Imagine this: the sun is setting behind the grand chapel windows, or maybe over the North Sea waves crashing just beyond your beach altar. The music swells. You take a deep breath. You’re about to marry your person—with 100 friends and family members by your side.
It’s the dream. But what does that dream actually cost in the Netherlands?
Whether you’re planning an extravagant chapel affair in Amsterdam, a barefoot beach party in The Hague, or a sweet backyard ceremony with borrowed fairy lights, we’ve mapped out the real numbers, vendors, and clever tricks to help you plan the perfect day—without the budget drama.
Let’s walk through it, step by step, euro by euro, with your joy (and sanity) in mind.
💒 The Ceremony: Legal Requirements and Personal Touches
Before any confetti gets tossed, there’s the civil wedding—the requirement for your marriage to be legally recognized in the Netherlands.
Here’s what it costs:
🗓 Weekdays (8am–9pm): €861.60
🌙 Evenings/Nights/Weekends: €1,160.60
Want something more intimate or personal? You can bring in a BABS (that’s the Dutch title for a wedding officiant). Prices range depending on how known or experienced they are:
💼 Professional BABS: €895–€1,250
🧡 Friend or family as BABS (with official registration): €289.90
Choosing someone close to you for this role? It can add magic, and save money. Just be sure to file that paperwork at least 4 months in advance.
🏛 Venue Vibes: Grand, Beachy, or Backyard?
✨ Amsterdam Elegance
Say your vows in a candlelit chapel or restored industrial space. These top picks radiate class and romance:
De Olofskapel – €35,000: Gothic beauty and historic grandeur
De Vergulden Eenhoorn – €10,000: Rustic chic with serious soul
Pompstation – €7,500: Moody lighting, jazz vibes, unforgettable energy
Luxury, yes—but these places feel like movie sets you get to star in.
🌊 The Hague Beach Bash
Dreaming of barefoot vows, salty air, and a party that turns into a dance-under-the-stars situation?
NATUREL – €12,000–€18,000: Beach club perfection
Nomade Beach House – €2,850: Bohemian and budget-friendlier
Villa Westend – from €873: Hidden gem by the lake
With the right lighting and your people around you? It’s hard to beat.
🏡 Home Sweet Budget Wedding
Sometimes the most beautiful weddings happen under fairy lights in your parents’ backyard. Costs here? Basically zero. What you trade in glam, you make up for in love, and low stress.
🍽 Let’s Talk Food (Because Everyone Will)
Food might not be the first thing you think about—but trust us, your guests will remember it.
🥂 For a Luxe Experience:
CERVINO Events – €13,000: Think amuse-bouches, wine pairings, and table-side flair
Chef Maison – €9,000: Modern, sleek, and seriously delicious
Megabites Catering – €6,500: Still luxe, slightly more casual
This isn’t just dinner—it’s part of the memory.
🌯 Beachy Buffets & Sunset BBQs:
NATUREL – €8,000
Nomade Beach House – €6,500
Villa Westend – €4,500
These setups lean toward grazing tables, beach bar snacks, and late-night burgers. Your guests? Will be thrilled.
🍕 DIY or Budget Options:
Dutch Heritage Takeaway – €1,100
Hog Wild BBQ – €1,500: Smoky, satisfying, and fun
DIY with supermarket platters or a potluck – You set the limit
Perfect if you’d rather spend your budget on travel, a house, or that dreamy honeymoon.
📸 Capture the Magic
After the vows are said and the cake is cut, all you’ll have (besides your spouse, hopefully) are the photos.
Big-Budget Storytelling:
Mon et Mine – €4,550: Cinematic and tear-inducing
Framed by Emily – €3,500: Warm, journalistic, full of feeling
Marketa – €3,000: Classic with a modern edge
Beachside Moments:
Sjoerd Booij – €1,999
Portraits by Jayasri – €1,635
Framed by Emily (yes, again!) – €850
Budget-Savvy & Still Beautiful:
Studio VHF – €162
Urte Foto – €975
Friend with a good phone and good vibes – €0–€100
Just make sure they get the “you and your grandma laughing” shot. That one? Priceless.
🌺 Florals & Vibes
You don’t need €5,000 in florals to make your wedding look like Pinterest. But if you want that look…
🌹 Luxe Looks:
Edwin Oudshoorn – €7,250: Sculptural, wild, and romantic
Vows & Vibes Events – €4,898: Stylish and Instagram-worthy
The Bloom Bar – €2,000: Classic, lush, and tasteful
🌸 Beachy & Breezy:
Starts at just €1,087 with Villa Westend
Or build your own bundle with Ling’s Moment rentals for under €1,000
Florals set the mood. Go big—or go dried eucalyptus and candles. Both work.
🎶 Let the Music Take You There
Music is what turns your wedding from a gathering into a celebration.
💃 Premium Party Starters:
Fusion Girls – €7,119: Think Beyoncé energy
PYT – €5,932
The Wedding Crashers – €3,250: Live band magic
🎷 Cool, Coastal Vibes:
Ersoy Demir – €1,800
Sax with DJ – €450
BombaNarajna – €845: Eclectic and energetic
🎧 Budget Grooves:
DJ TYRA TALISA – €375
Spotify Playlist + Your Fun Cousin – Free
The key? Read the crowd and build from there
Take it slow. Be kind. Stay flexible.
You’re doing something extraordinary.
🍰 Let Them Eat Cake
Tiered, trendy, or tiny—there’s a cake for every couple.
Natasja Sadi – €5,000: The kind of cake that’s also art
Cakeworks – €1,280: Elegant and edible
KOLVA – €800: Gorgeous, tasty, and budget-kind
Cheesy Cakes – €550: Fun, funky, and flavorful
And yes, you can do cupcakes, donuts, or even stroopwafel stacks.
🧮 So... What Does It All Add Up To?
Here’s a quick look at three realistic budget bundles:
💎 The Luxe Amsterdam Wedding — €74,274.06
All-inclusive weekend bash with the finest venues, catering, entertainment, and vendors
Think: designer dress, champagne toasts, and a live band encore
🌴 The Beach Bash in The Hague — €31,378
Stylish and slightly relaxed with gorgeous scenery and good food
Great for couples who want elegance with sandy toes
🏡 The Intimate Budget Wedding — €2,150–€10,749
Home-based, heartfelt, and super customizable
Save thousands and still have a day full of joy
💡 Pro Tips to Make It All Work
Start with your priorities: Is it food, venue, photos? Pick your “non-negotiables.”
Don’t forget the buffer: Budget 5–10% for last-minute surprises (they will happen).
Track it all: Whether it’s in an Excel sheet, a wedding planner, or a budgeting app like NeroBudget, clarity is peace.
Ask for help: Friends, family, and vendors can be part of your support system.
And remember… the cost doesn’t define the quality of your wedding. The people and the love do.
The Moments You Can’t Budget For
Some things never show up on a spreadsheet.
The way your voice cracks during your vows. The soft grip of your grandma’s hand as she whispers, “I’m proud of you.” The deep breath you take just before the doors open, heart hammering, because you’re about to promise your life to someone in front of everyone who matters.
These are the moments that wedding planners can’t script, that photographers may or may not catch, that guests may not notice, but you’ll carry them forever.
Like when your friends pull you into a hug on the dance floor, messy and loud and absolutely perfect. Or when your new spouse reaches for your hand under the dinner table, and suddenly, everything goes quiet inside you. Just peace.
No budget will tell you that your best memory might be an unexpected one, the quiet walk you take in between ceremony and reception, the laugh that breaks the tension during speeches, or the teary-eyed toast from someone you didn’t know would be so eloquent.
These are the soul-snapshots you’ll come back to for years. And they cost nothing, but they mean everything.
🕊 Letting Go of the Pressure to Be “Perfect”
There’s a strange thing that happens when you plan a wedding. Somewhere between color palettes and seating charts, it starts to feel like the whole day has to be flawless, as if one wrong step will ruin it.
It won’t.
Weddings are not performances. They’re beginnings. They’re not meant to prove anything, not to your families, not to your Instagram followers, not even to yourselves. They’re meant to mark something beautiful: a decision to choose each other, again and again, in a world that never stops changing.
And yes, the cake might lean. The ring bearer might cry. You might trip over your own dress, forget someone’s name, or need to run inside because it suddenly starts raining.
And it will still be perfect.
Not the kind of perfect where everything goes according to plan. The kind where everyone remembers how it felt. Safe. Joyful. Real. A moment in time that allowed people to come together and believe in love again, if only for a day.
So take the pressure off. The day is already enough. You are already enough.
✨ A Quiet Promise, A Loud Beginning
When all the glasses have been emptied and the last guest has wandered off into the night… it’ll just be you two. Maybe still in your wedding clothes, maybe in pajamas, maybe barefoot in a quiet kitchen reheating leftover cake.
And in that stillness, you’ll realize: the wedding was never just about one day.
It was a doorway.
To years of shared breakfasts and quiet fights and loud laughter and soft forgiveness. To the way you’ll build a life not with grand gestures, but with countless tiny ones—folded laundry, packed lunches, forehead kisses before work.
This is why weddings matter, not for the flowers or the dress or the first dance, but for the promise whispered underneath it all: You. Me. This life. Together.
So plan it beautifully. Celebrate it wildly. But don’t forget what you’re really building.
Not just a wedding.
A beginning.
