Wedding prices?

Question

What is an ok (average) price for an average wedding? Feel free to share the cost of your wedding and how nice it was. Thanks

Answer 1

Our was under 10k and that included honeymoon. I had just lost my job a month before we got married, so we were on an even tighter budget! We opted to get married in Las Vegas in a nice and not cheesy fashion. Friends/family came and it was a nice event. We then had a home reception w/ buffet dinner and cake and an open bar.

We saved money on our cake/flowers by asking around florists/bakeries for people who may do cake/flowers on the side- as a home business. We got the same cake as in a bakery for about 50% less $300 for cake to feed 160. Ditto for the flowers, we used casino buckets I brought home from Vegas to use as containers which were "free" so all I paid was the cost of the flowers.. Under $100. So, you can buy your own containers for the florist to use and then "donate" them to him/her after the event or let your guests take them home... Which is what happened at our wedding all the center pieces were gone. Which was kinda nice !

Also, I bought my dress from a wedding consignment shop- the original price of the dress was around $700 dollars I got it altered w/ a train and vail for under $400. I also did NOT have bridesmades.... I think that whole deal is dumb and expensive for everyone....
Although, for others maybe a Maid of Honor/Best Man would suffice.

Look into different types of hall/churches etc... Some VFW Halls are really nice and cheaper than traditional places... Also, having a reception on a Sun. afternoon keeps people not drinking too much and leaving early because most will have to work...
We bought our liquer from a bar at a lower cost and we were able to return all unopened bottles.. Beer we bought at a wholesale club and we were able to return all unopened...

Wine we bought at a local winery right down the street from our house for around $3 a bottle. It's good too... If you have a Trader Joes near you- They have a wine that's called Two Buck Chuck and depending where you live is around $2 a bottle and they give discounts for " by the case" and it's good.. It's called Charles Scwaub (sp).

I can't think of anymore "hints" just be creative and ask people around where you live. You can have a nice wedding on a budget.. Good luck and be well.

Answer 2

The average price of a wedding in the United States is currently something in the range of $20000. Mind you, that is an average of all weddings, ranging from heading to the courthouse with a license and a couple witnesses to multi-million dollar Hollywood extravaganzas. Weddings cost what you're able and willing to spend on them.

Everybody's idea of a 'nice wedding' is different, too. Some feel it's not a wedding if it's not held in a church...for my part it was a dream to be married among redwood trees, still others want to be married at home. For some, a nice wedding is inviting everyone they've ever known, for others the minimum number of witnesses (usually two) is enough of a crowd.

The thing to keep in mind is that whatever your ideal wedding, there are both expensive and frugal ways of doing it. I spent about $2000 on my picnic in the woods wedding fourteen years ago, when the average wedding cost I think ten or fifteen thousand dollars. There were about 85 guests, a large wedding party, live music, and more food than the crowd could comfortably eat. My gown was pure silk and custom made. The whole thing looked like it cost a lot more than it did, because much of the wedding was DIY projects and I hunted down bargains relentlessly. The only professionals there were: the officient, the musicians, and the photographer, and most of them were friends of mine. I paid them, of course, and at their going rate...but I also knew their rates were pretty good bargains and their work was top notch.

The exact same wedding now...would probably run more like three to four thousand, I imagine. Still, it would cost well below the national average...and fourteen years later, people are still talking about what a good time they had. The atmosphere was relaxed, the details were all in place, and we spent most of our money on sharing the fun with our guests and most of our thought on making the ceremony meaningful without making it very long.

The lion's share of the budget went to things like music, food, and a nice setting. We didn't bother with things like personalized napkins, huge flower arrangements (we were already in the woods, lots of flowers would have been bringing coals to Newcastle!), or elegant tablecloths. They wouldn't have fit the scene, and most people wouldn't have remembered them in particular. But we made sure the band played a lot of fun music that ranged from waltzes and polkas to traditional Scottish dances...which we taught those interested in learning.

If you're willing to shop around, be flexible, and do a fair chunk of the work yourselves, it's amazing how nice a wedding you can have on a very low budget. The key is to prioritize and be honest with yourself about what you can and cannot accomplish on your own. Then get in there and make sure you have a wedding that reflects who you are, both as individuals and as a couple.

Answer 3

Had my wedding at a catering hall, where we had the ceremony in one room, cocktail hour with hand passed hors d'oeuvres, and dinner reception for 4 hours with DJ back in the room where the ceremony was held.

Catering part with open bar was about $100 a person. I would consider it upscale, 3 different main choices of our choosing. Hors d'oeuvres include sushi, rack of lamb, different types of shrimp, I think we had a choose 20. Dinner choices included Chilean sea bass and Chateaubriand. The wedding cake was included. There were extras we did not include like a desert buffet. Our wedding was just 90 people, some of the extras were for larger weddings. Ours was also an afternoon wedding, I think that was $20 a person less.

This was 3 years ago in June. I assume June is a more expensive month.

Then added photographer, videographer, music, flowers ... can add up. I think our extras were close to $5000.

Answer 4

Well it all depends on how many people are you inviting and if you want to have the formal meal afterwards. I was going to get married 7-7-07 but I changed it to 8-8-08. I'm doing alot of the stuff myself. You can order the flower's wholesale and save a few hundred that way. A big chunk will be the photographer. The lady I'm looking at to take the pics cost alittle over a $1000. Anytime anything says wedding they tack on a few hundred more dollars. My whole budge honeymoon and all is around $5000. My honeymoon to Cancun, Mexico is around $3000. Flowers will die, cake will be gone in no time...the two main things I want to worry about are the pictures because you will look back on them for years and the honeymoon. I'm not having the formal dinner after mine. But I am going to rent a 3ft tall chocolate fountain! Just because they are cool :)

Answer 5

for a "traditional" wedding, one with ceremony, reception, dinner, drinks, cake, DJ, photographer, it will run you probably at least 10000 for 100 guests. our wedding is going really nice, but we are having it in January in Colorado on a Friday, which is an off time, so we saved a lot of money. we got a prime venue for $2800 including tables, chairs, dishes, linens and are spending about $22 dollars per head on food (doesn't include service or liquor), are providing our own liquor and ordering our flowers wholesale and making the invitations ourselves. The whopping total is about $14500 for 120 guests. The same wedding in the summer on Saturday without all of the do it yourself stuff would have cost $25000.

Of course, you can have a small scale wedding. My dad's wedding cost $3000. They had 75 people had catered food, but no service, rented a tent and had it at my stepmom's parents house.

It all depends what you want. But you can have nice things without spending a ton of money, you just have to be a little bit flexible.

Answer 6

Church/chapel fee $1,000; photographer $1000, tux rental $150 minimum, wedding gown $500 minimum, best man and bride's maid rental $100 each, banquet at $25-$100 per person depending on location and food, DJ or live band $300-$1000. You are looking at minimum $10,000 for a small modest wedding reception, to $50,000 for an average reception, to $100,000+ for a more lavish wedding reception... You should just plan a wedding that you and your fiance will be comfortable with... no need to be pretentious and waste so much money on just 1 single day of party... you should think about how to plan your future together instead of just that 1 day!

Answer 7

It depends on personal taste.

My wedding was a grand total of $3,000.

I am going through college so of course we didnt have a lot of money. Although there wasent a lot of money, my wedding was everything I could have wanted.

Set a budget and stick with it. Find deals and a good way to save money is dont tell people (like a baker or flower shop) that the items are for a wedding. They usually mark up prices over 60% because of that.

Good luck!

Answer 8

This totally varies as to where you live, how many people you are hosting, and what style of wedding you are planning. It's just the best for you and your gf to discuss how much the two of you can save and can afford to spend on the wedding. Then you plan the number of guests and style of wedding on that.
Ours was about 25K. We had a traditional church wedding, and hosted a dinner, reception and dance with a full open bar for about 200 guests. NOTHING fancy, just nice.

Answer 9

$10,000 is how much my brother spent on his wedding 2 years ago. And that was a nice simple wedding. I'm expecting to use the same budget but who knows how much things have changed in 2 years.

Answer 10

I'm not married yet :-( But i would love to be married in graceland by an elvis impersonator. I think the prices are very inexpensive (get the top service for less than $1000) everything included.

add a reception and a nice stay at the bed and breakfast and visit the local attraction for your honeymoon.

yeah, i know its not everyones fantasy, but i think its romantic!