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So far all I have booked for my wedding in September is a venue. Our guest list looks like it'll be around 220 and its a formal sit down dinner. We'll be having a band, an open bar for about 5 hours, flowers, lighting, rented chairs/tables, and transportation for ALL guests from hotel to venue. I am just curious to see what other's budgets are. Ours is flexible right now, mainly becuase our parents are very generous and we've been saving and will be throwing in as well. We are thinking around $50K for the entire day. Is this absurd? I'm finding it REALLY hard to get below that number and feel like for the size of our wedding, its pretty average. But when I talk to friends, some tell me I'm crazy!!! Are we?? What is your budget!???
15-20K, 120 people (originally 200, we ended up eating thousands in a "saturday night venue fee" b/c we were required to have more people than we actually did), in the midwest. We had an open bar, paid for the whole things ourselves, and managed to not blow too much money on things we considered frivolous and/or unnecessary. It was tough though =]. In hindsight it was good though.
Ours is 35K for 120 people (formal sit down at at hotel) but some things are not included: rigs, dress, hair/makeup, shoes,tux...things like that. I don't know why I'm not including them. I think it makes me feel like we are spending less. lol.
$20K for 140 people, saturday night, full sit down dinner, open bar for five hours, dj, photographer, etc. And we're really pushing it. I will we had at least $5K more.
You aren't crazy if that is the kind of wedding you both want and can afford to have!
We invited 160, ended up with about 120. Had an outdoor reception under a tent with laptop/iTunes music and a juke box (for the dancing portion of the night). Buffet dinner and serve-yourself appetizers, plus cake. Two kegs in kegorators, 5-6 cases of wine, mixed drinks in pitchers (we made them) and champagne (not to mention juice, soda and tea). We DIY'd all the flowers and decorations (tissue paper poms). Rented all the chairs, tables, linens, china and silverware.
Our projected budget was $12,000. We came in at just under $10,000.
flamingred - I didn't factor in our rings into the budget....i was thinking the same thing as you where it makes me feel like i am spending less.
Thanks for your input!! I'm feeling a little better already... :) Weddings are NOT cheap!!! This is truly a learning experience for me!!
@ mskalinin - Wow! I am very impressed!! It sounds like you were extremely resourcefull. I hope we come in under budget :) and $2K under budget is amazing!
Ours started at 25k and is now pushing 45k...YIKES! Thank god for generous parents and FILs...Still, it's brutal to think about...We're inviting 210, expecting around 175 for an outdoor, tented wedding (have to rent EVERYTHING), band, family-style dinner and passed apps...This does not include the honeymoon, rehearsal dinner, morning-after brunch or lodging for anyone.....ACK!
Our budget is 15K and I'm pretty sure we'll be using it all. I'm hoping we don't go over. The major things are already paid for and we still have a few thousand to work with. This is for a wedding of 120.
50 guests, in a historic hotel. String quartet for ceremony, DJ reception. Passed hors d'oeuvres and seated dinner, cake, photographer, rings, dress, flowers, etc. - just over $15K - does not include honeymoon.
Oh i didn't even think about honeymoon and rehearsal dinner! That is so not included in my budget. i think if I included every last littl thing we would be pushing 60K! sheeeesh.
We are inviting 49, but expecting 35-38. We are right around $17k, not including the honeymoon. Sedona's pricey!
Excluding honeymoon and rehearsal dinner but including EVERYTHING else: 250 people for 12,000. No sit down dinner (because we hate sit-down dinners at weddings) we're doing wine & tapas instead.
i think your budget's fine, if you can afford it and it's the kind of wedding you want than go for it. i wanted ours to be $10, but i'm thinking it'll be $15. we're having a small wedding, nothing too fancy.
Ours is about 10k not including the RD and honeymoon. We're having 130 guests for a sit down dinner in Minneapolis. We got super lucky, I think, in finding people who are just trying to build their own business (makeup, florist, photog) and the insane resourcefulness of my parents. Thanks to them and their wet tile saw, we made a ton of vases out of wine bottles really easily, and centerpieces will be coming to like, $5 a table.
We can't and won't go an inch over our original budget bc we just don't have the money!
Yeah, I am not sure how we managed to come in $2000 under budget, but we were pretty happy. If you factor in the honeymoon, it was just about our original budget. I think... I would have to look at the spreadsheet, it may have been $10,000 with the honeymoon included, though that now seems unbelievable.
I am thinking about submitting our "real wedding budget" to the WeddingBee. We kept track of everything. I mean everything, including the rings, gifts, dress, failed DIY projects, etc. We just got our pro pictures, so maybe I will work on that this weekend.
We had our wedding in a small town, though. I think its a lot different when you're in a big city like LA or DC or NY where if you try to play hardball with vendors, they'll just walk away because they know there are tons of other couples out there who will pay through the nose for their inflated prices.
Our budget is around 20K for 100 people in the midwest. That doesn't include the honeymoon though. I had to laugh when my wedding planner expressed concerns about my rather limited budget and then proceeded to tell me about the 5K weddings she was working on. My goal is to come in under budget, so we'll see where things end up in about 10 months!
Right now we are struggling with a 20K budget for an out of town wedding for 100 people. Our honeymoon isn't included in that, but the rings, dress, venue, open bar, rehearsal dinner and morning after brunch all are. Additionally my parents have agreed to purchase any kind of decorations that could be resold afterwards (Lanterns, vases, charger plates, etc) and either take the loss or see if they could come out even. We will see how things turn out. We will be doing a lot of DIY stuff (invitations, etc) and hopefully we can come in under!
we're expecting about 60 people and our budget is 10K. i hope we come in under but i'm not holding out much hope!
My budget is 25K so I chose 25-35K because once we factor in the honeymoon and rehearsal dinner, we'll probably be above 25K. That includes rings too.
We spent about $7000 which included everything- including the rings and the honeymoon... and we had thirty guests.
We originally planned for 50 people for $5K. Then I actually looked around at prices, and got better deals for larger events, and now we are at 100 people for about $20K.
My budget is $7,000 for 150 guests w/ a hotel reception, dinner buffet, cake, dj, musicians for the ceremony, church, dress, lighting, flowers, invitations and all decor... I'm a huge do it yourself-er and it has saved me tons! I'm so glad I live where I do, the wedding industry isn't completely out of control here!
omg i didn't count our honeymoon or anything DURING The wedding (DW) or the rings or the dress or suit etc. I don't want to have to tally those things up, in addition to the big ticket items like food / drink / venue. Good thing I'm super thrifty for everything ELSE, yikes.
budget $7K for 40 guests, sit down french dinner plus a separate luncheon for some family guests.
clocked in at $10K thereabouts, all inclusive: rings, gown, bridal party outfits (we paid), transport rentals, afterparty etc.
we were very practical and i DIYed / be resourceful with existing stuff when possible, and because i'm not gaga over flowers, we had a non-floral wedding.
biggest splurge was flying in our photographer.
we amazed ourselves but are very very happy with the outcome.
no one believed our wedding cost 'so little' (relative term) for how it turned out 
15k for 120 people formal sit down dinner and the works. Fortunately, New Mexico tends to be a bit cheaper than most parts of the country 
We're determined to keep it under 15K for 120 people - we're planning a hors d'oeuvres, cocktails & dancing reception.
Under $10k for 200people including rings and honeymoon. My FI lost his job in May so we have had to alter our plans. However, I am more in love with our new plans and kind of relieved that we won't have such a big portion to pay after our parents pay what they want. I think though you should have the wedding you want that you can afford. If I could afford a more expensive wedding, I absolutely would!
I honestly couldn't tell you the exact dollar figure, but it was somewhere around $12k-including rings, but excluding honeymoon since my ILs footed the bill for most of it.
With everything included (honeymoon, rings, etc) our final total looks to be just about $15,000. We invited 95 and it looks like we'll have around 65, so that is saving us some money.
Ours is going to be about $12k for 175 guests - and that's covering everything.. the venues, the catering, the cake, the attire, the flowers, the DJ, and so forth. :)
$10-$15k for 200 people, so far so good but i know we won't come out under that
The ceiling of our budget is $50k for 330 guests. We're saving lots of money, however, because our ceremony (church, officiant, music) is free and friends are gifting us the photography and videography. Also, we're getting married on a Sunday and only having beer/wine/champagne, which also cuts down costs. Luckily, those savings are allowing us to splurge on the things that are important to us: amazing food and a slamming live band at the reception. And it's allowing us the opportunity to invite more people.
Our original budget was $50,000 with 150 people, it will be around $70,000 when all is said and done though. We are inviting 200 and expecting about 150 to show.
This doesn't include the tux rentals (FI's gift to all groomsmen and fathers), bridesmaid dresses (part of my gift to bridesmaids), rings, or honeymoon.
We had a super small wedding with family only, and then a day long catered informal picnic for 100-ish guests a few months later. Our target was around $5K, and I think we ended up somewhere around $4K.
That of course doesn't count the honeymoon that my hubby and I paid for, or the rings, or the suit/dress. Our honeymoon was about $3,000, all three rings (e-ring, wedding bands) around $2,800, my dress was $200 and his suit was $150. So I guess our total inclusive budget came in under $10,000. Not bad :)
I'm at $8700 which includes Rehearsal Dinner for all 40 guests, ceremony, sit down reception, photo and video. I'm also paying for 2 nights hotel for video and photo and my mom.
30K for 220 guests. Formal venue, Open bar, strings, piano, passed hors d'oeuvres, fully served five-course meal, etc.
This didn't include our honeymoon or rings.
So I think you can totally do it!
However, keep in mind that a realistic budget is really determined by your location (a wedding in D.C. is going to cost more than the same wedding somewhere in the midwest).
Our budget is between 55-60k depending on a few last factors. And yes it does kill me a little how much we are spending on one day. But I only get this one day and I'll have the rest of my life to save.
i'm going to go home and see where i'm really at but i have a feeling i will spend about 10- 11k on my wedding.
This is the budget for us. I don't think it includes the $3000 that my parents and his parents have helped out with.
That 10-11k has paid for sit down dinner for 120 guests, flowers, DJ, RD, rings, dress, tux, favors, gifts, plane ticket home and back, Photographer, centerpieces, cake
The only thing we haven't paid for is the honeymoon, which we are waiting til March or April to go. FMIL is paying for alcohol and my parents are paying for church related fees.
I think I've done a really good job keeping to my budget.
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