This story is part of the November 15 edition of Good Weekend. See all 13 stories .

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 enou

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