How much does it cost to get married in Switzerland?

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Intro

When first starting to plan your wedding, you should already be thinking carefully about your budget. The graphic below provides an initial overview of the cost breakdown for an average wedding in Switzerland. This breakdown assumes an average budget of CHF 40,000 to CHF 50,000 (excluding outfits and rings) and around 80 guests.

1. Location: CHF 500 to CHF 8,000

When it comes to location, one of the key issues is whether or not you want the venue exclusively to yourselves. Restaurants usually only charge very low hire costs, if any. For more specialised venues like glasshouses, castles or rustic halls, you can easily spend several thousand Swiss francs.

Zunfthaus zur Saffran

2. Catering (food and drink): CHF 120 to CHF 300 per person

Once again, the type of venue you want to get married in plays an important role. The most expensive options are often those with external catering, as these involve additional expense for infrastructure and staff.

Luzern, Privatanlass

3. Live music: CHF 500 to CHF 1,000 for a musician or DJ: CHF 1,500 to CHF 2,000

If you want to book a musician or singer for your ceremony, the cost is around CHF 500 per performer. You can expect to pay
CHF 1,000 per performer for entertainment during your drinks and evening reception. The cost of a DJ, including the sound system, is between CHF 1,500 and CHF 2,000. The key factor is how long you want them to play for.

Zuerich, Musiker_3

4. Photography: CHF 3,000 to CHF 6,000

Prices vary depending on the wedding photographer’s experience and the amount of time they spend at the wedding. In most cases it is possible to book individual packages. However, you should always do a precise comparison to check exactly what is included in the price.

Hotel de Rougemont - Mariage

5. Wedding planner: CHF 4,000 to CHF 6,000 for a full planning service

Many wedding planners let you decide whether you wish to entrust all the planning to a professional or just certain aspects of it. You can also book your wedding planner to manage the wedding day itself. You can expect to pay between CHF 1,500 and CHF 2,500 extra for on-site support on your big day.

Zug, Hof Heiligkreuz

6. Flowers and decorations: CHF 2,000 to CHF 8,000

The location of the wedding has a huge impact on the cost. Another important factor is obviously whether or not the wedding room or church needs to be decorated beforehand. The design concept and the choice of flowers also play a key role in determining how grand the wedding is to be. Glasshouses and empty halls are often the most expensive, as there may be additional costs for infrastructure or furniture hire.

Blumenmädchen, Vierwaldstättersee

7. Independent wedding: CHF 2,000 to CHF 4,000

An independent wedding celebrant costs between CHF 2,000 and CHF 3,000. The cost of an independent wedding increases depending on what furniture is already available and what still needs to be arranged, or whether any additional rooms also need to be booked.

Hochzeit Zeremonie am Arnensee

8. Extras and transport: CHF 1,000 to CHF 3,000

A lot depends on whether or not transport is needed and/or desired. Vintage cars tend to be somewhat more expensive than newer cars or coaches. Specially chartered trains or boats are the most expensive option. Extras might also include things like a photo booth or photo bus, as required. Professional entertainment such as fire shows, fireworks, magicians or the like would be more expensive.

Wedding planners with alphorn player, Gstaad

9. Stationery: Standard design CHF 8 per card or individual design CHF 16 per card

Once again, the main factors are the desired design and how much importance you place on having uniform and personalised stationery. The costs can mount quickly if you’re set on a personalised design for your stationery and also want other printed items such as menus, seating plans, etc. The printing process and materials used also have a huge impact on the price.

Andermatt

10. Miscellaneous

Of course, when planning a wedding it is also important to build in a contingency fund for unforeseen events, tips or small details. It is advisable to set aside around 1–2% of your budget for this.

Nendaz, Tracouet, Group picture

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