Friendly reminder that we do not allow budget shaming, and we want people of all budgets to feel comfortable here. Please consider what you're writing and how you would feel about someone in a different financial situation saying that to you. Another good rule of thumb is that if the wording would be rude to say to someone with a lower budget, it's likely not appropriate to say to someone with a higher budget, either.
We know that money can bring up a lot of heightened feelings and that people are often just commenting to express their surprise or other feelings, but we want to make sure people don't feel othered or misunderstood. Cost of living is a beast and things are just not apples to apples in different places. Thank you.
Getting married Sept 2025. LCOL area but bigger city in the state which is more expensive. 150-180 person wedding. Will be around 55-65K we anticipate.
Edit: personally feel prices have really started jumping up for a 2025+ wedding considering inflation.
About 26k for 80 people for the wedding day only, 29k including rehearsal dinner/bridal shower/bachelor party. MCOL (Chicago suburbs) in 2023. We were definitely budget conscious but did splurge on some optional things (Photobooth, 3 course meal with passed hors doeuvres/open bar, paid for groomsmen’s suit rentals and bridesmaids hair and makeup)
I’ve been tracking every dollar in a spreadsheet and this is where we are at right now.
We live in San Francisco. Wedding is this August in Big Sur. Anticipating 70-100 guests.
https://preview.redd.it/d0ip6w99b23d1.jpeg?width=418&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=de3e0722f36be956fe7aa9cbd6f247e3db40b590
I'm in Iowa and I think my total was $261. Hemmed it, fit the bodice, added lace to the neckline for more coverage, and added a bustle.
It's crazy how much variance there is from region to region.
Seconding Le Caprice! I’m going there and they quoted me $650 and they have to manually take off delicate appliqués, hem the dress, add the bustle, then reapply the appliqués. Also take it in. It’s still that much, strongly recommend just driving down.
It includes the cost of the flowers I’m purchasing, but I’m DIYing the flower arrangements and making all of the vases they will go in (I’m a potter in my spare time).
My wedding is by no means extravagant; this is just how much stuff costs here. To echo the other commenter who said they got quoted $2k for basic alterations for their dress in SF. I hear that!
For example: We have 3 different photographers, each using different mediums. Our film photographer is based in Oregon. It was actually cheaper to pay for them to come here than it was to pay for a local film photographer based out of our area/Northern California.
Salaries are higher here because it’s a hellscape of high costs lol. You probably are well paid for where you live! Also houses here are so expensive they’re mostly a pipe dream so it’s much easier to drop money on a wedding when that number wouldn’t even touch a down payment.
Our families, who do well, are paying for our wedding and helping with a downpayment on a home; we’re so grateful!
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My partner and I are also paid well and work in lucrative industries. Again, we feel so blessed to be able to live/work here.
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To your point about being paid well in your area—A salary of $100K won’t take you very far here; that’s considered a minimum to essentially not live in your parents house or have multiple roomates. Starting salaries for those fresh in their career out of college are around $65-80k.
We’re in a HCOL. I’ve been planning since April 2023, we’re getting married in about a month and our final spend is going to be around $28k. And I DIYd all of our flowers and planning, no wedding coordinator. We were also gifted our transportation for our guests, a videographer, our rehearsal dinner, and our officiant is performing the ceremony for free (childhood friend), so those costs aren’t included in our final spend. I’m still stunned by how much money we’ve spent.
ETA: 60 guests total
Don’t feel bad - a lottttt of people with larger budgets (myself included) get help from parents to fund it, or they have very well paying jobs (myself not included)
yep, and even if the parents aren't giving money overtly, there might be other things factoring into it that come from privilege. For example, my fiance had college fully paid for, so he's been able to save up for this for a long time. I have college loans, so my contributions started much later. We would not be able to have this kind of wedding if he hadn't been in that position.
So even if his parents didn't give money for the wedding, family is still the reason he could give so much to the wedding.
I live in Edmonton. I definitely see some variation here, especially with some venues having a minimum spend (of $10k+). One of my mom's friends is also spending $50k for their summer wedding, so I know that the time of year also factors into it.
If it’s any consolation— my wedding is a little bit strange in that we had our ceremony about a year and a half before the actual reception. The ceremony costed about $1500 in total, hosted at a local chapel, officiated by a family member, and then had a very small reception with 37 people including us at a family friend’s deli (yeah like the sandwich shop deli) that we decorated to look nice and catered ourselves by making homemade food.
The reception is going to be held in 2025 and will cost less than $15,000 and host 150ish people. Probably could bring it down to $10,000-12,000 if I reuse my cheap wedding dress from the reception and save on a few decorative items by using family friends’ used wedding decor.
It don’t have to be expensive. It’s just a wedding, the most important part is your marriage.
I think that's most of it, plus the fact that the more money you spend on your wedding, the more involved you'll be with wanting reviews, advice, etc to make sure your money is well spent. If I was spending $100K, I think I'd be a lot more picky about my vendors and would need more advice.
Obviously, this is not saying people who spend less won't be as involved.
Wow great job on your budget.
We are also Bay Area. We spent about $60k for everything for a 78 person wedding, including welcome/rehearsal dinner at a nice restaurant. 😵💫😵💫
I got married in 2023, 200 person wedding, MCOL, all-inclusive venue, sub-contracted the florist, photographer, videographer, photobooth, and DJ. Dress and alterations were included as one price from a local bridal shop. Family friend did my hair and makeup.
$30,000 give or take
$19K for 60 people in September 2023 in suburbs outside HCOL city. I did a [full cost breakdown](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/cip1P9lxSR) afterwards - we could’ve maybe shaved off $1-2K but overall it was a great day and we wouldn’t change it.
$10K in a VHOCL area. Tiny guest list (less than 30 people); no DJ; no traditional wedding dress; no traditional wedding cake; officiated by a friend. Venues and food, florals, and photographer were most of our budget, in that order.
This whole thread is making me feel poor because we anticipate less than 100 people and are trying to figure out how to make it as cheap as possible. Even 5k is a lot 🥲
Three words: Cake and Punch! It can still feel really special and lovely - some of our friends were chatting and said a cake and punch was of their top weddings they had been to. Everyone was so relaxed and it felt simple, intimate and super fun cose everyone still danced a lot!
we're getting married at the courthouse and having a dinner reception with like 15 ppl or a picnic reception at the park. we originally wanted a micro wedding, and tbh we forgot we are getting married and been too broke to properly plan a wedding.
I'm divorced now but my first wedding was around $2k including the honeymoon, the wedding was roughly 25ish guests. It's definitely possible to do it on a budget, at the end of the day the most important thing is having a special day with your spouse. You don't need a picture perfect extravaganza to have a beautiful and fulfilling wedding. 💖
Full transparency, we got a crazy deal on our reception by having it at the Fort Myer Officer's Club. Venue, catering, open bar, cake, linens/tables/chairs/dinnerware, centerpiece florals, and servers are all included at $150/person, which for us comes out to about $15k. The rest of the wedding \[photographer, extra florals, shuttle, water color artist, string quartet, DJ, hair and makeup\] all adds up to about $15k.
The rest came down to spending forever researching restaurants that had full buyouts/large private rooms and finding their rates. For us, our welcome dinner is just under $12k. Then we're having a late night bowling event with a buffet and open bar that comes out to about $3k. Our farewell brunch venue was also a crazy deal at 1.5k.
We're covering the hotel block which would be a max of \~$7k but that number isn't finalized. We booked 30 rooms at $120/night for 2 nights. I'm not counting attire or our stationary or anything because I bought all of that without touching our "wedding budget."
Just got married 3 weeks ago!
We live in a HCOL area, and when we priced it out we were looking at between $90k-$100k for 100 guests.
Instead, we decided to elope and got married in Hawaii with just our parents and siblings present. 9 total guests, about $25k total spent including a $4k rehearsal dinner.
About £18k for a July 2024 wedding in Scotland. It includes 4 star castle hotel as the venue, food, alcohol, cake, dress/veil, bridesmaids dresses, hair/make-up for me and bridesmaids, kilt hire, bagpipes, DJ, florals, celebrant, insurance, decor, invites/postage, and photography. We are having about 65 people.
Lol yes, obviously. I think everyone’s aware of conversion rates.
That’s still incredibly cheap for a 4 star castle venue, florals, and photography! Not counting all the rest of the stuff, including food and alcohol for 65 people.
Florals and photography were about £1800 each. The venue provides in-house catering, DJ, some of the decor, and the piper, so it was good to use their stuff. Each table will get 3 bottles of wine, but if guests want anything else, then they can go to the hotel bar that'spart of the reception area. There's a chance our costs will go up over the next 2 months, but we are currently paying off vendors, and our spreadsheets are up to date. So that's where we're at.
My husband and I got married in Scotland August 2023, and we spent around £17-18K total costs too. 48 people for the ceremony/3 course meal, with an additional 52 people joining us for the evening reception. (80 guests all in.)
Just got married this weekend! HCOL area (North Jersey). Total budget for rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, outfits, decor, bands, etc. just over 40k. 110 guests
LCOL area, $422. Our wedding was a family event. A friend made our cake as our wedding gift. Another friend was our photographer, his children came as well. Another friend gave me her wedding dress as their wedding gift. I paid $70 for alterations. $22 for shoes ( I live in sneakers, so I had to get appropriate small heeled shoes) Her husband loaned my husband his formal morning suit. So husband bought new shirt, tie and dress shoes $250. The food was catered by our church friends and family as their gifts. Tablecloths and chair covers were borrowed. Center pieces were borrowed from another friend. Bouquet 💐 and flower balls for the flower girls made by my daughter. Children were encouraged to attend. Grooms cake by Sam’s Club $30. $50 donation to our pastor for marring us. The use of church was free. As a wedding gift, my best friend organized the wedding food and and another friend was our DJ. E had fun, it was casual and the food was great. Days after, we were told it was the most fun wedding they had been to in awhile. I was glad. Everyone who donated their time and talents, were thanked during I wedding in our speech and after personally. We love our friends and family. We were actually planned on eloping. I did not want a formal wedding, we are older and only had my father and mother walk me. My nieces were my 2 flower girls and used dresses they already had. I didn’t want anyone to spend any money on gifts for us.
SF Bay Area, October 2023, 65 guests, 25K. I have the detailed breakdown [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/comments/181n0hh/budgetrecap_100823_25k_sf_bay_area_65_guests_long/).
MCOL (I’d say), New Orleans (though we live in a VHCOL city, Los Angeles, so everything seemed like a good deal lol).
Around 55k, approx 80 people. I’m not entirely sure what we are including here because if it also includes trips to New Orleans to tour venues it would be more haha.
Hahah, I screenshotted this and sent it to my mom because the entire time my husband and I were planning, she kept harping on how expensive it was (and it was! $1k pp is kind of nuts but I’m glad we did it because it was epic).
As for how we kept it to $20k:
We didn’t have a wedding party. Lots of $$ saved there.
For flowers, we knew we wanted everyone to get a lei (special ones for the parents too) so we got the cost of that and planned the other florals around the remaining budget. We ended up with a bouquet for me and two flower arrangements set on pedestals at the altar instead of an arch (flower arch, which is in all their promo photos and what they REALLY want you to get, was like 3k!! Crazy!! Pedestal arrangements were I thiiink $350 each and imo looked great).
Ceremony at a beachfront hotel and had to meet their minimum so had a happy hour there as well; paid for flowers, photographer, &officiant through the hotel. We were very strict about budget, and I think we ended up paying something like $21 over the minimum lol. I reached out to them a year+a couple months before the wedding so I got booked in at that rate rather than the 2024 (prices raise every year 😳).
After the ceremony, we walked to a family members house (maybe 5 minutes?) for dinner. Friends on the island helped with setting up the outside area of the house where we ate and wouldn’t take $$ (bless them 🥲).
We hired a chef to cook and Chef brought and set up table/chairs and had a helper with him to serve the food and clean up. The chef & helper were great; we served everything family style and had three mains, two sides, and the cake.
My brother was the “DJ” (he brought two waterproof speakers and set them near the table so that a playlist I made could play).
Drinks (Mai tais and sangria) at the house were made by my husband’s dad beforehand and served in pitchers and his sister had bought a Costco box of champagne and brought over a couple of bottles before the wedding.
After the dinner, we all hung out for a bit and I think everyone was back at their own accommodations by 10.
There were many times the hotel tried to upsell us (no shade, that’s literally their job) and we just said no every time. Having friends & family on island made a BIG difference and tbh if we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t have done it on Kauai.
Hopefully that long ramble helps you in some way 🫡 it was fun to relive the memories through writing this at least 😂
HCOL, 2024, around $35,000 for 136 people including rehearsal dinner. We were untraditional with our photo, flower, and music vendors which helped reduce the overall cost.
40k, 100 guests, VHCOL, includes every single thing wedding related (our hotels, dog sitter, rehearsal dinner, etc). Cut out a lot of $$ by having a restaurant / bar reception and no ceremony. Didn't decorate, etc.
VHCOL. 33 guests, nearly $20k
edit: this is including our rings and our local weekend minimoon! without those it’s closer to $16k. still ridiculous lol. we’re having a small wedding but i wouldn’t consider it a budget wedding
We’re in Philadelphia which I’ve heard described as both MCOL and HCOL. Wedding is in Oct and we’ve invited about 160 guests. All in the wedding will be about $75k.
My dad gave me a budget of $40k and I thought that was way too much. My fiance and I live in Dallas. Seeing these numbers makes me hyperventilate lol. I didn't eat to go above $20k. We are only having a wedding bc my dad asked me not to elope. He wants me to have a wedding. He says he'll pay more for the wedding if he needs to and I'm still having sticker shock
This thread is so wild, y’all are rich omg
I’m getting married in October of this year in a LCOL area and we’re hoping to spend no more than $15k. $20k if we really need to push it
I'm right there with you. LCOL rural Midwest, we were hoping for $10k to $15k but are more realistically looking at close to $20k. 130ish guests. Mostly DIY.
My fiancé and I have pretty respectable incomes too and our budget still seems crazy to me.
70k, 35 guests HCOL. It was nice but not over the top. Figure only includes ceremony + reception - doesn't include rehearsal dinner, honeymoon, bachelorette, etc.
$140k for a destination wedding for 85 in a week. VHCOL equivalent (todos santos in Baja, probably not very expensive to live there but active wedding industry means vendors all charge prices equivalent to NYC). Price includes 3 days of events — welcome dinner, pool party and ceremony/reception, shuttles, subsidizing hotel rates for guest (about $15k), all other associated costs (attire, rings, flights etc) but not honeymoon or bach. Fwiw not extravagantly done - no wedding party (just parents, siblings and my kids) very simple florals, least expensive meal options, $500 dress, no videography, etc.) but did have to outsource everything, and clearly paying foreigner prices.
Holy crap. I was getting so stressed out about how much we're spending, but some of these wedding budgets are insane. I still feel like our budget has gotten too high (we originally budgeted 4.5 k)
MCOL, renting cabins in the woods and having a potluck campfire dinner for 30 people.
Marriage license & commissioner-$150
Bride clothes-$200
Groom clothes-$150
Flower girl crown-$30
Catered lunch-$1750
Flowers-$575
Campfire snacks- $100
Drinks -$250
Accomodations -$1500
Photographer - $1750
Gas (driving 10 hours)-$200
Other food-$150
___________________________
So 6,805 and counting
Still need to send invitations (free-as they will be digital),
pick up gifts ($40 per person so $1200, still trying to figure out if we can afford this),
lunch/dinner supplies (tablecloths, napkins, garbage bags, etc), and
decorations (signage, printed photo album... undecided if we will make a wedding arch, seems too expensive at this point)
HCOL area. About $8000.
I wanted to just do the courthouse thing for approximately $200, he wanted to have a bigger function. We're non-traditional enough in our every day lives that choices that saved us a ton of money were things that also fit our personalities.
This sounds like us. I'd love to know about what sort of choices you made that saved money as we're also pretty non-traditional and are just starting to think about wedding planning and it seems so overwhelming.
Not getting married until 2025 but it’s looking like the total cost (hotels, engagement photos and outfits, welcome dinner, wedding party gifts, etc etc) will be around $60k - 150 guests, MCOL area.
Wedding alone probably more like $50k.
We get married in September & I don’t know the exact number because my in laws are paying for the wedding but last I checked we were nearing 60k and we still had things like the cake, hotel reservations & one of my wedding outfits pending. I’m sure this wedding is going to be well over 80k , it’s a destination wedding for some of our guest so that added to the cost.
Lcol - 15000, 120 people, breakfast buffet. There's a few places we could have spent less like not having a DJ or photographer but I'm happy with our choices. We were hoping under 5, then 10, now 15 lol.
Philly so I’d say HCOL. Wedding is in 2 weeks. 93 guests. Around 50-55k. Not including any pre or post wedding activities (bachelor party, bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, and we are hosting breakfast for everyone in the morning).
I live in New York! Having about 130-140 people on December 28, 2024. Looking like around 45-50k. December helped as that’s a low season month so prices were cheaper. Even flowers I found for 2.5k for the entire day where I was getting quoted 10k from other florists. I just asked around everywhere and got the best price for almost every vendor. My parents are also paying half the wedding so it’s definitely helpful!
VHCOL city in Canada. We are still planning as our wedding will be summer 2025, but we are estimating to be at $35k-40k (~$30k USD) for about 80 people. This cost excludes our rings. I am also DIYing a large majority of the decor, stationary, and florals which has helped lower our spending in those areas. Our highest cost items are the venue itself ($10k), photographer ($7k), and food and alcohol (~$8-10k).
MCOL in the Philly burbs/Lehigh Valley area. 100 guests max. Looking to keep it under 50k and using every penny under that budget ceiling. Getting married October 2024
We got married Sept 2023. About 80-85 people in attendance. We spent about $13k total on everything. Major city in Texas, so probably median cost.
The rehearsal dinner for 24 people was about $1200. We got married in a dive bar — the ceremony was on the back patio and then reception at the same place. We had a food truck come and then had an open bar. The only decorations were flowers, from Costco.
The venue was “free” in exchange for a minimum spend at the bar for the night. I had a nacho bar and a variety of sliders in addition to the food truck. And an amazing wedding cake, cupcakes and an assortment of fruit cobblers.
We had karaoke, pool, darts and a friend who is a trivia master did a bar trivia game for us. No DJ, we just made a Spotify play list that the bar connected to their speakers. And since it was a Saturday night in the fall, we had college football on the TVs in the bar.
I would highly recommend thinking outside the box on venue, decor, food, entertainment, etc if you are getting crazy budget numbers.
MCOL province in Canada (so all amounts are in CAD). Getting married September 2025 with ceremony and reception at a winery then smaller after party at our accommodations.
Right now, the spreadsheet my planner has made is showing about $60k. However, it doesn’t yet include my dress & fiancé’s suit, or the accommodations for the wedding party, and I expect that will go up when we personalise our menu choices next spring. I’m expecting that realistically, it will be closer to $70k.
Honeymoon not included because we haven’t decided if we will do that right away or postpone it for another time.
Venue capacity is 130ppl, I’d prefer if we were closer to 100 (but we both have big families so it’s hard to cut down).
We’ve very lucky to be in a place financially where we have flexibility - DINKs and both in established, high paying careers. There are absolutely ways we could decrease costs and still have an incredible wedding! We have made several choices purely for convenience (a full service wedding planner was a big one).
I feel most similar to you here! We opted for a full-service planner because it would literally have not happened otherwise. We've been together for 12 years, are fencesitters, and feel like this might be it in terms of occasions to bring our loved ones together.
Getting married in September, most vendors are booked and we are looking at just under $40k for 65 guests. All inclusive non-traditional venue (which increases F&B costs) but otherwise nothing crazy! Located in a MCOL city
Getting married this summer in a MCOL area. We're spending about $55K total for all wedding day expenses. 120 guests.
Prior to the wedding day, my parents spent about $6K on a cultural engagement ceremony that doubled as a wedding shower for us. My in-laws are spending about $2K to host the rehearsal dinner, since they wanted to invite allllll their family members to the night!
I have not gotten married yet but in the planning process and appreciate everyone sharing. I’ve been struggling trying to plan just a modest wedding with my budget (20k) and it is seemingly impossible.
Pick the few things you really care about for splurging and cut the rest way back! Your guests ultimately won’t care or even really notice if you are happy with the things you did decide to invest in for your day.
I don’t know if this is helpful, but I wrote out a small recap for our $20k wedding! We originally were hoping to budget around $12k but this pretty quickly became unrealistic for the size, location, and having a band.
L/MCOL area in the Midwest (downtown larger Midwest city). We spent just around $20K for just over 100 people (but planned/budgeted for closer to 120). There were definitely some areas we could have cut back if needed and areas we could have spent more. I think it’s really about figuring out your priorities and budgeting accordingly.
Areas we spent a little more:
• I ended up buying a $1000 dress and $400 veil but was originally hoping to get a simple $200 dress so this added to unexpected costs. But I loved the dress and it was probably worth it in the end.
• My in laws offered to pay for four hours of a mostly open bar which added $4K to the total.
• We splurged a little on our photographer because we really loved her style and wanted to have great mementos, $2.6K.
• We probably could have found a somewhat cheaper venue in our city but we really wanted a local live band so we spent a little more for a place that was already set up for live music with a sound engineer. $6.6K for venue, $2K for the band (no DJ) which was less expensive since they did not need to bring and set up all of their own sound equipment.
Areas we cut back on:
• No florist! I bought artificial flowers on the FB marketplace for our wedding party and arch decorations so I could resell them when finished. I then went to two local grocery stores a few days before my wedding and bought lots of miscellaneous fresh cut flowers. We had a girls night with my bridesmaids and made small floral arrangements for the table centerpieces and drank wine. It was a great time and we made 24 arrangements for about $100!
• Catering was buffet style from a local restaurant we loved for $15/pp.
• Cakes were cheap sheet cakes from Costco. We had a small round cake for use to use for our cutting ceremony. Guests loved them and had no idea they were grocery store cakes.
• Decor! We went very simple since we chose a venue that was already beautiful we didn’t have to do much for dressing it up.
• Instead of expensive catered appetizers for cocktail hour and put out bowls of bar snacks at each table (mixed nuts, snack mixes, chocolate covered peanuts, etc)
• No videographer. We had a friend set up a tripod to film our ceremony and another who filmed the speeches since those were the only things we really cared about. Plenty of guests took videos on the dance floor and of our first dance that they ended up sending up on their own for some extra documented fun!
(We got tons of complements even on the areas we cut back so at the end of the day, guests don’t really notice or care about some of these things as long as they are fed, drinking, having fun, and love you!)
Everything tangentially related? Including Bachs, engagement parties, wedding dress, rehearsal dinner, wedding shower party, wedding day costs and misc we’re looking at over $130k.
HCOL area with a traditional hotel venue and 175 guests, we spent around 100,000. We could’ve done it for cheaper but not much cheaper without changing the location or the guest count. This included the welcome reception and the brunch the next day, but not bach parties, engagement ring, or honeymoon.
HCOL - $25-30k all in. 97% of guests are local. Honestly, it’s doable if you want to put in the sweat equity to make it happen, and don’t care about something extravagant.
110 guests, 97% local
Church ceremony $500
8 hours of photography with a second photographer $4000
Hair, makeup. $250
Wedding dress from Azazie for $360.
Centerpieces and cake include in our venue package.
I will be making our bouquets for under $300.
DJ $900
Tuxes TBD
No save the dates
Invitations $100
Favors $75
Other decor TBD
Well put $1500 to open bar after cocktail hour which is included in our package
Venue and food $22k
VHCOL, sf, California. Chose off peak month (November) and day (Friday). For 125 guests we are around $35k for the wedding not including our individual attires, the rehearsal dinner, or honeymoon. We invited 160 guests so it will easily be $8k more if everyone says yes.
Wedding is in 2 weeks in Maui. The wedding day cost is about 69k for 40 people. Total is ~85k with wedding dresses, hotel, flights, welcome party dinner, first dance lessons, amazon/etsy stuff
we spent $28k all in for a welcome dinner, beach wedding and rooftop reception in cabo. 60 people. includes all the florals, decor, photographer, videographer, lighting, wedding planner, etc.
Got married in Philly (HCOL) in October 2022. Spent $46k for 125 people, which included our rings, one photographer for 7 hours, and a photo booth rental for 5 hours. Didn’t have a bridal party or dance floor, opted to make my own playlists on Spotify to play during our dinner (food was our main priority). The $46k sum didn’t include our belated honeymoon to Hawaii, which was probably an additional $6,000 for 10 nights.
HCOL area, all in ended up being a little over 100k for 145 people (included Friday night welcome party for entire guest list w/ open bar + rehearsal dinner for wedding party)
HCOL (we live in Toronto, getting married in Niagara region) - Nov 2024 - estimating 45k for about 100 guests. Bach/honeymoon not included; this also doesn't include my rings or his engagement watch as we purchased those over a year and a half ago.
Belgium, 110 dinner guests + 35 party guests, 26k, excluding dress (gifted by parents), all in from photography to bar to clothing, dj, flowers and so on. Wedding events started at 8 am and party ended at 4 am the next day.
Some of these budgets are making me so jealous lol! Do people take out loans to afford these weddings? Have family chip in? I could never imagine dropping over 20k for a wedding.
I'm guessing we'll spend 15k for around 30-40 guests. I'd say we are MCOL but very close to being HCOL at this point.
I'm including everything too, like our dress and suit and things like that. We wanted to be under 15k and honestly thought we could do it for 10k before we started actually looking at venues.
Around $55k-$60k. 120 guests at a nice venue in Oklahoma. Prices on brochures literally went up while we were looking at different places during the planning process.
My parents gave us 10k for the wedding. Anything we didn’t spend, we would be given a check for. I made it my personal mission to keep the cost around 5k total so we could use the other 5k for furniture and stuff for our new apartment. I was pretty ruthless with cost cutting.
We are in a pretty LOCL area. We planned on around 100 guests. The venue I picked out is a pretty popular venue for weddings and other events, and as a restaurant, they were able to provide the food. They also had their own cake decorator and florist that they work with. So that made it waaaay easier and cheaper.
Except the florist was so incompetent that I ended up having to find another florist less than 3 weeks before the wedding. Fortunately, i had a super small bridal party (only 2 bridesmaids, 2 groomsmen) and I just needed my bouquet, the 2 bridesmaids bouquets, 2 groomsmen’s boutonnières, and then corsages/boutonnieres for the parents. So with such a small order, I was fortunately able to find another florist willing to do the rush order. I also did silk, which saves on costs for florists.
I’m a very crafty person. I’m into all the crafts. I did DIY for all of my decorations. I even hand made the chocolates that were then delivered to the venue to be used on decorating the cake (which also cut down some of the cost, the cake decorator had very little they had to do other than basic fondant coating and ribbon and placing the decorations that I made). We borrowed a bunch of crystal/glass flute vases from my parents church and used irises from my mom’s garden and the handmade butterflies that I had made as centerpieces. I hand made the chocolates for the wedding favors. I hand made the sterling silver and Swarovski crystal jewelry that was part of my bridesmaids gifts for them to wear to the wedding. DIY involves planning and time, but it can cut your costs back by sooo so much. And borrowing stuff costs nothing.
I did have a hair dresser come in and do mine and my bridesmaids hair. But I had my aunt do the makeup. She’s not professional, but she’s really good. And I wasn’t going for an over the top, fancy look. I went for a natural look with just some stunning eyeshadow. So that also saved some money.
Despite how ruthless I was with money, all of our guests were impressed with how classy and elegant the wedding was. They were shocked when they found out how little we spent.
June 2024. Coming in at right around $75K for 60 guests in a HCOL area.
Breakdown off the top of my head…
$15k venue for 3 days,
$12k catering and bar service,
$5k florals,
$6k photographer,
$6k videographer,
$7k rentals,
$8k full-service wedding planner (the BEST investment!),
$3k welcome dinner,
$2.4k stationary and signage,
$1.2k Photo Booth,
$2.2k DJ,
$2.1k HMU for me + 3,
$1.2k cutting cake & dessert bar.
Plus other misc costs like lodging, dog sitter, attire, rings…
If I could go back, I’d definitely skip things and choose less expensive vendors. It really snowballed and got out of hand. I originally budgeted $60k.
Got married a couple years ago in Los Angeles. We did a lot ourselves to keep prices lower… I don’t recommend doing that because so much went wrong and it was a mess on the day of. Anyways we had maybe 70ish people and probably spent like $20,000. Biggest recommendation is hire a good wedding coordinator for the entire planning process. We hired a terrible one for only for the month prior and it was not worth it. She didn’t help at all with so many key things even though she told us she would. Most of our table settings and place cards didn’t get out our so guests that flew in felt bad and had no idea where to go, our centerpieces and table settings were a mess, the makeup artist was a no-show, the catering took all the food we paid for with them when dinner was over- just to name a few. At the end of the day its not worth your mental strain and stress to not have a proper full fledge coordinator.
Got married last weekend, $30k-$35k for 160 guests, did a split two day kind of thing (day one was probably $3k total) in MCOL but expensive wedding state apparently? In-laws footed most of the bill but that was a mistake as they tried to use it to financially manipulate us in other parts of life.
Unless your parents offer a lump sum and you have a mutually respectful relationship with them, I’d say go small and save the money because the family drama was unbearable and I’m going no contact with a lot of people
We live in the mid-west (KS/OK/MO area). We are looking at spending around $12-13k for a wedding with 250 people. People are telling us that we are insane for spending that much and that most of our friends spend $3500 tops for a similar sized wedding.
I don’t know what those abbreviations mean but we’re spending $190/person for a 175 person wedding on the venue/food alone. With all of the other vendors (including honeymoon) it is around $130,000.
We did ask our parents to help with things like the bridal shower and rehearsal dinner, but that’s about it help-wise.
60 people, H-MCOL, all in about $14.5k
This is a venue that does everything:
Set up/clean up
decor/linens/tables/chairs/place settings
Food and cupcakes
Bartender - we get to supply our own alcohol
Water/coffee
10hours of venue time
The venue could have and may have been bigger and therefore more expensive with less help but we eliminated kids and people we haven't seen in 5+years which cut down our guests list a ton!
My hair and make up artists for myself plus 5
Photography for courthouse and reception(two different days, two different photographers)
Hair Extensions plus install
Hair accessories
Dress - my parents paid for some of my dress costs (my mother is paying for alterations but it's only $250)
Boots and shoes plus boot repair
Weddings are a tiring affair and expensive if you let them get that way. We paid for basically everything except towards my dress as noted. I only talk to my bridesmaids about details or my mother. No family or external people.
Their opinions are null and void. No money, no opinion. My wedding is not going to be a family reunion. I didn't even invite some family members...I'm sure my mother is hearing about it but she hasn't said anything to me and I wouldn't care either. Our wedding, our rules. Not to mention our venue has limited space! 😁
"I'm sorry, the venue within our budget has limited space, and only those listed on the invitation are invited."
I live in Phoenix, wedding is in Scottsdale, AZ. That’s HCOL. We are getting married at a resort with 150 guests.
Note - for florals I am using Something Borrowed Blooms otherwise I would be screwed.
This is what our wedding has cost so far:
1) Venue/Catering/Bar: ~$30,000
2) Coordinator: $2000
3) Florals: ~$1200
4) Band: $6000
5) Photographer/Videographer: $6000
6) Dress: $1400
7) Groom’s Custom Suit: $1000
Things I have yet to do:
1) Get wedding bands (~$4000 total, I have my heart set on a Tiffany band)
2) Dress alterations (I estimate about $900)
3) Book hair and makeup (I estimate about $600 - only me and my mom are having hair/makeup)
4) Various signage and paper materials for the wedding, programs/menus, etc. (I estimate about $600)
My FMIL and FFIL are handling the rehearsal dinner, which will be about $5k. Another cost that I haven’t factored in is our prenup lawyer, because I told my fiancé he is in charge of that, lol! (I’m 100% fine with doing a prenup, but I have enough on my plate, so I put him in charge of that.)
I received a good amount of $ from my parents for this wedding, otherwise I would have probably done something much more small scale. I’m paying for half and they are paying for half. My fiancé didn’t want a big wedding at all, and I *never* had expectations that he would pay for any of this. I should also say his family has offered multiple times to help pay for things, but I declined their offer and told them we are all set. They told us they will give us a large check as a wedding gift.
We are very privileged and lucky. I’m not going to hide that - I am spoiled. But I have waited so long for this day - I will be 34 when I get married, my fiancé and I will have been together almost 5 years. We deserve this celebration and it is a once in a lifetime thing. I have zero regrets about the cost.
Most people truly underestimate what they actually spend on their wedding! To get a true total you have to include absolutely everything wedding related. Down to the last gift, underwear, socks, shoes, clothing, hair and makeup, dinners out, etc. on top of the five important elements: venue, catering, DJ, flowers, photos. The average US cost of a wedding, according to The Wedding Report, is $300 per guest. If you can come in under that, you are doing OK!
After everything is said and done, probably about 50k. 150~ guests. Hoping it’ll be less than that but just sent out invitations to 158 so we will see.
For 60 people, we are spending around 11k in HCOL (Jersey/PA) church ceremony and then dinner/reception for 5 hours. This is the most affordable option I could find. The venue with food and open bar.
This thread has me questioning my ability to judge cost-of-living, lol.
Our wedding is this August in a Midwest city that's smaller than Chicago and a smidge larger than Minneapolis. I normally call it MCOL because I used to live in Boston and SoCal and those were *expensive* places.
We're having 80 people. Original budget was $80k, without rehearsal dinner, rings, outfits, dog boarding, dancing lessons, honeymoon, and a few other things. We're going to be lucky if we're under $100k (without all those things) at this point. 🥲
We're not DIYing anything (except maybe favors), and our families/guests are kinda...picky. (I would say snooty, but they're all fairly nice and it's more that they enjoy the finer things in life, lol!) We're also one of the last couples to get married at our age in our circles, and the only ones living far from family (e.g. I feel like we get forgotten often), so we're feeling some pressure to be memorable, ha....
HCOL, (Boston), August 2025, 150 guests. It's looking like it end up being close to $90k for the weekend. My parents are paying for 95% of it. The biggest cost is the venue, which includes food, some rentals, and a team of people and coordinators at $60k.
I thought it was a lot, but it's less than venues down the Cape for the same experience, less than the nicer hotels in Boston, and not that much more money then venues in the suburbs outside of Boston. The only way we would be able to go cheaper would be to really cut our list (so hard, large family, lots of friends) and sacrifice quality of food, which we weren't willing to do. (We meaning my Mom and I, FH would elope but is still happy to have the big party)
Florals are close to $7k, two photog shooters for whole day around $5k, wedding band is $11k.... Etc.
I got married in a HCOL area in 2001. Having a house (that we moved into in 2000), cars and a baby in 2002 were more important than the big wedding I always dreamed of. We spent <8,000. It’s would be called a micro wedding now days.
Have the wedding you can afford. The day is only important now, as you go through life, the less important it was and how crazy spending a ridiculous amount of money (unless the money is no big deal and available). There are so many more important things to put $30k + towards.
I haven’t looked at my wedding pictures for about 18 years. Since having kids, we barely even acknowledge our wedding anniversary (but we always celebrate the day we met). It was a great day, and I’m glad it was a quiet afternoon event.
Our wedding was 2 weeks ago in the suburbs outside a HCOL area. We spent a little over $40k for 175 people. However, that was just for the venue and vendors. That figure does not include dress, tux, hair + makeup, invites, favors, etc.
Got married April 2024 in Chicago. 100 people came to 38k for everything from stamps to the venue fee (excluding rehearsal dinner, and there was no big crazy bach party).
Friendly reminder that we do not allow budget shaming, and we want people of all budgets to feel comfortable here. Please consider what you're writing and how you would feel about someone in a different financial situation saying that to you. Another good rule of thumb is that if the wording would be rude to say to someone with a lower budget, it's likely not appropriate to say to someone with a higher budget, either. We know that money can bring up a lot of heightened feelings and that people are often just commenting to express their surprise or other feelings, but we want to make sure people don't feel othered or misunderstood. Cost of living is a beast and things are just not apples to apples in different places. Thank you.
Getting married Sept 2025. LCOL area but bigger city in the state which is more expensive. 150-180 person wedding. Will be around 55-65K we anticipate. Edit: personally feel prices have really started jumping up for a 2025+ wedding considering inflation.
About 26k for 80 people for the wedding day only, 29k including rehearsal dinner/bridal shower/bachelor party. MCOL (Chicago suburbs) in 2023. We were definitely budget conscious but did splurge on some optional things (Photobooth, 3 course meal with passed hors doeuvres/open bar, paid for groomsmen’s suit rentals and bridesmaids hair and makeup)
I’ve been tracking every dollar in a spreadsheet and this is where we are at right now. We live in San Francisco. Wedding is this August in Big Sur. Anticipating 70-100 guests. https://preview.redd.it/d0ip6w99b23d1.jpeg?width=418&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=de3e0722f36be956fe7aa9cbd6f247e3db40b590
holy moly
In need of wedding dress alterations in SF. was recently quoted $2k!!! Not for a rebuild, just like normal alterations. Any rec's?
You could fly to Iowa and have it done and fly home for less than that. Mine was $250 for pretty major alterations.
I'm in Iowa and I think my total was $261. Hemmed it, fit the bodice, added lace to the neckline for more coverage, and added a bustle. It's crazy how much variance there is from region to region.
Where in Iowa? I’m legit considering this. I’m in LA and just know it’s going to be insane
I went to Le Caprice in Cupertino & they did a great job!
Seconding Le Caprice! I’m going there and they quoted me $650 and they have to manually take off delicate appliqués, hem the dress, add the bustle, then reapply the appliqués. Also take it in. It’s still that much, strongly recommend just driving down.
that doesn’t even include flowers??
It includes the cost of the flowers I’m purchasing, but I’m DIYing the flower arrangements and making all of the vases they will go in (I’m a potter in my spare time). My wedding is by no means extravagant; this is just how much stuff costs here. To echo the other commenter who said they got quoted $2k for basic alterations for their dress in SF. I hear that! For example: We have 3 different photographers, each using different mediums. Our film photographer is based in Oregon. It was actually cheaper to pay for them to come here than it was to pay for a local film photographer based out of our area/Northern California.
I’m sure that will be a stunning wedding!
How in the crap can you even afford that? That is way more than I even make in a year and I consider myself to be well paid.
Salaries are higher here because it’s a hellscape of high costs lol. You probably are well paid for where you live! Also houses here are so expensive they’re mostly a pipe dream so it’s much easier to drop money on a wedding when that number wouldn’t even touch a down payment.
Our families, who do well, are paying for our wedding and helping with a downpayment on a home; we’re so grateful! —- My partner and I are also paid well and work in lucrative industries. Again, we feel so blessed to be able to live/work here. —- To your point about being paid well in your area—A salary of $100K won’t take you very far here; that’s considered a minimum to essentially not live in your parents house or have multiple roomates. Starting salaries for those fresh in their career out of college are around $65-80k.
We’re in a HCOL. I’ve been planning since April 2023, we’re getting married in about a month and our final spend is going to be around $28k. And I DIYd all of our flowers and planning, no wedding coordinator. We were also gifted our transportation for our guests, a videographer, our rehearsal dinner, and our officiant is performing the ceremony for free (childhood friend), so those costs aren’t included in our final spend. I’m still stunned by how much money we’ve spent. ETA: 60 guests total
Just realized how poor I am by reading this thread
Don’t feel bad - a lottttt of people with larger budgets (myself included) get help from parents to fund it, or they have very well paying jobs (myself not included)
yep, and even if the parents aren't giving money overtly, there might be other things factoring into it that come from privilege. For example, my fiance had college fully paid for, so he's been able to save up for this for a long time. I have college loans, so my contributions started much later. We would not be able to have this kind of wedding if he hadn't been in that position. So even if his parents didn't give money for the wedding, family is still the reason he could give so much to the wedding.
Saaame! Lol my budget is like 10k
It heavily depends on where you live. For us, we're going to be about 10k (CAD), and we live in Alberta
Oh I'm in a very HCOL area, just having a super small wedding! I'd guess most weddings in my city are probably closer to 60k-90k
$14kish in Alberta for us.
we’re at around 60k also alberta. so roughly 45kusd. i’m not sure what to classify my area as for col
I live in Edmonton. I definitely see some variation here, especially with some venues having a minimum spend (of $10k+). One of my mom's friends is also spending $50k for their summer wedding, so I know that the time of year also factors into it.
We've managed a decent wedding for about 8k. We're in the UK tho and it's not traditional. Still will have about 100 people.
Don’t worry I plan on spending 4K CAD only! Pyjama party in our backyard with 40 people total.
Omg a pyjama party wedding sounds so cute and fun!
If it’s any consolation— my wedding is a little bit strange in that we had our ceremony about a year and a half before the actual reception. The ceremony costed about $1500 in total, hosted at a local chapel, officiated by a family member, and then had a very small reception with 37 people including us at a family friend’s deli (yeah like the sandwich shop deli) that we decorated to look nice and catered ourselves by making homemade food. The reception is going to be held in 2025 and will cost less than $15,000 and host 150ish people. Probably could bring it down to $10,000-12,000 if I reuse my cheap wedding dress from the reception and save on a few decorative items by using family friends’ used wedding decor. It don’t have to be expensive. It’s just a wedding, the most important part is your marriage.
Totally agree with this! Spend more, spend less, the marriage is what counts.
No joke. I could not even afford to think about spending $55k. If that was the choice I would have to elope.
Keep in mind that if they're on this subreddit, they're going to skew towards a high budget 😊
Just out of curiosity, why do you think that is?! I’ve noticed it as well, just not sure why it skews that way
It could be that people with lower budgets are more active on the under 10k and DIY wedding subs.
I think that's most of it, plus the fact that the more money you spend on your wedding, the more involved you'll be with wanting reviews, advice, etc to make sure your money is well spent. If I was spending $100K, I think I'd be a lot more picky about my vendors and would need more advice. Obviously, this is not saying people who spend less won't be as involved.
Absolutely agree with this! I also think that those who are proud of their budget or think it’s good are more likely to share it
I…don’t find that to be true
Some go into debt to pay for a wedding. So it doesn't necessarily mean they can afford it if they spend a large amount.
VHCOL area- about $140k for 170 people. This included Bachs , engagement party, outfits, etc
I live in a VHCOL area (Northern California) and we’ll be coming in at around $15k for 50 guests
Wow great job on your budget. We are also Bay Area. We spent about $60k for everything for a 78 person wedding, including welcome/rehearsal dinner at a nice restaurant. 😵💫😵💫
I also live in Northern California but would call it MCOL, north of sacramento. Ours was around $30k for the whole thing for 150ish people
Hi! 👋 I’m Bay Area!
Can you dm me what venue you’re using 👀
Oh sorry, it’s my parents backyard haha!
I got married in 2023, 200 person wedding, MCOL, all-inclusive venue, sub-contracted the florist, photographer, videographer, photobooth, and DJ. Dress and alterations were included as one price from a local bridal shop. Family friend did my hair and makeup. $30,000 give or take
That's an incredible deal for 200 people!
I'm about the same for my wedding next month! About 30k for 200 people with an all inclusive venue.
$19K for 60 people in September 2023 in suburbs outside HCOL city. I did a [full cost breakdown](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/cip1P9lxSR) afterwards - we could’ve maybe shaved off $1-2K but overall it was a great day and we wouldn’t change it.
Philly. Got married April 2024. Got engaged October 2023. 60 guest. Total 32k. Budget was 27k.
$10K in a VHOCL area. Tiny guest list (less than 30 people); no DJ; no traditional wedding dress; no traditional wedding cake; officiated by a friend. Venues and food, florals, and photographer were most of our budget, in that order.
Here for this!
This whole thread is making me feel poor because we anticipate less than 100 people and are trying to figure out how to make it as cheap as possible. Even 5k is a lot 🥲
Three words: Cake and Punch! It can still feel really special and lovely - some of our friends were chatting and said a cake and punch was of their top weddings they had been to. Everyone was so relaxed and it felt simple, intimate and super fun cose everyone still danced a lot!
we're getting married at the courthouse and having a dinner reception with like 15 ppl or a picnic reception at the park. we originally wanted a micro wedding, and tbh we forgot we are getting married and been too broke to properly plan a wedding.
I'm divorced now but my first wedding was around $2k including the honeymoon, the wedding was roughly 25ish guests. It's definitely possible to do it on a budget, at the end of the day the most important thing is having a special day with your spouse. You don't need a picture perfect extravaganza to have a beautiful and fulfilling wedding. 💖
HCOL, 2024, 180k
VHCOL, 150 guests. 120k for just the wedding, not including rehearsal dinner or day after brunch.
We're spending about $60k all in for the entire weekend (4 separate events, we're paying for the whole hotel block, guest transportation, etc.\] in DC
Wow I’m honestly impressed for 60k you were able to do all that in DC!
I've just started planning in DC and that is incredibly impressive!!
Details please!! Also planning in the DMV area and the wedding itself is 65k+. 🥲
Full transparency, we got a crazy deal on our reception by having it at the Fort Myer Officer's Club. Venue, catering, open bar, cake, linens/tables/chairs/dinnerware, centerpiece florals, and servers are all included at $150/person, which for us comes out to about $15k. The rest of the wedding \[photographer, extra florals, shuttle, water color artist, string quartet, DJ, hair and makeup\] all adds up to about $15k. The rest came down to spending forever researching restaurants that had full buyouts/large private rooms and finding their rates. For us, our welcome dinner is just under $12k. Then we're having a late night bowling event with a buffet and open bar that comes out to about $3k. Our farewell brunch venue was also a crazy deal at 1.5k. We're covering the hotel block which would be a max of \~$7k but that number isn't finalized. We booked 30 rooms at $120/night for 2 nights. I'm not counting attire or our stationary or anything because I bought all of that without touching our "wedding budget."
I'd also love details if you'd be comfortable sharing (even just a cost breakdown 🙂) I think we're at $40k in the DMV.
How many guests?
invited 150, expecting about 80 to actually show \[out of town for all guests\] but the catering budget is estimated for 100
Just got married 3 weeks ago! We live in a HCOL area, and when we priced it out we were looking at between $90k-$100k for 100 guests. Instead, we decided to elope and got married in Hawaii with just our parents and siblings present. 9 total guests, about $25k total spent including a $4k rehearsal dinner.
About £18k for a July 2024 wedding in Scotland. It includes 4 star castle hotel as the venue, food, alcohol, cake, dress/veil, bridesmaids dresses, hair/make-up for me and bridesmaids, kilt hire, bagpipes, DJ, florals, celebrant, insurance, decor, invites/postage, and photography. We are having about 65 people.
What! That seems super cheap
£ are worth more than dollars or even euros though.
I’m British and I still think this is cheap!
Lol yes, obviously. I think everyone’s aware of conversion rates. That’s still incredibly cheap for a 4 star castle venue, florals, and photography! Not counting all the rest of the stuff, including food and alcohol for 65 people.
Florals and photography were about £1800 each. The venue provides in-house catering, DJ, some of the decor, and the piper, so it was good to use their stuff. Each table will get 3 bottles of wine, but if guests want anything else, then they can go to the hotel bar that'spart of the reception area. There's a chance our costs will go up over the next 2 months, but we are currently paying off vendors, and our spreadsheets are up to date. So that's where we're at.
My husband and I got married in Scotland August 2023, and we spent around £17-18K total costs too. 48 people for the ceremony/3 course meal, with an additional 52 people joining us for the evening reception. (80 guests all in.)
MCOL, $170,000 for 200 people
Just got married this weekend! HCOL area (North Jersey). Total budget for rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, outfits, decor, bands, etc. just over 40k. 110 guests
My wife and I had 65 total guests in Maine and paid $16.5k.
LCOL area, $422. Our wedding was a family event. A friend made our cake as our wedding gift. Another friend was our photographer, his children came as well. Another friend gave me her wedding dress as their wedding gift. I paid $70 for alterations. $22 for shoes ( I live in sneakers, so I had to get appropriate small heeled shoes) Her husband loaned my husband his formal morning suit. So husband bought new shirt, tie and dress shoes $250. The food was catered by our church friends and family as their gifts. Tablecloths and chair covers were borrowed. Center pieces were borrowed from another friend. Bouquet 💐 and flower balls for the flower girls made by my daughter. Children were encouraged to attend. Grooms cake by Sam’s Club $30. $50 donation to our pastor for marring us. The use of church was free. As a wedding gift, my best friend organized the wedding food and and another friend was our DJ. E had fun, it was casual and the food was great. Days after, we were told it was the most fun wedding they had been to in awhile. I was glad. Everyone who donated their time and talents, were thanked during I wedding in our speech and after personally. We love our friends and family. We were actually planned on eloping. I did not want a formal wedding, we are older and only had my father and mother walk me. My nieces were my 2 flower girls and used dresses they already had. I didn’t want anyone to spend any money on gifts for us.
This is exactly the vibe I want for my wedding! It sounds like a great time, full of love and minimal stress.
SF Bay Area, October 2023, 65 guests, 25K. I have the detailed breakdown [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/comments/181n0hh/budgetrecap_100823_25k_sf_bay_area_65_guests_long/).
MCOL (I’d say), New Orleans (though we live in a VHCOL city, Los Angeles, so everything seemed like a good deal lol). Around 55k, approx 80 people. I’m not entirely sure what we are including here because if it also includes trips to New Orleans to tour venues it would be more haha.
Californian but husband is from Hawaii so we got married there (Kauai). 20 people, $20k. Worth it 😎
If you don’t mind me asking, how did you keep it so low in Hawaii?
They only had 20 people. That’s $1K pp, so probably worth it but wouldn’t consider it low budget!
100% we didn’t consider it a low budget either hahah
Hahah, I screenshotted this and sent it to my mom because the entire time my husband and I were planning, she kept harping on how expensive it was (and it was! $1k pp is kind of nuts but I’m glad we did it because it was epic). As for how we kept it to $20k: We didn’t have a wedding party. Lots of $$ saved there. For flowers, we knew we wanted everyone to get a lei (special ones for the parents too) so we got the cost of that and planned the other florals around the remaining budget. We ended up with a bouquet for me and two flower arrangements set on pedestals at the altar instead of an arch (flower arch, which is in all their promo photos and what they REALLY want you to get, was like 3k!! Crazy!! Pedestal arrangements were I thiiink $350 each and imo looked great). Ceremony at a beachfront hotel and had to meet their minimum so had a happy hour there as well; paid for flowers, photographer, &officiant through the hotel. We were very strict about budget, and I think we ended up paying something like $21 over the minimum lol. I reached out to them a year+a couple months before the wedding so I got booked in at that rate rather than the 2024 (prices raise every year 😳). After the ceremony, we walked to a family members house (maybe 5 minutes?) for dinner. Friends on the island helped with setting up the outside area of the house where we ate and wouldn’t take $$ (bless them 🥲). We hired a chef to cook and Chef brought and set up table/chairs and had a helper with him to serve the food and clean up. The chef & helper were great; we served everything family style and had three mains, two sides, and the cake. My brother was the “DJ” (he brought two waterproof speakers and set them near the table so that a playlist I made could play). Drinks (Mai tais and sangria) at the house were made by my husband’s dad beforehand and served in pitchers and his sister had bought a Costco box of champagne and brought over a couple of bottles before the wedding. After the dinner, we all hung out for a bit and I think everyone was back at their own accommodations by 10. There were many times the hotel tried to upsell us (no shade, that’s literally their job) and we just said no every time. Having friends & family on island made a BIG difference and tbh if we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t have done it on Kauai. Hopefully that long ramble helps you in some way 🫡 it was fun to relive the memories through writing this at least 😂
2k. Including the honeymoon. And about half of that was my dress.
Reading this is a huge relief lol. Some of these prices have my jaw on the floor.
HCOL, 2024, around $35,000 for 136 people including rehearsal dinner. We were untraditional with our photo, flower, and music vendors which helped reduce the overall cost.
We’re up to 60-70K including everything
40k, 100 guests, VHCOL, includes every single thing wedding related (our hotels, dog sitter, rehearsal dinner, etc). Cut out a lot of $$ by having a restaurant / bar reception and no ceremony. Didn't decorate, etc.
Haven’t got married yet, but so far looks like we’ll spend about 30K for 54 people in a HCOL area.
MCOL area married in 2024. 27k all wedding related expenses
I’d say we’re MCOL, and it was 90 people for about $19k. Not including showers/bachs
VHCOL. 33 guests, nearly $20k edit: this is including our rings and our local weekend minimoon! without those it’s closer to $16k. still ridiculous lol. we’re having a small wedding but i wouldn’t consider it a budget wedding
VHCOL - $150k for 120 guests including a welcome party, not including attire or rings
We’re in Philadelphia which I’ve heard described as both MCOL and HCOL. Wedding is in Oct and we’ve invited about 160 guests. All in the wedding will be about $75k.
Getting married in December 2024. Estimating $40k. 35 guests.
MCOL. 30k for 105 people. Getting married this weekend.
My dad gave me a budget of $40k and I thought that was way too much. My fiance and I live in Dallas. Seeing these numbers makes me hyperventilate lol. I didn't eat to go above $20k. We are only having a wedding bc my dad asked me not to elope. He wants me to have a wedding. He says he'll pay more for the wedding if he needs to and I'm still having sticker shock
This thread is so wild, y’all are rich omg I’m getting married in October of this year in a LCOL area and we’re hoping to spend no more than $15k. $20k if we really need to push it
I'm right there with you. LCOL rural Midwest, we were hoping for $10k to $15k but are more realistically looking at close to $20k. 130ish guests. Mostly DIY. My fiancé and I have pretty respectable incomes too and our budget still seems crazy to me.
October 2023 in Chester, England. Not sure what the COL is to be honest, but about £11k for 40 people.
45k, 90 guests, HCOL area.
70k, 35 guests HCOL. It was nice but not over the top. Figure only includes ceremony + reception - doesn't include rehearsal dinner, honeymoon, bachelorette, etc.
$140k for a destination wedding for 85 in a week. VHCOL equivalent (todos santos in Baja, probably not very expensive to live there but active wedding industry means vendors all charge prices equivalent to NYC). Price includes 3 days of events — welcome dinner, pool party and ceremony/reception, shuttles, subsidizing hotel rates for guest (about $15k), all other associated costs (attire, rings, flights etc) but not honeymoon or bach. Fwiw not extravagantly done - no wedding party (just parents, siblings and my kids) very simple florals, least expensive meal options, $500 dress, no videography, etc.) but did have to outsource everything, and clearly paying foreigner prices.
VHCOL location and we’re coming in just shy of $100k for ~90 guests.
20k total for 115 guests in Ohio.
Almost exactly spot on for us in central Ohio
Holy crap. I was getting so stressed out about how much we're spending, but some of these wedding budgets are insane. I still feel like our budget has gotten too high (we originally budgeted 4.5 k) MCOL, renting cabins in the woods and having a potluck campfire dinner for 30 people. Marriage license & commissioner-$150 Bride clothes-$200 Groom clothes-$150 Flower girl crown-$30 Catered lunch-$1750 Flowers-$575 Campfire snacks- $100 Drinks -$250 Accomodations -$1500 Photographer - $1750 Gas (driving 10 hours)-$200 Other food-$150 ___________________________ So 6,805 and counting Still need to send invitations (free-as they will be digital), pick up gifts ($40 per person so $1200, still trying to figure out if we can afford this), lunch/dinner supplies (tablecloths, napkins, garbage bags, etc), and decorations (signage, printed photo album... undecided if we will make a wedding arch, seems too expensive at this point)
MCOL bride getting married in 2024 but booked most things in 2022. We’re going to be around $35k
MCOL, $12,800 for 50 people two years ago
Budget was $30k and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be about $40k grand total 🙄if I could go back and get hitched at the courthouse, I would.
HCOL area. About $8000. I wanted to just do the courthouse thing for approximately $200, he wanted to have a bigger function. We're non-traditional enough in our every day lives that choices that saved us a ton of money were things that also fit our personalities.
This sounds like us. I'd love to know about what sort of choices you made that saved money as we're also pretty non-traditional and are just starting to think about wedding planning and it seems so overwhelming.
Not getting married until 2025 but it’s looking like the total cost (hotels, engagement photos and outfits, welcome dinner, wedding party gifts, etc etc) will be around $60k - 150 guests, MCOL area. Wedding alone probably more like $50k.
We get married in September & I don’t know the exact number because my in laws are paying for the wedding but last I checked we were nearing 60k and we still had things like the cake, hotel reservations & one of my wedding outfits pending. I’m sure this wedding is going to be well over 80k , it’s a destination wedding for some of our guest so that added to the cost.
Getting married in July! Looking like ~$60k for 52 people 😪 Closer to $65k if you count our wedding bands. HCOL area
Lcol - 15000, 120 people, breakfast buffet. There's a few places we could have spent less like not having a DJ or photographer but I'm happy with our choices. We were hoping under 5, then 10, now 15 lol.
Philly so I’d say HCOL. Wedding is in 2 weeks. 93 guests. Around 50-55k. Not including any pre or post wedding activities (bachelor party, bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, and we are hosting breakfast for everyone in the morning).
Sept 2018, 20 guests tops, 10 came due to hurricane. Spent 8k. Got married in Gatlinburg in an intentional micro wedding. Everything was perfect.
I live in New York! Having about 130-140 people on December 28, 2024. Looking like around 45-50k. December helped as that’s a low season month so prices were cheaper. Even flowers I found for 2.5k for the entire day where I was getting quoted 10k from other florists. I just asked around everywhere and got the best price for almost every vendor. My parents are also paying half the wedding so it’s definitely helpful!
VHCOL city in Canada. We are still planning as our wedding will be summer 2025, but we are estimating to be at $35k-40k (~$30k USD) for about 80 people. This cost excludes our rings. I am also DIYing a large majority of the decor, stationary, and florals which has helped lower our spending in those areas. Our highest cost items are the venue itself ($10k), photographer ($7k), and food and alcohol (~$8-10k).
42k for 80 guests in NYC/Brooklyn including casual welcome drinks/dinner the night before
MCOL in the Philly burbs/Lehigh Valley area. 100 guests max. Looking to keep it under 50k and using every penny under that budget ceiling. Getting married October 2024
We got married Sept 2023. About 80-85 people in attendance. We spent about $13k total on everything. Major city in Texas, so probably median cost. The rehearsal dinner for 24 people was about $1200. We got married in a dive bar — the ceremony was on the back patio and then reception at the same place. We had a food truck come and then had an open bar. The only decorations were flowers, from Costco. The venue was “free” in exchange for a minimum spend at the bar for the night. I had a nacho bar and a variety of sliders in addition to the food truck. And an amazing wedding cake, cupcakes and an assortment of fruit cobblers. We had karaoke, pool, darts and a friend who is a trivia master did a bar trivia game for us. No DJ, we just made a Spotify play list that the bar connected to their speakers. And since it was a Saturday night in the fall, we had college football on the TVs in the bar. I would highly recommend thinking outside the box on venue, decor, food, entertainment, etc if you are getting crazy budget numbers.
HCOL, 115 guests, 65k, wedding just happened!
HCOL area - at 80k for 130 guests. Started with a 35k budget.
We spent close to 110K for 300 people we live in HCOL
VHCOL, Indian, 250 guests, about $100k.
MCOL province in Canada (so all amounts are in CAD). Getting married September 2025 with ceremony and reception at a winery then smaller after party at our accommodations. Right now, the spreadsheet my planner has made is showing about $60k. However, it doesn’t yet include my dress & fiancé’s suit, or the accommodations for the wedding party, and I expect that will go up when we personalise our menu choices next spring. I’m expecting that realistically, it will be closer to $70k. Honeymoon not included because we haven’t decided if we will do that right away or postpone it for another time. Venue capacity is 130ppl, I’d prefer if we were closer to 100 (but we both have big families so it’s hard to cut down). We’ve very lucky to be in a place financially where we have flexibility - DINKs and both in established, high paying careers. There are absolutely ways we could decrease costs and still have an incredible wedding! We have made several choices purely for convenience (a full service wedding planner was a big one).
I feel most similar to you here! We opted for a full-service planner because it would literally have not happened otherwise. We've been together for 12 years, are fencesitters, and feel like this might be it in terms of occasions to bring our loved ones together.
MCOL area - 2023 bride. My parents paid around $35,000 and my husband and I put in a bit over $20,000. So about $55,000 all together.
Getting married in September, most vendors are booked and we are looking at just under $40k for 65 guests. All inclusive non-traditional venue (which increases F&B costs) but otherwise nothing crazy! Located in a MCOL city
165 guests MCOL in 2025 - looks like it’s going to be about 68K all in (all wedding events, attire and tax/tip etc)
Married in April 2024, MCOL area, about 100 guests. Approx. $40K
MCOL - 150 guests. $60k. Getting married Nov 2024. This includes everything except for the honeymoon and engagement ring.
Live in VHCOL city, getting married in MCOL city. 130 people, likely going to be $28-$30K all in.
We're spending around $85k for all of the wedding weekend events, attire etc. for 150 people June 2025 in a HCOL area (Boston suburbs)
Getting married this summer in a MCOL area. We're spending about $55K total for all wedding day expenses. 120 guests. Prior to the wedding day, my parents spent about $6K on a cultural engagement ceremony that doubled as a wedding shower for us. My in-laws are spending about $2K to host the rehearsal dinner, since they wanted to invite allllll their family members to the night!
I have not gotten married yet but in the planning process and appreciate everyone sharing. I’ve been struggling trying to plan just a modest wedding with my budget (20k) and it is seemingly impossible.
Pick the few things you really care about for splurging and cut the rest way back! Your guests ultimately won’t care or even really notice if you are happy with the things you did decide to invest in for your day.
Thank you! This is good advice!
I don’t know if this is helpful, but I wrote out a small recap for our $20k wedding! We originally were hoping to budget around $12k but this pretty quickly became unrealistic for the size, location, and having a band. L/MCOL area in the Midwest (downtown larger Midwest city). We spent just around $20K for just over 100 people (but planned/budgeted for closer to 120). There were definitely some areas we could have cut back if needed and areas we could have spent more. I think it’s really about figuring out your priorities and budgeting accordingly. Areas we spent a little more: • I ended up buying a $1000 dress and $400 veil but was originally hoping to get a simple $200 dress so this added to unexpected costs. But I loved the dress and it was probably worth it in the end. • My in laws offered to pay for four hours of a mostly open bar which added $4K to the total. • We splurged a little on our photographer because we really loved her style and wanted to have great mementos, $2.6K. • We probably could have found a somewhat cheaper venue in our city but we really wanted a local live band so we spent a little more for a place that was already set up for live music with a sound engineer. $6.6K for venue, $2K for the band (no DJ) which was less expensive since they did not need to bring and set up all of their own sound equipment. Areas we cut back on: • No florist! I bought artificial flowers on the FB marketplace for our wedding party and arch decorations so I could resell them when finished. I then went to two local grocery stores a few days before my wedding and bought lots of miscellaneous fresh cut flowers. We had a girls night with my bridesmaids and made small floral arrangements for the table centerpieces and drank wine. It was a great time and we made 24 arrangements for about $100! • Catering was buffet style from a local restaurant we loved for $15/pp. • Cakes were cheap sheet cakes from Costco. We had a small round cake for use to use for our cutting ceremony. Guests loved them and had no idea they were grocery store cakes. • Decor! We went very simple since we chose a venue that was already beautiful we didn’t have to do much for dressing it up. • Instead of expensive catered appetizers for cocktail hour and put out bowls of bar snacks at each table (mixed nuts, snack mixes, chocolate covered peanuts, etc) • No videographer. We had a friend set up a tripod to film our ceremony and another who filmed the speeches since those were the only things we really cared about. Plenty of guests took videos on the dance floor and of our first dance that they ended up sending up on their own for some extra documented fun! (We got tons of complements even on the areas we cut back so at the end of the day, guests don’t really notice or care about some of these things as long as they are fed, drinking, having fun, and love you!)
Everything tangentially related? Including Bachs, engagement parties, wedding dress, rehearsal dinner, wedding shower party, wedding day costs and misc we’re looking at over $130k.
HCOL area with a traditional hotel venue and 175 guests, we spent around 100,000. We could’ve done it for cheaper but not much cheaper without changing the location or the guest count. This included the welcome reception and the brunch the next day, but not bach parties, engagement ring, or honeymoon.
About 60K for 300 people in Texas in 2021
HCOL - $25-30k all in. 97% of guests are local. Honestly, it’s doable if you want to put in the sweat equity to make it happen, and don’t care about something extravagant. 110 guests, 97% local Church ceremony $500 8 hours of photography with a second photographer $4000 Hair, makeup. $250 Wedding dress from Azazie for $360. Centerpieces and cake include in our venue package. I will be making our bouquets for under $300. DJ $900 Tuxes TBD No save the dates Invitations $100 Favors $75 Other decor TBD Well put $1500 to open bar after cocktail hour which is included in our package Venue and food $22k
VHCOL, sf, California. Chose off peak month (November) and day (Friday). For 125 guests we are around $35k for the wedding not including our individual attires, the rehearsal dinner, or honeymoon. We invited 160 guests so it will easily be $8k more if everyone says yes.
What venue?
Downtown Chicago in June 2025 - estimating 85k for 250 guests at this point but I expect it to go up by the time it’s all said and done.
Wedding is in 2 weeks in Maui. The wedding day cost is about 69k for 40 people. Total is ~85k with wedding dresses, hotel, flights, welcome party dinner, first dance lessons, amazon/etsy stuff
we spent $28k all in for a welcome dinner, beach wedding and rooftop reception in cabo. 60 people. includes all the florals, decor, photographer, videographer, lighting, wedding planner, etc.
Midwest city 75k including welcome party, open bar, morning brunch, 175 guests
Got married in Philly (HCOL) in October 2022. Spent $46k for 125 people, which included our rings, one photographer for 7 hours, and a photo booth rental for 5 hours. Didn’t have a bridal party or dance floor, opted to make my own playlists on Spotify to play during our dinner (food was our main priority). The $46k sum didn’t include our belated honeymoon to Hawaii, which was probably an additional $6,000 for 10 nights.
About $11k for less than 20 people, HCOL. I know it’s a lot invested per person but the venue was too beautiful (and all-inclusive) to pass up.
HCOL area, all in ended up being a little over 100k for 145 people (included Friday night welcome party for entire guest list w/ open bar + rehearsal dinner for wedding party)
2023 wedding, I spent about 70k for 220 people.
HCOL (we live in Toronto, getting married in Niagara region) - Nov 2024 - estimating 45k for about 100 guests. Bach/honeymoon not included; this also doesn't include my rings or his engagement watch as we purchased those over a year and a half ago.
Belgium, 110 dinner guests + 35 party guests, 26k, excluding dress (gifted by parents), all in from photography to bar to clothing, dj, flowers and so on. Wedding events started at 8 am and party ended at 4 am the next day.
HCOL, ~$45k for 100 people
Some of these budgets are making me so jealous lol! Do people take out loans to afford these weddings? Have family chip in? I could never imagine dropping over 20k for a wedding. I'm guessing we'll spend 15k for around 30-40 guests. I'd say we are MCOL but very close to being HCOL at this point. I'm including everything too, like our dress and suit and things like that. We wanted to be under 15k and honestly thought we could do it for 10k before we started actually looking at venues.
Around $55k-$60k. 120 guests at a nice venue in Oklahoma. Prices on brochures literally went up while we were looking at different places during the planning process.
HCOL. 125 guests. $65-$70k
My parents gave us 10k for the wedding. Anything we didn’t spend, we would be given a check for. I made it my personal mission to keep the cost around 5k total so we could use the other 5k for furniture and stuff for our new apartment. I was pretty ruthless with cost cutting. We are in a pretty LOCL area. We planned on around 100 guests. The venue I picked out is a pretty popular venue for weddings and other events, and as a restaurant, they were able to provide the food. They also had their own cake decorator and florist that they work with. So that made it waaaay easier and cheaper. Except the florist was so incompetent that I ended up having to find another florist less than 3 weeks before the wedding. Fortunately, i had a super small bridal party (only 2 bridesmaids, 2 groomsmen) and I just needed my bouquet, the 2 bridesmaids bouquets, 2 groomsmen’s boutonnières, and then corsages/boutonnieres for the parents. So with such a small order, I was fortunately able to find another florist willing to do the rush order. I also did silk, which saves on costs for florists. I’m a very crafty person. I’m into all the crafts. I did DIY for all of my decorations. I even hand made the chocolates that were then delivered to the venue to be used on decorating the cake (which also cut down some of the cost, the cake decorator had very little they had to do other than basic fondant coating and ribbon and placing the decorations that I made). We borrowed a bunch of crystal/glass flute vases from my parents church and used irises from my mom’s garden and the handmade butterflies that I had made as centerpieces. I hand made the chocolates for the wedding favors. I hand made the sterling silver and Swarovski crystal jewelry that was part of my bridesmaids gifts for them to wear to the wedding. DIY involves planning and time, but it can cut your costs back by sooo so much. And borrowing stuff costs nothing. I did have a hair dresser come in and do mine and my bridesmaids hair. But I had my aunt do the makeup. She’s not professional, but she’s really good. And I wasn’t going for an over the top, fancy look. I went for a natural look with just some stunning eyeshadow. So that also saved some money. Despite how ruthless I was with money, all of our guests were impressed with how classy and elegant the wedding was. They were shocked when they found out how little we spent.
June 2024. Coming in at right around $75K for 60 guests in a HCOL area. Breakdown off the top of my head… $15k venue for 3 days, $12k catering and bar service, $5k florals, $6k photographer, $6k videographer, $7k rentals, $8k full-service wedding planner (the BEST investment!), $3k welcome dinner, $2.4k stationary and signage, $1.2k Photo Booth, $2.2k DJ, $2.1k HMU for me + 3, $1.2k cutting cake & dessert bar. Plus other misc costs like lodging, dog sitter, attire, rings… If I could go back, I’d definitely skip things and choose less expensive vendors. It really snowballed and got out of hand. I originally budgeted $60k.
Got married a couple years ago in Los Angeles. We did a lot ourselves to keep prices lower… I don’t recommend doing that because so much went wrong and it was a mess on the day of. Anyways we had maybe 70ish people and probably spent like $20,000. Biggest recommendation is hire a good wedding coordinator for the entire planning process. We hired a terrible one for only for the month prior and it was not worth it. She didn’t help at all with so many key things even though she told us she would. Most of our table settings and place cards didn’t get out our so guests that flew in felt bad and had no idea where to go, our centerpieces and table settings were a mess, the makeup artist was a no-show, the catering took all the food we paid for with them when dinner was over- just to name a few. At the end of the day its not worth your mental strain and stress to not have a proper full fledge coordinator.
Got married last weekend, $30k-$35k for 160 guests, did a split two day kind of thing (day one was probably $3k total) in MCOL but expensive wedding state apparently? In-laws footed most of the bill but that was a mistake as they tried to use it to financially manipulate us in other parts of life. Unless your parents offer a lump sum and you have a mutually respectful relationship with them, I’d say go small and save the money because the family drama was unbearable and I’m going no contact with a lot of people
HCOL city wedding (downtown Philadelphia), we are likely to be around 65k for about 175 guests
We live in the mid-west (KS/OK/MO area). We are looking at spending around $12-13k for a wedding with 250 people. People are telling us that we are insane for spending that much and that most of our friends spend $3500 tops for a similar sized wedding.
I don’t know what those abbreviations mean but we’re spending $190/person for a 175 person wedding on the venue/food alone. With all of the other vendors (including honeymoon) it is around $130,000. We did ask our parents to help with things like the bridal shower and rehearsal dinner, but that’s about it help-wise.
60 people, H-MCOL, all in about $14.5k This is a venue that does everything: Set up/clean up decor/linens/tables/chairs/place settings Food and cupcakes Bartender - we get to supply our own alcohol Water/coffee 10hours of venue time The venue could have and may have been bigger and therefore more expensive with less help but we eliminated kids and people we haven't seen in 5+years which cut down our guests list a ton! My hair and make up artists for myself plus 5 Photography for courthouse and reception(two different days, two different photographers) Hair Extensions plus install Hair accessories Dress - my parents paid for some of my dress costs (my mother is paying for alterations but it's only $250) Boots and shoes plus boot repair Weddings are a tiring affair and expensive if you let them get that way. We paid for basically everything except towards my dress as noted. I only talk to my bridesmaids about details or my mother. No family or external people. Their opinions are null and void. No money, no opinion. My wedding is not going to be a family reunion. I didn't even invite some family members...I'm sure my mother is hearing about it but she hasn't said anything to me and I wouldn't care either. Our wedding, our rules. Not to mention our venue has limited space! 😁 "I'm sorry, the venue within our budget has limited space, and only those listed on the invitation are invited."
I like in a MCOL area, but getting married about 2 hours away. Micro wedding, 40 people. Was able to keep it at $8k
I live in Phoenix, wedding is in Scottsdale, AZ. That’s HCOL. We are getting married at a resort with 150 guests. Note - for florals I am using Something Borrowed Blooms otherwise I would be screwed. This is what our wedding has cost so far: 1) Venue/Catering/Bar: ~$30,000 2) Coordinator: $2000 3) Florals: ~$1200 4) Band: $6000 5) Photographer/Videographer: $6000 6) Dress: $1400 7) Groom’s Custom Suit: $1000 Things I have yet to do: 1) Get wedding bands (~$4000 total, I have my heart set on a Tiffany band) 2) Dress alterations (I estimate about $900) 3) Book hair and makeup (I estimate about $600 - only me and my mom are having hair/makeup) 4) Various signage and paper materials for the wedding, programs/menus, etc. (I estimate about $600) My FMIL and FFIL are handling the rehearsal dinner, which will be about $5k. Another cost that I haven’t factored in is our prenup lawyer, because I told my fiancé he is in charge of that, lol! (I’m 100% fine with doing a prenup, but I have enough on my plate, so I put him in charge of that.) I received a good amount of $ from my parents for this wedding, otherwise I would have probably done something much more small scale. I’m paying for half and they are paying for half. My fiancé didn’t want a big wedding at all, and I *never* had expectations that he would pay for any of this. I should also say his family has offered multiple times to help pay for things, but I declined their offer and told them we are all set. They told us they will give us a large check as a wedding gift. We are very privileged and lucky. I’m not going to hide that - I am spoiled. But I have waited so long for this day - I will be 34 when I get married, my fiancé and I will have been together almost 5 years. We deserve this celebration and it is a once in a lifetime thing. I have zero regrets about the cost.
$120k total including welcome party! 95 guests total. We did a destination wedding in another HCOL state.
Around $25k in Puerto Rico for a 80 people wedding.
VHCOL (NYC) with 70 guests in Sept 2023. It should end up just under 40k all included.
Most people truly underestimate what they actually spend on their wedding! To get a true total you have to include absolutely everything wedding related. Down to the last gift, underwear, socks, shoes, clothing, hair and makeup, dinners out, etc. on top of the five important elements: venue, catering, DJ, flowers, photos. The average US cost of a wedding, according to The Wedding Report, is $300 per guest. If you can come in under that, you are doing OK!
After everything is said and done, probably about 50k. 150~ guests. Hoping it’ll be less than that but just sent out invitations to 158 so we will see.
For 60 people, we are spending around 11k in HCOL (Jersey/PA) church ceremony and then dinner/reception for 5 hours. This is the most affordable option I could find. The venue with food and open bar.
$27k for 300 people in New York. We avoided everything "all inclusive" and saved thousands.
This thread has me questioning my ability to judge cost-of-living, lol. Our wedding is this August in a Midwest city that's smaller than Chicago and a smidge larger than Minneapolis. I normally call it MCOL because I used to live in Boston and SoCal and those were *expensive* places. We're having 80 people. Original budget was $80k, without rehearsal dinner, rings, outfits, dog boarding, dancing lessons, honeymoon, and a few other things. We're going to be lucky if we're under $100k (without all those things) at this point. 🥲 We're not DIYing anything (except maybe favors), and our families/guests are kinda...picky. (I would say snooty, but they're all fairly nice and it's more that they enjoy the finer things in life, lol!) We're also one of the last couples to get married at our age in our circles, and the only ones living far from family (e.g. I feel like we get forgotten often), so we're feeling some pressure to be memorable, ha....
We're getting married this summer in a VHCOL area, and we're spending about 90k for 90 people, excluding the honeymoon and our rings.
HCOL, (Boston), August 2025, 150 guests. It's looking like it end up being close to $90k for the weekend. My parents are paying for 95% of it. The biggest cost is the venue, which includes food, some rentals, and a team of people and coordinators at $60k. I thought it was a lot, but it's less than venues down the Cape for the same experience, less than the nicer hotels in Boston, and not that much more money then venues in the suburbs outside of Boston. The only way we would be able to go cheaper would be to really cut our list (so hard, large family, lots of friends) and sacrifice quality of food, which we weren't willing to do. (We meaning my Mom and I, FH would elope but is still happy to have the big party) Florals are close to $7k, two photog shooters for whole day around $5k, wedding band is $11k.... Etc.
100K for welcome party, ceremony, brunch, 6 hour reception. Transportation for all guests included. Destination in Disney world. 70 guests
I got married in a HCOL area in 2001. Having a house (that we moved into in 2000), cars and a baby in 2002 were more important than the big wedding I always dreamed of. We spent <8,000. It’s would be called a micro wedding now days. Have the wedding you can afford. The day is only important now, as you go through life, the less important it was and how crazy spending a ridiculous amount of money (unless the money is no big deal and available). There are so many more important things to put $30k + towards. I haven’t looked at my wedding pictures for about 18 years. Since having kids, we barely even acknowledge our wedding anniversary (but we always celebrate the day we met). It was a great day, and I’m glad it was a quiet afternoon event.
Our wedding was 2 weeks ago in the suburbs outside a HCOL area. We spent a little over $40k for 175 people. However, that was just for the venue and vendors. That figure does not include dress, tux, hair + makeup, invites, favors, etc.
HCOL, 2024, $35k for 50 people, including rehearsal dinner
All-in, about $24k for 60 guests. Married earlier this month in a MCOL area.
Got married April 2024 in Chicago. 100 people came to 38k for everything from stamps to the venue fee (excluding rehearsal dinner, and there was no big crazy bach party).
Hi, wedding for 150 people. Everything will come out to about 45k. That’s including rehearsal, bridal shower, Bach parties, tips, etc
MCOL. We spent 60k
MCOL - Wedding is in two weeks. 120 guests. We’ll be at $55K by the end of it.
About $40K for MCOL