I just got engaged and we are planning the wedding for next september. The guest list will be 100-150 people long, and I'm trying to get an estimate of how much this whole thing is going to cost us. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
2006-09-22 04:32:57 · 21 answers · asked by Kristina 1 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
I am currently planning my wedding- guest list is137 right now. here is what it has broken down into (i am a budget shopper!)
hall rental- $200 (comes with some decorations in it already no extra charge)
no bar minimum but drinks range from $2.50- $4.00 a piece, and a keg is $150 for a 16 gallon container.
meals are $9.00 a plate, $3.50 each for kids plates (for buffet style having two choices of meats)
dress is $300 with alterations needed
cake is about $100 (we are going with two separate sheet cakes and the "decor" cake will only have the top layer real)
no cost for linens or chair rentals because they are provided by the reception hall.
dj will run you up to 1,000 (mine is 100$ because he is a close friend, shop around before you accept a prequoted price! many change 100-150 per hour from what i gathered.)
Tux rental- $69 (i went to a bridal show and got a coupon for 1/2 off all tuxes we rent, and if we rent 4 the grooms rental is free)
invitations- i used www.willowtreelane.com and got a huge discount on those too! They have cool value packages you should check out.
Pictures- anywhere from 500-3000 from the reserch i have done.
I say check out your local vfw or american legion- they have usually very nice halls and the price you cannot beat whatsoever!
My wedding will cost right around 3700-5000 after rings are bought.
I am estimating anywhere from 25-100 per guest, but that isnt what it will truly cost. If you shop around you can get great deals on pretty much anything you want.
Just dont forget though, check around with a lot of different vendors and price compare- or even price match with companies. ALso do not forget to add tax and gratuity and keep all contracts!
Good luck and congratulations!
2006-09-22 08:32:31 · answer #1 · answered by glorymomof3 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cost is dependant on so many factors, it could run you anywhere between $1000 - $100,000.
The best way to estimate your costs would be to do a little preliminary research first: What type of facility and food do you want? Find out how much they charge for the site, and approximately how much it might cost you per person for food. Some catereres will charge $16-18 per person (my caterer's price), some will be $25-35, some will be $75-100. Check out some photographers in your area, and get an idea of their package prices, etc.
Then go to a wedding website (I like the wedding budget tool on weddingchannel.com), and play around with the numbers. You'll need to sign up first, then specify how many people and what your budget is. If you don't know this, just pick a number. ($5000, $10,000, $20,000...) It will give you a huge list of things that are involved in a wedding, and suggested amounts for each. You can go through each item and see if you think it's reasonable.
Try it out - just be prepared for hidden things like taxes, gratuities, and unexpected "miscellaneous" items.
By the way, I'm getting married next year; I'm planning for 100-150 people, and my budget will be $7000-8000. It will be in a hall that provides reasonable (and very nice, but not fancy) catering. I'm going with a professional (but not hugely experienced, so more reasonable) photographer, whose work we like, for about $1100. And I am committed to searching high and low for a dress I can get for under $300.
Congratulations, and good luck!
2006-09-22 05:42:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are many more factors to consider. Just the number of guests is not enough.
Are you having a sit-down dinner? or a buffet? Are you going to want all fresh flowers? or will you use silk? Will you hire a decorator/planner to take care of the ceremony and reception sites? Or take care of things yourself?
Are you going to hire a photographer? Or is there a family member or friend who takes awesome pictures? That could save you anywhere from $200-$1000.
How many bouquets and flower arrangements with you need; including corsages and boutonieres? Will the flowers you want be out of season? All this can affect your wedding cost.
Are you wanting an elaborate wedding or a simplistic one? What is provided by your reception hall? What will you have to rent?
The most I have ever seen a wedding cost for 150 was $11,000. The cheapest was $2,000. The average I have seen for that amount of guest is normally around $5,000.
Email me with more details and I can work you up a better idea of what you would be spending.
2006-09-22 05:09:11 · answer #3 · answered by mbjwithouse 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your guest list is about 150 people remember that not all of those people will not come. We kept cutting our guest list so we had only people we really wanted there and our guest list was still of 300 people and we had 250 come that is rare and our caterer said about 200 would show. So, typically about 75 people would probably come to your wedding (depending on your family)
You could possibly say about 5,000 or so. Our wedding was about 10,000 with 250 guests. This was with a caterer, DJ, bakery, Photographer, videograher, sound room, 5 bridesmaids, 5 groomsman, 2 Flowergirls, 1 ringbearer (we did gifts for all of them, we did not buy their outfits), unity candle, my dress, grooms suit, flowers, tiara, veil, shoes, nails, hair. It went a long ways.
Caterer - 4000
photographer - 500
dress - 560
2006-09-22 06:14:55 · answer #4 · answered by glitter3317 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is a difficult question, it is based on where you live and what kind of wedding you are looking for.
I had a nice reception for about the same size and it cost $50 a head for food, the ballroom at the hotel (nice but not grand) and open bar for a couple hours. The food was good. The DJ, photographer, and videographer came in a package that ran about $2000.
The cake and dress are the only other real big investments.
2006-09-22 04:40:58 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well my fiance and i are planning a wedding for about that many people, estimated ours is going to cost maybe a little more than 2,000 but we are going very casual and doing most of the things ourselves.... (well i am making the flowers and also the invites) but it really does depend on what you want and what is in your price range, decide what you want to spend, and make yourself budget around that, there is no reason you cant have a beautiful wedding/ that is not costly/ and do it within the price range you decide.......
2006-09-22 06:33:41 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My guest list is at 80 and I have budgeted everything and am looking at $13, 000 right now. And I doing the cheapest of everything! So, figure at least 20, 000 for 100-150 guests.
2006-09-22 05:10:35 · answer #7 · answered by mrs.dennis.10.6.07 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That all depends on the level of formality? It could cost anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000. My fiance and I are planning a wedding and for 250+ guests its going to be around 10,000 but that's for a relatively decent wedding. So you're probably looking at right aroung 5,000 to 8,000. Good luck hope this helped.
2006-09-22 04:40:17 · answer #8 · answered by help*w*answer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Honestly, noone can really answer your question. It depends on where you are and the prices of the caterer, entertainment and reception hall in your area and we have no way of knowing that. I suggest that you start looking for caterers, reception halls, music entertainment to get an estimate of what everything cost. That way you will have the exact price of everything instead of asking those of us on yahoo who doesn't have a clue and probably giving you incorrect prices. Congratulations and Good Luck.
2006-09-23 03:40:03 · answer #9 · answered by Who me? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the size of city you're getting married in. Smaller towns are definately cheaper, whereas a big city will cost you. My friend had a small-town wedding w/o no frills for $20000. I'm having a wedding for 149 in a mid-size town, I have no cake, no dinner (hors de ouevres only), no decorative flowers (boquets only), and no decorations of the ceremony church. We have spent about $28,000. It's expensive. Good luck.
2006-09-22 05:31:53 · answer #10 · answered by Michelle V 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋