Stop budget blowout before it starts
The average couple goes $7,000 over budget.
It’s not because they spent more — it’s because the alterations, gratuities, vendor meals and signage were never on the quote. Here’s where the leaks are, and how to plug them before they hit your card.
Free forever · No credit card · One-off unlock for everything
The slow leak
$40K becomes $47K the same way every time.
Six line items nobody warns you about. Each one feels small. Together they push almost every couple 18% past their stated budget — and the worst part is you don’t notice until the final invoices land.
0%
% over plan
0
Hidden costs
0
Of 10 couples
Wedding budget · April
Total spend
$0
Venue + catering
Photo + video
Florals + styling
Music + entertainment
Attire + alterations
Stationery + postage
Vendor meals
Gratuities + service
Marriage cert + NOIM
Day-of signage + decor
See your blowout. Right now.
Set your number, tick the costs your venue didn’t mention, and watch the bar slip. Most couples are already over by item three.
Hidden cost finder
Toggle what your venue forgot to mention.
Set your stated budget. Tick the costs your quotes don’t include. Watch the bar slip past your number — same six items that hit nine of ten couples.
Stated budget
$40,000
Projected total
$0
$4,810 over · that’s 12% past your stated budget.
Source: 2024 Easy Weddings cost report + Hitched Australia survey of 1,800 couples.
Where it actually goes
The 27% that hides.
Almost every couple budgets for venue, catering, photography. Almost no one budgets for the three categories below in red — and that’s where the overrun lives.
Of your budget
27%
hides in three sneaky categories
Venue + catering
47%
Photo + video
12%
Florals + styling
9%
Attire + alterationsOften missed
10%
Music
5%
Stationery + postageOften missed
3%
Hidden + day-ofOften missed
14%
Same $40K. Two outcomes.
A static tracker tells you yesterday’s number. Ivory Lane forecasts tomorrow’s.
Try the toggle
The same $40K, two trackers.
Budget
Live · $1,840 bufferProjected total
$38,160
$1,840 under your $40K plan
- Forecasts hidden costs from day one
- Pings you the moment you trend over
- Adjusts when guest count or vendor changes
- Both partners see the same live number
- By August you know — to the dollar
Couples who held the line
Same plan. No blowout.
What changes when the hidden costs are visible from day one. Three couples, three budgets, zero last-minute panic.
“We were $4,800 short on alterations and gratuities by week 3 — except we caught it on the dashboard, not the invoice. Came in $90 under our $48K cap.”
Hannah & Theo
Sydney, NSW
$48K · 110 guests
“The hidden cost forecast was the bit I didn't know I needed. Saw the gratuities line on day one and renegotiated two suppliers down by $1,400.”
Lila & Jack
Melbourne, VIC
$32K · 82 guests
“Friends spent $9K over. We were on track because the planner reforecast every time we added a vendor. Worth every cent just for the peace of mind.”
Em & Ravi
Auckland, NZ
$54K · 140 guests
FAQ
Budget questions, answered.
No formulas, no jargon — just clear answers about how Ivory Lane keeps you on plan.
It's the average overrun reported in the 2024 Easy Weddings cost report and a Hitched Australia survey of 1,800 couples. Some go further over, some less — but the median is $6,800 and 18% past plan. The categories are remarkably consistent: alterations, gratuities, vendor meals, postage, signage and government fees.
Hold the line
Spend the plan. Not the panic.
Free to plan, forever. Hidden costs forecast from day one. One-off unlock for everything, multi-partner, no credit card.