmm. We have read and seen so many stories and scenarios play out around the idea of a “wedding tax”, and we are here to get to the bottom of it!

A common piece of advice when it comes to getting a quote is “Don’t mention the word wedding!” and this comes with the idea that services cost more if they’re for a wedding than they would for a “party,” even if the party were identical to the wedding in every way except the name.  

But there is a greater incomparable level of service, time and work for a wedding and this comes with a cost. Why, you may ask? Because weddings are all about bringing lifelong dreams and fantasies to life and this comes with a huge amount of behind the scenes time and effort, attention to small but important details, passion and knowledge. 

For example, one of the most precious parts of any wedding is the photographs. After months of continuous contact, your wedding photographer is usually with you from the early hours of the morning until the dancing gets underway, which can normally be a 12+ hour day. In that time, they will take thousands of photos and will spend days or even weeks sifting through the best one and editing them. And weddings are high-stake, there’s no going back and re-doing it! Technically, there is no redo of anyevent. If a supplier messes up a birthday party, the damage is just the same. But at a wedding, suppliers are dealing with a lifetime of expectation and a huge amount of emotions! 

This can also be said of many other suppliers including your cake supplier, dress supplier, florist, and stationery supplier who spend unlimited months in contact with the couple to customise to specific tastes and requests as opposed to providing an off the shelf product.

Rather than avoiding the word “wedding” when getting quotes, other ways of keeping your wedding costs down include reducing the number of guests, getting married in off-peak seasons, chasing sales, and re-using your floral décor from your ceremony in your reception space.