S3, EP25: Tips for planning a wedding in a tough economy

Eddy: Welcome to Project Engaged, a podcast for fun loving couples planning their non traditional wedding.

Aleks: We’re wedding DJs Aleks and Eddy Mac from Melbourne. We run a business called One More Song, and our tagline is No More Nutbush.

Eddy: In this podcast, we’ll share our wedding experiences and chat to some of our past couples.

Aleks: We’ll also interview bold wedding suppliers who share our philosophy of your wedding being a celebration of you as a couple and one epic party.

Eddy: Let’s get into today’s episode.

Aleks: Welcome to another episode of Project Engaged. I’m Aleks.

Eddy: My name is Eddy.

Aleks: Oh, okay.

Eddy: That’s my name.

Aleks: That’s a bit weird. That’s a bit weird.

Eddy: Oh, you know, you’ve got to make it different.

Aleks: Every bit. Oh, it’s kind of. I’m sure everyone listens to the intros and compares them side by side.

Eddy: We’ll get over it at some stage and just boringly say hi, guys.

Aleks: Whatever, whatever. It’s just us two tonight and we are talking about a topic that is pretty current. I would say we are.

Eddy: And we say tonight because we are recording it in the night time and this episode may not go for as long as the usual lengths. Only because we don’t have a weekend wrap up. Yes, because we had last weekend off, which is really nice. We did some normal people things, went to a chilli festival in Preston, which was really cool.

Aleks: Yeah. So good.

Eddy: And Aleks went out with her friends. Well, you did something quasi work related. You want to talk about that?

Aleks: Well, I actually went out with my friend who used to be a client of mine. But you weren’t referring to that.

Eddy: No. Well, that’s a nice little bonus, but.

Aleks: Yeah, that is a nice bonus. Shout out to Claire and my sister. And then afterwards I went to see our sax player, Kenny, play at a club. It was his birthday as well, at port and company. So I went south side.

Eddy: You went south side? You went south side?

Aleks: It was a journey. It was a journey. High street was closed. There was an accident. I had to walk anyway. Whole thing. But it was so much fun and it was so funny seeing Kenny obviously, like killing her in his element, but in a completely different setting. And, you know, everyone had their phones out and they were just absolutely lapping it up. The DJ was spinning some really cool house edits and we were dancing and yeah, it was just so much fun. He was great, as always, as. As expected. But he wasn’t until twelve or one or something. So, yeah, it was a bit of a late night.

Eddy: Bit of a late one. I was in well, I was playing video games for the while. Cause I didn’t go out with you initially, so. Yeah, I sort of feel a bit bad.

Aleks: Sorry, Kenny.

Eddy: Sorry, Kenny. I’ll get the next one. But I was just playing some PlayStation. Just chilling and then I went to bed.

Aleks: Yeah, well, I think it was a little bit late. If you hadn’t already been out that night to kind of head out that.

Eddy: Late, but really tough.

Aleks: It was really nice. But we are back on weddings this weekend, which is awesome. So we’ll have a weekend wrap up next week.

Eddy: Yay. Okay, so you started to talk about today’s episode. Let’s roll into it.

Aleks: Okay, so this one is probably if you are sort of at the beginning stages of the wedding planning process, but you may pick up some tips regardless. I’ve just been turned down. Nice. Thank you.

Eddy: It’s only in your headphones. Oh, cool.

Aleks: No worries. You wouldn’t have known. I’m a DJ. And today we are talking about tips for planning a wedding in this tough economy.

Eddy: Times are getting tough times. Interest rates continually rides and it affects everyone. The economy.

Aleks: Yeah. Whether you are a homeowner or not, if you’re renting, it affects you because the landlords are affected and there’s a part. Anyway, we don’t need to explain to people the cost of living crisis that is happening. So we thought it might be very.

Eddy: Topical, very timely to talk about.

Aleks: Yeah. To talk about these. So shall we get into it? We’ve got a number of areas to cover.

Eddy: We’ve got some notes, we’ve got some tips to help people save money on their wedding while still prioritising what matters, which is the big lincha here.

Aleks: Yes. We’re not talking about a DIY budget. Good.

Eddy: Or yourself. Dj, your own wedding.

Aleks: No, no, no.

Eddy: Take your own photos.

Aleks: If you’re listening to this podcast, we’re going to assume that music is pretty important to you anyway.

Eddy: Yeah. Otherwise you probably wouldn’t be listening to us. Or maybe you are.

Aleks: I don’t know what a niche podcast to listen to.

Eddy: If you don’t email us, if you hate music but you love listening to us, that’ll be a really interesting one.

Aleks: Anyway.

Eddy: Anyway. Okay, cool. So let’s cap it off. So, obvious alert.

Aleks: Yes.

Eddy: Set a budget.

Aleks: Right?

Eddy: So start by determining your overall budget and then simply allocate funds to different aspects of the wedding. You could do like a bucket approach, which is pretty cool. Yeah. You know, so this will obviously help you stay on track and you can then make informed decisions throughout the planning process.

Aleks: Yeah. And this is. And, you know, this is what you mentioned earlier about prioritising. So if you sit down together as a couple and work out. Right, what are the kind of big ticket items that we want to spend money on? Because they matter to us and they will have a huge impact on the day. I think that is so important to talk about.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: Because you can get caught up in all the small details that really financially add up.

Eddy: Also family members, maybe some friends, they’ll be talking in your ear about what they think is important. It’s about what you think’s important.

Aleks: Oh, totally. Yeah. And if you listen to some of our real couple episodes, I’m thinking particularly about Jack and Carley’s, who mentioned, you know, about their parents or whatever. I think it was just family members having, you know, their two cent and, yeah, you just really gotta let that stuff go and it’s gonna happen.

Eddy: Like, of course it will, 100%. But, yeah, you’ve got to think about, okay, what do we really want? Whether it’s. We want an amazing, amazing photographer to capture our day in the way that we want it captured. Or maybe you’re a huge, huge fan of florals. You know, you want.

Aleks: You know, if you’re listening to this.

Eddy: We don’t mention florals often. We gotta get someone.

Aleks: No, I should get Babylon on.

Eddy: Yeah, we could get Babylon on. Babylon, if you’re listening.

Aleks: Yes. Babylon, flowers, local forest.

Eddy: Yeah. So it just depends on what. What is important to you.

Aleks: Yeah. And I think. Look, and this is something that we talked about earlier this week. It’s that whole atmosphere versus aesthetic thing. So even kind of when you think. Thinking about what to prioritise. Okay. How much of it is actually about the atmosphere. So a lot of our couples will say booze, food, music. They’re the three things that people remember the most.

Eddy: Well, from a week. Maybe too much booze.

Aleks: Oh, well, yeah, sorry, I meant people.

Eddy: Will tell you what happened after.

Aleks: I meant to say good food, good. Good booze and good music. Yeah, that’s. That’s very true. But, yeah, I think that’s. That’s really a really interesting way of thinking about it. Like thinking about the vibes and atmosphere and the feeling you want to create and how the things that you’re paying for will contribute to that.

Eddy: So, going back to my bucket approach, I’m loving this bucket. Let’s talk buckets.

Aleks: All right. And why we’re talking buckets because we recently engaged a financial advisor. And if you’ve listen to financial podcasts and things, you would have heard about this bucket approach, which is basically just allocating.

Eddy: So the big buckets are for the things you really, really love.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: And then there’s a multitude of smaller buckets for, you know, whatever it might be. Not as important to you, but still important for your day.

Aleks: Yeah, absolutely. So I think that is an important conversation to have upfront and then allocate the funds according to they’re important and to your overall budget. Simple, right?

Eddy: Yes. Well, yeah, I think that on paper it is.

Aleks: Well, look, it’s logical. It’s a logical start, I think.

Eddy: Love it. This is a good one. So choose an off peak season or day.

Aleks: Yeah, I love this one.

Eddy: So, weddings, if we’re talking strictly wedding venues, and some vendors do off peak and on peak prizes.

Aleks: Yeah, some of the do.

Eddy: So they can vary significantly depending on the time of year and the day of the week. So, you know, Saturday, Friday, as opposed to, say, a Thursday, if you can swing that, or a Sunday. So you can consider having your wedding during an off peak season or a weekday, because it’s really the venue.

Aleks: And the venue is, you know, what, the largest cost at the end of the day.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: So you can save so easily, you know, thousands of dollars by picking a Saturday in June. Look, I love a winter wedding.

Eddy: Yes, winter weddings are great so long as most of it’s inside.

Aleks: Oh, that goes. In fact, in Melbourne, given how unpredictable the weather is. Just be inside all the time. Or undercover.

Eddy: Have a plan b if you are outside. I’m talking just weddings in general. Now, it’s always good to have a plan b because rain can strike at any time in this lovely, lovely state that we live in.

Aleks: Oh, totally. And I was actually inspired by a TikTok from our friend.

Eddy: We’re on TikTok now, by the way, guys, we’ve been on TikTok for a long time. Like, we had a dead account, dormant, and now we’ve jumped on the TikTok train finally. And I tell you what, it does suck a lot of time out of your day.

Aleks: Yeah, but it’s. The algorithm is amazing.

Eddy: It is pretty incredible.

Aleks: China’s got it nailed.

Eddy: Yeah, I’m finding the. And look, people that are on TikTok probably like, yeah, we told you so. It’s good. I agree.

Aleks: It is so good. I’ve actually learned and applied so much this to my daily life. But anyway, going back to my point, Briggs. Briggsy, who has gone viral several times on TikTok, actually put up a great video of a wedding he was shooting in the Yarra valley. And the kind of golden hour was just stunning. And he mentioned, you know, considering off peak. Off peak dates.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: As a way to save thousands of dollars on your wedding. So, yeah, we are so on board. Also, a bonus is that a lot of your vendors will probably be more likely to be available as well, given it’s low season.

Eddy: Definitely. So if you’ve got a dream team that you are thinking about. Yeah, they are way, way more likely. Will we get a lot of not so much this season because it’s been a little bit quieter, which we’ve discussed on the show. The show.

Aleks: Oh, yeah. I like it. Everyone does say you sound like a radio host. Not me so much.

Eddy: Maybe I’ve missed a trick here. Anyway, forgotten my train of thought. But, yeah, basically, you are not guaranteed, but you’re much more likely to get everybody that you want.

Aleks: Totally. Sorry. I’m sorry, my whiskey. Who’s drinking?

Eddy: And you’re actually, truth be told, I just got back from the gym. I’ve had a protein shake and I didn’t want to curdle it. I’ll have a drink soon, don’t worry.

Aleks: Curdle it on my cheek. Anyway, off peak. And, look, I know for a fact that there are. That a lot of venues offer different prices, significantly different prices for different dates.

Eddy: Absolutely, absolutely. And sort of a side note, you may have two or three venues that you absolutely adore and you would be happy in any of those venues. You know, like, obviously, if you do want to save a little bit of cash, pick the venue. That’s the most equitable for you. Yeah.

Aleks: Affordable economy, economical.

Eddy: Oh, my God.

Aleks: We’ll talk about choosing venues in a bit as well. Look, another obvious one is to trim the guest list.

Eddy: I’m surprised this wasn’t actually at the top of the list.

Aleks: Look, these are in no logical order whatsoever, so they’re a bit surprising.

Eddy: This one surprised me.

Aleks: Yeah. This one.

Eddy: Well, actually, no, it didn’t. But its position in the list did.

Aleks: Without that disclaimer, it’s one of the easiest ways. It saves on everything. You know, if you’re doing printed invitations, obviously, the venue, the catering costs. Yeah, it does. And it also means that if you’ve got fewer people, you can really splurge on the stuff.

Eddy: Like really good espresso martini.

Aleks: Espresso martini, exactly.

Eddy: Less is more approach.

Aleks: Yeah, absolutely. Look, I think people have had a bit of a shift in their thinking since the pandemic, you know, when we could only have a certain number of people. So, yeah, I think this is a good one to think about. It’s also a good reason to cut out, you know, all those cousins and aunties and uncles. And to be honest, really, you don’t want it. The worst thing for us is seeing a couple who, you know, has to spend all night trying to catch up with 200 people. That scene, because you can’t enjoy your own day. It goes by in a flash.

Eddy: A lot of work. It’s like I just get tired looking at them, trying to get to, you know, sit down, trying to get to all the tables and being pulled left, right and centre all night, and you think, wow, they haven’t had a lot of time to dance.

Aleks: Yeah. So you don’t actually get the value out of your own wedding. And look, there are some vendors, like celebrants and photographers, who actually do offer different rates for micro weddings and elopements. So if you have a smaller guest list, again, you’re saving a lot of money, but still able to secure amazing vendors.

Eddy: Speaking of, have you heard about the elopement extravaganza?

Aleks: Oh, well, I have, yes. Yes. I actually posted about this today. We did a cheeky little bonus episode, but we are still. We still have some bookings available, basically for $9,000 at Rupert on Rupert, which is arguably one of the most stunning venues in Melbourne, you can get hitched with I don’t know how many guests. 1020.

Eddy: Yeah. So it’s a amount of guests.

Aleks: Yeah. Like a microwave.

Eddy: There are options to extend that the number. We’re doing a terrible job of promoting this, so. Judith from Toko.

Aleks: We never do.

Eddy: No, no. But yeah, look, you’ve got some incredible vendors that it’d be impossible to be. Impossible to get them all in one room most of the time. That’s on any date.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: And for an insanely good price.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: So if you want to get hitched.

Aleks: Yes.

Eddy: And this sounds good to you? Check out the Toko events. Instagram.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: At Toko events.

Aleks: Yes.

Eddy: And the email address, which is [email protected].

Aleks: God, you are sharp today. It must have been that workout.

Eddy: It must have been that workout.

Aleks: It’s on the 20th. It’s on the 20 August, which means you need to get in very, very quickly.

Eddy: Why? Why do you need to get in quickly now that you know?

Aleks: Now I know because I’m a registered celebrant. Now can I get a sound effect?

Eddy: You can.

Aleks: So there is some paperwork that needs to be lodged with your celebrant at least a month before, known as the nome, the notice of intended marriage or notice of intent to marry depends on who you ask.

Eddy: Which one is it from?

Aleks: Ah, intended marriage.

Eddy: Intended.

Aleks: I like that one. But anyway, it doesn’t matter. So that needs to be lodged with your celebrant, filled out, signed and everything witnessed at least a month before, which would mean 20 July. Oh, times running out a few weeks. But there you go, nine grand.

Eddy: But it’s not just for people that perhaps want to elope, but it could be for couples that want to renew their vows as well.

Aleks: I love that. Absolutely. Particularly, you know, if you got married a while ago, maybe at that, at that time it wasn’t your dream wedding. You know, maybe it was a little bit more simple and you want something a bit more lavish. This is it. Another one is if you, we’ve had a few clients and we’ll, we’ll cover this later. If you’ve already gotten hitched, but you never had the party, bit of it. Reception bit of it, maybe consider that as well. That’s a kind of vow renewal thing too. Or an anniversary party.

Eddy: True. I like that too.

Aleks: Celebrate a big anniversary.

Eddy: We’re also deejaying it, obviously. We actually completely did not, sorry that last.

Aleks: We’re not just like being paid. We’ve got no sponsorship.

Eddy: We don’t have any sponsors yet for these podcast. I’m feeling, I’m feeling pretty positive. Yeah. So me a guest list. That’s a, that’s a big one. It should be pretty self explanatory. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I know it is hard to do.

Aleks: It is hard. Again, if you’ve got a big family, it’s very hard circling back to the.

Eddy: Family and some of the pressures that you get, etc. It is a little bit harder. So you could maybe choose a venue that has a maximum capacity that kind of fits well within 50.

Aleks: So. Yeah.

Eddy: Okay, so what’s next?

Aleks: Sorry. Opt, and look, this is obviously going to be obvious for anyone listening, but opt for a non traditional venue, I think. Look, the really large, kind of well established traditional wedding venues can be very, very expensive and come with, you know, big room, higher charge and, and a.

Eddy: Lot of stuff you probably don’t need or they’re pretty non traditional.

Aleks: Yeah, look, I’m not going to call any venues out. There are venues out there who charge for av, for example.

Eddy: Ah. If you use it or if you.

Aleks: Don’t, whether you use it, I’m sure.

Eddy: I’m sure the vendors that listen like know exactly who we’re talking about.

Aleks: Yeah, there are some venues and this is a question to ask that will make you pay for it. Even if your DJ brings in their own pa or supplies their own decks or whatever, it’s a dead cost. And so, yes, that’s something to consider if that’s important to you. And look, some of those venues, you know, have sound restrictions and that sort of thing. So, yeah, I’m not. I’m not paying that, but it’s something to consider. Those. Those large venues can get a little bit like that. There are lots of cool options around. Oh, yeah, lots of cool options. Like function spaces in your favourite bar, cafes. You love cafes. Love that. Local breweries and distilleries that maybe, you know, on a Sunday aren’t open for trading and happy to do a private event.

Eddy: And a lot of them will, quote unquote, moonlight as wedding venues as well. And I would honestly choose the ones that. They’ve had a bit of experiencing that and perhaps just for now. Yes, they were from the ones that are just like, oh, yeah, yeah. Okay, we can be our first. Cause they might not know the ins and outs of running a wedding.

Aleks: Yeah, there’s one that came to mind. I mean, we’ve obviously worked in a lot of this style of venue, but one that comes to mind is like little Henry, which is quite a popular cafe in Thornbury, but actually really nicely decked out. And they do a few weddings, and I did one there and it was so much fun. Great spot. So many places go out afterwards as well because a lot of these venues are obviously, you know, on a high street.

Eddy: Well, that’s a huge benefit in a city. They have a lot of pubs, et cetera, around them. So, yeah, that’s a mass. So even if it’s a ten or 11:00 finish, you can still head on out for a few more hours if you’ve got any gas left in the tank.

Aleks: Another one is the Everly Hotel on Gertrude street, which is bloody stunning.

Eddy: Oh, it’s gorgeous.

Aleks: Again, you are in the middle of Fitzroy, you know, in such a good spot.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: And they do. They do a few weddings and a few private functions. A lot of these. I’m not speaking for the particular venues that we’ve mentioned, but a lot of these types of venues that don’t do weddings, you know, full time, don’t charge a space higher, you know, a room higher charge. So that saves you a few thousand dollars.

Eddy: I’d say one of nine is probably worth mentioning as well.

Aleks: Yes. Yes, it is. Richmond.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: Yeah and Tegan. The owner is so lovely.

Eddy: One of nine children, hence the name.

Aleks: Yeah, I know. I love.

Eddy: How interesting is that? It’s a cool little story.

Aleks: They’ve got a really cool. They’ve actually got an inbuilt photo booth.

Eddy: Yeah, bonus. See, there you go. Look at that. You can photo booth. There’s some value.

Aleks: Totally. And you’ll get really well looked after. So. Yeah. Have a look at a few left of centre kind of options for your venue.

Eddy: Think. And if you are. If you are a couple that’s listening to this, that hasn’t yet booked their wedding venue, you know, you can, you can always reach out to us. Oh, please do ask us some questions. Even if we’re not deejaying your wedding, we’ll still help you.

Aleks: Yeah, absolutely.

Eddy: We’re nice people.

Aleks: We are nice people. Well, yes. So normally, instead of hiring a venue higher charge, they’ll just have a minimum spend.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: Which is, you know, always reasonable. And it’s just a starting point. Next one.

Eddy: Next one is. Okay, so save on the ceremony costs by having a registry wedding or even an elopement and using that extra budget on sort of the big party afterwards.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: And this party doesn’t necessarily have to be on the same day.

Aleks: Not at all.

Eddy: It can be on another day.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: Which is really, really cool.

Aleks: Yeah. We’ve had a few couples do this and what I love about it is not only are you saving on like a big lavish ceremony, which obviously is extra time, extra catering, et cetera.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: But you’re also so much more relaxed. You’re already married.

Eddy: Absolutely.

Aleks: You’ve got limited formalities and it’s really just party time and celebration time.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: With everyone, so.

Eddy: Well, it’s a no brainer. Like, from our experience, couples are most nervous, like, around the ceremony.

Aleks: Oh, totally.

Eddy: You know, they’re after the ceremony, it’s just like our weight’s been lifted sometimes.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: And they’re so much more relaxed. They’re super chilled. So obviously having just a party for the sake of having a party, it’s a whole different mindset going into that.

Aleks: Yeah, I agree. I absolutely agree. And I find that with those, normally they’re called like, after parties, but I find with those, there’s fewer formalities.

Eddy: Anyway, they usually cocktail too.

Aleks: They’re usually cocktail style. Even if they’re not, there’s probably not an entrance because you’re already married. You’re already married and you come in and you enjoy cocktail hour or pre dinner drinks or whatever with everyone.

Eddy: Oh, yeah.

Aleks: I can’t recommend this. What we are seeing is so much.

Eddy: We are. And it’s cool because it gives you something more to look forward to. Like the wedding isn’t just over in one day.

Aleks: Yes.

Eddy: Married extension. You probably do a lot of photos on the day that you actually get hitched and then afterwards maybe you get a photographer that’s just an event photographer or something.

Aleks: That’s a fun party.

Eddy: Fun party photographer. Which, which will come a lot more economically as well.

Aleks: Yeah, yeah, I love it. And yeah, like I said, we’ve, we’ve been seeing a lot of it. In fact, I spoke to a couple this week who initially inquired saying that they were having a wedding anniversary party, but it was actually they got married a year ago at a registry and they’re having the reception like a delayed reception a year later. So it’s like a one year anniversary of them actually getting hitched.

Eddy: That’s pretty cool.

Aleks: I love that.

Eddy: So it’s an anniversary slash wedding party.

Aleks: Wedding, delayed wedding reception. There’s just a lot of fun.

Eddy: That is so cool. What’s our next one?

Aleks: Next one is chat to your vendors about their packages and how the booking process works. Now we are not saying to ask for discounts, we are not fans of that, but just to give an example. So when potential couples speak to us, sometimes they want to add on extra things. Like extra time for the ceremony perhaps, or a photo booth or a sax player or an audio guest book. They’re not quite sure. What we will normally say to the couple is why don’t you just book our minimum, which is 5 hours of DJ services and then if you want to add on anything extra, you can do so later on. Now the benefit of that from a budgetary perspective is that you don’t need to pay extra for all those things until two weeks before. So you’ve got a lot of time. You’ve got months in between making your initial part payment to lock the date in and then you can add on whatever you like and you know, you can save money along the way.

Eddy: That’s typically. Yeah, that’s typically what I recommend. I recommended the same exact thing today to a couple when we were on a Google Meet call. Yeah, yeah. And look, it was. It worked well. Yeah, it works well for them, works well for everyone really. And they get us secured for their date, which is what they’re like, mainly concerned about. And then yeah, they can just add things and fix things up a little bit later once the balance invoice rolls around.

Aleks: Yeah, exactly. And we don’t, you know, if you often will have couples who come to us and ask us to emcee or add throwing lights or one of the other extras, you know, say a few months before. We don’t expect a payment for that until that final balance is due. Unless you want to, of course, to kind of manage.

Eddy: And some couples will do that as well. They’ll sort of pay along the way, which is totally cool. So it’s whatever suits. Suits the couples, I suppose, in a sense.

Aleks: But it’s worth asking your vendors how that works. So, for example, you know, with your photography, if you want to add on an album.

Eddy: True.

Aleks: Can you do that later on? Yes, a lot of photographers will actually.

Eddy: I don’t know.

Aleks: I’m saying yes, I think they’ll kind of add that on afterwards.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: So, yeah, it’s worthwhile just having that chat to see, you know, and be able to budget for things in the future.

Eddy: Absolutely. Now that’s a really, really good one. Another one is to consider different catering options.

Aleks: This one should have been early on.

Eddy: It’s okay. No particular order. Opt for a cocktail wedding, perhaps with a grazing table and then a substantial kind of main food dish, like a wood fired pizza.

Aleks: Yeah. I find with cocktail weddings you actually do get fed a lot if the venue has done their job right. Most of the cocktail weddings I’ve seen, it’s been a lot of food. So I think there’s a misconception perhaps about, you know, cocktail weddings not being able to feed your family enough or whatever. That’s not the case at all. I mean, post office hotel, where I am this year.

Eddy: Great example.

Aleks: Is a great example. There’s a huge, huge grazing table that’s available straight after the ceremony, which, when.

Eddy: We went to a wedding table.

Aleks: Yeah, we were full after that. Then the pizza came around. Then there were some other smaller kind of plates and things.

Eddy: So this was a wedding we were guests at. We weren’t just like running.

Aleks: Sorry. No, no, we’re very good. We have our.

Eddy: We have our special meal.

Aleks: We have our special meal, our salad. We’re very healthy.

Eddy: We have the same salad every time.

Aleks: We always do. Delicious.

Eddy: Aleks is looking forward to hers on Friday. Absolutely. Yeah. So that’s a really, really good one, I think. And you’re right, I think there is a strange misconception on cocktail weddings that people will just be hungry. And maybe that’s changed over time.

Aleks: I think it has.

Eddy: Over this period of time. We’ve been deejaying.

Aleks: Yeah, I think it has. And there’s. Look, I think it’s worthwhile when you’re speaking or like, seeking out venues to find out what the different catering options are. Because I think, you know, shared menus generally are probably more cost effective than the three course plated, individual plated meals.

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: Which take a lot of time, too.

Eddy: They do. They do. I also think, like, you know, I’m seeing more and more like, no particular, like, entree course. They sort of just have, like, a.

Aleks: Good example can of substantial canape is.

Eddy: A good example of. This is Panama dining room.

Aleks: I was gonna say Panama.

Eddy: So, yeah, they’ll have a longer cocktail hour than usual. Sometimes like 2 hours, which is fantastic. People could mix, mingle, all that kind of stuff. You got cool vibes going, and they’ll have a lot of these canopies floating around. And then they’ll sit down sometimes just for one, like just for the main.

Aleks: Yes.

Eddy: Get that done. Do your speeches and then back onto the dance floor.

Aleks: So good, because you get more time. You get more bang for your buck. Because people are mingling, more tunes, are upbeat, you’re having more drinks.

Eddy: Well, that’s the thing. And not to bang on our own drum too much, but, you know, we often hear couples when we’re meeting with them for the first couple of times, worried that they’re not going to have enough sort of dance or time and mingle time. So doing it this way is fantastic. So getting also coming back to that question of value. If you value the music, then you want to have that dance floor time. You don’t want to be doing like three or more courses, like thinking, geez, I’m really cutting into cutting a rug on the dance floor.

Aleks: Yeah. And I feel like cocktail hour, especially an extended cocktail hour. So anything that’s over an hour is actually a really fun, fun part of the day. I would say it’s like equal to the dance floor because people are drinking more.

Eddy: And particularly if the couple has chosen to do, like a first look and they’ve got all their photography kind of done and they’re not being pulled out.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: You know, particularly.

Aleks: Oh, not for long anyway.

Eddy: For long. I mean, obviously there’s some family photos as well, so maybe some family type photos, but usually that’s done inside rather than being pulled.

Aleks: Yes. You’re part of the cocktail usually.

Eddy: Yeah. Because most of the time, we’re still talking about panama dining room, by the way. So most of the time, you know, when I’m getting to the, to the venue for the wedding, I’ll drive past the photos being taken. I come straight like, hey, I’ll see you soon. Yeah. So that’s a really, really good one, considering different catering options.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: What’s next.

Aleks: The next one is to borrow or rent different decor or styling kind of items. I actually thought of this one because when we did our styling shoot recently, I borrowed a bunch of different sized disco balls which you will see in some photos on our Instagram account. And I also hired some acrylic plinths which are like super modern. You can use them for your ceremony. You can reuse them for, for example, for an audio guest book with some florals around it. Reuse. And they were substantially more affordable than buying them.

Eddy: It just means that, you know, you need to pick them up and sometimes drop them off or, you know, it’s your wedding. Maybe you can ask a family member for a favour.

Aleks: Hey, here’s a tip. Don’t have a wedding party, but ask your besties to do a couple of little cheeky favours and say, hey, you don’t have to wear that bridesmaid dress that I’m making you wear or whatever.

Eddy: And you can wear whatever dress you want as long as it’s not, you.

Aleks: Don’t have any colour chores. But I was, I was really surprised and I had a chat to the people who I picked these up from and it’s very common that they get people hiring items there. Weddings. Yeah.

Eddy: So good.

Aleks: I think the main thing is if you don’t have a stylist kind of directing you just to make sure that everything kind of fits together and have a look at some pinterest stuff and some inspiration from wedding and that sort of thing so it doesn’t look kind of diy put together.

Eddy: It’s a very good point. I’ll actually add to this point in saying that we’ve had a couple of instances and obviously, you know, time’s a factor here, but we’ve had a couple of instances where when we’ve had our photo booth in at weddings, the couple has decided to make their own backdrop.

Aleks: Yeah, I’ve loved these.

Eddy: Really cool.

Aleks: Yeah. Reuse from the ceremony.

Eddy: No, no, no. Good question. No, no, no. My weddings, they were just DIY, just single purpose. But you raised another good point. Reusing of things for different parts of the day. Yeah, 100%. You see that with flowers all the time.

Aleks: Flowers like your arbour, if you’re going to put a little bit of. Because you want to think about, you know, choosing elements that are going to have a lot of impact. Right. So your ceremony, Arba, if you’re having a ceremony, is, you know, a pretty key thing for your photos.

Eddy: Oh, yeah.

Aleks: So why not choose something that’s maybe you know maybe you invest a little bit more into that but then you can reuse it for a photo backdrop.

Eddy: Like why wouldn’t you want to reuse it? I’ve seen oftentimes things haven’t been reused. They’ve been left like outside or sitting there. I’m like, whoa. Yeah, you could have reused this, especially.

Aleks: Florals, arches, backdrops, arbours, that sort of thing.

Eddy: Did I just say oftentimes?

Aleks: You said oftentimes. And I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t hear that. Just like a six year old man.

Eddy: Yeah. Anyway, anyway, okay so that’s a really good one as well. So the next one. So speaking obviously I was styling.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: So we can, you know, you can choose one super, super high impact element and add so much to your space without having sort of to, you know, deck out the whole venue with flowers or whatever else.

Aleks: I mean I’m not picky on flowers.

Eddy: No, no, no, we love flowers. Don’t get me wrong. An obvious example.

Aleks: Yes.

Eddy: You know, no surprises here. We’ve spoken about these a lot. But bangin hangings.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: As a ceiling installation, it’s huge. I mean it completes the room. It’s just unbelievable. Everyone will just go, whoa. Yeah, this is so cool when they walk in and it’s um, the photos just look amazing with them.

Aleks: Yeah, I really think. And it just screams party vibe from the get go particularly, you know, most of the time we’ll cover the whole area and dance or if it’s all kind of in the one space. So yeah, choosing a really high impact element because then you’re not needing to do lots of little things around your venue and obviously just a time. Yeah, save time as well.

Eddy: You don’t even have to install it.

Aleks: You don’t have to.

Eddy: Sarah and her team will install and then take it down the next day or even that night.

Aleks: Totally. And with banging hangings as well, you can have Sierra and her team create those arches or backdrops with the colourful streamers too which are all super impactful. I mean I, you know, can’t really think of that many examples. Maybe disco balls. I do love disco balls in different sizes as well. Reusing those from the ceremony, taking them through to the reception is fun too. Finally, one more.

Eddy: Finally. Again, obvious. But keep an eye out for sales and discounts. So obviously take advantage of these. If some vendors are doing sales good time is like end of financial year.

Aleks: Well I mean it’s now type thing.

Eddy: You know, when purchasing and this could be go right through to like wedding attire and accessories and all that kind of stuff. So shop around, compare prices. I know it can be frustrating because not all vendors put their pricing on their website.

Aleks: Look, I think it’s less about the services and more about products. Like for example, like wedding dresses. Depending on what you like. You do not have to go to a bridal gown designer.

Eddy: No.

Aleks: And if you’re particularly, sustainability is important to you. Buy a second hand dress, rent a dress, go to a store and choose a white if you want white or a sequined or whatever dress you want that’s not labelled as a bridal gown because guaranteed that’s going to be the wedding.

Eddy: Wedding tax. Yes.

Aleks: Yeah. And look secondhand. You know, there’s a lot of groups on Facebook. As annoying as Facebook is, it is very useful for groups and for marketplace.

Eddy: I think that’s the last thing. In fact, salvage. Well, those two things. I mean, that’s all I use it for.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: My feeds just rubbish now. I don’t know what’s going on with it.

Aleks: Yeah, status updates are so 2007.

Eddy: Maybe I should do a status update.

Aleks: Yeah. Just, just an feeling cute.

Eddy: Like I think you did do a.

Aleks: Feeling cute one within a group.

Eddy: In a group.

Aleks: But yeah, that’s an obvious one. I think given that it’s end of financial year, there’s probably some stuff around, particularly for those items, you know, so more products, I think more products based on services because services obviously involved.

Eddy: I’ve seen some vendors do like some end of financial. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So look, it’s never hurts to ask.

Aleks: Yeah, yeah, I agree. I think that’s it. I think a list.

Eddy: I think that is it. It was a very good list actually. But, um, overall, just remember that the most important part of the wedding is celebrating you guys couple and having an incredible time with your best people. So obviously by focusing what truly matters to you and making super informed decisions, you can really have a ripper time at your wedding while staying within your budget.

Aleks: Totally. It’s not really.

Eddy: How is that for a summary?

Aleks: I know, I like it. You did very well. I hope you guys enjoyed these and found some helpful tips. Please do let us know if you’re listening, as always. And we’ll be back next week.

Eddy: We will be back next week. Oh, reflections and. Okay, I know we do our weekend wrap up, but let’s just have a quick chat around what we do have this weekend. Really?

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: You go first. You’re on Friday.

Aleks: Friday I’ve got Alicia and Kieran at post office hotel the road, working with Nat Sproul and Anna from Lulu online, which I’m really excited about.

Eddy: Good. Yeah, that is so, so good. I have Chris and Chloe. That’s at quite a. Which I’m not like. Yeah. In a lot. So I’m really, really, really, really excited.

Aleks: Without audio. Yes.

Eddy: They’ve got our audio guest book, which is awesome as well. So I’m really pumped about that. I’m also emceeing that one.

Aleks: Are you? Yeah.

Eddy: Yeah. So we’re just tuning some of their tunes at the moment and things with the venue and they ran sheet, all that kind of stuff. So that’s all gonna hopefully a few details. Yeah, there’s a couple of things, but yeah, you know, it’s all good. I’ve only got one, so, you know, it’s all good. But, um. Yeah, so we’ll get all that so sorted tomorrow and. Yeah, I’ll get all my prep done and exciting.

Aleks: Yeah. And we will talk about next week.

Eddy: We will.

Aleks: Yeah. Thank you so much, guys. Let us know if you’re enjoying it and if there’s anything you want us to chat about.

Eddy: What she said.

Aleks: Thanks for tuning in. If you’re enjoying Project Engaged, please hit the subscribe button on your fav podcast app.

Eddy: You can also follow us on Instagram, @projectengaged and @onemoresongdjs.

Aleks: We’ll see you next time. And until then, have fun out there.