Wedding Cost

5 Responses

1. Jono

   2009 Oct 20 1

   A reasonable amount of money to spend on a wedding would be around $20k to $25k. If I could get away with less I’d do it, but I don’t think you’d get a decent wedding for any less. The bulk of your costs would be catering for the guests at the reception. If you’re looking at hosting 100 people that would typically be $100 per head or $10,000, that’s half of the wedding cost already! Other costs to be mindful of include:

   – Brides maid dresses – $300 each
   – Wedding dress for the bride – $1000
   – Grooms men suits – $300 each (you could hire)
   – Suit for the Groom – $600
   – Decorations and ornaments for the reception – $3,000
   – Cake – $400
   – Catering for 50 guests – $5000
   – Band or DJ hire – $60 per hour
   – Church or other venue for the wedding ceremony, really depends, if you’re part of a church and they are able to accommodate you at no cost then that’s a bonus, but other wise expect to pay fees for a 40 to 45 min booking – $300
   – vehicles to hire on the day to transport the wedding party to and from the church to the reception – $800 3 vehicles

   There are some others but I think that’s a good start. I would aim for $20k, that is more than reasonable. Oh and don’t forget to include the cost of your shoes for the dress!

   Have a lovely wedding!

   P.S. Only in modern day yobbo Australian culture are
   *bridesmaids* expected to pay for their own dress, ask any person from a background of culture, e.g. italians or other Europeans and NO bridesmaid pays for their dresses. In this respect i say you confirm exactly what your friends do, if you all pay for your own dresses then there is NO qualm, because it person will pay for their dress each time. However, if one person pays for the brides maid dresses all at once, then when each friend gets married they effectively ‘shout’ the friend to their dress.

   The only reason for not paying for other people
   s bridesmaid dresses is the stingy modern day Australian culture that wants to pay for as little as possible for each point in time they are called on to do something! e.g. BYO bbq’s……. At the end of the day just what works for you, make sure you know what YOUR friends are expecting to pay for and not to pay for.
   References :
   Experience

2. MML

   2009 Oct 20 2

   Dress: $500 to $5,000+ (it depends on your budget). My daughter went to a bridal shop and found a designer wedding gown on the $99 rack and loved it and that’s what she wore in her wedding and it was absolutely gorgeous! The dress was $800 marked down to $99 because they were trying to get in their new styles.

   Don’t forget to add shoes, a veil and jewelry to your dress price.

   Cake: $500 to over $1,000, depending on how many guests and what you want (how many tiers).

   DJ – Average cost is $600-$800 for the evening.

   Plane Tickets – people flying in are responsible for making their own arrangements and paying for their own tickets. Unless you are a millionaire and just want to pay for them, you aren’t responsible for paying for their travel expenses.

   Hotel Rooms: It is your responsibility to contact some local hotels and get a block of rooms reserved and see if you can get a group discount, then let family members know ahead of time the hotels you have picked. My advice would be to visit the hotel first before you pick it to make sure it looks clean and well managed.

   Wedding Venue – price varies depending on where you have it. If you have it in a church and you are not a member, plan on paying maybe $500. And you also have to pay the preacher and the organist, or whoever plays your music for you.

   Reception: This can get costly. I’ve seen some places go for $2,000+ just to rent the space.

   Catering: This can get costly as well – $2,000+ and that doesn’t include decorating.

   Flowers: Over $2,000. You may can do this yourself by going to a warehouse food store like a Sam’s, Costco, or a BJ’s and buy flowers there and cut & wrap the stems yourself with colored ribbon (to match the bride’smaids dresses). Maybe just get the florist to do the bride’s bouquet.

   Photos: over $1,000
   References :

3. sgc1215

   2009 Oct 20 3

   Just to add a little..

   It’s really going to depend on where you live/where you plan to get married. Also, you are NOT expected to pay for family members to attend your wedding, you will be paying for them to eat.

   If it’s really important to you to keep your wedding costs low, you have a lot of options if you’re willing to do some DIY and price comparison in your area. Again, depending on where you live, it’s not out of the question to put on your wedding for $15,000 or less. And bridesmaids (usually) pay for their dresses.
   References :

4. Nicki

   2009 Oct 20 4

   Average cost of a wedding is 20K…which makes me twitch…honestly My wedding will cost 5k… thats it…and thats spending 2,500 on food… If you’re looking to save money… Many ideas…
   check out ANY wedding checklists on google search, look through as many as possible, read up, decide whats just needed….the important things…
   Start at the beginning…
   Guest List?
   Where? Locations…how many people will be able to fit?
   what colors?
   theme?
   flowers?
   Invitations, RSVP’s, Reception Cards, Thank you notes and all the envelopes…(this can get expensive, the one I liked ended up at about $600 for all of this…I dont think so, so I used GIMP (design program)
   and made my own, EXACTLY what I wanted with the pattern I loved…$140 to get it all printed and envelopes for them that fit perfectly)
   The point is to find out whats important and what you just cant live without, make it, or subtract elsewhere where you dont care…for me it was the music and an $800 photographer…I know someone…)

   Heres the list I pulled off a site for this question:

   Ceremony (Location fee, Officiant Fee, Marriage License, and Musician fee)— 3% of total budget
   Reception(Location fee, Food, Drinks, Rentals, cake, favors-for guests)— 48%
   Attire(Dress,shoes veil, jewelry, hair and make up, tuxedo, shoes, tie or bow, cufflinks and studs)— 10%
   Rings (For the both of you, engraved)—3%
   Flowers(Ceremony, Bouquets,corsages, centerpieces)—8%
   Music(Band/ DJ/ Musicians/ Sound System)—8%
   Photographer(Photographer fee and additional prints)–12%
   Transportation( Limo? Guests? Shuttle?)–2%
   Stationary(Invitations& envelopes, Response card & envelopes, thank you cards & envelopes, reception cards-seating- postage, and guestbook)—-3%
   Gifts(Parents, eachother, and wedding party)—3%

   This is basically made for a 20,000$ wedding but its a good eye opener, and helpful to see where you can cut from and where you and spend what you want..

   CAKES ARE EXPENSIVE,($300-$1000+) if you wanna save some money, dont tell them its a wedding cake!!! family is expected to pay their own way as far as I know, you can get the hotels in bulk (Get all at once) this will bring down the cost for them, but you are expected to give them welcome gifts…fruit basket or something

   Bridesmaids are also expected to pay for their own dresses… if they cant them I’d suggest offering a little help to them…

   WOW I hope this helps, my fingers hurt…

   and if this isnt enough honestly read through some postings and forums, alot of people ask these questions(Only reason I have a clue spent the last 2 days looking and reading) and It paid off…
   References :
   http://weddings.about.com/library/blbudgetworksheet.htm

5. Adrianne

   2009 Oct 20 5

   There are a lot of things to factor in, but it all varies so much by region. The cost of living (and thus, the cost of services) is much higher some places than others.

   If you are in the U.S. check out this website for your quick answer: http://www.costofwedding.com/

   As far as breaking down the cost for each individual service like cake, dress, etc – it depends on your tastes and your budget. It’s like saying, how much does lunch cost? You have your dollar-menu type places, and also your jacket-required places. You just have to pick a budget, and you’ll be able to fit everything in. 🙂

   For example, my friend paid $1200 for her dress. I paid $350. When I was calling on cake, I got quotes as low as $1.25 per serving on up to $5.50 per serving, and that’s all in the same city!

   Ultimately, what is reasonable is whatever you can comfortably afford. My friend with the $1200 dress paid $8,000 for her whole wedding. Ours will end up around $14,000. I attended one last week that was done on a $1,500 budget. I’ve been to one that was $65,000… again, all in the same city. Whatever limit you set is attainable. 🙂

   Also, in the US, guests are expected to pay for their own travel costs and attire. This may be different culturally in other places. You didn’t mention where you are, so it’s tough to give a specific answer to that.

   Good luck with your planning!!
   References :