The average Australian wedding is $34,000. Polly and Riley’s choice starts at $480

For teacher Polly Hogarth, 31, and her partner Riley, 35, an electrician, a registry-office wedding wasn’t a step-down or a prequel to an elopement.

“It was always our Plan A,” says Hogarth, who wed at Sydney’s Pyrmont Registry Office in front of 40 close friends and family in April. “Neither my husband nor I like to be the centre of attention, so having a more intimate crowd felt right for us.”

There was also the cost factor. The Newcastle couple had just bought their first home when Riley proposed two years earlier. Weddings at Pyrmont Registry start at $480, compared with about $34,000, the average cost of an Australian wedding in 2024.

“We got to celebrate with our loved ones and still had enough to jet off to Japan for a three-week honeymoon,” says Hogarth. Those who didn’t make the guest list understood; those who did were inspired: “My soon-to-be brother-in-law is planning a registry wedding for the same reasons.”

In a year when Jeff Bezos’ wedding was slammed for its excess, registry weddings are having a moment. The number of couples choosing one rose 32 per cent in NSW between 2023 and 2024.

Aside from the affordability factor, tying the knot at the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages is suddenly trendy. From British singer Charli XCX posing on the steps of Hackney Town Hall to fashion influencers such as Chloe Nicole sharing their courthouse videos on TikTok, “legal-only” weddings are having their big day. Even Hollywood is taking note.

The recent romcom Materialists ends not with a big white wedding but with security-camera footage of Dakota Johnson and her groom walking into City Hall. Director Celine Song, who also married at City Hall, wanted to show that “it’s the most romantic place on Earth … We’re all there with our love stories.”

Event planner Sharne Perrett, who runs The Micro Wedding Co. in Melbourne, has seen the shift first-hand. Her speciality? “Short-and-sweet ceremonies with a pretty backdrop,” she says. “Some choose this and then a bigger party later.” It also taps into another bridal trend: the “deconstructed wedding”, with couples picking and choosing the elements that matter to them.

A 2025 trend report by global wedding-planning website The Knot Worldwide found 41 per cent of engaged couples are cutting guest lists in response to inflation, while splurging on “memorable, one-of-a-kind experiences”. Auntie Val might not make the cut, but there could be a fire-dancer, dog-sitter or “experiential bartender” (think high-octane shenanigans, such as bottle-juggling and on-bar acrobatics) at the after-party.

The rise in remarriages is another factor. According to The Australian Wedding Industry Report, people marrying for the second time typically halve their budget. And registry weddings tend to feel more inclusive – especially for same-sex couples.

But every high-profile wedding has a ripple effect. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens post-Taylor and Travis,” says Sydney florist Gemma Higlett of Party Stems, who styles registry weddings. Taylor Swift is expected to wed at her private estate, but her influence will trickle down. Higlett predicts the expected “Swiftification” of weddings to bring more colour, playfulness and self-expression to the genre. “The rise of registry weddings isn’t a downgrade,” she says. “It’s a redefinition – less stress, fewer rules, and more of what really matters.”

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