The alternatives.
01Ivory Lane
Best overall for AU couplesOur pickAU-built AI wedding planner with real partner collaboration, multi-currency pricing, and cinematic invitations.
Strengths
- AI-powered planning grounded in your actual budget and timeline
- Real partner collaboration — both partners edit, decisions are tracked
- AU-localised pricing in AUD with NZ/UK/US/CA support
- Free forever to plan — optional one-off payment unlocks cinematic invitations and guest-facing extras
Limitations
- Vendor marketplace launches late 2026 (currently planning-only)
- New product — community is small but growing fast
Ivory Lane is the planning tool we wished existed when we started testing wedding software. It's built AU-first by a Melbourne team, which sounds like a small detail until you realise it means pricing is in AUD, the AI is trained on AU budget benchmarks (Sydney $55K, Melbourne $48K, Adelaide $36K), and the vendor categories actually match how AU couples plan.
The biggest differentiator vs Easy Weddings is the planning depth. Easy Weddings gives you a checklist and a basic budget calculator. Ivory Lane gives you AI-suggested allocations based on your guest count and city, partner-shared edit access (both of you actually contribute, not just one person logging in), guest list with dietary requirements and meal selections, vendor payment tracking with reminders, a vision board, and cinematic invitation videos with RSVP collection.
Partner collaboration is where Easy Weddings completely falls down. Ivory Lane has assignable tasks, decisions log, and real-time edit sync — meaning your partner can take genuine ownership of categories instead of "approving" what you've already decided.
And it's free to plan. The full AI planner is free forever, with no card and no trial — and unlike Easy Weddings, no vendor advertising shapes your plan. The guest-facing extras (cinematic invitations, Smart RSVP, unlimited guests, premium website templates) sit behind an optional one-off payment, a single payment with nothing recurring — rounding error against a $25K–$90K wedding. The trade-off vs Easy Weddings is software that helps you plan, instead of free software that helps vendors find you.
Skip Ivory Lane only if you genuinely just want to browse vendors without planning anything. Otherwise, this is the upgrade.
- AUD
- Free, or a one-off unlock for everything
- Region
- AU/NZ/UK/US/CA
Choose Ivory Lane if you want a real planning app — not a vendor directory — that you and your partner will actually open every day.
02Easy Weddings
Best for AU vendor browsingAU's largest wedding vendor directory with basic checklist tools tacked on. Vendor-funded business model.
Strengths
- Largest AU vendor directory by listing count
- Free for couples — no paywall
- Decent reviews when not filtered (verify on third-party sites)
Limitations
- Pay-to-play featured listings skew search results
- Planning tools are minimal — checklist + simple budget only
- No real partner collaboration — single account, share-link only
- Significant email volume after signup (vendor offers, partner promotions)
Easy Weddings is the dominant AU wedding directory by listing count, and that's also its biggest problem — its product is the directory, not your planning experience. The business model is selling couples' contact details to vendors via lead-gen, which means the planning tools (checklist, basic budget) are deliberately thin. Building a real planner would mean less time spent in the directory, which means fewer vendor leads, which means less revenue.
The "Featured" vendors at the top of every search are paying for placement, not winning on review quality. Cross-check any Easy Weddings vendor on Google Reviews or Trustpilot before booking — the on-platform reviews skew positive because negative reviews disappear.
Where it works: as a starting-point directory if you genuinely just want to browse AU vendors. The category filters and location coverage are the best in AU. Once you're past the browsing phase, it stops earning its keep.
Where it doesn't work: actual planning. The budget calculator has no AU benchmarks, no per-city averages, no partner collab. The checklist is generic. There's no AI, no vision board, no vendor payment tracking, no guest list with dietary needs.
The migration story away from Easy Weddings is straightforward — there's nothing locked in. Export your guest list (if you've started one) as CSV and you're done. Most couples we talked to keep their Easy Weddings account active for vendor reviews while doing actual planning elsewhere.
- AUD
- Free for couples
- Region
- AU/NZ
Choose Easy Weddings if you're only in vendor-browse mode and don't need a real planner. Use it as a directory, not a planner.
Visit Easy Weddings →03WedMe
Best free starting pointFree AU wedding directory + basic checklist. Lighter than Easy Weddings, similar tradeoffs.
Strengths
- Free for couples
- Cleaner UX than Easy Weddings
- AU-focused — no US-import vendor categories
Limitations
- Smaller vendor directory than Easy Weddings
- Planning tools are bare — checklist only, no budget calculator
- No partner collaboration
- No AI or smart suggestions
WedMe is what Easy Weddings would look like if it didn't aggressively monetise vendor placements. The product is clearly designed by people who care about UX, not just SEO. Search and filtering work better. There's less "Featured" vendor pollution. The mobile experience is significantly cleaner.
But the underlying tradeoff is the same: it's a directory with a checklist, not a planner. There's no budget calculator, no guest list, no partner collab, no AI. Setting it up takes ten minutes and you've seen everything it does.
The strongest case for WedMe is as a vendor-discovery tool while you plan in something else. It's a better directory than Easy Weddings for browsing AU vendors without the lead-gen aggression. The smaller size means less coverage in regional areas — if you're getting married in Adelaide or Hobart, WedMe will feel thin compared to Easy Weddings.
For couples who want one tool that does everything, WedMe isn't it. For couples who want a clean, free vendor browser to use alongside a real planner, it's the better-than-Easy-Weddings option.
Pricing: free forever for couples. Vendors pay for premium listings, but the placement bias is less aggressive than the major directories.
- AUD
- Free
- Region
- AU/NZ
Choose WedMe if you want a free, lighter alternative to Easy Weddings and don't need real planning depth.
Visit WedMe →04Wedshed
Best for venue researchCurated AU venue directory with editorial reviews. Beautiful, narrow scope — venues only.
Strengths
- Curated venues, not pay-to-play — actually trustworthy
- Beautiful editorial photography and writing
- Strong AU regional coverage (Yarra Valley, Byron, Mornington, Margaret River)
Limitations
- Venues only — no vendors, no planning tools, no checklist
- No budget tools, no guest list, no RSVP
- Editorial bias toward higher-end venues — tight budgets need to look elsewhere
Wedshed is the AU venue directory we recommend without hesitation — it's the only major AU wedding platform that hasn't sold its soul to vendor pay-to-play. Venues are curated by the editorial team, photography is genuinely beautiful, and the reviews are editorial, not user-generated, which means they're trustworthy.
The catch: it's venues only. There's no vendor directory beyond venues. No planning tools. No checklist. No budget. No RSVP. No guest list. If you came expecting a planner, you'll bounce in two minutes.
Used correctly — as a venue research tool — Wedshed is excellent. AU regional coverage is the best in the market, especially for the Yarra Valley, Byron Bay hinterland, Mornington Peninsula, and Margaret River. The editorial bias does skew higher-end (most listed venues are $10K+ for hire alone), so couples on tight budgets need to supplement with Easy Weddings or Google Maps for community halls and pubs.
The sweet spot is using Wedshed for venue shortlisting → booking your venue → moving to a real planner like Ivory Lane for everything else. That's how most happy couples we talked to actually use it.
Pricing: free for couples. The business model is venue listing fees + editorial commission, but neither distorts the curation.
- AUD
- Free
- Region
- AU
Choose Wedshed if you're at the venue-research stage and want curated, trustworthy AU venue recommendations without paid placements.
Visit Wedshed →05The Knot AU
US import — skip for AU weddingsUS-shaped wedding website + RSVP + light planning tools. Doesn't really serve AU couples.
Strengths
- Polished website builder + RSVP flow
- Large registry partner network (US-only)
- Decent template library
Limitations
- US-shaped — vendor categories, pricing data, registry all assume US
- No AU pricing benchmarks; budget tools quote in USD
- High email volume + spam after signup (verified by FTC complaints)
- Partner collaboration is share-link only, not real edit sync
The Knot dominates the US wedding planning market and that dominance is exactly the problem when you import it to AU. Vendor categories are US-shaped (no celebrants, no NoIM workflow). Pricing data is in USD and reflects US averages ($35K national average). Registry partners are exclusively US retailers. The "find a vendor" tool is empty in most AU cities outside Sydney and Melbourne.
The website builder and RSVP flow are genuinely polished — that's where The Knot earned its reputation. Templates are good, RSVPs handle dietary needs, and the URL structure (yourname.theknot.com) works fine.
Everything else is a no for AU couples. The budget tool quotes in USD with US category splits. The vendor directory is thin outside the US. The "ask a planner" feature defaults to US-licensed planners. The marketing emails after signup are aggressive — multiple per week with US registry promotions and US wedding deals.
If you're an AU couple having a US destination wedding (Vegas, Mexico, Hawaii) or a wedding with mostly-US guests, The Knot's website builder is fine. For everything else, it's the wrong shape.
The Knot is also currently being investigated for review filtering and vendor lead-gen complaints. Read those reviews on third-party sites like Trustpilot and Sitejabber before signing up.
- AUD
- Free + USD upsells
- USD
- Free + paid upgrades
- Region
- US-focused
Choose The Knot AU if you're an AU couple having a destination US wedding, or your guest list is heavily US-based.
Visit The Knot AU →