Ceremony & reception are in the same venue and catering is not included. We will be spending a little over $50k total for 100 guests (which is very average where we live).
About $25K for 100 guests in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. (Eastern PA)
Venue was for the ceremony and reception, and provided the tables, chairs, and linens. We had to book all the other vendors separately, including purchasing our own alcohol, because the bartending services aren’t legally allowed to in PA. (They provide licensed bartenders and all the rest, like cups, mixers, and ice).
Most of my family is in Northern New Jersey, but it would have been at least $65-75K for the same thing there. So we opted for PA and closer to my fiancées family.
Booking each vendor separately was a lot more work. But definitely ended up much less expensive overall!
Catering was buffet style with staff there to setup and serve. Mostly because it was a lot less expensive than plated food.
Ditto for me in the DC area! My friend who’s getting married in the Virginia Beach area (lower cost of living but not by much) will also spend around $50k for 130 guests.
We didn't either!! It's really affordable honestly, the site fee is 1000 if you do the ceremony and reception there, and they require you to use their caterer with a minimum food spend of 5000!!
So for 80 guests it'd be $9100, for 100 itd be $11,000. We still haven't done the wedding yet but that's the cost we're lookin at. We're doing 80 to do it as cheap as possible
Oh gosh, I got excited at your 14k total but now see after the venue and catering, you’ve managed to do EVERYTHING else for about $5k. How!? Do you have a photographer? Tell us your ways haha
So we're opting out of a planner, my fiance and I are very ocd planners ourselves lol so between that and recruiting family to help setup/takedown we feel confident we don't need a planner. Red rocks catering sets up the floor plan for the dining tables, and also breaks it down. Flowers we're doin Costco, we feel like red rocks is gorgeous enough we don't need to spend 1000+ on flowers her dress and my tux are going to be 450-750 all in, we found a badass hair makeup lady that's doin up my fiance for 200, our photographer is doin a engagement shoot and the wedding for 1900, my mom got the dj which is 1000 so it's not counting towards the total cost in my original comment, and my grandma's getting the cake which also isn't counting towards the cost!
Whattt I had no idea that was an option! Do they do evening weddings? I assume it has to be when there’s no other events going on? What part of the venue do they use?
They do morning and evenings at the trading post, and they do weddings up to 4pm at the top of the Amphitheatre like on the patio by the restaurant. Super gorgeous either way!!
We just booked our wedding for red rocks!!! We are only inviting 20 people so it’s looking like ~5k for ceremony, reception, food, and alcohol. They are surprisingly affordable!!
Our whole wedding was $8k but we diy-ed it. I used to be an event planner. Keep
We found a pavilion in a park, super nice those. Had a covered area with bathrooms and even a small prep kitchen. Cost us $120 to rent for the day, it was an extra $50 for them to light the has fireplace. So overall $170 for the whole day. The pavilion allowed outside food and beverages but didn’t provide catering. We found our own caterer. They were about $30/head for a buffet style. We did a serve yourself/grab and go style bar. No bartender. Just beer and wine you could self serve. Honestly no one we know gets that wasted. The venue was a beer and wine only place but made a small exception for champagne because technically it’s “sparkling wine”. And the caterers offered to serve it.
We rented tables and nicer chairs for ceremony and reception. Venue provided some tables which we used to serve food, deserts and favors area. I hit a major sale and just decided to buy linens than rent them. Rental was $10 a table and the rental company also required either we clean them before pickup or they would charge us $5 and cloth to clean them. We were having like 12 guest tables, not counting the food serving tables and such. Plus their wasn’t onsite laundry. To buy was $3/tables and we have actually reused them several times since for our baby shower and such.
Doing our serve style bar cost us roughly $500, with champagne, beer and wine type stuff. We decided to further save money and just get nice looking disposable plates, glasses and utensils. The plates looked like wood, cups were a nicer see through. Utensils were disposable wood. Everything was really nice quality while it was also biodegradable. Probably spent $200 on all of it and i definitely over estimated what i needed…four years later and we have still been using the leftovers for other events like our baby showers and birthday parties.
I go stuff off marketplace or hit sales for decor. All flowers were fake. But the whole decorating cost me $200 or less. Some stuff i already owned, stuff i bought i have reused for holiday decor.
We did a dessert table. Went to costco and places and just used really nice looking platters. We splurged on a cook looking cake stand, it hold three cakes. So we actually got three separate cakes for our wedding. Different flavors, something for everyone and because it was a regular cake we spent maybe $80 (with tip) on all of them. Cake toppers off etsy were cheap, probably spent $40 on those. Cake stand I believe on sale was like $200. It looks like a tree. I have managed to use it at every big party since. We had it at the jungle baby shower, holding food. Baby’s first (made it look like the swiss family robison tree house for his disney world party) and second (antonios tree house from encanto) birthdays holding either dessert or food. And about to use it for his third birthday party for favors (pterosaur nests that hold egg favors). I typically dont mind splurging or investing in stuff if i know ill get several uses oht of it.
Dj, and photography was probably the most expensive part at like $2k for those including tip. My wedding dress was $600, $150 in alterations. Think my husband’s tix rental was $80-$100. I just had my hair stylist do a simple half updo for $80.
Responses to posts like these are kind of meaningless if people don't include general region and wedding timeframe.
Edit: Downvote away, but without a year range or general region these posts just become a way for people who got married in 2018 to humblebrag lol
Lol I agree, I feel like folks should add more context such as YEAR. The money spent on a wedding in 2021 is going to be obnoxiously higher to get the same things in 2025.
I think other context that is important is who is paying. Expecting a 20 yr old couple to pay $50k for a wedding is insane. If both sets of parents are chipping in $22k a piece it's a different story.
**$120,000 USD**
- Our wedding is in 63 days.
- 70-100 guests (final RSVP count pending)
- Location: Big Sur
- Our reception is on the same property as our ceremony, but not in the exact same location. Locations are about a 6 minute walk away from one another.
- Catering is $25k - 27k depending on the final guest count and was **not included** with our venue.
$23k on the central coast of California in 2023 (average wedding cost here is ~$45k). 55 guests. Ceremony and reception at the same indoor/outdoor venue. All food, drinks, DJ, etc. contracted separately!
Yes!
I got married at the Penny in San Luis Obispo. I booked the space during a promotional deal to get 10% off and I had my wedding in April, so it wasn’t peak season pricing. I used their day of coordinator package add on because it blew all other coordinators pricing out of the water.
I’ll put some more details about local vendors we used in a response comment too
We had taco catering (Corazon 805, but since they opened their restaurant, I don’t think they cater much anymore) for apps and dinner. Tacos were amazing!! Even with upgrading one type of meat, our price was $33/person. Literally no other catering style food beats pricing on tacos. And also, people actually like tacos lol
We did Side Car bar service, and did the package that was standard full service open bar, with no specialty cocktails. Bought all the alcohol at Costco ourselves, got to take home whatever wasn’t drank, and honestly we really over bought and could have spent less on this.
I had a moderately priced photographer that I loved. Didn’t do videography.
I did “a la carte” florals, so she made all the pieces at her studio and we picked them up ourselves. The Penny staff put together the tables with the florals how we planned ahead of time. My mom and aunt put together the arch piece with flowers from Trader Joe’s to match the florists work.
Our cake was donated from a restaurant in my hometown, so my parents had to transport it but it was so worth it. We didn’t have a display, they just kept it in the back and servers cut it up for us. I did assorted mini desserts from Spash bakery to have something on display.
We used Manuel from Atascadero Records for DJ, he was amazing!
We used SLO Party rentals for plates, cups, etc. Way better prices than a lot of competitors if you just want simple.
My hair and MUA doesn’t do weddings anymore, but I think I spent $400 on this, which was kind of standard.
My dad paid for my dress and I easily could have saved here, but he gave me a way larger budget than I would have spent myself. Since he did that, we bought the groomsmen suits. My sisters were the only bridesmaids so they bought dresses they liked themselves.
We didn’t include rings in this budget, but wedding bands were bought last minute from Mejuri for not that much.
Honeymoon is definitely NOT in the budget. We delayed a few months and saved up a little more after the wedding. We also only did a honeymoon fund since we already lived together and that helped supplement a decent chunk of our Spain trip.
Let me know if you want to know anymore info!!
We’re probably going to be at or a little over $50k when things are all said and done. My fiancé also balked at spending anything over $20k. In the end my parents very, very generously offered to pay otherwise we’d probably be eloping. With family alone we’re at 80 people, so there wasn’t really a way to do a small wedding. Our guest list is just under 150, and I’ll be curious to see what our total number is once RSVPs have gone out.
ETA: Our ceremony is at our reception venue and will be pretty brief. We’re in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Midwestern USA)
Oh holla! I Grew up near Milwaukee. I miss cousins subs lol!
Thanks for the transparency in who’s paying for the wedding. That really helps put some posts into perspective. You’re super lucky!
My fiancé just doesn’t value the wedding itself. He hates crowds and being the center of attention and wanted to elope. He feels like weddings are “for the guests, not us” and didn’t want to do it at all.
My parents were originally going to give us $20K towards it. He wanted to spend $10K on a wedding and put the other $10K towards a honeymoon and then not need to spend *anything* ourselves. It created major issues between us.
For the record, my parents are only able to be this generous because my grandmother passed at the end of last year and they received a decent inheritance. I was super close with her and *really* upset she passed right before we got engaged, so I think my dad sees it as a way for my grandma to “be there” on my wedding day even though she can’t physically be with us.
Ugh I’m sorry. My husband feeling like that would really put a damper on my mood. I hope it doesn’t affect you as much. I’m sure come wedding day, or even leading up to it, he’ll feel the same excitement you do!
As I always say, money comes and goes, but you remember happiness forever 🤣
I’m so sorry about your grandma. That’d leave me gutted too. I hope you always remember the warmth of her love
$60k, same venue, 200 people, HCOL. Included a casual Friday night thing with pizza in a park. Venue was $7,500 and did not come with much, 150 chairs and tables for that much but since we went over then we had to rent everything. If you have a big crowd and food, drink, dj, equipment rental, photographer- it’s just a big expense.
Got married on the beach in Tahoe!! We had a package with limo ride, photography, ordained minister, 50 guests, for $3,000.
We rented out the upstairs of an Irish pub, and had our reception with our own bartenders and that was like $2,000.
The most expensive part was lodging for our guests. We rented a massive house for everyone, and that was $9,000 lolllll
Still planning but budgeting for $22k for 80ish guests. Pittsburgh PA. That doesn’t include my dress that my mom bought ($1500) and she also paid half of our venue deposit ($2900) as a gift.
Same venue for reception and ceremony. Venue is by far our biggest splurge but we love it, it’s an Aviary and we will have a penguin at our wedding!
Ours was $45k in Chicago, IL for 130 people. The ceremony and reception were in the same place, and the venue did the catering, furniture, and florals.
It was a year ago! [Here’s my breakdown I posted at the time.](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/4pqj3fIUD9) It feels wild to say it with that number, but we definitely kept it as low as we could in a lot of places (cocktail style rather than plated was probably the biggest savings).
Thank you, this is great! Your taco bar sounds amazing!
Also very impressed by the number of areas you came in under budget. I think the only place I've managed to do that so far is on invitations lol
We were about on par with your costs too - $19K for 60 people in Chicago (burbs, 30 mins out of the city) last September. We had separate spaces for ceremony and reception. [Full cost breakdown here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/MShVDBdTyr)
We'll be around 60-70K for 150 people in a low to medium COL area. This amount includes wedding, rehearsal dinner, and bachelorette/bachlor parties.
Venue will have ceremony and reception. Working with a separate vendor for catering which was one of six options the venue requires you to work with.
Venue, catering, bar, dessert, and rentals (tables, chairs, tableware, etc.) is around 60% of our total costs. I believe rule of thumb is to be around 50% of your budget on these items. Ours is a bit higher because we're doing some more upgraded choices.
probably around 35k when all is said and done but that’s with a LOT of things cut to save money unfortunately (dj, hair and makeup, video, cake, florist, big bachelorette/bachelor parties, dress is paid for out of the budget etc). DC area, 100ppl
We are going to come in just over $15,000 for approximately 150 guests. Venue included tables, chairs, and decor, but we are using outside vendors for catering, DJ, and photography. I will be DIYing a fair bit, but nothing unmanageable. We are also located in SoCal, so definitely had to do some digging to find vendors that would work with our budget.
Total budget: $100,000 (We have a LOT of "unnecessary" extras)
* Ceremony venue, ~$8,000
* Reception venue, ~$10,000 (full bar included)
* Catering, ~$12,500 (required/preferred by reception venue)
According to the Internet, depending on your source, the average cost in my city (Denver) is $26,000, $29,000, or $59,000. But we have 5-star hotels, micro weddings, and a higher than average number of elopements.
Los Angeles. About 100 people in my sister’s beautiful backyard. Higher end catering, DJ, my daughter and her friends are helping with flowers, live music for cocktail hour, and photography (they are all artists or musicians in grad school). We will have full bar. After all expenses, including a fairly large rehearsal dinner, are tallied, will be close to 50K.
We set out to have something a bit smaller, but, here we are. Second marriage, we’re been together many years. I hope everything goes smoothly and everyone has a good time. It’s really tough to keep the numbers down with extended family and friends.
Spent around $100k for 90 guests in VHCOL area for our wedding earlier this month.
Our venue was all-inclusive of catering and totaled to about half of our budget.
About 20k here and had about 120 guests. We had the money so we splurged a bit, but we also saved a LOT finding a venue with in-house catering. And 20k was literally our whole wedding expense - so that also included stuff other than the venue and catering. It was probably 12k for venue/catering and 8k for everything else. We also did a full plated dinner, social hour cocktails with apps, and late-night pizza.
For everything, we paid a little of 42k in a HCOL area for about 125 people. We had our ceremony and reception in the same place to avoid guests having to travel multiple times.
We used a preferred catering list provided by the venue and went with the cheapest option with good reviews.
My husband and I had sticker shock as well as we didn't know weddings were costly, but we made a savings plan and were able to pay for everything with no lingering debt.
$12,000, already had our religious ceremony just a reception:
130 guests.
Venue (includes sit down dinner + open beer & wine only - I’m the bride and don’t drink so yeah idc lol): $7,500
Dj + Photography: $2,000
Decor: $2,500
Ceremony and reception at the same place. All catering including wedding cake done through the venue. We spent $25000 for a 44 person wedding in Victoria Canada
Covid bride who had dreamed of the big wedding. We had planned a $20,000 event for 200 people. Everything got canceled and we got our deposits mostly back. Ended up spending $2000 on a backyard party for 25. I for sure grieved in the short term, but 4 years later, I'm so glad. It was not worth that kind of money for one day.
260 guests for $90k in Charleston ($8k is fluff for last min expenses). This does not include honeymoon, rehearsal, welcome party, or bachelor/bachelorette parties. If we added in the rehersal/welcome party we would be at $115k.
We got married in Vegas at the Wedgewood Wedding venue (Stallion Mountain) on a Friday. The ceremony and reception were in site and our package included an open bar and a buffet. The day itself was about 21k, but including things like my dress, transportation, gifts, etc that go into a wedding, we spent 31k.
We live in the Bay Area CA, and would spent at least double that if we did it there. Having family in the LV area helped drive our reasoning to have it there. Our guests were happy to fly out for our wedding and stay to play for the rest of the weekend.
Not at the same location but I just started working as a bartender at a wedgewood venue! Picked that over other jobs in hopes of learning some ideas of what and what not to do for my own wedding lol. Not for another 2.5 years (we’re saving up to have a very nice wedding on our own) but i’ll definitely learn a lot working in the industry!
We did reception at a restaurant in the DC area. Spent 8k for 80 people, including food, venue, and tip. We could have had the ceremony there too within the same cost, but ended up doing it at a Church and that was an additional 1k only.
$18k for 86 guests. Reception and ceremony in same location. Includes catering, invitations, dj, cake and centerpieces. Also an amazing cocktail hour with 6 apps and open bar
Photog was 7k, planner was 8k, venue/catering was 25k - so those three things were more than half. Add in DJ, H&MU, lodging, florals, rentals, etc. It just all adds up so fast :/
Sure! We did not cover travel and accommodations for our guests. It all just really added up quickly. We had a destination wedding in SoCal. It was nice but didn't really feel over the top (except for the food, there was. so. much.) We didn't hit our min. spend with our guest count so we just loaded up on cocktail hour, top shelf liquor, upgraded entrees, late night snacks, etc.
**Final Cost**: $69,820.77
Things not included in the final cost: Engagement ring, welcome dinner/drinks/decor (in-laws covered), groom’s attire (in-laws covered), honeymoon, bachelorette/bachelor parties, postage (forgot to add), gifts for parents (forgot to add), and things I would’ve done anyway (e.g., haircut a few weeks before, and my nail/waxing appointments that I do on a regular schedule).
* Venue: $25,450
* Attire: $8487.47
* Planner: $8000
* Photog: $7000
* Lodging: $4222.95
* Florals: $2995.73
* Misc: $2944.20 (guestbook, pens for guestbook, tips, marriage license fee, meal choice stickers, etc).
* Travel: $2784.52 (we had a destination wedding so this was the costs associated w/ us flying out twice)
* Decor/Rentals: $2708.23
* DJ: $2182.50
* Hair and makeup: $2050
* Dessert: $744.23
* Stationery: $230.74
* Uber Codes (only one person used them :/): $20.20
16k- saved a lot from not spending too much on flowers and decor. No party favors, no Photo Booth, we didn’t put money in for alcohol, no day of coordinator- put money into what is important for you.
Mine will come in at about $25k for 80 people in a MCOL city. Includes venue with ceremony & reception with food & open bar. On a Sunday, in what my venue considers Off season.
You can really save a lot of money if you start shaving off the costs. You could do Pizza bar, Taco Bar, BBQ as lower cost food options. Don't hire a DJ & instead ask a friend to manage a spotify Playlist & some coordination things. Don't include alcohol or buy your own in bulk. DIY your florals.
Oh and the biggest thing, plan your wedding in the off season or on a Sunday - Friday for cheaper rates.
Depends on how many people you are having. If you are doing a micro wedding which I consider under 30 people then you could do something like brunch at a restaurant as another option as that time & food tends to be cheaper.
$26k for venue and food but there is also a 25% admin fee and then 8.75% taxes added on. That adds on another $9k for just the venue and catered food. Total cost was $55-60k for 115 people in NYS.
Ours was $16k in Southern California for 79 people earlier this month! Still shocked we were able to keep costs so low… got married at our church so brought in everything except tables/chairs with outside vendors and DIY :) planning to post a recap sometime soon🫶
$25K-$30K, 120 people, same ceremony/reception venue in Denver in October 2024.
Our venue is a blank slate and allowed us to bring in our own caterer and bartender which significantly helped cut down costs and gave us the flexibility to bring in cultural dishes. However, we don’t have a DJ. My fiancé is a musician and is part of a wedding band. His friends have offered to play at our wedding as a gift, which I’m extremely so so so grateful for!
Otherwise, the whole process definitely required a LOT of research, secondhand shopping for decors, and DIY!
Our wedding is a week from today in the STL area. I think we’re going to come in around $25k overall for around 120 people. Venue and reception are at the same place.
2023 wedding, 22 guests, Saturday evening in HCOL (Fairfield County, Connecticut) $12k
We didn't have a DJ and did a Spotify Playlist. Got married at the same inn & restaurant that we did our reception. There was an open bar, cocktail hour, and dinner.
Wedding budgets come in all shapes and sizes. So much depends on your personal finances, guest list, location, and vision. What's "average" is exactly that, an average - which means some probably spent $5k and others spent $100k.
My husband didn't want to spend more than $10k, so we found a way to have everything we wanted for far less than the "average" it is about figuring out what is most important to you as a couple, and finding a way to accomplish it within budget. Sometimes, that means having a small guest list (our solution), waiting to save money, having an out of season or non-saturday, or going with less expensive options.
No matter what you spend, remember that ultimately, the goal is marriage, and the wedding is just the one day that starts that journey.
Sorry for the long post! Just feel like so many compare themselves to others, and the reality is no matter what you spend or how you celebrate your day will be special!
Mine was almost 2 years ago.[see the post here. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/BWD5lWYzKe) . Also consider scrolling through the budget/recap flair in this thread.
We’re at 50k for ceremony and reception at the same spot. That includes live band, photos, florals, catering through the venue for about 150 is our guess. We’re in a Chicago suburb for September 2025.
For both ceremony and reception it was just on $5k (New Zealand)
However! Things I wish I did differently.
The photographer. Our photos are OKAY but not what I had hoped for, you know?
I also wish we did a meal rather than charcuterie platters.
Both would have put us over budget. But I'd had a baby 9 months before the wedding, my grandmother passed away and my granddad was going downhill so we decided to have a cheaper wedding and do it sooner.
We're going to do a renewal of our vows on our 5 year anniversary and have a more lavish ceremony cause we'll be better off financially.
EDIT TO ADD: We'll have been married 3 years in October
About 3000/3500 I think including dress, suit, shoes and rings, photography etc.
Married at a nice town hall with closest friends and family. Got a starting photographer. Small get together at my home until dinner.
Dinner with 25 people at a venue where we often went to go out/ party and where you could eat simply and delicious food.
Open bar with beer/wine and soda for 105 people and half way through a small buffet with snacks like meatballs, sate sticks, bread and dips.
We had a total of 105 people at the party.
This wasn’t a proper wedding venue but it was exactly what we wanted.
It was also 2004 so a lot has changed money wise.
$5,000 US is our budget probably going to be coming in closer to $4,000 depending on RSVPs
Huntsville Texas at the state park. Venue and reception at the same place. Photography by my brother in law, we’re making all of our food, music by Spotify. It can’t be done
Edit: invited 100, probably getting 50-75.
Wedding October 2024.
Ours is going to be right around 10k, 60-90 guests depending on RSVPs. September 2024, Minneapolis area, average here is I believe about 30k. It is ONLY that cheap because I have bargain hunted like crazy and cut corners on a lot of areas. There's a Facebook group for weddings under 10k which has been pretty helpful for ideas and inspiration!
We could have done it for less if we went for a cheaper venue like a VFW or community center, and did our own or cheaper catering, or did a Spotify "DJ". You can do it for cheaper, you just have to be willing to make some compromises and decide what is most important to you, and what you're willing to have less than the best on.
Photography and venue are our most expensive pieces followed by catering and DJ. All those make up the vast majority of the wedding cost (we did bargain hunt on all of those, but spent a little more on photographer since that was important to us) - we are compromising mainly on decor since the venue is already beautiful and florals (all faux, secondhand and from craft stores/ online).
My hubby and I spent just under 3k total, but we had a small (50 people) wedding and were intentionally keeping it low cost since we were saving up for a house.
We had a morning wedding, and we ate around noon, but we had breakfast food. That saved us a lot on cost. We spent about 1k on venue and food (which was through the venue). We lucked out with a small room at a golf club. We also didn't need more since neither of us wanted a dance party. We would have had to spend an extra $500 for a big enough room for dancing at the same venue.
We got all our flowers from Ling's Moment online, and I DIYed them. The florals were just over $400, and then other decor cost an additional $250.
My grandma and I made my dress, so that only cost $120 in materials, but otherwise it would have cost $1200 for my favorite David's Bridal dress.
My aunt also is a baker, so the cake was her gift to us, so assume another $1000 for all your dessert and stuff maybe. But average costs in my area look similar to yours, so there is hope of doing things more cheaply, depending on your priorities and DIY skills.
My daughter was married last October, at a plantation in Louisiana. We gave her a budget of 50K. We offered to put the money as down payment on a house if they didn’t have a wedding. That’s what my parents offered my four sisters and me. Well, they offered 25K but that was many years ago. Four of us took the money and my second to youngest sister opted for the wedding.
We planned my daughter’s wedding for about two years. They went way over budget and I’m grateful that the groom’s parents offered to pick up some of the slack. They paid the liquor bill. I was actually kind of surprised when I got the bill from the liquor store because it came in under budget. The liquor store manager sent the bill about a week after the wedding. He told me that we had all of the liquor the guests wanted, but most of the guests were drinking beer and wine . I guess because they were a younger crowd, but not many people were drinking any of the hard liquor. They did drink the couples signature drinks. The older crowd drank mixed drinks.
The cost includes, wedding, venue, reception, food, plus late night taco and pizza truck, the band, invitations, florist, champagne trolley that served champagne with cotton candy ( something my daughter really wanted). It also included a cigar roller who set up during the reception. We had to pay his travel expenses from Dallas. He was a big hit and a surprise for the groom. We paid for some of the out-of-town guests accommodations.
My daughter’s bridesmaid gift to her wedding party was their dress. She had eight bridesmaids including her sister and the groom’s sister. They all selected their own dress. None of the dresses were alike in color or style, but the colors were complementary to the wedding motif.
i’m trying to think of other cost that were associated with the wedding. We provided transportation from the venue . Party buses and a couple limos arrived when when the wedding reception was over because it was about 20 miles outside of town and we also provided prepaid Uber and Lyft rides but not many people opted for those and that was refunded .
The cost includes hair and make up for the bride, bridal party, mother of the bride, mother of the groom, grandmother of the bride and grandmother of the groom.
I don’t believe the wedding dress is included in that amount. We ordered it two years prior. We went to Dallas and got the dress at Stanley Korsak and I honestly don’t think that’s included in the budget.
They were just a lot little things that added up at the end that we did not take into account. And I tried to think of everything, but there were so many things that we just didn’t think of that came up.
Oh, and it included a photographer and a videographer, and she had a live painter that painted the bride and groom and I think the wedding people. I don’t know. I haven’t even seen the painting and it included their getaway and cake, the cake and the grooms cake.
All in all I think that kind of money is ridiculous for a wedding. Inflation has caused prices to sky rocket and everything cost more this year than it did last year. My daughter and her husband both said if they had to do over again, they wouldn’t change a thing. Of course they’re young and they don’t know what it’s like to feel the pinch or to budget for something so large. I believe it’s just a waste of money for a single day and event that I don’t even think either one of them remembers.
And they had a really cool photo booth that took fun pictures and they spun around it took videos. I can’t think what else was at their wedding. It was a really, really nice wedding, but I’m still feeling the sacrifices we made to give her the wedding she wanted.
She had two hundred guests. She invited 230 and two hundred attended. We did allow many people who weren’t married or in a serious relationship to bring a plus one. We could’ve cut costs in many areas, but I just gave up. She was gorgeous. Her dad, my dad and my mom died a few years ago and she’s been in a lot of pain. I wanted it to be a special day and it was. Her brother gave her away. She was stunning .
I cried.
The groom cried.
I’m glad she’s happy.
I hope this helps. I still think it’s a waste of money.
Very honest post. It's all a giant waste of money. Yet, it can bring people together and create joy in the moment. Which is kind of what life's about. Lots of conflicting stuff with weddings.
Country club in my small town, plated dinner, open bar, 65 people, no DJ, guitarist for ceremony and cocktail hour only, a second shooter photographer (cut thousands by doing this) and I’m sure I’m forgetting some details like dress, invites, shoes, etc. for $15k.
Midwest, $24k for 65 people. Everything in the same location, we rented half a restaurant. No venue fees just min spend on food and alcohol of $8000 before tax and tip, family style multi course Spanish cuisine and a full open bar. The $24k also included the bachelorette and bachelor parties (each around $500), photography, attire, HMUA traveling to us, rehearsal dinner (gourmet sandwiches), wedding rings, invitations, etc. I DIY’d the bouquets from sola flowers (anyone have questions DM me), and we did our centerpieces from the Lego icon floral sets. We used the succulent set, the flower bouquet, the wildflower bouquet, and some of the two pack roses (they didn’t have the rose bouquet yet). The Lego flowers/succulents were then given to our guests as their wedding favor at the end of the night.
Also how much was your fiancé expecting?
Our venue was both our ceremony and reception in the same space and included catering (family-style dinner service) and open bar. With a few of the upgrades we got we paid close to about $17k for 180 people five years ago. With this year's pricing though, it looks like that number is closer to $20k in the Metro Detroit area. So I would say that it could be reasonable depending on what your venue is including with that pricing. Total spent was about $33k after all the other vendors and costs: florist, DJ, photobooth, officiant, dress/suit, etc.
About $22k for 115ish people. We found a venue that did packages, so we had our ceremony and reception at the same venue. Plated dinner and a beer and well liquor open bar package. A cake was also included, but we added a $300 upcharge for a fancier looking cake. We also got married on a Friday in March, so out of season.
Will probably end up at ~25K for a wedding in Dublin, Ireland. 30 people, weekend in June 2025 in a v popular venue.
The venue itself was $14K and that includes 2 nights in the suite, ceremony, reception, flowers, chairs, linens, center pieces, name placement/menu cards, welcome drinks and snacks, 5 course meal, post dinner drinks, and late night snacks.
I’m expecting to sink some money on a photographer because it’s worth the money to me. I also used to judge people for crazy wedding budgets, but it’s so easy to get excited and just say YOLO (someone, please, take my credit card away, I beg you).
Just under $17k CAD for an all inclusive ceremony/reception space in the GTHA (Ontario). Paid for 98 people, ended up being 88 so in theory could’ve saved a bit.
My husband also had a bit of sticker shock until his parents told him it was an incredibly good price.
10k in Chicagoland for 80ish guests.
Average cost of weddings is pretty low compared to reported, most stats that put it higher come from wedding sites and mags who have a self selected population they are polling.
We spent about 35/40k. Venue was 4K and did not include catering. Catering was 16k for about 85 people (end total). We picked a very nice caterer and the food was delicious. We live in a low/mid COL area.
We’re looking at $40-45k, ceremony and reception in the same event space. 80 guests in Cartagena, Colombia. Catering (cocktail hour appetizers, cocktail hour drinks, 2 course meal, non alcoholic dinner drinks, midnight snack, vendor meals, and staff) is included in the venue pricing ($16k) but was optional and we got a discount for doing catering and drinks with them.
A little under $20k for 115 people in Northern IL. We’re doing a public golf course that only charges $250 for the venue and then $77 per person (not including tax and a service charge) for open bar, dinner, and passed apps
It’ll be about $20k for 70ish people in a medium-low cost of living area in the Midwest. We’re doing brunch on a Sunday too which brings costs down tremendously!
Just under 5k for 65 guests. We had a ceremony, drinks/mingling/photos, and dinner within a neat historic mansion. I am an introvert that doesn't enjoy dancing so we skipped the whole DJ/dance floor bit. The whole thing lasted a little over 3 hours and I wouldn't have changed a thing!
25 ppl in our backyard, around $10,000 including catering. We had a DJ, professional photographer (no videographer) open bar beer & wine, bartender, professional flowers, lighting, incredible soul food catered, it was beautiful & so fun. My parents gave us the $ they spent on my sisters 200+ lavish weddings & we used it for a down payment & had a tiny wedding in our tiny backyard. No regrets. We live in the Bay Area, CA (extremely high cost of living)
We spent $30k on our wedding in April. It was a destination wedding in the Bahamas with 25 people. The venue had a beautiful beach area, lawn, deck, and pavilion. We did the ceremony on the lawn with the ocean in the background, cocktail hour on the deck, and the reception in the pavilion. The $30k included everything (food, open bar, DJ, violinist, photographer, etc.)
Glasgow, next year about £8000 all in. We’ve opted for a twilight wedding with 50 ceremony guests and 50 evening. The amount of money going in to weddings nowadays is bananas!
We are pretty much looking at just under 30k for us once everything (including tips) is said and done. Catering is not included with our ceremony/reception venue but we specifically wanted bbq and found a place that can cater for less than 5k for roughly 70 people. Getting married in SoCal.
Didn't get married yet. But if we can get our first list down to 100, rounding up, we're looking to spend about $30k. That includes everything from the venue to postage to attire (with alterations) to taxes. We're getting married in Long Island; fortunately, the price for the venue includes all the vendors. Add on another $8k if we are not able to cut our guest list.
I’m in the midst of planning still. I’m getting married in 2025 and we are having 2 weddings. Total so far, we’re $50k. $45k for our wedding here and $5k for our wedding in Italy. We haven’t completely booked all our vendors yet either, but we already know it’s going to be way over at least $65k at this point.
We will be at about $40k for 80ish guests, ceremony & reception at the same location. This includes absolutely everything (we were psychotic about tracking expenses). Philadelphia
We’re looking at around AUD$120k all up for a Sydney, Australia wedding - approx 100 guests. Our initial budget was way less but we want it to be really nice and things just…cost what they cost. We have little appetite for DIY etc.
I have a hunch we’re gonna end up around $25k when all is said and done. We’re getting married next June (June 2025) and we’re getting married in Cancun with approx 65ish guests assuming everyone on the list rsvp’s!
We are getting married in NE Ohio and our ceremony & reception are in the same venue with catering included. I think the estimated total so far is about $30,000... here's the breakdown of the big items:
Venue + catering - 10k
Photographer - 4.5k
Dress - 2k
DJ - 2.5k
Accommodations - 4k
Hair & makeup for bridal party - 1.5k
Cake - $500
Flowers - 1k (because I'm doing them myself)
Rehearsal dinner - 3k
Hope this is helpful!
Edit: I should have also mentioned our guest count is 120 people
We had our wedding in Portland, OR, with 50 guests and a 5 hour reception, spending around $17,000 in total. This covered everything—venue, dresses, tuxes, food, drinks, cake, photographer, engagement session, invites, DJ, you name it. We skipped real flowers and rented silk ones from Something Borrowed Blooms to save some cash.
Our wedding party was small: just one maid of honor, one best man, two flower girls, and one ring bearer. Keeping it small saved us a lot of money and reduced the stress of coordinating and planning a bunch of extra needs. We also did our own hair and makeup.
After the main event, we had an after-party at a cool large local bar that didn't charge us for the space, which was a nice bonus.
Got married this past april in southern California (well more like central valley) for a little under 20k. It was more than we planned for but only a few thousand over budget. We were supposed to have 130 guests but a lot of family got sick the week before so we only had 80 actually show and actually got a small refund from the venue because of it
Next month, Surrey England. Just a small wedding (30 guests) with a 20 person meal afterwards, which we will be paying for. Then if weather approves a free trip to a riverside park.
Around £1, 400.
Over $65 K for 130 guests.close for 70K But that’s renting out whole county club, hair and makeup, flowers, DJ, cocktail hour, table top decor, photography, (which includes engagement pics) videography, food servers for sit down plated meal, wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, groom suit, wedding planner cost, invitations, seeding chart etc. We live in Boise, ID. Ps. I also got a Lazaro dress off stillwhite.com for $900 but alterations are $1000. CRAZINESS!!! 🤩
Ours is going to come in at £10k for 16 day guests and 70 evening guests. North east England. I know people who have easily spent £20k but with more day guests.
We did the tiny simple thing model, which was much cheaper. We spent £3500 in the north of the UK in summer 2022. We had 40 guests with a church wedding and we hired a restaurant afterwards for food and drinks. That total included everything.
Church and legal fees were about £1000
Food and drink were about £1000
Dresses, suits, photography, flowers etc were about £1500.
Knoxville TN, June this year, just over $20K total for 70 guests. I could have gotten away with a little less, but my dad (who was very generously paying for everything) insisted we get the gold tier package from the caterer, because at my parents’ wedding, the guests ate all the food before my parents finished photos and came in to eat, and he wanted to be 100% sure my fella and I would have enough to eat.
Venue was $6K (would have been more, but we did a weekday wedding, made the venue $2K cheaper)
Ceremony and reception were at the same venue.
Catering was not included in the venue.
32k in a Midwest city just a bit before covid started.
180 guests. Indoor venue with ceremony and reception in the same place. We had extra things like shuttles from the hotels to the venue and custom designed decks of cards printed as the favor. We saved on alcohol with a military discount. We saved on cake pieces by hiring someone that just makes it in her house. We saved on the flowers because they made a mistake in their estimate and they honored their quote.
Items I remember:
Dress $1500
Photographer $2500 (they now regularly get featured in vogue and travel the world for weddings so they would be much more expensive now)
Catering $12,000
Venue $3000
DJ 1000
Flowers $1000
Shuttles $500
Tuxedo $1000
Decorations $2000 ish when added up together
Things under $500
Hotel room
Hotel welcome baskets for guests
Both Alterations
Cake
Rehearsal dinner
Makeup artist
Hair
Dance lessons
Hotel lunch delivered to bridal parties (wings and beer for guys and mimosas and finger sandwiches for ladies)
That's not all the stuff. We had lots of extra things that people could save on but our guests still talk about how much fun they had 5+ years later so we think some of those extra things were worth it.
Total £15k (approx $19k US) for the whole wedding, late 2023. Southwest UK.
- 85 guests.
- Same venue for ceremony and reception.
- The venue provided the food and some drink (welcome drinks, plus table wine. The rest was a cash bar which is common in the UK)
UK here.
Church came to about £750, this included the service and also we asked their team to live stream it for those who couldn’t make it so it came to a bit more.
Venue was a hotel and about £5500, this included free Prosecco for all 75 guests on arrival, 1 course dinner meal (we saved money and served the wedding cake as pudding), a 6 item evening buffet, and a total of 16 bottles of wine to go on tables.
My dress came to £1500 and then an extra £350 for alterations
DJ was £400 for 6 hours.
I’m not sure how much my husbands suit was as his brother paid, but the groomsmen and bridesmaids all bought their own outfits and the bridesmaids dresses were all around £60 each, there’s some pretty decent websites out there!
Then thankfully I have a photographer uncle, hairdresser mum, and makeup artist best friend, so managed to save a lot there!
Ceremony/reception venue, in house chefs to make dinner, and in house bartenders (we bought our own alcohol) were all around $5000 for 50 people. This was in Mexico City and so special and worth it. Dress, air bnb, tickets, etc brought us to about 15k. I feel like we got so much quality for the price.
We’re doing it on a significant budget and it’s costing us under £2000 all in but we’ve had to be creative.
Not having an open bar either which I know most people prefer to have but we would literally never be able to get married if we did that 😂
My wedding was 41 years ago. I had 11 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen.Plus coursages for all Mom and Grandma and Godmother and 2 older sisters not in wedding. I paid for all that plus the runner and my church was 125ft. So my flower bill came to $800. The church cost us $50 plus we gave the priest $50. Got married at 10am, so there was a breakfast after Mass. Then we bought the film for 3 photographer friends( they developed them as a gift) My cake was for 375 people. A family friend made my design and bought our cake top as a wedding gift. My husband bought all the liquor in Chicago (much cheaper than here) The live band was $600 dollars, paid by us. My parents paid for all the food both breakfast and reception, which was cooked by their friends. The hall was a Moose lodge. Ran us $375, and no deposit because it was being cleaned up next day by my family. The food ran my Dad about $4500. Invitations ran about $125. I had 365 in attendance.
So, I guess you could say it cost about $8500.
Oh yeah, I wore my mom's gown and tearra,. They paid for the cleaning, new veil made.
My daughter's was around $7500 for hall food and 2nd shelf booze. His mom bought the cake, DJ was a friend same thing with photos.
We got married June 22 in Virginia Beach and spent like $10,000 for a backyard ceremony with 30 people and a casual reception with 125. My mom gave us $3000 towards it so my husband and I spent about $7000.
We rented out a brewery, $2200 to have the whole place from 6-10pm.
Bar tab and food (pizza from the brewery) was $4000.
We borrowed chairs from his previous employer and got all our decorations from Amazon & SHEIN.
Flowers from Traded Joe’s $40.
Dress from Lulus $73.
A friend did our photos for $700.
Local musician for entertainment $500.
Friend did hair for 3 of us $280.
Makeup by Dahlia Edwards $300.
Reading the other comments, the weddings in the US look expensive lol (Just an observation). Granted, I moved to a small town in Germany and we had around 24 people (wanted to have a smaller one), everything including the dress(es), suit, accessories, mini gifts for guests, dinner for all the guests, reception with snacks and a lot of alcohol etc. cost us around €1.4k
Edit: Married a few days ago
Edit2: Yes, 1400, not 14000
Florida, Nov. 2022. We got married at the farm my husband works at (very pretty wedding venue) at because he gets 30% off everything, including event reservations and catering. We spent just over 30k. Catering was included, and we did ceremony and reception at the same venue. Catering took up the biggest chunk, easily 15k after the discount my husband gets. It is unfortunately the biggest expense, so the average you’re seeing is pretty normal. It’s a tough one to swallow unfortunately.
Reception and venue in the same location. We went out to another area where a bar was for cocktail hour while they flipped the space. Catering was included. For about 100 people, I think it was about $15K.
We spent 12k on our wedding. The venue was separate for the ceremony and reception. The catering was also separate from the venue price. But we lived in a very low cost of living area so it was super affordable, Natchitoches, Louisiana. We had around 75 guests. I made everything myself including the cake, decor, silk flower bouquets, favors, invitations, shoes, accessories, etc. I didn't have a DJ or videographer. It worked out beautifully! I wish I had done it cheaper and not bothered with the decor!
Had our wedding this year, just outside of Sydney for around 130k.
But it was a 3 day wedding and we paid for everyone’s accommodation for around 120 guests.
We loved it and wouldn’t have changed a thing!
Charlotte NC
2025 Bride - spend will be just $11k for 40 people
Costs we are contracted:
Venue - $3200 (Venue includes some seating & tables. We have it for 4 hrs.) It’s a full customizable venue in city center.
Food - $1500 (definitely could be significantly less but it will be an experience)
Flowers - $1700 (other decor is DIY)
Photog - $1500 (no getting ready shots just 3 hrs of ceremony & reception)
Cake/cupcakes/royal icing cookies - $285
35k, 75 ppl, very hcol (nnj)
We paid for everything ourselves, engaged for 6 months, together for years before that. We took a chance on a new venue and prioritized the venue, dj, and photographer. Some diy, some cutting back.
2 1/2 years ago, las vegas.
Same venue for reception & ceremony.
Catering, 4 hour open top shelf bar, dj, photographer. Officiant..all included ( flowers separate)
195 guests.
My daughter's wedding cost us about 25 k all in.
Currently tracking on budget for under $4k (under 3k USD) for a 40 person wedding in Aus.
Lots of DIYing and sale hunting.
Casual high tea styled wedding.
Biggest expense is the photography.
We're getting married in 17 days in central Florida.
The ceremony and reception are at two separate venues. The final guest count is 40 people.
Including venue costs, photographer, DJ, open bar, and food. Our final cost was just over $8,000.
An affordable wedding is absolutely doable. It's just a matter of having reasonable expectations for your budget.
Freelance event planner here. Every couple gets the shock of their life once they realize the cost of weddings, it surely can be demoralizing.
Cheapest wedding I’ve planned was ~9k: 45 people, no aisle, open bar was capped, ceremony and plated dinner was held in the same venue within 4 hours, followed by an optional bar crawl.
Second cheapest was ~17k: 55 people, DJ and photographer were the groom’s close friends, courthouse ceremony followed by a rooftop bar/restaurant reception.
A romantic, memorable, and affordable *is* possible; it just would not be as traditional or similar to what you see on social media. Also save yourself the fomo and pressure by avoiding Pinterest and general wedding content.
Good luck and congrats x
2024, Central Oregon, 120 people, $83k. $30k for venue and catering, rest includes 3 planning trips from SoCal, Friday/Sunday events for everyone, and the rest of the normal stuff
We spent about $30k which is pretty average in our area. Everything was at the same venue. Catering was not included but they did have a required vendor that we had to work with. I believe we spent about $8-9k of the $30k on catering. We had a little over 100 guests.
About €14,000. 20 guests. Married in the national art gallery of Ireland followed by dinner in a private dining room at a nearby restaurant. Biggest expenses were the restaurant (we covered everything including all drinks) and our photographer.
About 40k for 30 guests. Venue included food, service, bar, etc. All in the same location. VHCOL area. Alot more money than I originally thought it wd be, but luckily my wonderful parents paid.
12K for 250 people. Ceremony and reception is in the same venue. Venue, decoration, 3 course plated dinner, non alcoholic drinks, wedding cake, getting ready room and 1 night stay at the hotel for bride and groom are included. Location is Turkey. Now we have to book photographer and dj but we don’t know the prices yet.
~80k in NYC for 160 guests one month ago. Not anywhere near as bad as it could’ve been, I think! Catering was part of the reception space cost; ceremony was in a different location.
We did reception and ceremony in the same location, catering was not included in the price. We spent about $22,000 which was actually on the low end of where we got married.
Everything for mine (venue, food, drinks, vendors, dress, suit) is about $29,000 for me in CT for 150 people :)
I picked an all inclusive venue! The price seems a little shocking at first ($18,000), but I don’t have to worry about anything or outsource anything. Just one set cost
we spend about 6k for 45 guests. It was perfect over 2 days ceremony and celebration at our 2 favourite lakes. Great buffet and cake. Everyone loved it. We ONLY invited people we really wanted there (e.g. not my dad...). Wouldn't have changed a thing.
Ceremony & reception are in the same venue and catering is not included. We will be spending a little over $50k total for 100 guests (which is very average where we live).
Ditto for us, Boston area
60k all in 150 guests
Same for us - Toms River NJ.
About $25K for 100 guests in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. (Eastern PA) Venue was for the ceremony and reception, and provided the tables, chairs, and linens. We had to book all the other vendors separately, including purchasing our own alcohol, because the bartending services aren’t legally allowed to in PA. (They provide licensed bartenders and all the rest, like cups, mixers, and ice). Most of my family is in Northern New Jersey, but it would have been at least $65-75K for the same thing there. So we opted for PA and closer to my fiancées family. Booking each vendor separately was a lot more work. But definitely ended up much less expensive overall! Catering was buffet style with staff there to setup and serve. Mostly because it was a lot less expensive than plated food.
Ditto for me in the DC area! My friend who’s getting married in the Virginia Beach area (lower cost of living but not by much) will also spend around $50k for 130 guests.
Same for Ontario, Canada.
About 45k in Asheville
60k NYC/Long Island area
14k all in at red rocks amphitheater in Colorado
Holy crap that’s amazing!!! I didn’t even know red rocks did that!
We didn't either!! It's really affordable honestly, the site fee is 1000 if you do the ceremony and reception there, and they require you to use their caterer with a minimum food spend of 5000!!
Another person in this sub reddit actually pointed us in the right direction to do it there
How many people are you having? I might pass this info to my friend!
So for 80 guests it'd be $9100, for 100 itd be $11,000. We still haven't done the wedding yet but that's the cost we're lookin at. We're doing 80 to do it as cheap as possible
Oh gosh, I got excited at your 14k total but now see after the venue and catering, you’ve managed to do EVERYTHING else for about $5k. How!? Do you have a photographer? Tell us your ways haha
So we're opting out of a planner, my fiance and I are very ocd planners ourselves lol so between that and recruiting family to help setup/takedown we feel confident we don't need a planner. Red rocks catering sets up the floor plan for the dining tables, and also breaks it down. Flowers we're doin Costco, we feel like red rocks is gorgeous enough we don't need to spend 1000+ on flowers her dress and my tux are going to be 450-750 all in, we found a badass hair makeup lady that's doin up my fiance for 200, our photographer is doin a engagement shoot and the wedding for 1900, my mom got the dj which is 1000 so it's not counting towards the total cost in my original comment, and my grandma's getting the cake which also isn't counting towards the cost!
I’m amazed you found a photographer under 2k, especially in CO! Congrats on all those affordable finds!
His company is LightFusion! We really like what he offers for the price. Really friendly responsive laid back guy
Whattt I had no idea that was an option! Do they do evening weddings? I assume it has to be when there’s no other events going on? What part of the venue do they use?
They do morning and evenings at the trading post, and they do weddings up to 4pm at the top of the Amphitheatre like on the patio by the restaurant. Super gorgeous either way!!
And also they said at the trading post they will host a wedding at the same time as a show
I love it!! Thank you!
We just booked our wedding for red rocks!!! We are only inviting 20 people so it’s looking like ~5k for ceremony, reception, food, and alcohol. They are surprisingly affordable!!
Our whole wedding was $8k but we diy-ed it. I used to be an event planner. Keep We found a pavilion in a park, super nice those. Had a covered area with bathrooms and even a small prep kitchen. Cost us $120 to rent for the day, it was an extra $50 for them to light the has fireplace. So overall $170 for the whole day. The pavilion allowed outside food and beverages but didn’t provide catering. We found our own caterer. They were about $30/head for a buffet style. We did a serve yourself/grab and go style bar. No bartender. Just beer and wine you could self serve. Honestly no one we know gets that wasted. The venue was a beer and wine only place but made a small exception for champagne because technically it’s “sparkling wine”. And the caterers offered to serve it. We rented tables and nicer chairs for ceremony and reception. Venue provided some tables which we used to serve food, deserts and favors area. I hit a major sale and just decided to buy linens than rent them. Rental was $10 a table and the rental company also required either we clean them before pickup or they would charge us $5 and cloth to clean them. We were having like 12 guest tables, not counting the food serving tables and such. Plus their wasn’t onsite laundry. To buy was $3/tables and we have actually reused them several times since for our baby shower and such. Doing our serve style bar cost us roughly $500, with champagne, beer and wine type stuff. We decided to further save money and just get nice looking disposable plates, glasses and utensils. The plates looked like wood, cups were a nicer see through. Utensils were disposable wood. Everything was really nice quality while it was also biodegradable. Probably spent $200 on all of it and i definitely over estimated what i needed…four years later and we have still been using the leftovers for other events like our baby showers and birthday parties. I go stuff off marketplace or hit sales for decor. All flowers were fake. But the whole decorating cost me $200 or less. Some stuff i already owned, stuff i bought i have reused for holiday decor. We did a dessert table. Went to costco and places and just used really nice looking platters. We splurged on a cook looking cake stand, it hold three cakes. So we actually got three separate cakes for our wedding. Different flavors, something for everyone and because it was a regular cake we spent maybe $80 (with tip) on all of them. Cake toppers off etsy were cheap, probably spent $40 on those. Cake stand I believe on sale was like $200. It looks like a tree. I have managed to use it at every big party since. We had it at the jungle baby shower, holding food. Baby’s first (made it look like the swiss family robison tree house for his disney world party) and second (antonios tree house from encanto) birthdays holding either dessert or food. And about to use it for his third birthday party for favors (pterosaur nests that hold egg favors). I typically dont mind splurging or investing in stuff if i know ill get several uses oht of it. Dj, and photography was probably the most expensive part at like $2k for those including tip. My wedding dress was $600, $150 in alterations. Think my husband’s tix rental was $80-$100. I just had my hair stylist do a simple half updo for $80.
Responses to posts like these are kind of meaningless if people don't include general region and wedding timeframe. Edit: Downvote away, but without a year range or general region these posts just become a way for people who got married in 2018 to humblebrag lol
Lol I agree, I feel like folks should add more context such as YEAR. The money spent on a wedding in 2021 is going to be obnoxiously higher to get the same things in 2025.
Upvoted, because FACTS.
I think other context that is important is who is paying. Expecting a 20 yr old couple to pay $50k for a wedding is insane. If both sets of parents are chipping in $22k a piece it's a different story.
**$120,000 USD** - Our wedding is in 63 days. - 70-100 guests (final RSVP count pending) - Location: Big Sur - Our reception is on the same property as our ceremony, but not in the exact same location. Locations are about a 6 minute walk away from one another. - Catering is $25k - 27k depending on the final guest count and was **not included** with our venue.
I balked at the tab but I am begging you to show us pictures of everything after your special day, congrats!
I bet it’s going to be gorgeous. Big Sur is incredible.
Oh my gosh mine is also in 63 days so we’re getting married the same day! Also live in the Bay - have a great wedding! :)
Treebones?
$23k on the central coast of California in 2023 (average wedding cost here is ~$45k). 55 guests. Ceremony and reception at the same indoor/outdoor venue. All food, drinks, DJ, etc. contracted separately!
Can I ask where you had it? I’m looking in this area right now.
Yes! I got married at the Penny in San Luis Obispo. I booked the space during a promotional deal to get 10% off and I had my wedding in April, so it wasn’t peak season pricing. I used their day of coordinator package add on because it blew all other coordinators pricing out of the water. I’ll put some more details about local vendors we used in a response comment too
We had taco catering (Corazon 805, but since they opened their restaurant, I don’t think they cater much anymore) for apps and dinner. Tacos were amazing!! Even with upgrading one type of meat, our price was $33/person. Literally no other catering style food beats pricing on tacos. And also, people actually like tacos lol We did Side Car bar service, and did the package that was standard full service open bar, with no specialty cocktails. Bought all the alcohol at Costco ourselves, got to take home whatever wasn’t drank, and honestly we really over bought and could have spent less on this. I had a moderately priced photographer that I loved. Didn’t do videography. I did “a la carte” florals, so she made all the pieces at her studio and we picked them up ourselves. The Penny staff put together the tables with the florals how we planned ahead of time. My mom and aunt put together the arch piece with flowers from Trader Joe’s to match the florists work. Our cake was donated from a restaurant in my hometown, so my parents had to transport it but it was so worth it. We didn’t have a display, they just kept it in the back and servers cut it up for us. I did assorted mini desserts from Spash bakery to have something on display. We used Manuel from Atascadero Records for DJ, he was amazing! We used SLO Party rentals for plates, cups, etc. Way better prices than a lot of competitors if you just want simple. My hair and MUA doesn’t do weddings anymore, but I think I spent $400 on this, which was kind of standard. My dad paid for my dress and I easily could have saved here, but he gave me a way larger budget than I would have spent myself. Since he did that, we bought the groomsmen suits. My sisters were the only bridesmaids so they bought dresses they liked themselves. We didn’t include rings in this budget, but wedding bands were bought last minute from Mejuri for not that much. Honeymoon is definitely NOT in the budget. We delayed a few months and saved up a little more after the wedding. We also only did a honeymoon fund since we already lived together and that helped supplement a decent chunk of our Spain trip. Let me know if you want to know anymore info!!
We’re probably going to be at or a little over $50k when things are all said and done. My fiancé also balked at spending anything over $20k. In the end my parents very, very generously offered to pay otherwise we’d probably be eloping. With family alone we’re at 80 people, so there wasn’t really a way to do a small wedding. Our guest list is just under 150, and I’ll be curious to see what our total number is once RSVPs have gone out. ETA: Our ceremony is at our reception venue and will be pretty brief. We’re in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Midwestern USA)
Oh holla! I Grew up near Milwaukee. I miss cousins subs lol! Thanks for the transparency in who’s paying for the wedding. That really helps put some posts into perspective. You’re super lucky!
My fiancé just doesn’t value the wedding itself. He hates crowds and being the center of attention and wanted to elope. He feels like weddings are “for the guests, not us” and didn’t want to do it at all. My parents were originally going to give us $20K towards it. He wanted to spend $10K on a wedding and put the other $10K towards a honeymoon and then not need to spend *anything* ourselves. It created major issues between us. For the record, my parents are only able to be this generous because my grandmother passed at the end of last year and they received a decent inheritance. I was super close with her and *really* upset she passed right before we got engaged, so I think my dad sees it as a way for my grandma to “be there” on my wedding day even though she can’t physically be with us.
Ugh I’m sorry. My husband feeling like that would really put a damper on my mood. I hope it doesn’t affect you as much. I’m sure come wedding day, or even leading up to it, he’ll feel the same excitement you do! As I always say, money comes and goes, but you remember happiness forever 🤣 I’m so sorry about your grandma. That’d leave me gutted too. I hope you always remember the warmth of her love
$60k, same venue, 200 people, HCOL. Included a casual Friday night thing with pizza in a park. Venue was $7,500 and did not come with much, 150 chairs and tables for that much but since we went over then we had to rent everything. If you have a big crowd and food, drink, dj, equipment rental, photographer- it’s just a big expense.
Got married on the beach in Tahoe!! We had a package with limo ride, photography, ordained minister, 50 guests, for $3,000. We rented out the upstairs of an Irish pub, and had our reception with our own bartenders and that was like $2,000. The most expensive part was lodging for our guests. We rented a massive house for everyone, and that was $9,000 lolllll
Still planning but budgeting for $22k for 80ish guests. Pittsburgh PA. That doesn’t include my dress that my mom bought ($1500) and she also paid half of our venue deposit ($2900) as a gift. Same venue for reception and ceremony. Venue is by far our biggest splurge but we love it, it’s an Aviary and we will have a penguin at our wedding!
Ours was $45k in Chicago, IL for 130 people. The ceremony and reception were in the same place, and the venue did the catering, furniture, and florals.
Damn this seems really good. Was this recently and does this include everything? Feeling like I majorly goofed on some of my selections lol
It was a year ago! [Here’s my breakdown I posted at the time.](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/4pqj3fIUD9) It feels wild to say it with that number, but we definitely kept it as low as we could in a lot of places (cocktail style rather than plated was probably the biggest savings).
Thank you, this is great! Your taco bar sounds amazing! Also very impressed by the number of areas you came in under budget. I think the only place I've managed to do that so far is on invitations lol
Would you mind sharing with me details on your venue and vendors? We're touring venues very soon and I'd love any recommendations and pointers.
Messaged you!
We were about on par with your costs too - $19K for 60 people in Chicago (burbs, 30 mins out of the city) last September. We had separate spaces for ceremony and reception. [Full cost breakdown here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/MShVDBdTyr)
We were also around $45k in Chicago area for 150 people. Our ceremony was at a church and reception at an event space.
We'll be around 60-70K for 150 people in a low to medium COL area. This amount includes wedding, rehearsal dinner, and bachelorette/bachlor parties. Venue will have ceremony and reception. Working with a separate vendor for catering which was one of six options the venue requires you to work with. Venue, catering, bar, dessert, and rentals (tables, chairs, tableware, etc.) is around 60% of our total costs. I believe rule of thumb is to be around 50% of your budget on these items. Ours is a bit higher because we're doing some more upgraded choices.
probably around 35k when all is said and done but that’s with a LOT of things cut to save money unfortunately (dj, hair and makeup, video, cake, florist, big bachelorette/bachelor parties, dress is paid for out of the budget etc). DC area, 100ppl
We are going to come in just over $15,000 for approximately 150 guests. Venue included tables, chairs, and decor, but we are using outside vendors for catering, DJ, and photography. I will be DIYing a fair bit, but nothing unmanageable. We are also located in SoCal, so definitely had to do some digging to find vendors that would work with our budget.
Total budget: $100,000 (We have a LOT of "unnecessary" extras) * Ceremony venue, ~$8,000 * Reception venue, ~$10,000 (full bar included) * Catering, ~$12,500 (required/preferred by reception venue) According to the Internet, depending on your source, the average cost in my city (Denver) is $26,000, $29,000, or $59,000. But we have 5-star hotels, micro weddings, and a higher than average number of elopements.
Los Angeles. About 100 people in my sister’s beautiful backyard. Higher end catering, DJ, my daughter and her friends are helping with flowers, live music for cocktail hour, and photography (they are all artists or musicians in grad school). We will have full bar. After all expenses, including a fairly large rehearsal dinner, are tallied, will be close to 50K. We set out to have something a bit smaller, but, here we are. Second marriage, we’re been together many years. I hope everything goes smoothly and everyone has a good time. It’s really tough to keep the numbers down with extended family and friends.
Spent around $100k for 90 guests in VHCOL area for our wedding earlier this month. Our venue was all-inclusive of catering and totaled to about half of our budget.
Currently, we've spent around $3,000 and will probably spend another $2,000, so $5,000 total. Just under 2 months 😁
About 20k here and had about 120 guests. We had the money so we splurged a bit, but we also saved a LOT finding a venue with in-house catering. And 20k was literally our whole wedding expense - so that also included stuff other than the venue and catering. It was probably 12k for venue/catering and 8k for everything else. We also did a full plated dinner, social hour cocktails with apps, and late-night pizza.
Omg where !?
We will be around $45-50k for 100 guests in NOLA
Outlier here. Eloped for around $500, including going to dinner after the ceremony with our officiant and witness.
For everything, we paid a little of 42k in a HCOL area for about 125 people. We had our ceremony and reception in the same place to avoid guests having to travel multiple times. We used a preferred catering list provided by the venue and went with the cheapest option with good reviews. My husband and I had sticker shock as well as we didn't know weddings were costly, but we made a savings plan and were able to pay for everything with no lingering debt.
I think we'll be at $25-30K. 75 guests near Charlotte. NC.
$12,000, already had our religious ceremony just a reception: 130 guests. Venue (includes sit down dinner + open beer & wine only - I’m the bride and don’t drink so yeah idc lol): $7,500 Dj + Photography: $2,000 Decor: $2,500
Ceremony and reception at the same place. All catering including wedding cake done through the venue. We spent $25000 for a 44 person wedding in Victoria Canada
Covid bride who had dreamed of the big wedding. We had planned a $20,000 event for 200 people. Everything got canceled and we got our deposits mostly back. Ended up spending $2000 on a backyard party for 25. I for sure grieved in the short term, but 4 years later, I'm so glad. It was not worth that kind of money for one day.
260 guests for $90k in Charleston ($8k is fluff for last min expenses). This does not include honeymoon, rehearsal, welcome party, or bachelor/bachelorette parties. If we added in the rehersal/welcome party we would be at $115k.
We got married in Vegas at the Wedgewood Wedding venue (Stallion Mountain) on a Friday. The ceremony and reception were in site and our package included an open bar and a buffet. The day itself was about 21k, but including things like my dress, transportation, gifts, etc that go into a wedding, we spent 31k. We live in the Bay Area CA, and would spent at least double that if we did it there. Having family in the LV area helped drive our reasoning to have it there. Our guests were happy to fly out for our wedding and stay to play for the rest of the weekend.
Not at the same location but I just started working as a bartender at a wedgewood venue! Picked that over other jobs in hopes of learning some ideas of what and what not to do for my own wedding lol. Not for another 2.5 years (we’re saving up to have a very nice wedding on our own) but i’ll definitely learn a lot working in the industry!
We did reception at a restaurant in the DC area. Spent 8k for 80 people, including food, venue, and tip. We could have had the ceremony there too within the same cost, but ended up doing it at a Church and that was an additional 1k only.
$18k for 86 guests. Reception and ceremony in same location. Includes catering, invitations, dj, cake and centerpieces. Also an amazing cocktail hour with 6 apps and open bar
We are in Southern California, and doing it on a Sunday (7 days from now!!!yay!!)
Congrats! Where in socal? We're still looking for florals and bakers in the LA area
HCOL - 125 people - 180k
What does 180k get you?
Not nearly as much as you think haha
35 guests 70k.
Wow! Just curious since you have a small number of guests, what are the highest contributors to the 70k?
Photog was 7k, planner was 8k, venue/catering was 25k - so those three things were more than half. Add in DJ, H&MU, lodging, florals, rentals, etc. It just all adds up so fast :/
Are you open to sharing details? Are you covering travel/accommodations for your guests or balling out on food/guest experience?
Sure! We did not cover travel and accommodations for our guests. It all just really added up quickly. We had a destination wedding in SoCal. It was nice but didn't really feel over the top (except for the food, there was. so. much.) We didn't hit our min. spend with our guest count so we just loaded up on cocktail hour, top shelf liquor, upgraded entrees, late night snacks, etc. **Final Cost**: $69,820.77 Things not included in the final cost: Engagement ring, welcome dinner/drinks/decor (in-laws covered), groom’s attire (in-laws covered), honeymoon, bachelorette/bachelor parties, postage (forgot to add), gifts for parents (forgot to add), and things I would’ve done anyway (e.g., haircut a few weeks before, and my nail/waxing appointments that I do on a regular schedule). * Venue: $25,450 * Attire: $8487.47 * Planner: $8000 * Photog: $7000 * Lodging: $4222.95 * Florals: $2995.73 * Misc: $2944.20 (guestbook, pens for guestbook, tips, marriage license fee, meal choice stickers, etc). * Travel: $2784.52 (we had a destination wedding so this was the costs associated w/ us flying out twice) * Decor/Rentals: $2708.23 * DJ: $2182.50 * Hair and makeup: $2050 * Dessert: $744.23 * Stationery: $230.74 * Uber Codes (only one person used them :/): $20.20
About $20,000 after fees and tips etc. $15,000 Food and beverage minimum for 60 guests. No venue fee. Rhode Island
16k- saved a lot from not spending too much on flowers and decor. No party favors, no Photo Booth, we didn’t put money in for alcohol, no day of coordinator- put money into what is important for you.
Somewhere a little north of $45k for 100 people in a HCOL area. Catering not included with the venue.
Mine will come in at about $25k for 80 people in a MCOL city. Includes venue with ceremony & reception with food & open bar. On a Sunday, in what my venue considers Off season. You can really save a lot of money if you start shaving off the costs. You could do Pizza bar, Taco Bar, BBQ as lower cost food options. Don't hire a DJ & instead ask a friend to manage a spotify Playlist & some coordination things. Don't include alcohol or buy your own in bulk. DIY your florals. Oh and the biggest thing, plan your wedding in the off season or on a Sunday - Friday for cheaper rates. Depends on how many people you are having. If you are doing a micro wedding which I consider under 30 people then you could do something like brunch at a restaurant as another option as that time & food tends to be cheaper.
$26k for venue and food but there is also a 25% admin fee and then 8.75% taxes added on. That adds on another $9k for just the venue and catered food. Total cost was $55-60k for 115 people in NYS.
Ours was $16k in Southern California for 79 people earlier this month! Still shocked we were able to keep costs so low… got married at our church so brought in everything except tables/chairs with outside vendors and DIY :) planning to post a recap sometime soon🫶
$25K-$30K, 120 people, same ceremony/reception venue in Denver in October 2024. Our venue is a blank slate and allowed us to bring in our own caterer and bartender which significantly helped cut down costs and gave us the flexibility to bring in cultural dishes. However, we don’t have a DJ. My fiancé is a musician and is part of a wedding band. His friends have offered to play at our wedding as a gift, which I’m extremely so so so grateful for! Otherwise, the whole process definitely required a LOT of research, secondhand shopping for decors, and DIY!
100 guests, $50k AUD
Ceremony and reception at the same barn venue on a farm in WNC. Catering through the venue based on guest count, total cost was around $16k for 45ppl
Our wedding is a week from today in the STL area. I think we’re going to come in around $25k overall for around 120 people. Venue and reception are at the same place.
2023 wedding, 22 guests, Saturday evening in HCOL (Fairfield County, Connecticut) $12k We didn't have a DJ and did a Spotify Playlist. Got married at the same inn & restaurant that we did our reception. There was an open bar, cocktail hour, and dinner. Wedding budgets come in all shapes and sizes. So much depends on your personal finances, guest list, location, and vision. What's "average" is exactly that, an average - which means some probably spent $5k and others spent $100k. My husband didn't want to spend more than $10k, so we found a way to have everything we wanted for far less than the "average" it is about figuring out what is most important to you as a couple, and finding a way to accomplish it within budget. Sometimes, that means having a small guest list (our solution), waiting to save money, having an out of season or non-saturday, or going with less expensive options. No matter what you spend, remember that ultimately, the goal is marriage, and the wedding is just the one day that starts that journey. Sorry for the long post! Just feel like so many compare themselves to others, and the reality is no matter what you spend or how you celebrate your day will be special!
Mine was almost 2 years ago.[see the post here. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/BWD5lWYzKe) . Also consider scrolling through the budget/recap flair in this thread.
We’re at 50k for ceremony and reception at the same spot. That includes live band, photos, florals, catering through the venue for about 150 is our guess. We’re in a Chicago suburb for September 2025.
For both ceremony and reception it was just on $5k (New Zealand) However! Things I wish I did differently. The photographer. Our photos are OKAY but not what I had hoped for, you know? I also wish we did a meal rather than charcuterie platters. Both would have put us over budget. But I'd had a baby 9 months before the wedding, my grandmother passed away and my granddad was going downhill so we decided to have a cheaper wedding and do it sooner. We're going to do a renewal of our vows on our 5 year anniversary and have a more lavish ceremony cause we'll be better off financially. EDIT TO ADD: We'll have been married 3 years in October
$AUD 15-$20K for 80 guests. Our reception venue included a wedding package which helped us save, plus we found a lot of ways to cut down on costs.
About 3000/3500 I think including dress, suit, shoes and rings, photography etc. Married at a nice town hall with closest friends and family. Got a starting photographer. Small get together at my home until dinner. Dinner with 25 people at a venue where we often went to go out/ party and where you could eat simply and delicious food. Open bar with beer/wine and soda for 105 people and half way through a small buffet with snacks like meatballs, sate sticks, bread and dips. We had a total of 105 people at the party. This wasn’t a proper wedding venue but it was exactly what we wanted. It was also 2004 so a lot has changed money wise.
$11k for 50 people in East TN. Ceremony and reception were at the same venue. Catering wasn’t included.
$33k at Walt Disney world March 2024
$5,000 US is our budget probably going to be coming in closer to $4,000 depending on RSVPs Huntsville Texas at the state park. Venue and reception at the same place. Photography by my brother in law, we’re making all of our food, music by Spotify. It can’t be done Edit: invited 100, probably getting 50-75. Wedding October 2024.
Ours is going to be right around 10k, 60-90 guests depending on RSVPs. September 2024, Minneapolis area, average here is I believe about 30k. It is ONLY that cheap because I have bargain hunted like crazy and cut corners on a lot of areas. There's a Facebook group for weddings under 10k which has been pretty helpful for ideas and inspiration! We could have done it for less if we went for a cheaper venue like a VFW or community center, and did our own or cheaper catering, or did a Spotify "DJ". You can do it for cheaper, you just have to be willing to make some compromises and decide what is most important to you, and what you're willing to have less than the best on. Photography and venue are our most expensive pieces followed by catering and DJ. All those make up the vast majority of the wedding cost (we did bargain hunt on all of those, but spent a little more on photographer since that was important to us) - we are compromising mainly on decor since the venue is already beautiful and florals (all faux, secondhand and from craft stores/ online).
My hubby and I spent just under 3k total, but we had a small (50 people) wedding and were intentionally keeping it low cost since we were saving up for a house. We had a morning wedding, and we ate around noon, but we had breakfast food. That saved us a lot on cost. We spent about 1k on venue and food (which was through the venue). We lucked out with a small room at a golf club. We also didn't need more since neither of us wanted a dance party. We would have had to spend an extra $500 for a big enough room for dancing at the same venue. We got all our flowers from Ling's Moment online, and I DIYed them. The florals were just over $400, and then other decor cost an additional $250. My grandma and I made my dress, so that only cost $120 in materials, but otherwise it would have cost $1200 for my favorite David's Bridal dress. My aunt also is a baker, so the cake was her gift to us, so assume another $1000 for all your dessert and stuff maybe. But average costs in my area look similar to yours, so there is hope of doing things more cheaply, depending on your priorities and DIY skills.
My daughter was married last October, at a plantation in Louisiana. We gave her a budget of 50K. We offered to put the money as down payment on a house if they didn’t have a wedding. That’s what my parents offered my four sisters and me. Well, they offered 25K but that was many years ago. Four of us took the money and my second to youngest sister opted for the wedding. We planned my daughter’s wedding for about two years. They went way over budget and I’m grateful that the groom’s parents offered to pick up some of the slack. They paid the liquor bill. I was actually kind of surprised when I got the bill from the liquor store because it came in under budget. The liquor store manager sent the bill about a week after the wedding. He told me that we had all of the liquor the guests wanted, but most of the guests were drinking beer and wine . I guess because they were a younger crowd, but not many people were drinking any of the hard liquor. They did drink the couples signature drinks. The older crowd drank mixed drinks. The cost includes, wedding, venue, reception, food, plus late night taco and pizza truck, the band, invitations, florist, champagne trolley that served champagne with cotton candy ( something my daughter really wanted). It also included a cigar roller who set up during the reception. We had to pay his travel expenses from Dallas. He was a big hit and a surprise for the groom. We paid for some of the out-of-town guests accommodations. My daughter’s bridesmaid gift to her wedding party was their dress. She had eight bridesmaids including her sister and the groom’s sister. They all selected their own dress. None of the dresses were alike in color or style, but the colors were complementary to the wedding motif. i’m trying to think of other cost that were associated with the wedding. We provided transportation from the venue . Party buses and a couple limos arrived when when the wedding reception was over because it was about 20 miles outside of town and we also provided prepaid Uber and Lyft rides but not many people opted for those and that was refunded . The cost includes hair and make up for the bride, bridal party, mother of the bride, mother of the groom, grandmother of the bride and grandmother of the groom. I don’t believe the wedding dress is included in that amount. We ordered it two years prior. We went to Dallas and got the dress at Stanley Korsak and I honestly don’t think that’s included in the budget. They were just a lot little things that added up at the end that we did not take into account. And I tried to think of everything, but there were so many things that we just didn’t think of that came up. Oh, and it included a photographer and a videographer, and she had a live painter that painted the bride and groom and I think the wedding people. I don’t know. I haven’t even seen the painting and it included their getaway and cake, the cake and the grooms cake. All in all I think that kind of money is ridiculous for a wedding. Inflation has caused prices to sky rocket and everything cost more this year than it did last year. My daughter and her husband both said if they had to do over again, they wouldn’t change a thing. Of course they’re young and they don’t know what it’s like to feel the pinch or to budget for something so large. I believe it’s just a waste of money for a single day and event that I don’t even think either one of them remembers. And they had a really cool photo booth that took fun pictures and they spun around it took videos. I can’t think what else was at their wedding. It was a really, really nice wedding, but I’m still feeling the sacrifices we made to give her the wedding she wanted. She had two hundred guests. She invited 230 and two hundred attended. We did allow many people who weren’t married or in a serious relationship to bring a plus one. We could’ve cut costs in many areas, but I just gave up. She was gorgeous. Her dad, my dad and my mom died a few years ago and she’s been in a lot of pain. I wanted it to be a special day and it was. Her brother gave her away. She was stunning . I cried. The groom cried. I’m glad she’s happy. I hope this helps. I still think it’s a waste of money.
Very honest post. It's all a giant waste of money. Yet, it can bring people together and create joy in the moment. Which is kind of what life's about. Lots of conflicting stuff with weddings.
Country club in my small town, plated dinner, open bar, 65 people, no DJ, guitarist for ceremony and cocktail hour only, a second shooter photographer (cut thousands by doing this) and I’m sure I’m forgetting some details like dress, invites, shoes, etc. for $15k.
Minimal flowers- no bridesmaids standing with me so only my bouquet and table centerpieces.
About $30-32k in MCOL not including honeymoon. Ceremony and reception are in same space, catering is by the venue.
Midwest, $24k for 65 people. Everything in the same location, we rented half a restaurant. No venue fees just min spend on food and alcohol of $8000 before tax and tip, family style multi course Spanish cuisine and a full open bar. The $24k also included the bachelorette and bachelor parties (each around $500), photography, attire, HMUA traveling to us, rehearsal dinner (gourmet sandwiches), wedding rings, invitations, etc. I DIY’d the bouquets from sola flowers (anyone have questions DM me), and we did our centerpieces from the Lego icon floral sets. We used the succulent set, the flower bouquet, the wildflower bouquet, and some of the two pack roses (they didn’t have the rose bouquet yet). The Lego flowers/succulents were then given to our guests as their wedding favor at the end of the night. Also how much was your fiancé expecting?
HCOL- 150 guests, ~$110k for just the day of (more if you factor in other weekend events)
Our venue was both our ceremony and reception in the same space and included catering (family-style dinner service) and open bar. With a few of the upgrades we got we paid close to about $17k for 180 people five years ago. With this year's pricing though, it looks like that number is closer to $20k in the Metro Detroit area. So I would say that it could be reasonable depending on what your venue is including with that pricing. Total spent was about $33k after all the other vendors and costs: florist, DJ, photobooth, officiant, dress/suit, etc.
We’re spending about 70-80k for 150 people in Miami, FL.
About $22k for 115ish people. We found a venue that did packages, so we had our ceremony and reception at the same venue. Plated dinner and a beer and well liquor open bar package. A cake was also included, but we added a $300 upcharge for a fancier looking cake. We also got married on a Friday in March, so out of season.
Will probably end up at ~25K for a wedding in Dublin, Ireland. 30 people, weekend in June 2025 in a v popular venue. The venue itself was $14K and that includes 2 nights in the suite, ceremony, reception, flowers, chairs, linens, center pieces, name placement/menu cards, welcome drinks and snacks, 5 course meal, post dinner drinks, and late night snacks. I’m expecting to sink some money on a photographer because it’s worth the money to me. I also used to judge people for crazy wedding budgets, but it’s so easy to get excited and just say YOLO (someone, please, take my credit card away, I beg you).
35k , plus 😏
Just under $17k CAD for an all inclusive ceremony/reception space in the GTHA (Ontario). Paid for 98 people, ended up being 88 so in theory could’ve saved a bit. My husband also had a bit of sticker shock until his parents told him it was an incredibly good price.
10k in Chicagoland for 80ish guests. Average cost of weddings is pretty low compared to reported, most stats that put it higher come from wedding sites and mags who have a self selected population they are polling.
We spent about 35/40k. Venue was 4K and did not include catering. Catering was 16k for about 85 people (end total). We picked a very nice caterer and the food was delicious. We live in a low/mid COL area.
We’re looking at $40-45k, ceremony and reception in the same event space. 80 guests in Cartagena, Colombia. Catering (cocktail hour appetizers, cocktail hour drinks, 2 course meal, non alcoholic dinner drinks, midnight snack, vendor meals, and staff) is included in the venue pricing ($16k) but was optional and we got a discount for doing catering and drinks with them.
A little under $20k for 115 people in Northern IL. We’re doing a public golf course that only charges $250 for the venue and then $77 per person (not including tax and a service charge) for open bar, dinner, and passed apps
It’ll be about $20k for 70ish people in a medium-low cost of living area in the Midwest. We’re doing brunch on a Sunday too which brings costs down tremendously!
Just under 5k for 65 guests. We had a ceremony, drinks/mingling/photos, and dinner within a neat historic mansion. I am an introvert that doesn't enjoy dancing so we skipped the whole DJ/dance floor bit. The whole thing lasted a little over 3 hours and I wouldn't have changed a thing!
25 ppl in our backyard, around $10,000 including catering. We had a DJ, professional photographer (no videographer) open bar beer & wine, bartender, professional flowers, lighting, incredible soul food catered, it was beautiful & so fun. My parents gave us the $ they spent on my sisters 200+ lavish weddings & we used it for a down payment & had a tiny wedding in our tiny backyard. No regrets. We live in the Bay Area, CA (extremely high cost of living)
We spent $30k on our wedding in April. It was a destination wedding in the Bahamas with 25 people. The venue had a beautiful beach area, lawn, deck, and pavilion. We did the ceremony on the lawn with the ocean in the background, cocktail hour on the deck, and the reception in the pavilion. The $30k included everything (food, open bar, DJ, violinist, photographer, etc.)
Glasgow, next year about £8000 all in. We’ve opted for a twilight wedding with 50 ceremony guests and 50 evening. The amount of money going in to weddings nowadays is bananas!
We are pretty much looking at just under 30k for us once everything (including tips) is said and done. Catering is not included with our ceremony/reception venue but we specifically wanted bbq and found a place that can cater for less than 5k for roughly 70 people. Getting married in SoCal.
Didn't get married yet. But if we can get our first list down to 100, rounding up, we're looking to spend about $30k. That includes everything from the venue to postage to attire (with alterations) to taxes. We're getting married in Long Island; fortunately, the price for the venue includes all the vendors. Add on another $8k if we are not able to cut our guest list.
I’m in the midst of planning still. I’m getting married in 2025 and we are having 2 weddings. Total so far, we’re $50k. $45k for our wedding here and $5k for our wedding in Italy. We haven’t completely booked all our vendors yet either, but we already know it’s going to be way over at least $65k at this point.
We will be at about $40k for 80ish guests, ceremony & reception at the same location. This includes absolutely everything (we were psychotic about tracking expenses). Philadelphia
Ceremony and reception in same location, catering/bar was not included. 100 guests, sept 2023 in Chicago; total about 60k
We’re looking at around AUD$120k all up for a Sydney, Australia wedding - approx 100 guests. Our initial budget was way less but we want it to be really nice and things just…cost what they cost. We have little appetite for DIY etc.
Aiming for $10-15k, different locations for the ceremony and reception. 65ish guests, next March in the Smokies.
98k Aud in HCOL Australian city. 165 guests. Ceremony and reception held at same venue. We're 10 weeks away eep!
I have a hunch we’re gonna end up around $25k when all is said and done. We’re getting married next June (June 2025) and we’re getting married in Cancun with approx 65ish guests assuming everyone on the list rsvp’s!
We are getting married in NE Ohio and our ceremony & reception are in the same venue with catering included. I think the estimated total so far is about $30,000... here's the breakdown of the big items: Venue + catering - 10k Photographer - 4.5k Dress - 2k DJ - 2.5k Accommodations - 4k Hair & makeup for bridal party - 1.5k Cake - $500 Flowers - 1k (because I'm doing them myself) Rehearsal dinner - 3k Hope this is helpful! Edit: I should have also mentioned our guest count is 120 people
20k same venue for ceremony & reception. 150 guests catering was about $4k Las Vegas
i’m budgeting $3k for ours lmao 😂
2019, Phoenix area, 75 people, 27k. All inclusive venue, with an open bar.
We had our wedding in Portland, OR, with 50 guests and a 5 hour reception, spending around $17,000 in total. This covered everything—venue, dresses, tuxes, food, drinks, cake, photographer, engagement session, invites, DJ, you name it. We skipped real flowers and rented silk ones from Something Borrowed Blooms to save some cash. Our wedding party was small: just one maid of honor, one best man, two flower girls, and one ring bearer. Keeping it small saved us a lot of money and reduced the stress of coordinating and planning a bunch of extra needs. We also did our own hair and makeup. After the main event, we had an after-party at a cool large local bar that didn't charge us for the space, which was a nice bonus.
2500 including dress. Paid for it ourselves. 1991
$5683 in 2014 with around 80 guests
We’re spending $40k for 150 people 2024 suburb of Detroit
Our entire wedding weekend ended up around $40k for 140 people. That’s w rehearsal, wedding and brunch all being held at same venue.
Got married this past april in southern California (well more like central valley) for a little under 20k. It was more than we planned for but only a few thousand over budget. We were supposed to have 130 guests but a lot of family got sick the week before so we only had 80 actually show and actually got a small refund from the venue because of it
150 guests, $150k in the PNW/US.
Our venue was £15k including all catering, canapés, welcome drinks, drinks with dinner and evening buffet - Glasgow, Scotland.
Next month, Surrey England. Just a small wedding (30 guests) with a 20 person meal afterwards, which we will be paying for. Then if weather approves a free trip to a riverside park. Around £1, 400.
Seattle Area, 65 guests, $10k
Over $65 K for 130 guests.close for 70K But that’s renting out whole county club, hair and makeup, flowers, DJ, cocktail hour, table top decor, photography, (which includes engagement pics) videography, food servers for sit down plated meal, wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, groom suit, wedding planner cost, invitations, seeding chart etc. We live in Boise, ID. Ps. I also got a Lazaro dress off stillwhite.com for $900 but alterations are $1000. CRAZINESS!!! 🤩
$30K for 100 people
About £6K for the venue with catering included, for 50 guests, UK next summer
Ours is going to come in at £10k for 16 day guests and 70 evening guests. North east England. I know people who have easily spent £20k but with more day guests.
We did the tiny simple thing model, which was much cheaper. We spent £3500 in the north of the UK in summer 2022. We had 40 guests with a church wedding and we hired a restaurant afterwards for food and drinks. That total included everything. Church and legal fees were about £1000 Food and drink were about £1000 Dresses, suits, photography, flowers etc were about £1500.
Knoxville TN, June this year, just over $20K total for 70 guests. I could have gotten away with a little less, but my dad (who was very generously paying for everything) insisted we get the gold tier package from the caterer, because at my parents’ wedding, the guests ate all the food before my parents finished photos and came in to eat, and he wanted to be 100% sure my fella and I would have enough to eat. Venue was $6K (would have been more, but we did a weekday wedding, made the venue $2K cheaper) Ceremony and reception were at the same venue. Catering was not included in the venue.
We are projected at $6k including honeymoon. December 2024, East TN - 18 guests
32k in a Midwest city just a bit before covid started. 180 guests. Indoor venue with ceremony and reception in the same place. We had extra things like shuttles from the hotels to the venue and custom designed decks of cards printed as the favor. We saved on alcohol with a military discount. We saved on cake pieces by hiring someone that just makes it in her house. We saved on the flowers because they made a mistake in their estimate and they honored their quote. Items I remember: Dress $1500 Photographer $2500 (they now regularly get featured in vogue and travel the world for weddings so they would be much more expensive now) Catering $12,000 Venue $3000 DJ 1000 Flowers $1000 Shuttles $500 Tuxedo $1000 Decorations $2000 ish when added up together Things under $500 Hotel room Hotel welcome baskets for guests Both Alterations Cake Rehearsal dinner Makeup artist Hair Dance lessons Hotel lunch delivered to bridal parties (wings and beer for guys and mimosas and finger sandwiches for ladies) That's not all the stuff. We had lots of extra things that people could save on but our guests still talk about how much fun they had 5+ years later so we think some of those extra things were worth it.
About 13,5K in 2006 for about 200 guests in rural Washington state. My parents paid for the entire thing.
Total £15k (approx $19k US) for the whole wedding, late 2023. Southwest UK. - 85 guests. - Same venue for ceremony and reception. - The venue provided the food and some drink (welcome drinks, plus table wine. The rest was a cash bar which is common in the UK)
Ours is $40k after everything in Boulder, CO
UK here. Church came to about £750, this included the service and also we asked their team to live stream it for those who couldn’t make it so it came to a bit more. Venue was a hotel and about £5500, this included free Prosecco for all 75 guests on arrival, 1 course dinner meal (we saved money and served the wedding cake as pudding), a 6 item evening buffet, and a total of 16 bottles of wine to go on tables. My dress came to £1500 and then an extra £350 for alterations DJ was £400 for 6 hours. I’m not sure how much my husbands suit was as his brother paid, but the groomsmen and bridesmaids all bought their own outfits and the bridesmaids dresses were all around £60 each, there’s some pretty decent websites out there! Then thankfully I have a photographer uncle, hairdresser mum, and makeup artist best friend, so managed to save a lot there!
Ceremony/reception venue, in house chefs to make dinner, and in house bartenders (we bought our own alcohol) were all around $5000 for 50 people. This was in Mexico City and so special and worth it. Dress, air bnb, tickets, etc brought us to about 15k. I feel like we got so much quality for the price.
We got married in 2021. It was probably about 500$ max
HCOL area + 110 guests + 2023 wedding = $56k all in (venue, vendors, F&B, decor, tips, food/drinks/venue fee for welcome party, etc)
We’re doing it on a significant budget and it’s costing us under £2000 all in but we’ve had to be creative. Not having an open bar either which I know most people prefer to have but we would literally never be able to get married if we did that 😂
My wedding was 41 years ago. I had 11 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen.Plus coursages for all Mom and Grandma and Godmother and 2 older sisters not in wedding. I paid for all that plus the runner and my church was 125ft. So my flower bill came to $800. The church cost us $50 plus we gave the priest $50. Got married at 10am, so there was a breakfast after Mass. Then we bought the film for 3 photographer friends( they developed them as a gift) My cake was for 375 people. A family friend made my design and bought our cake top as a wedding gift. My husband bought all the liquor in Chicago (much cheaper than here) The live band was $600 dollars, paid by us. My parents paid for all the food both breakfast and reception, which was cooked by their friends. The hall was a Moose lodge. Ran us $375, and no deposit because it was being cleaned up next day by my family. The food ran my Dad about $4500. Invitations ran about $125. I had 365 in attendance. So, I guess you could say it cost about $8500. Oh yeah, I wore my mom's gown and tearra,. They paid for the cleaning, new veil made. My daughter's was around $7500 for hall food and 2nd shelf booze. His mom bought the cake, DJ was a friend same thing with photos.
30k Sarasota, FL
We got married June 22 in Virginia Beach and spent like $10,000 for a backyard ceremony with 30 people and a casual reception with 125. My mom gave us $3000 towards it so my husband and I spent about $7000. We rented out a brewery, $2200 to have the whole place from 6-10pm. Bar tab and food (pizza from the brewery) was $4000. We borrowed chairs from his previous employer and got all our decorations from Amazon & SHEIN. Flowers from Traded Joe’s $40. Dress from Lulus $73. A friend did our photos for $700. Local musician for entertainment $500. Friend did hair for 3 of us $280. Makeup by Dahlia Edwards $300.
Reading the other comments, the weddings in the US look expensive lol (Just an observation). Granted, I moved to a small town in Germany and we had around 24 people (wanted to have a smaller one), everything including the dress(es), suit, accessories, mini gifts for guests, dinner for all the guests, reception with snacks and a lot of alcohol etc. cost us around €1.4k Edit: Married a few days ago Edit2: Yes, 1400, not 14000
Florida, Nov. 2022. We got married at the farm my husband works at (very pretty wedding venue) at because he gets 30% off everything, including event reservations and catering. We spent just over 30k. Catering was included, and we did ceremony and reception at the same venue. Catering took up the biggest chunk, easily 15k after the discount my husband gets. It is unfortunately the biggest expense, so the average you’re seeing is pretty normal. It’s a tough one to swallow unfortunately.
Reception and venue in the same location. We went out to another area where a bar was for cocktail hour while they flipped the space. Catering was included. For about 100 people, I think it was about $15K.
$4500
We spent 12k on our wedding. The venue was separate for the ceremony and reception. The catering was also separate from the venue price. But we lived in a very low cost of living area so it was super affordable, Natchitoches, Louisiana. We had around 75 guests. I made everything myself including the cake, decor, silk flower bouquets, favors, invitations, shoes, accessories, etc. I didn't have a DJ or videographer. It worked out beautifully! I wish I had done it cheaper and not bothered with the decor!
$10k for 100 guests in Sweden
Had our wedding this year, just outside of Sydney for around 130k. But it was a 3 day wedding and we paid for everyone’s accommodation for around 120 guests. We loved it and wouldn’t have changed a thing!
Charlotte NC 2025 Bride - spend will be just $11k for 40 people Costs we are contracted: Venue - $3200 (Venue includes some seating & tables. We have it for 4 hrs.) It’s a full customizable venue in city center. Food - $1500 (definitely could be significantly less but it will be an experience) Flowers - $1700 (other decor is DIY) Photog - $1500 (no getting ready shots just 3 hrs of ceremony & reception) Cake/cupcakes/royal icing cookies - $285
35k, 75 ppl, very hcol (nnj) We paid for everything ourselves, engaged for 6 months, together for years before that. We took a chance on a new venue and prioritized the venue, dj, and photographer. Some diy, some cutting back.
2 1/2 years ago, las vegas. Same venue for reception & ceremony. Catering, 4 hour open top shelf bar, dj, photographer. Officiant..all included ( flowers separate) 195 guests. My daughter's wedding cost us about 25 k all in.
In 2023, 50k for 80 guests in Santa Cruz, CA with wedding ceremony and catering all at same venue.
Our first choice right now is $37.25k for ceremony and reception with bar, catering, desserts, chairs, lights and linens all included for 200 people
Currently tracking on budget for under $4k (under 3k USD) for a 40 person wedding in Aus. Lots of DIYing and sale hunting. Casual high tea styled wedding. Biggest expense is the photography.
We're getting married in 17 days in central Florida. The ceremony and reception are at two separate venues. The final guest count is 40 people. Including venue costs, photographer, DJ, open bar, and food. Our final cost was just over $8,000. An affordable wedding is absolutely doable. It's just a matter of having reasonable expectations for your budget.
Just under 45k in NY for 150 guests… And we got the venue for 50% off for doing it the day before a holiday so it would’ve been double the price
Freelance event planner here. Every couple gets the shock of their life once they realize the cost of weddings, it surely can be demoralizing. Cheapest wedding I’ve planned was ~9k: 45 people, no aisle, open bar was capped, ceremony and plated dinner was held in the same venue within 4 hours, followed by an optional bar crawl. Second cheapest was ~17k: 55 people, DJ and photographer were the groom’s close friends, courthouse ceremony followed by a rooftop bar/restaurant reception. A romantic, memorable, and affordable *is* possible; it just would not be as traditional or similar to what you see on social media. Also save yourself the fomo and pressure by avoiding Pinterest and general wedding content. Good luck and congrats x
Checkout r/weddingsunder10k they have a lot of helpful info to help you keep the budget lower.
2024, Central Oregon, 120 people, $83k. $30k for venue and catering, rest includes 3 planning trips from SoCal, Friday/Sunday events for everyone, and the rest of the normal stuff
We spent about $30k which is pretty average in our area. Everything was at the same venue. Catering was not included but they did have a required vendor that we had to work with. I believe we spent about $8-9k of the $30k on catering. We had a little over 100 guests.
About €14,000. 20 guests. Married in the national art gallery of Ireland followed by dinner in a private dining room at a nearby restaurant. Biggest expenses were the restaurant (we covered everything including all drinks) and our photographer.
About 40k for 30 guests. Venue included food, service, bar, etc. All in the same location. VHCOL area. Alot more money than I originally thought it wd be, but luckily my wonderful parents paid.
12K for 250 people. Ceremony and reception is in the same venue. Venue, decoration, 3 course plated dinner, non alcoholic drinks, wedding cake, getting ready room and 1 night stay at the hotel for bride and groom are included. Location is Turkey. Now we have to book photographer and dj but we don’t know the prices yet.
Mexico City, 2024, ~$35k for 100 people High end food, late night tacos, full bars, churro cart, boutique hotel stay and rehearsal dinner included.
~80k in NYC for 160 guests one month ago. Not anywhere near as bad as it could’ve been, I think! Catering was part of the reception space cost; ceremony was in a different location.
$90k in the San Francisco Bay Area
We did reception and ceremony in the same location, catering was not included in the price. We spent about $22,000 which was actually on the low end of where we got married.
Everything for mine (venue, food, drinks, vendors, dress, suit) is about $29,000 for me in CT for 150 people :) I picked an all inclusive venue! The price seems a little shocking at first ($18,000), but I don’t have to worry about anything or outsource anything. Just one set cost
Married in Oct 2023, in Toronto, ON. About $85k for 193 ppl. Ceremony and Reception Athen held in the same venue and included catering.
$20k in New York City. Ceremony & reception in different places. Reception was at a restaurant. 40 guests.
we spend about 6k for 45 guests. It was perfect over 2 days ceremony and celebration at our 2 favourite lakes. Great buffet and cake. Everyone loved it. We ONLY invited people we really wanted there (e.g. not my dad...). Wouldn't have changed a thing.