The Average Cost of a Luxury Wedding: What Ella Hartig Couples Actually Spend

The actual cost of a luxury wedding is a topic that the wedding industry as a whole tends to either avoid because it’s too sensitive a topic, or drastically disagree on – depending on where you look, you’ll find figures from £60k to £1m+ quoted for luxury weddings. How on earth, then, are you supposed to know what to expect? 

I too skirted around talking about this for a long time, but these days there is so much beautiful wedding content online with no pricing guidance, which makes matching expectations with budgets that much trickier. Here I break down what the realistic cost of a luxury Ella Hartig wedding is, and what my couples typically spend. This will allow you to confidently decide whether what you see is likely to be achievable, and hopefully dispel some of the nervousness around talking about budget.

Why talking about money is so important for your wedding:

It can be difficult to talk about money, especially for UK couples – in this country we are taught to be coy about finances, and it can feel uncomfortable when you are suddenly expected to pull a number out of the air. There are so many things that impact budgets, so it’s always best to be as open as possible with your planner on the subject – it makes a huge difference to the suppliers we will suggest, which can change your whole wedding vibe. 

It’s always good to know whether your quoted budget is an absolute maximum or whether you’re working within a range. Sometimes just a small amount extra can get you so much more, so knowing that there’s a little flexibility might open up more options – this can sometimes be the difference between finding someone great, or finding someone exceptional.

Depending on your budget, you may need to work with different wedding planners or coordinators. I break this down further by price range later.

The cost of luxury weddings in the UK vs destination weddings:

It’s a common wedding planning myth that destination weddings are cheaper than those in the UK, and while this can be true in certain circumstances, it’s not a hard and fast rule. If you’re truly looking to plan a luxury wedding, simply changing the location will not drastically change the cost. 

You may find venues are cheaper to hire or that you need less decor or floral spend because the scenery is so beautiful, but these savings are often counteracted by the need to book transportation for your guests, host multiple events over several days, and even go on planning trips with your wedding planner.

The specific country or location can affect your budget requirement too. Supplier availability and suitability in different places can be very different than in the UK, which can either mean finding incredible local talent (priced either lower or higher than at home) or needing to travel suppliers in from the UK (incurring travel and accommodation costs).

A wedding we planned in Sicily for 40 guests had a budget of around £80k, but the same wedding in another European country, at a different venue or in the UK could have been wildly different in price.

Trusting your wedding planner to understand and manage your budget to its full potential is so important, which is why you really have to work with someone you have full confidence in. Find out the 5 vibe checks you need to do before choosing your planner here.

What Ella Hartig couples actually spend on their luxury weddings

The weddings you see on our portfolio, across our website and on our socials are in a big range of budgets, but also a big range of sizes. We have planned weddings for 30-50 guests and also for up to 170 guests, but an average guest count is around 100-120. 

We also find that the majority of our couples celebrate for more than one day, and while I do love a big single-day celebration with all of the budget poured into it, I also think multiday weddings are wonderful. They work especially well for destination weddings when guests have travelled, helping to make their effort worthwhile, extend the fun and create more lasting memories.

Keep in mind that the multiday weddings you see on our portfolio imply hosting two or three events, all of which need catering for guests, which in turn comes with a bigger price tag than just feeding everyone once.

Before we get into the real numbers, the final caveat to mention is that if a wedding you like from my Instagram was £90k back in 2021, it will cost more than that now – prices in the wedding industry go up year on year just like everything else, so nothing can be copy and pasted in that way.

No Ella Hartig wedding is a replica of anything else you’ll see online – they are all designed bespoke for each couple, keeping in mind budgets and priorities.

Wedding budgets for the celebrations in our portfolio range from around £80k (in 2021) all the way up to half a million. The minimum spend of an Ella Hartig wedding these days is around £150k, which is a rough average for a 100-person wedding with a couple of days’ worth of events. Find your expected budget below to see how this could look working with us:

• £80-£120k

Pending your guest number and expectation, this is a range I may be able to work within – so definitely still reach out as I am open to seeing what is workable. I am always conscious of not taking up too much of your budget in my planning fee, so after our initial enquiry call I will always be transparent and let you know if there is a better option out there for you. With so many amazing planners in the industry, I can always pass on details and help guide you.

• £120-£300k

The majority of our couples sit within this range, with our minimum sitting closer to £150k these days as most clients have multiple days of celebration. If your budget is over £120k, you love our portfolio and we pass the vibe check, please get in touch

• £300K+

Upwards of this £300k figure is where some of our most beautiful magic has been created, with one of these weddings planned in just 9 days!

Things that affect the cost of a luxury wedding – budget breakdown

You can honestly, truly plan a wedding with literally any budget, because how much things cost is really as long as a piece of (beautifully tied) ribbon.

If you have a beautiful venue with perfect backdrops and natural surroundings, you may not need to spend much on decor or flowers, whereas a couple looking for a ceiling full of flowers, dramatic draping for the ceremony, and bespoke-built uniquely shaped tables for dinner will have a very different styling spend.

While couples often like a ‘per head’ number to keep things simple, I tend to steer away from speaking in these terms just because there are so many variables. 

The inevitable point to remember though, is that the more guests you have, the more your wedding costs.

Let’s say your food and drinks are £200 per head (although this is on the lower scale for an Ella Hartig wedding, with most of our couples spending upwards of £300 per person on catering), and then you choose to invite those extra 10 people from work because you feel you ‘should’. You add an extra £2k just on feeding them.

You’ll also now need an extra table, table linen, 10 more chairs for dinner and 10 for the ceremony, another floral centrepiece, tableware, maybe more aisle flowers to accommodate an extra ceremony row, an extra handful of confetti for each person…let’s quickly do the maths together:

Extra table & x20 extra chairs: £200-£400 depending on design

Additional floral centrepiece: £250+

Tableware: £150+

Aisle flowers: £300

=£1100

Inviting your 10 extra guests may end up costing you over £3000+ extra, which really shows how discerning you should be with your guest list!

How to choose the right wedding support for your budget

If you’re reading this and thinking that you can’t afford a planner because your budget is less than £120k, I want to assure you that this is not the case. Different planners work with different budgets, and this is my guidance for how to find the right one for you:

• <£50k budget

If your budget is less than £50k, you may be better looking for a partial planner or on the day coordinator, in place of a full service wedding planner. My opinion is that it’ll be a much better use of your budget, whilst also ensuring you have guidance and certainty on your wedding day. You’ll have someone to oversee the event, but won’t have to compromise on key elements such as catering

• £50-£80k

A partial planner may be suitable, or if you’re very keen to work with a full service planner then choose someone local or with less than 5 years experience. There are some wonderful planners out there with different specialisms, networks and banks of knowledge, but just ensure you research well to get the best fit.

• £80-£120k

Depending on your guest numbers & styling expectations this is a range that a full service luxury wedding planner may be able to work within, and we would be very happy to chat to you about your celebration. If we think we’re not a good fit and will take up too much of your budget in our fee, we can refer you to some of our fab contacts who regularly plan weddings within your price range.

• £120-£300k

Almost all full service wedding planners will work with weddings in this budget range, and this is where the majority of our clients sit. It’s worth noting that there is still a big difference between what is possible with £120k vs £300k, so being transparent about your budget is so important even when you are within this price range. 

• £300k+

Planning a wedding with £300k, half a million, or £1m+ is where you see much of your inspiration images, on Pinterest, in big wedding blogs and even in good old fashioned magazines. These budgets give us the ultimate creative freedom to execute your vision, but it is worth noting that you should still be discerning when choosing your planner.

Opting for a wedding planner who has never worked on large scale, ultra-luxury weddings before can be risky, and you should ensure they are experienced in this area of the wedding world to give you the best possible journey.

No matter your budget, planning your wedding is a joyous occasion. However much money is in the pot, you’re still there to marry your favourite person, surrounded by your loved ones – so take my guidance above and be assured that you’ll have a magical day no matter what. Don’t panic if you think you can’t afford a wedding planner – consider speaking to a coordinator or partial planner, leaning into the enjoyment of the planning process.

Smaller budget weddings are not any less epic, memorable or love-filled. At the end of the day you are still marrying your favourite person, surrounded by your other favourite people! 

If you are in the fortunate position of having a healthy budget that aligns with the average Ella Hartig wedding spend, get in touch if you’d like a full service planner to bring your vision for your day into full colour. We’d love to chat all things weddings over an enquiry call, get a feel for whether we’re a great match, and turn your budget into something truly beautiful.