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Planning your wedding.
With a little organisation, you can have a fantastic wedding day without the worry of breaking the bank.
Budgeting for your big day.
Wedding budgets can range from a modest registry office visit to a fully catered days-long event for hundreds of guests. A lot of Kiwi couples will go for something in between the two which is usually determined by what you want for your dream day. The most expensive items for a traditional wedding are:
- The venue, food and drinks
- The wedding clothing and accessories
- Photography
- Entertainment
- Flowers
- The ceremony itself
- The cake
- Extras: transport, stationery, hair and makeup.
Who will be paying for the wedding?
Most New Zealand couples pay for their own weddings to some extent, though parents (and sometimes grandparents) on both sides may also wish to contribute. It's well worth talking to your families before you start planning your wedding details to find out what, if anything, they can chip in. It's unwise to assume they're going to help and find out later that they would rather not or aren't in a position to; or plan a bare-bones wedding, then they surprise you with a big bank deposit three days before the event.
Sticking to your budget
Create a plan for your wedding and start pricing up the various elements. Add it all together and consider the total: can you realistically afford the wedding? Is there time to save so you can avoid borrowing or if you are planning to borrow money, can you repay it comfortably? If you and your partner want to reduce the overall cost, talk through the areas where you might be able to trim some fat. It could be cheaper flowers, fewer guests or a simpler menu.
Saving for your big day
Saving is one way to build up some funds for your wedding. With a savings account you could set up an automatic payment or use Salary Splitter to automatically divide your salary, send some of it straight to your wedding account. Have you got a spending goal in mind but unsure of how much you need to regularly save to get there? Try one of our savings calculators.
Need a little bit extra?
If there is a shortfall between your savings and your planned wedding budget, a personal loan could help bridge that gap1. If you’re going to borrow, our personal loan calculator could help you understand how much you could afford to borrow, how much the repayments would be, how long it would take to pay off and what the total cost of the loan will be.
If you’ve used a credit card, store card or some other lending to help fund your wedding, debt consolidation could help you repay your big day faster and easier.
Depending on how much you need and how quickly you can pay it off, a credit card is another option2. Some credit cards have benefits such as purchase protection insurance and travel insurance that may be helpful with your wedding day and honeymoon planning. Or a credit card with a lower interest rate could help you keep the cost of borrowing down.
What about the honeymoon?
It might be somewhere close to home, or it could be an international getaway. To plan for your honeymoon, you need to know how much it might cost. You could start by comparing different destinations and accommodation and getting prices. Talk together about your honeymoon priorities and come up with a compromise that will work for you both and your budget.
Once you have a firmer plan for your trip you can set a savings goal for the honeymoon. You'll then need to decide how you're going to reach that goal. Like saving for your wedding there are many options including: a personal loan, credit card or perhaps asking wedding guests to contribute towards the honeymoon. This has become a popular way to spoil a newly married couple so don't be afraid to ask for it.
We can help.
Saving for your wedding
Saving is one way to fund for your big day, and both of you can contribute. Our savings account options let you choose from higher interest rates or easier access to your funds.
Salary Splitter
Salary Splitter is a simple, way to move your money into the accounts where you want it to go. You can set it to divide your income into as many as six different accounts.
Personal loan
Need a little extra? Terms can range from six months to five years and there are no additional or lump sum repayment fees.
Credit card
Some credit cards include perks like travel insurance and purchase protection which could be handy when organising a wedding and honeymoon3. Take a look at our wide range of credit cards.
Things you should know.
1 Eligibility criteria and lending criteria, terms and conditions apply. An establishment fee of $0 may apply.
2 Lending criteria, terms and conditions apply. Conditions of Use for the applicable card apply.
3 Terms, conditions, exclusions and eligibility criteria apply, including a minimum spend for certain travel regions – see the policy document for details. Travel, Extended Warranty and Purchase Protection Insurances arranged by Westpac and underwritten by AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited. Westpac does not guarantee the obligations of, or any products issued by, AIG.