Wedding bells ring out gold in Australia

Oct 6, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Sydney - Casino developer James Packer pulled out all the stops, garlanding wedding guests with jewelry and hiring Elton John to sing at the reception.

The marriage lasted less than three years, but Packer was undeterred and again went all-out when he wed a second time, hiring the Antibes town hall in the French Riviera and putting guests up at the swish Hotel du Cap Eden Roc.

Even though 40 per cent of marriages fail, Australians are spending an average of 36,200 Australian dollars (36,057 US dollars) on their weddings.

'Despite gloomy reports regarding consumer spending in 2011, weddings are still used as a high-priority expense, which many couples save for over a period of time,' says Karen Dobie, general manager of market research firm IBISWorld's Australian operations.

IBIS has studied wedding spending, which it predicts will continue to rise. Average spending on the nation's 119,000 weddings in the last financial year was up 6.5 per cent on the previous period.

Dobie says that despite the economic downturn, 'sensible splurging seems to be the theme for the big day,' with parents probably helping to pick up the bill. The average age of couples is 29 years for women and 32 for men.

Booking a reception venue takes up about one-third of the cost, followed by wedding attire at 22 per cent of the outlay. Food and beverage comes in at 15 per cent.

'Although wedding spending is up, value for money still plays a large role in purchasing decisions,' Dobie says, noting that the wedding dress is relatively less expensive and that the advent of digital photography has prompted some couples to keep the camera work in-house.

A recent trend - and an expensive one - is outsourcing all the arrangements to professional wedding planners.

The Australian Family Association, a lobby group, has urged the government to consider tax breaks for couples who marry just the once, holding out the possibility that expensive nuptials could be made to pay for themselves.

'Society benefits so much if people marry and stay married and do the right thing,' says association spokeswoman Mary-Louise Fowler.