what do you think is a reasonable wedding budget?

Question

i am thinking 15,000 is a reasonable price for a wedding for 150 guest. Am i crazy? does weddings cost way more? way less? i am thinking about am october wedding, is claret a pretty october color help me.

Answer 1

No you're not crazy if you have $15,000 as you're budget then that's just fine.I think you can invite 150 people to you're wedding on $15,000. to answer the rest of you're question Scarlet is a wonderful wedding color to have in an October wedding.Along with the color burnt orange.best of luck

Answer 2

First of all, congratulations!
Now take a deep breath and exhale. Planning a wedding should be fun. For a wedding budget, you need to figure out how much money is available. Add up what you, your fiance, your parents, his parents, or whoever is going to contribute to the wedding. If you have $5,000, and he has $5,000 and parents have $5,000, then $15,000 is fine. Don't go into debt just for one day.
The average cost of a wedding in the US is $27,000. That's more than some people make in a year. That is for a professionally planned wedding with all the trimmings. You can have a perfect wedding any kind of budget.

To figure out how much you should spend, try this:
http://www.weddingchannel.com/planning/budget/budget.action?c:4200:s:606525559:t:93:p:300:l:1009&from=1&wel_msg=login

You have to register, but it's free. It's a great site overall to help with planning, budget, guest lists, gowns, and anything else you need to know.
Also try this for money saving tips on how to get your dream wedding ffor less:
http://www.fireyourweddingplanner.com/

Try
http://www.bridesave.com
for some great inexpensive designer gowns for less than retail.

Claret would be perfect as one of your colors for a fall wedding. Maybe add a lighter color so it's not so dark for flowers and accessories. Maybe cream and claret flowers for bouquets and centerpieces.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Answer 3

15,000 all depends on where and what options you chose. Where you want your honeymoon, if right away (vs 6 mos out) and decorations and your dress.
I am getting married in june and planned on a 10,000 budget, well even after a really nice reception facility for reasonably priced ($50/person incl. open bar) the dj, the photographer, the church (mine is 1000!) and the dress... we're already up to $14,000... that's not including videographer (we're not having one) a florist, a limo, or honeymoon. Our wedding is 125 people. There just isn't really any cheaper way to do it without going smaller.... even back yard weddings are expensive after all the tent, utensil and dance floor rentals, etc.
Be creative and cut corners wherever possible that won't make your day look cheasy. Things like a limo and videographer are nice, but not necessary. If you're not really religious try looking into a justice of the peace (approx 200) to marry you at your reception facility if they allow it.
Happy planning!

Answer 4

It depends on where you live and what kind of wedding/reception you envision. North of say, Boston, some of the venues alone for a reception start at over $5000.00 for the night....and then depending on appetizers and the meal you choose, reception can cost around $40 to $50 per person (head) ($6000.00 to $7500.00) and that is before you factor in alcohol. If the catering package doesn't include a cake, then you will need to find someone who can make one for you but be sure to find out if the reception site charges extra for the "cutting and plating" of the cake. Flowers, tux and gown will add to the cost. Don't forget alterations for your dress, hair accessories and shoes, a photographer and also a d.j. or band for the night will also add to your overall cost. Again, depending where you live, the rates will vary....most run at least $500/hour for a d.j. to much more for live music and the price will go up if you keep them past midnight.

Claret is a beautiful, deep, rich red wine color. I almost went with it for my bridesmaid gowns as well. But I found it harder to match flowers to the deep color unless you want a lot of cream or white or deep red/russet colored flowers...

You can do a wedding for that number of people at your target budget, it just means being creative and looking for bargains to cut down on some of the cost or making the centerpieces and bouquets yourself etc. Try checking out http://www.theweddingchannel.com or http://www.theknot.com because there are Q & A forums there where you can talk to brides in the midst of planning or who have planned and pulled off a wedding on a small budget and get ideas and recommendations etc.

Answer 5

CAUTION! I just read where someone suggested that you get a "friend" to do your photography. If your expectations are very low, then go right ahead. I could tell you as many stories about crying brides disappointed over their wedding images as you have time for .... wedding photography is very specialized and difficult, if done right. Friends sometimes don't show up.... Uncle Fred gets drunk .... you get lots of pix of kneecaps taken by little kids with disposable cameras. Does your "friend" have 3 or 4 professional caliber cameras in case there is technical difficulty? Does he know what to do if his flash stops working in a dark situation? Does he know by heart, which group photographs most people want and how to keep people "rounded up" for those photographs? I could go on and on..... Think of it this way: when it's all over, what's left?? The photographs. Get the best you can afford. Just be sure to check references, past clients, and professional organizations to verify his professionalism. No, it's not true that professionals "don't care" after they have the money .... if the photos aren't good, they can't count on referrals for further business. If you'd like any more advice (I'm semi-retired after shooting weddings for 20 years) don't be afraid to email me .....

Answer 6

First off, you need to dicuss this all with your fiance and both your families as well.

$15,000 is more than enough. You could make it between $8000 and $10000. Research all of your vendors, and look into consignment stores for your dress. You don't have to get a $3000 to look beautiful. My sister-in-law purchased a $2000 for $300. All it too was an alternation here and there.

Once again, discuss it with your family and fiance. Look at your bridesmaids--will they look good in claret?

Base it off what you like, not what we like.

Answer 7

That's a down payment on a house or a reasonable car!

Start small, and set aside funds as they are available. Things snowball as time goes on. You can have a wonderful wedding for much less unless you are out to impress people- and people who want to be impressed by a wedding aren't worth your trouble anyway!

Claret will be gorgeous, but you may want to consider wearing an ivory or gold gown with ivory floral for the girls.

Answer 8

You would think that $15K would be enough for a wedding, but depending on what you want, you might come up short. Creating a budget and sticking to it is a great idea. I was helping a friend plan a wedding on a budget once and the book "Bridal Bargains" was a HUGE help.

Answer 9

Unless you are paying for all the dresses & the tux rentals thats a very high wedding budget.
the cake at the most will be $2.50 a slice
the D.J will be about $1000
photographer approx. will be $1200
cater at the most $12.00 a person
your hall will prob be about $1000
flowers will prob be around $500

although I'm a wedding photographer & the price I gave you is what I charge but I work with all of them & thats on the average of what they charge

Answer 10

it depends on your financial situation and the type of wedding you want to have. I would say that is reasonable for a very nice formal sitdown dinner wedding, but for an outdoor weddiing or a simple wedding you are gonna have plenty of money to play with. Good luck!!