Nikola Janković, representative of the Association „Event Industry of Serbia,“ stated yesterday that guests should forget about receiving 50 euros in an envelope per person when attending a wedding. As he emphasized, the minimum amount now is to put between 75 to 100 euros per person so that the newlyweds can cover all expenses, and also make some profit.
Janković also mentioned that, if someone wants to book a wedding for this year, there is no availability even in the most expensive venues, so it is necessary to wait until next year to get a slot for the celebration.
„We have people who want to secure themselves a year in advance, not to choose what is left, but what they want. And we also have our people abroad who need to secure and organize their plans in advance. In essence, we have about 52 dates for seasonal weddings. That is from May to November, every Saturday and Sunday. Our people avoid working days, but they make a mistake because they get various discounts from venues and suppliers. People think that guests won’t come, but I think everyone will take a day off if they know the wedding date well in advance,“ said Nikola.
„We have three categories – below 50 euros, 50 euros, and luxurious options up to 125 to 150 euros. Essentially, the highest demand is for cheaper options. There are many middle-class options, from 50 to 70 euros, while luxury ones are fewer, but believe me, they also have no free slots. The cost is directly related to the increase in the labor cost, taxes that increase every year, food and drink prices, scarcity of pork and beef meat. In December, we had an 8% increase in alcohol prices. Each bottle is that much more expensive. Civil weddings used to cost from 12,000 to 15,000 dinars, and now it is 17,000 dinars. Every year, prices go up,“ emphasized Nikola Janković.
It is no longer enough to give 50 euros per person when attending weddings, Janković points out.
„Inflation has eaten up those 50 euros that we used to give, and it is no longer enough to give that amount per person. Now it is between 75 to 100 euros per person. Last year, I organized many weddings, interviewed all the newlyweds, and only three couples did not manage to cover all costs,“ Janković said.
He adds that smaller weddings are always more expensive than larger ones, but when everything is added up, it doesn’t turn out to be such an expensive venue, considering the quality of service.
„We have two very important points. Fixed costs are the same for 50 and 350 people, but you can always rely more financially on a good return if you have more guests. Smaller weddings are always more expensive than larger ones. The other thing is that we need to understand the package price for the wedding. Guests spend eight hours, we have over a kilogram of quality food. In the end, we understand that all of that is not expensive at all,“ said Nikola Janković, representative of the Association „Event Industry of Serbia“ for „Prva TV.“
