How Much Does a Sunshine Coast Wedding Really Cost in 2026

Image by Denise Cropper Photography

For a wedding of 100 guests on the Sunshine Coast, a realistic overall budget is approximately $40,000 to $75,000, depending on your venue, suppliers and how elaborate you want the day to be.

Yes, you can absolutely spend less. You can also spend considerably more. But if you are picturing a professionally catered wedding with a photographer, celebrant, flowers, music, styling and someone making sure the entire thing runs properly, expecting to pull it all together for $20,000 is likely to end in disappointment or some fairly brutal compromises.

As a wedding planner, I would much rather give couples realistic figures at the beginning than watch them discover halfway through planning that their budget was never going to cover the wedding they had in mind.

A realistic Sunshine Coast wedding budget for 100 guests

Here is a practical guide based on current supplier pricing and the costs I regularly see when helping couples plan weddings.

Venue, food and drinks: approximately $25,000

For 100 guests, allowing around $250 per person for the venue, catering and beverages is a sensible starting point.

Some venues may initially appear cheaper, but look closely at what is included. You may still need to pay separately for staffing, furniture, glassware, tableware, security, cleaning, cake cutting, venue hire or minimum food and beverage spending.

This is why the price per person shown on the brochure rarely tells the whole story.

Photographer: $1,500 to $7,000

Photography pricing varies enormously depending on the photographer’s experience, style, reputation, hours of coverage and whether albums or additional photographers are included.

There are talented photographers at the lower end of the range, but photography is one area where choosing purely on price can be risky. Look at complete wedding galleries rather than a handful of perfect Instagram images, and make sure you genuinely like the way the photographer captures people, movement and low-light receptions.

Videographer: $1,500 to $5,000

Videography is optional, but it is also one of the few wedding expenses that preserves voices, movement and the atmosphere of the day.

If the budget cannot stretch to both extensive photography and videography, consider shorter video coverage or a highlight-film package instead of automatically removing it altogether.

Flowers: $2,000 to $8,000

Flowers can come as quite a shock because couples often think they are paying mainly for the flowers themselves. In reality, a floral quote can also include design time, ordering, preparation, conditioning, transport, installation and pack-down.

A bridal bouquet, buttonholes and a few simple arrangements may sit toward the lower end. Large ceremony installations, abundant table flowers and hanging arrangements can quickly push the total much higher.

Faux flowers, repurposing ceremony arrangements and choosing fewer statement pieces can all reduce the expense without making the wedding look unfinished.

Celebrant: $800 to $1,500

A professional celebrant generally charges between $800 and $1,500, depending on their experience, location and level of personalisation.

That price may cover meetings, questionnaires, ceremony writing, legal documentation, rehearsal guidance, sound equipment and delivery on the day. You are not simply paying someone to speak for 20 minutes. You are paying for the preparation and legal responsibility behind those 20 minutes. Read more about pricing here.

DJ: $2,000 to $5,000

A professional wedding DJ may cost between $2,000 and $5,000, particularly when sound equipment, lighting, travel and MC services are included.

A playlist can work for a very relaxed or small wedding, but it cannot read the room, change direction when the dance floor empties or solve a sound problem while you are cutting the cake.

If a full DJ package is beyond your budget, ask about shorter reception coverage or combined DJ and MC services before settling for someone’s phone plugged into a speaker and a prayer.

Hair and makeup: approximately $500 per person

Allow approximately $500 per person for professional wedding hair and makeup, although prices will vary depending on the artist, travel, trials and number of people requiring services.

For a bride and four attendants, that could mean allocating around $2,500. Trials, early-start fees, additional artists and touch-up services may be charged separately.

Wedding cake: approximately $800

Around $800 is a reasonable starting point for a professionally made wedding cake, although size, design, flavours, handmade details and delivery can increase the price.

You may not need enough traditional cake for every guest if your venue is already serving dessert. A smaller display cake with kitchen portions, or simply serving the cake as dessert, can help avoid paying for food nobody eats.

Styling and furniture: from $2,500

Allow at least $2,500 if you need furniture, table décor, signage, ceremony pieces, linens or other styling elements brought into the venue.

The final cost will depend heavily on what the venue already provides. A blank-space wedding may offer more creative freedom, but once you hire every chair, table, glass, napkin and decorative item individually, that freedom can become expensive.

Wedding planner or coordinator: from $2,500

Wedding planning and coordination services generally begin at around $2,500, with full planning costing more depending on the wedding’s scale and complexity.

A planner is not there simply to make the day look beautiful. They manage suppliers, logistics, timings, setup, unexpected problems and the countless decisions that would otherwise land with the couple or their families.

If full planning is not affordable, an on-the-day coordinator or professional planning session can still prevent expensive mistakes and take considerable pressure off you.

The basic total is already around $40,000

Using the lower end of these figures, the core wedding costs for 100 guests come to approximately $40,000.

That is before adding many of the things couples commonly want or need, including:

• Wedding attire and alterations

• Rings

• Invitations and stationery

• Transport

• Accommodation

• Ceremony permits

• Guest transport

• Wedding favours

• Additional entertainment

• Pre-wedding events

• Postage

• Insurance

• Supplier meals

• Wet-weather contingencies

• Last-minute purchases

Once these are included, a total budget of $45,000 to $75,000 becomes far more realistic.

Why do wedding costs add up so quickly?

The word “wedding” is often blamed for inflated pricing, but that explanation is a little too convenient.

Weddings involve firm deadlines, detailed preparation, weekend work, travel, insurance, specialist equipment and very little room for mistakes. Suppliers may also spend days preparing for a service that is only visible to guests for a few hours.

That does not mean every quote is reasonable or that you should accept inflated pricing without question. It means you need to compare what is actually included rather than assuming two suppliers offering apparently similar services are providing the same thing.

Can you have a Sunshine Coast wedding for less?

Yes, but something meaningful usually needs to change.

The most effective way to reduce your wedding budget is to reduce the guest list. At approximately $250 per guest, removing 20 guests could save around $5,000 in venue, catering and beverage costs before considering reductions in furniture, stationery and other guest-related expenses.

You could also consider:

• Choosing a weekday or off-season date

• Holding the ceremony and reception in one location

• Selecting a venue that includes furniture and styling basics

• Using digital invitations

• Repurposing ceremony flowers at the reception

• Serving the wedding cake as dessert

• Limiting the bridal party

• Reducing photography or videography coverage

• Skipping favours and unnecessary entertainment

• Prioritising a few high-impact styling elements instead of decorating everything

The key is not to cut a little money from every category until the entire wedding feels compromised. Decide what matters most, spend properly in those areas and simplify the rest.

What should you spend your money on?

There is no universal list of wedding essentials beyond the legal requirements of the marriage itself.

Your priorities may be incredible food, a packed dance floor and brilliant photography. Another couple may care most about an intimate ceremony, beautiful flowers and a relaxed long lunch.

The trouble begins when couples spend money because they think a wedding is “supposed” to include something. Favours, photo booths, elaborate signage, multiple outfit changes and extra entertainment can all be lovely, but none of them is compulsory.

A good wedding does not need every available wedding product. It needs a realistic budget, a comfortable timeline, reliable suppliers and choices that feel like the two people actually getting married.

Before you start booking suppliers

Work out your total available budget first, including a contingency of at least 5 to 10 per cent. Then estimate your major expenses before paying deposits.

Once several non-refundable bookings have been made, it becomes much harder to rebalance the budget without sacrificing something important.

If you are unsure whether your plans and budget match, an EventZen Sanity Session gives you an hour of professional wedding-planning advice before costly decisions start piling up. We can review your numbers, priorities, timeline and supplier plans, then work out what is realistic for the wedding you genuinely want.

Because wedding planning should involve excitement, not discovering six months in that chairs apparently cost money too.

Natalie Buchanan is a wedding planner, celebrant, MC and coordinator with more than 15 years of experience creating weddings and events across the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Sydney and beyond. Through EventZen, she helps couples plan realistic, personal weddings without the unnecessary pressure or stress.