Wedding Cost?

Question

How much did your wedding cost?
Did you and your spouse pay for all of it or did your parents help?
If you had to do it over would you pay for it differently or wait?
Did you have to take out a freakin loan for it?

I just found on line where the average wedding in the USA costs between $20,000 and $30,000....it's depressing.

Answer 1

Me and my fiance are paying for ours and here is the breakdown.

Hall including food, linens, and liquor for 250 people $6000.

church fee...... $300

I'm ordering roses from Cosco and having a friend make all my centerpieces, and bouquets.....$400

Dress and other Accessories........$1400.

Car service.......$750.

Honeymoon.......$5000

Photagrapher......$800

Answer 2

They say the average wedding is $25k however as a wedding photographer I'd say there are many being done for far less then that.
My wedding was done for about $3k. I found a dress that was made for me from a local boutique for $250. My bridesmaids were my daughters and I made their dresses although surely they could have got dresses for what it cost me to make them I was just picky about what I wanted. I recently shot a wedding where the bridesmaids only rules were to find floor length black dresses, all were different but all were pretty and it looked great. Black dresses could be found for a bargain at certain times of year. Also I know our local wedding shop just had a clearance sale removing the stock to make way for new prom and wedding arrivals. She sold many dresses for as little as $30. If you know in advance it gives you time to watch for things like after prom sales etc. for your bridesmaids.
My DJ was my biggest expense coming in around $1k. Photographer was a family member however that is the one thing I wish I would have paid for my shots are *sigh* depressing.
I got food from a local caterer. We ate buffet style and had my new sister in law in charge of clearing the banquet tables and having them removed from the dance floor. I only had family and close friends there so that was no big deal. Of the 80 people attending I'm sure no one batted an eye at no waiters however don't cut this if it doesn't fit your lifestyle.
My mother in law bought the food. My mom bought the dress. Otherwise we were on our own.
My personal opinion is I wouldn't change a thing. I had my family I love there I had my friends there and my children were my wedding party making it special for us. The money we saved on our wedding bought us a house. We didn't go in debt. We actually were able to pay for our honeymoon and pay off some bills with the wedding money giving our life together a stress free start. It's all about what you want. What your intended wants. And don't allow the pressures of family and friends interfere with your decisions.

Answer 3

It really depends on what you want...
My spouse and I paid for ours ourselves, it was a big expense, but we saved, and shopped dilligently and really appreciated what everyone did to help make our day special. I think it was even more so because we did it "our way."

When parents pay for the wedding or any part of it, they a right to tell you what you can have and can't have...

When you pay for it yourselves, you can and will I'm sure, include your parents in some of your decision-making, but ultimately it will come down to you and your fiance.

Why not consider a "romantic honeymoon" instead of a "romantic/fairy tale wedding?" The honeymoon is way more important for you both than the 4 or 6 hour party you'll have...

Good luck.

Answer 4

We had a small intimate wedding at an historic estate. Overall, our wedding added to about $13,000 (ceremony and reception rental fees, catering for 80 people, sparkling cider for our toasts, cake, cake display and fountain, flowers and decorations, wedding coordinator, photography, videography, hotel accommodations prior to the wedding, limo transportation to the airport, tuxedo and bridesmaids dress for 2 of our wedding party members whose finances were limited, hotel room for our musician who traveled from another city, honorariums for the musician and minister, wedding newsletters, wedding announcements, and CD favors).

My parents paid for my dress, invitations, half of the catering, and half of the balance for my photography. My husband's mother paid for the rehearsal dinner. Everything else we paid for ourselves. We based our costs based on how much we could afford to save after all of our household and related bills were taken care of. We also had a long engagement 14 months so we could save and purchase things a little at a time.

Our 8 day, 7 night honeymoon in Hawaii was an extra $3000.

Answer 5

My husband and I paid for everything but the flowers, and we were only 19 so you can imagine. We had a nice wedding and it didn't cost too much. Maybe $1,000. I made my own wedding dress, which is one of the biggest expenses. Get creative and ask family members for help.

Answer 6

For everything (and I mean EVERYTHING...dresses, place, food, flowers, cantor, bridesmaids dresses, tuxes, etc) it was just over $5k.

We paid for most of it...my mom gave us a gift of $1k and dad gave my hubby some bills as he left that evening

I wouldn't change a thing...our wedding rocked the house and people talked about it for years afterwards!

We didn't take a loan, we used cash we had saved and put some on our charge card (but paid it off pretty quickly)

Answer 7

It only costs as much as you want it to. Your choice. A down payment on a house or a party that will last a couple of hours. When my sister got married, b/t everybody in the family, maybe about $2500-3000 was spent. She did turn into Bridezilla. And our mom did tell me she'd pay me to elope if I ever get married.

Answer 8

Depending on what part of the country you live in, the costs are in a huge range. For my July 07 wedding in NY/NJ metro area here is the breakdown so far for a 200 guest wedding:

Reception hall: approx. 33 K -that's for everything including a cocktail hour, full multi-course dinner w/ open bar and vienesse hour

Band; 11 piece live band for 5 hours and a pianist and bass for cocktail hour

Flowers: approx $4,500 (18 tall centerpieces, bridal bouquet, 4 bridesmaids bouquets, 5 boutenniers, flowers for moms/dads/grandparents, 4 tall ceremony arrangements, scattered rose petals for tables/aisle, loose flowers to decorate hor devours trays and cake, and candles for each table.

Photography: 5,500 for 10 hours of coverage, 2 photographers/assistants, one large wedding album, 2 parents albums, 150 thank you wallets photos, digital retouching, proofs on disk, and $200 print allowance

That's it so far, but I still need my dress, limo, hair/make-up artist, tips to everyone..etc.etc. It makes me ill just thinking about it, but everything is so much more expensive in NY. My parents are footing the bill for it all, other than the honeymoon which we are paying for. Luckily they don't need to take loans for anything, but I know plenty of parents who go into major debt for weddings. But as I said, it all depends on where you live. A cousin of mine who lives in WAY upstate NY had a gorgeous wedding for 150 people including coctail hour, open bar and dinner, live music, flowers etc. for around 20k. The only real difference between her wedding and mine is where we live.

Answer 9

Let's see, my wedding is until March.

Hall $ 150.00
Rings 1000.00
Photographer 500.00 8 hours
Cake 225.00 5 tiers
Officient 200.00
Invitations 225.00
DJ 516.00
Food, alcohol, wine 2000.00
Decorations for hall 1500.00
Limo 200.00
5 Tuxs rentals 325.00
Wedding Dress 350.00 special made in China


Wow about $7191.00

Under $10,000.00 for us ~ we still have a bit more to do.
My parents paid for our airline tix to Hawaii $607.00 and we paid for the condo for a week in Hawaii $727.00

Answer 10

this is including the honey moon and his ring not mine...$500.00....we went to a courthouse and paid for the license my outfit was cheap and so was his...inmates were our witnesses. but you can have a beautiful wedding that looks like you spent a fortune for under $5,000.00 if you know where to look and where to get. E-BAY