Wedding Cost

11 Responses

1. John M

   2009 Dec 30 1

   Don’t waste a lot of money on your wedding. Absolutely nobody but the bride cares about a wedding, other than a chance to congratulate the couple and hoist a few drinks in your honor. Have a simple reception in an affordable location. Spend the money on something that lasts, like a house downpayment.
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2. Sabine É

   2009 Dec 31 2

   ours cost about $5500
   The location was the biggest expense, it was $2000
   The rest of the money went to my dress, his suit, flowers, food, drinks, decor, favors, etc. etc
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3. ~Mia Bella~

   2009 Dec 31 3

   I can’t believe what that 1st person said!!! How about both? There is nothing wrong with having a nice wedding… AND looking forward to a HOME. Both can be done… I did. My wedding cost about $15,000 – $20,000. My parents wouldn’t let us pay for it all, because they wanted us to focus on buying a home… WHICH WE DID :o) We DID pay for some. We have HUGE families and were the 1st in both to get married, so this was just as much their wedding as ours. MOST of my wedding was not about ME, the BRIDE, but about my family and his family becoming ONE and everyone enjoying the occasion and making memories to alst a lifetime with you. It’s your wedding, do what YOU can afford (without a loan). That might be a little too much. Good luck with everything.

   Private Club – $11,000 (Included 1 hr. cocktail, 5 hr. open bar, Fruit desert table and much more for 197 guests)
   Photographer – $2195
   DJ – $750
   Flowers – $1000
   My Dress – $600 with alterations, veil, shoes, crown, and undergarments
   Favors – $400 Wine bottles from Portugal & bottle stoppers
   I can’t think of whatelse, but my family & Friends are still talking about it
   References :
   http://mydreamscametrue.shutterfly.com

4. casper4

   2009 Dec 31 4

   It really depends on a number of factors:

   * where you live (metro areas usually cost more than suburban and rural areas, and big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc. cost a LOT more than smaller cities)

   * how many people you’re inviting (more people = more meals, more seating, a bigger hall or ceremony site, more invites/postage, etc.)

   * how formal you want to be (filet mignon on fancy china will cost more than fried chicken at a casual picnic)

   Costofwedding.com (or maybe costofweddings.com, I forget) will give you a ballpark price, and a breakdown, if you give your Zip code. Theknot.com also has a budget calculator and some helpful message boards. Offbeatbride.com is a great resource for inspiration if you want something more "you" and less traditional.

   Remember that all you NEED is a license, a certified officiant, and however many witnesses your state requires. If you’re having guests, all you NEED to do is seat, feed and entertain them. And you may want to hire a great photographer, just for quality lasting memories as a nice keepsake for youself. You can knock out anything you may not want (favors, formal invites, a garter, a huge cake, a white gown, etc.) – don’t feel pressured to do things you may not like just because they’re "traditional." The media fools brides into thinking things are "traditional" or "necessary" because they want you to spend money.

   Don’t be afraid to get creative! Maybe you’d like a nice ceremony in a public park with people seated all around you, followed by a nice dinner at a local restaurant. Maybe you can get a friend ordained to marry you, then go out for pizza and bowling afterward. The sky is the limit.
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5. Steph L

   2009 Dec 31 5

   Ours will total about $7,000. It’s really about how much you can afford. You don’t want to start your new life together in a ton of debt from one day; you want to focus more on the marriage than the actual wedding. Having said that, you do want the wedding to be what you want. If the dress is important to you, budget most of the money there. If the alcohol isn’t important to you, cut costs by not offering any. If you have always dreamed of a huge wedding and you have the money and want to spend a fortune on the day, do it!
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6. Blunt

   2009 Dec 31 6

   Ours was $30.000 whet all was said and done. We had about 38 guests on a beach resort. We loved it!

   I’ll try to categorize it:

   Photography: $3600
   DJ: $1200
   Harpist $400
   Minister: $350
   Limo: $1000
   Wedding party gifts: $400
   Parents gifts: $400
   Party favors: $160
   Flowers: $800
   Cake $400
   License: $50
   Invitations: $300
   Postage $60
   Shoes: $450
   Dress $100 bargain!
   Accesories $600
   Make up $100
   Undergarments$75
   Lingerie $100
   Transportation $600
   Hotel fees $3200
   Rehersal dinner: $2000
   Catering, liquor: $16000
   Decorations: $300
   Honeymoon: $3600
   Wedding bands: $2000
   Nails and hair: $700

   I’m sure that I’m letting some of expenses out… but that’s more of less what we did.

   Good luck
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7. nova_queen_28

   2009 Dec 31 7

   There are two things that really drive the cost: location has ALOT to do with the going prices of things and the # of guests you are having will multiply by the cost of food per plate – – and it is the food that is the most expensive.

   I live in Central PA and a reasonable reception is $35 – $50 per plate. In New York City, you might get hors d’ourves for $50 per person, but dinners are going to be at least $100 per plate. Catch my drift on the cost differences?
   So you really need to put some effort into figuring out a possible guestlist and finding out what things cost in your area.

   Also, if your Aunt is a caterer and is going to provide the food at cost, you won’t pay as much as someone else would.

   My 150 guest wedding is coming in at $18,000. That includes the rehearsal dinner, church ceremony, catering hall for reception, we are buying the 4 bridesmaids dresses, 3 flowergirl dresses, and renting the tuxedos for the entire wedding party, centerpieces, dj, photographer, flowers, favors, wedding gown, cake, etc.
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8. Meli

   2009 Dec 31 8

   I think it depends on how many guests you are having and what you can afford.
   Less guests means you won’t have as much cost on booze and food. (Some weddings I’ve been to do not have an open bar, but everyone gets one drink ticket)
   I went to a wedding recentely where the groom was paying for everything and budgeted $5000 (canadian) I know they were both happy but I thought it was tacky – cold food at the buffet, everything started late and reception hall was decorated poorly.
   If you can do it on budget then all the power to you but make sure it still appears nice.
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9. jillmarie_04

   2009 Dec 31 9

   We have a budget of 11,000 and that’s just from my parents and my husband to be and my bank account, so "IF" his parents decide to chip in then we will have a bit more.We are doing an out door ceremony and reception the venue was free the tent is going to be more than 3,000 dollars because its a huge one and its not tacky yellow lol.

   Top Things You Should Spend Your Money On (my opinion)
   1. Venue
   2. Food & Alcohol
   3. Cake
   4. Invitations
   5. Favors

   You can skimp on a Dj, and make your own play lists and actually burn cds and have them on, or have friends make a play lists you could actually skip the whole DJ Live band thing.
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   GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T STRESS

10. mink4i

    2009 Dec 31 10

    Well it depends. There are lots of DIY things that you can do. I’m getting married in January and I printed my own invitations, made my own favors (chocolate roses on lollipop sticks with a printed ribbon with our names and dates on them). I didn’t want to be cheap with pictures and with videography because those kind of things are absolutely vital to me. Your big thing, the biggest thing that’s going to just CRUSH your budget is frankly, how many bodies will be at your wedding. For my wedding, with a four hour open bar it ran me up to 3600 plus a cocktail hour. Unless you feel the need to ride around in a limo all day, you can easily get transportation to and from the ceremony, reception and even a getaway car by simply talking to the limo providers around you. Wherever you go for your reception, ask for a refferal list but don’t completely stick with it– sometimes those people can be overpriced because they give a portion of their sale to wedding cordinator at the facility you choose and may not do the best job.

    Other then your reception and alcohol, you can do pretty well. My wedding ended up costing us around 15k and we paid for it ourselves (STILL had money to put towards a downpayment on a house and retirement savings unlike number one who seems to have a terribly bleak outlook), and that included an awesome honeymoon as well.

    Goodluck 🙂
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11. EPiC

    2009 Dec 31 11

    There are several cost estimators online including: http://www.costofwedding.com/index.cfm?action=costest.index

    This one gives you the estimates based on zip code. It then ask you what you want to include (if you’re using Save the Date cards, check it and it will include it in the sample budget) Keep in mind that these are just estimates. You may want to choose more for photographs and less for flowers, etc.

    Hope that helps!
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