It really is the big question. How much is an appropriate amount to spend on your big day? A lot of people aren’t aware of the expenses involved in the planning and execution of the day - hopefully this article helps.
The first expense you should consider is the venue charge. You need to find the perfect venue and then everything else will start falling into place. By doing some quick research on some of our Wellington’s popular wedding venues you will see that for their basic packages you’re looking at around $2000. This doesn’t include any accommodation or basic hire equipment. This can all be added on for extra charges. Depending on what package the venues offer and what kind of thing you were looking for, you can end up spending up to $6000 on the venue. This is a lot of money to spend, however, for some of these packages it is so worth it! They offer everything from accommodation for the weekend, to bits of hire equipment, to cleaning services. It makes it so easy and means that you can sit back, relax and enjoy yourself! We would definitely recommend going in and speaking with all the venues you are interested in and seeing what they offer and select the package that best suits your needs for the weekend.
The next expense to think about and, in my opinion, THE most important thing of the day, is your menu! You will already have an idea of what kind of food and service you are looking for, but you might not know the pricing differences between them. Here are some examples; starting with the most popular option. Start with platters to begin with (that are both delicious and a cheaper option than canapes), then move on to mains served buffet style (2 mains and 3 sides), finishing your gorgeous meal off with some dessert canapes - this will cost approx $50 per head. Moving on to a more expensive example; Start your meal with a selection of beautiful canapes, followed by a formal plated meal and plated dessert. This a lot more of a formal option and it requires more chefs and waitresses to make sure everything is smooth sailing so that is an added cost also. For the menu alone for this style of service would cost approximately $60 per guest (depending on the menu that you chose). There are a lot of factors that can change the costs of your menu, including your guest numbers, the service style and catering in general.
The final big expense is all the equipment needed (hire equipment). There is a lot of equipment that you don’t think about until you get a quote through. The best thing about NOSH catering is we take care of all of that for you. Hire equipment costs vary depending on the amount you need, where you need it delivered and, obviously, what you are looking for. If you are looking for the basic: crockery, cutlery, glassware, tea cups, ovens, rubbish disposal this is expected to be between $15 and $30 per person, plus GST. This would create a basic set up and the basic necessities of the kitchen also. If you wanted to go a bit more decorative and wanted some of our beautiful tables and chairs, premium linen, fancier glassware and other things like that you are looking between an extra $20 and $40 per person, plus GST. Different venues require different hire equipment also so this is a factor that needs to be considered.
Hopefully that helps a little with your budgeting. Prices effective from Jan 2020.
Amelia Hemphill
Owner - NOSH
