Wedding costs in 2025: what to toss and costs you’ll regret

Last updated on 25th February, 2025 at 02:35 pm

Your wedding is one of the most important days in your life, planning that big day can be a stressful and costly experience. We spoke to three newlyweds about their wedding planning process and how they managed their finances.

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Elana and Songezo Mangqishi

“Since I was a little girl I had always envisioned my wedding to be Cinderella-like, arriving in a carriage, an old chapel, surrounded by our loved ones, marrying my Prince Charming (well, I got me a handsome man), and just a joyful beautiful summer’s day,” said Elana Mangqishi. In February 2024, she and her husband, Songezo Mangqishi, got married in front of 150 of their closest friends and family. “It exceeded my expectations, except I did not arrive in a carriage; but I still had my fairytale wedding,” she added.

Who paid for the wedding?

“We used some of the lobola for the white wedding and covered the rest from our savings. We were also fortunate to have a supportive family that helped us.”

What surprised them

“The price of flowers. Spending that much on flowers was not a waste, but we were surprised by the cost. They were expensive. Our tip? Explore different options. If one can, rather go for artificial flowers or mixed, no one will notice.”

What they had to toss out

“We cut out little things like wedding favours, fans for the guests and we also swopped some of the flowers for artificial ones,” said Songezo.

Their money-saving tip

When hiring, if you can, do not mention to suppliers that the item is for a wedding.
“We enquired for our wedding cake, a simple two tiers, and were quoted a ridiculous amount. We asked a friend to enquire for the same cake except she said it was for a birthday party, guess what? She was quoted half the price.”

Hannah and Grant Dyer

Hannah and Grant, a down-to-earth couple that loves nature, took a modest approach to their wedding, leaning into DIY and their community to make their dream come to life. “To be honest with you, we both didn’t care about the venue or the food, it was more about the atmosphere,” the couple admitted. “We just wanted to include God on the day.”

Who paid for the wedding?

“Everyone covered the cost; people pitched in everywhere. We had people from both sides of the family, we had friends. Many people made the day possible. We also saved up and paid for some of the stuff ourselves.”

How they managed to keep costs down

“I did my own make-up and my mother did my nails for me – those were two big costs saved! I also wanted to look like myself on the day and not so glammed up that I didn’t look like me,” said Hannah.

Their money-saving tip

Consider booking your wedding for midweek. “The venue we wanted was really expensive, but we found out if you book midweek it would be half the price,” said Grant.

Tinashe Venge and Zoleka Biyela

For Tinashe and Zoleka, the wedding and marriage process spanned four years. It kicked off in 2019 with lobola negotiations, but the Covid-19 pandemic caused delays, and the wedding only took place in 2023. “For our white wedding, we wanted to dial up the aesthetics and create a day that everyone (including ourselves) would remember for the rest of their lives,” explained Tinashe.

Who paid for the wedding?

“We’ve always helped each other cover the costs,” says Tinashe. “The one who had a higher income at that point in time was always happy to foot a higher percentage of the costs, but it was always a team effort.” #CoupleGoals

What surprised them

30% of the budget went to catering!

What we had to toss?

“We certainly made decisions to cut down our headcount at a certain point when the costs appeared to be too high. We opted for a smaller guest list (which still felt massive on the day!) in order to preserve catering costs.”

How they managed to keep costs down

“The key for us was to spread out the payments. We booked our venue nearly 18 months in advance and spent that period paying off the catering and décor packages on a monthly basis.”

Their money-saving tip

“We had a spreadsheet,” said Zoleka. “We’d sit monthly, then eventually weekly, to plan and track our progress.”