What was/is your wedding budget?

[MrsPopetobe09]

I'm having maybe close to 100 guest at my wedding. i have a huge family. FH not so much. most of them are dead. But I have not asked my family about helping with the wedding yet because im not so sure how to ask.
So FH and i are trying to figure out what we need, money wise, to have the wedding we want.

So help me.. and give me a idea of how much you spent and what your wedding budget was.

Thanks in advance.

[Jacobs_Girl]

I think wedding budgets depend on what you can afford and where your venues are.

For our wedding of 150+ people the budget was $20,000 but we spent well over $30,000 but we received over $10,000 in cash and another $2,000 in gift cards.

I only had a few DYI items, like programs, flower girl necklaces, etc etc

I think what cost the most was reception venue and food, not including wedding cake, but it was open bar and full service with 10 waiters, complementary champagne and soda. Also a 7 course meal including lobster.

I think you could ask like for example if your parents could help pay for the reception while his parents help with the ceremony location. Other details you could work out later.

Good Luck

[MrsPopetobe09]

Well everything is really confusing in my family.
And there is alot of things i dnt know what to do abt.
Im scared.

And FH family is Completely loaded.. Bad to say but they are...

And i know they are probably going to help wayyyy more then my family.

But i just dnt know what to doooo!

ugh.

[Jacobs_Girl]

Well everything is really confusing in my family.
And there is alot of things i dnt know what to do abt.
Im scared.

And FH family is Completely loaded.. Bad to say but they are...

And i know they are probably going to help wayyyy more then my family.

But i just dnt know what to doooo!

ugh.

Thats kind of how it went with our wedding, my parents forked over $20,000 while his mom gave us NOTHING, not even a wedding present. As a matter of fact we had to pay HER way - airline tickets, rental car, hotel!

Which is mostly why I hate her lol but thats another story.

I would just ask what they could afford. Now a days it the bride and groom who pays most of the wedding.

[MrsDM]

We are having roughly 175 guests. Mostly close family and friends and our budget is $30,000. Our reception alone will cost close to $15,000 (that is including one hour open bar, free beer & soda for 5 hours, 1 hour cocktail hour with butler passed hors d'oeuvres, champange toast, 3 course meal, free room for us), photography is close to $3,000, then all the extras like DJ($800), Flowers ($1800), Invites ($200) and Programs ($150 - which are DIY), favors ($200), chapel ($1000), string quartet ($500), man it sure adds up fast!!

I am not sure what we are doing wtih transportation yet, or gifts for the wedding party, parents, etc. Also, our budget for the wedding bands is about $1200, and not sure what we are doing for our honeymoon, but don't want to spend anymore than say $3000.

Hope this helps, best of luck to you!

[MrsDM]

Well everything is really confusing in my family.
And there is alot of things i dnt know what to do abt.
Im scared.

And FH family is Completely loaded.. Bad to say but they are...

And i know they are probably going to help wayyyy more then my family.

But i just dnt know what to doooo!

ugh.

Yeah, similar to mine as well, but my parents are the ones who will be dishing out the dough. My parents are paying for reception, and my dress which I forgot to add in the mix of the expenses ($1250). FH's dad and step-mom offered to pay a few thousand to us to put where we would like, but we insist it is going towards the reception to help my parents out.

[Ties-necktie]

Didn't someone recently post a survey on planned vs. actual spending on their wedding. It had lots of details (avg. cost per guest, etc...)

Can someone re-direct me to that post???

[MrsDM]

Didn't someone recently post a survey on planned vs. actual spending on their wedding. It had lots of details (avg. cost per guest, etc...)

Can someone re-direct me to that post???

Is this what you were thinking of? http://forums.onewed.com/showthread.php?t=22291

[burnsgirl001]

We're inviting about 200 guests (although we probably wont end up with that many coming) and our "budget" (which seems to keep growing) is about $30,000. we're spending between $17,000-$20,000 on the reception, food, open bar. as of right now, we still need flowers, photographer, videographer, dj, transportation etc. etc. heck, now that I think about it, it might be more than 30. sheesh!
anyways, my advice is you talk to your family and see if they are willing to contribute, and he talk to his. its usually better if you talk to your own family when money is involved. people get very sensitive when it comes to $$$
anyways, good luck girl! have fun planning and dont stress too much

[Jacobs_Girl]

Oh and a breakdown of what we paid: These are just approx numbers

Ceremony Venue includes 4 rooms $2,100.00
String trio: $300
Limo: $900
Officiant: $50
Chair and tent rental: $500
Florist: $1,100
decoration for Venue: Approx $1,000

Reception Venue: $10,000
Cake: $800
Chair covers: $750
Band & MC: $300
Decoration: Approx $1,000

Wedding Dress: $1,000
Bridal Accessories: $300
Reception Dress: $300
Vietnamese Dress: $150
Invitations: $300
Programs: $150 (DIY)
Hair & Make up: $300
Car rental for the week: $300
Attendant gifts: $3,000
Thank you cards: $300
Flights(out of town wedding): $1,000
Photographer: $1,500
Videoogapher: $1,500
Reception Accessories: $500
Guest favors: $400

Honeymoon: $5,000 on just flight and hotel

this is about all I could think of for now

[BarceloMayaPalaceBride]

Our Destination Wedding in Mexico with 20 guests will cost about $9,000.00 This includes 7 nights at an all inclusive 5 star resort(meals drinks, alcohol entertainment included), Round-trip Airfare, My wedding dress, His Suit, The BM dresses/GM attire, all centerpieces, OOT bags, our wedding ceremony and dinner/full reception on the beach, my hair, make-up, mani/pedi for the bride and groom, 50 minute massages, flowers, cake, set-up, private dinners, the wedding officiant a fabulous photographer for 5 hours, and a Trash the dress shoot the next morning. You can't beat the price of an AI resort! :) I say go for a DW and save some $$$ ;) As the saying goes..."Why have a wedding day when you can have a wedding week?"

[Kay]

We plan to spend between $5,000 and $6,000 for a wedding of approximately 150 guests ~ anymore, and were adding up to $500 to $1000 for another 50 guests, max. Based on what we've seen and heard from others, we'll probably get around $2000 (minimum) in cash gifts (which we are putting every dime in a joint savings account). The honeymoon is going to be fabulous and is a gift also.

We live in a small town where things are cheap.

[Katie-ryn]

My budget is $6000-$7000. That's how much I figured I could save between now and the wedding. We aren't planning on receiving any money from wither of our parents, so it had to be an amount we could afford. That budget is for an informal, garden wedding for 80 guests, including my dress, our rings, everything except the honeymoon.

[RosieAngel]

I had a $15,000 wedding for 30 guests, but I know for a fact that you could do it for less than we did. Dad actually volunteered this sum, so I didn't have to ask! I wouldn't know how to, honestly.

[Mrs. Pantoja]

We are having 100 guests and our budget is $6000. We paid for it ourselves but my family gifted alot of things like my dress and our honeymoon. I also have a florist and photographer in the family.


http://www.weddingcountdown.com/ticker/pu3u0z5qoa.png
(http://www.weddingcountdown.com)

[f77g4]

Our budget that I did up was about $13,500 - that is done up on a complete limb and not really knowing the prices of things and for about 180 guests. We're getting married in our hometown which is a small town in our province where things are way cheaper then most places in the states. So far I am on the way of being completely underbudget as I've been finding good deals on things but I won't count my chickens before they hatch.

FH and I planned to pay for everything ourselves. We have been together almost 8 years next week and have lived together since 2003. However, my parents are insisting paying for the reception and a limo as well as hosting the gift opening the day after the wedding. FH's parents haven't offered a dime and I doubt we will be getting anything - so I've tentatively gone ahead and asked my parents if we can have the rehearsal dinner at their house which they are fine with. In fact, we will probably buy his mother an outfit to wear and renting his father's tux - just because FMIL has made comments that she can't afford a big fancy ballgown to wear (and no this is not a request of mine - I don't want her in a ball gown).

[wannabeNurse2]

I suggest the first thing that you do is start calling reception venues, photographers, and ceremony venues to get quotes. I set a budget before I got quotes, and I became really frustrated when everything was higher than I estimated. Once you have the vendors you want figured out put together a budget. Then go talk to your families together.

My budget is $9,000 for 150 people.

[starsthrumysoul]

My mom told us that she would give us $15,000 for our wedding. At the time I hadn't yet started planning and thought that we would never spend that much. But I think all brides and grooms to-be quickly realize that things add up really fast. I think in the end we'll spend about $20,000 for about 130 people. We cut corners a few places - his mom is a florist, my cousin is a photographer, so we'll do decent with those two areas. But it still adds up fast.

If you're willing to do something at your own (or a friend's) house and having family cater, you could save a TON of money. It's all up to what you want to spend.

[Whitewater]

Our budget (and a tight one at that) is about $4100 for 125 guests. Personally I'd be much happier with $5-6000 but we just don't have that kind of money. We are paying for everything ourselves, even though my mother JUST informed me that she wants to give me $100/month from now till the wedding as her and my father's wedding present, so we're getting an extra $500 or so, but we didn't know about that when we put our budget together! They want us to spend that money on the wedding itself, hence why they're doing it early.

I'm also doing a lot myself: all the wedding planning, the day-of coordinating, favors, programs, invites, website design and maintenance, hosting my out of town MoH in our guest bedroom, probably all of the hand-work (beading and whatnot) for my dress, I designed the cake ourselves, chose cheap flowers (red roses -- they don't look cheap at all, but they are! At least, compared to most of the stuff out there) and I cut out a lot of the supposedly 'necessary' stuff, like limos and catering.

I picked a cheap but *gorgeous* formal outdoor ceremony site, thus requiring no extra decorations, and am going with the cheapest possible chairs and tables. And we're having a potluck buffet reception -- no caterers! Together, my fiance and I also talked about what we wanted our wedding to look like, and since it's a second wedding for both of us, we wanted to stick with simple stuff instead of trying to achieve the kind of reception you see on television, for example. Staying simple has helped us a LOT to save money. Simple doesn't have to mean boring or cheap and cheesy. We've managed to achieve a light, elegant feel by embracing the whole 'less is more' concept. And our reception is going to be more like a big picnic than a formal party, which is what we wanted. Semi-formal to formal ceremony (after all, that's the most important part!) then, break out the plastic forks, bermuda shorts and potato salad for the reception :)

The biggest thing for me has been to buy used stuff. Craigslist is my secret weapon. I got $150 worth of reception decor (centerpieces and garlands and pew bows and so on) for $25 at a garage sale, because a wedding planner was going out of business and I was able to get some of her stuff. I also got most of my table number holders at 50% due to Craigslist because somebody had just got married and they didn't need their holders anymore. Luckily they're IKEA and only $2 to begin with, so (since I'll need to buy at least two more on my own) they won't break the bank.

One of the other big ways I kept my costs down was to limit my guests. I could easily have invited 300 people -- but we can't afford it! It's simple math, chairs cost X, tables cost Y, so how many tables can we afford? The number determined our guest list. On the other hand, this of course means that by limiting our list, we don't have to buy as many invites, or anything else, either and with luck, everybody we invite will show up!

And I'm planning on re-using our decoration stuff. The pew bows will become head table and buffet table decorations, the altar garland will become cake table decor, and so on. Why pay twice? Just re-use everything! I had this brainstorm when I realized that we were going to have to schlep the chairs from the ceremony site to the reception site, and we were going to have to take everything down after the ceremony *anyway*, so why not bring it to the reception site and use it there? Brilliant!

We also couldn't hope to pull this off without the support of my friends and clannkin, who have been like a rock and a foundation ever since we started planning. I know I can count on them to bust their humps for me, in order to give my fiance and I a wonderful wedding.

In short, keep it simple, scale it down, and accept your friend's and families offers of help if you have a tight wedding budget -- those things will help stretch your few dollars.


Whitewater (who NEVER in a *million* years would have said 'Sure I can!' if somebody had asked me 5 years ago if I could pay for my wedding myself. You never know until you try!)

[WBandMe]

Our original budget for the wedding was 10K, and we're going to come in pretty close to that. We're going to have 100 people and the last time I checked with the reception venue it's going to cost us just under $25 a head. (They told us with the economy their 2009 prices might be a bit higher, but I don't imagine it'll go over $26 pp.) Our photographer is going to be somewhere around $2500 (I don't even remember, ack!) and we got the chapel for just a few hundred dollars. We're paying $400 for ceremony musicians but FBIL (also best man) is a DJ and he's agreed to MC the reception for us, so that is going to save a wad. I haven't looked at flowers or a cake yet but from what our budgeter is projecting we'll come in just a tad under $10,000. So far except for my dress we're paying it all ourselves, although my dad has talked like he plans to chip in at some point. We wanted to keep the honeymoon around two thousand, but we ended up spending $3000. Oh well, worth it!

[Moon.Dust.]

I'm having maybe close to 100 guest at my wedding. i have a huge family. FH not so much. most of them are dead. But I have not asked my family about helping with the wedding yet because im not so sure how to ask.
So FH and i are trying to figure out what we need, money wise, to have the wedding we want.

So help me.. and give me a idea of how much you spent and what your wedding budget was.

Thanks in advance.

Had/have the same issues that you do. My fam is HUGE/ his isn't. His side of the guest list tops off at 23 people, while mine is in the 100+ area. His family is "comfortable" financially and mine is anything but.
FH family is actually helping out quite a bit and I had/have a hard time asking for help from my famously -mainly because i don't like asking for things. I do NOT like having to ask for help. What I decided on was asking them to do stuff instead of asking for financial help.

My mom's making my wedding dress -I trust her and her sewing abilities FAR more than I would any designer or seemstress.

My grandmother's letting me borrow one of her Mantilla veils.

The rest of the family will be pitching in in various aspects of the food & drinks.

His family's financial help will be used on the photographer, officiant, plane tickets, and hotel, and probably some other stuff I can't think of at the moment.

We've used our own money & DIY skills (ok MY DIY skills) on the stationary (invites, save the dates, programs), bridesmaids gifts, my jewelry, the flowergirl buckets, the rinbearers' boxes, and some other stuff I just can't think of.

[NurseLau84]

We spent $4000 to go to Jamaica, which included having our wedding there; plus $600 spending money; $1400 for my dress; $300 for his outfit; $500 for photography; and my dad paid for our reception at home which was a few thousand. DH's family is enormous and we would have spent well over $30k if we had done everything the traditional way. I have no problem with spending money on nice things, but we were very hesitant to spend that much cash on a one day affair.

[FutureKelley]

Our budget is $5,000, but I have a feeling my mom will be spending more than that.

We are estimating 75-100 people so we are estimating $2,300-3,000 for the reception alone! I'm hoping it we are over estimating on this one. That should include buffet dinner and alcohol (we are doing wine & beer only).

My dress, veil, undergarments and shoes came in over budget at $830.

Flowers for ceremony and reception are $560.

DJ is at least $400, may be more if we keep him longer.

Photographer is $400.

There are plenty of other little things that I am forgetting (tux rentals, accessories, decorations, invitations, ect.) and you can see that we are already REALLY close. I'm guessing it will end up around $6,000.

[sandy03]

My dad gave us a budget of $25,000 (the equivalent of what he would have been willing to spend on a the new car he has been offering to buy me for years if I elope). We get to keep anything we don't spend on the wedding. Our guest list right now is sitting right around 325.

Right now it looks like even with my purchasing all the bridesmaids' dresses, the cost of the honeymoon, and without his family contributing anything (which they have already said they will I just don't know what) we are going to spend about $18,000

[ChristineLS]

<$1500 for a guest list of seventy five. It's a really informal wedding :)

[JJsWifey08]

Im having 8 people at my JOP wedding and our budget for everything including honeymoon is 1200. We got everything accomplished with it too:-) Im excited

[bluejay]

Ceremony: 100 chairs: 300.00($3 per person)
Arbor/trellis use: 150.00
Flowers: 650.00( I'm DIY all ceremony floral arrangements, buying bulk at my place of work).
I want lots of flowers and this is the only way I can have them.
Officiant: Yikes, don't have one yet.

Reception: 100x$45.00 a plate: 4500.00 (I can also get a chicken tender meal for kids for $9.95 each, 2 of my BM's want this).
Flowers for reception is included in this price.
DJ is included. 5 hr reception plus ceremony is an extra $75.00.
Photographer is included. all day long.
Linen/napkins/plates etc are included.
Cake is included--they don't do fondant. I can email, send, or bring a picture of what design cake I want and they will try to match it.
head table decorations included or I can DIY
Gift table decorations. or I can DIY
Cake table decorations. or I can DIY
Champagne fountain: $300.00
Cold Hors D’ oeuvres: $225.00
(Selections: $2.25 per person)
(Spinach Dip in Bread Brule /Tomato & Basil Brochette /Pita Chips with Humus /Assorted Cheeses and Pepperoni with Crackers / Seasonal Fruit Display /Italian Display /Fresh Vegetables with herb dip / Mediterranean Platter)
Might do: Punch fountain:$150.00
I have no open bar in package and can not afford to add it in. I thought the fountains would help. Coffee, tea, and water is included.
Favors: want to stay around $300.00
BM Gifts: IDK? I am buying them necklaces/earrings/hair accessories to wear that day...
My dress: $820.00
Have to pay for 1 of my BM's dress: $140.00
flower girl dress: $50.00
OMG: invitations: want to stay around $230.00
guestbook/cake cutting/flower basket/extra's that I want: $300.00
Eek I don't want to add this up!!
I am prolly forgetting 800 million things. I'd can't find my notebook where I wrote out my budget with the venue. I think not including dresses/: around $8800.00.
Scary part is the 18% service/set up fee for ceremony/reception.
I get this venue for the entire day as I'm getting married on sunday, and it is absolutely beautiful.
I've already paid 2K. I am paying for my own wedding. My FH will have to figure out the out of town guests/GM gifts, Both of our rings, and officant fee and any surprises along the way...
His parents and my parents are not paying a dime.
Hoping my good friend who is a hairstylist will help with our hair.

[savepaws]

My budget is $4000. I can't bear to spend any more than that on just one day. I'm too stingy!

My FH and I started saving up awhile back and had enough saved for a wedding but my wonderful parents are going to pay for the wedding. We decided to use the money we had saved up for a nice tropical honeymoon. But now we've decided to pass on the expensive honeymoon and are just going to stay in the US and use our savings towards a downpayment on a house. It's funny how our priorities change. Our savings fund was originally to buy a new lap top...then we decided to save for our future wedding, then a honeymoon, now its for a house. LOL!

[NurseLau84]

My budget is $4000. I can't bear to spend any more than that on just one day. I'm too stingy!

My FH and I started saving up awhile back and had enough saved for a wedding but my wonderful parents are going to pay for the wedding. We decided to use the money we had saved up for a nice tropical honeymoon. But now we've decided to pass on the expensive honeymoon and are just going to stay in the US and use our savings towards a downpayment on a house. It's funny how our priorities change. Our savings fund was originally to buy a new lap top...then we decided to save for our future wedding, then a honeymoon, now its for a house. LOL!

I like the way you think! My husband and I used our "wedding fund" savings to help purchase and furnish our first home. We scaled the wedding down a lot, but the wedding is over in a day......our house is here until we sell it! :)

[nicygrl]

My wedding budget is tiny, lol... We don't have a whole lot of money, and neither does either side of our family.

We are using a local church with a huge banquet hall (free), and his cousin is a photographer for the local paper, so we are getting him to take care of that (also free :o)

I have several friends who work at a bakery, so my cake will cost around $50 or so.

We are going to have a dessert reception, and several family members are going to be contributing different desserts.

All that is left for me to do is invites, favors, deco, and our attire.

[Measha]

Our wedding budget is $5,000, though we may spend closer to $6,000. We anticipate no more (and likely and hopefully less) than 100 guests. Both aunts on my dad's side were caterers and one of them well be making my cake. We're getting married early in the afternoon so food will be light to begin with. I've found a designer knock-off site for my dress, am putting together my own centerpieces, favors, jewelry, bouquets. DIY can really save a lot if you are the crafty sort!

We're both in our twenties and still in college, so we don't have a lot to throw into a wedding. I like to remember it's just one day, a special day but that doesn't mean it has to cost a fortune.

[Kay]

The post before last was a GREAT IDEA!! (Sorry, I don't remember the name) ...I am also hoping to get FF convinced to do a Cake & Champagne Reception ~ his mom has volunteered to make cakes, my mom, my sisters, everyone could make a nice cake and it would be soooo much less expensive and still wonderful!

[tk93]

our planned budget for the wedding is around $40,000 for 150 guests, which seems like a lot, but i must mention that we are in a major east coast city and the wedding is being held at a historic hotel in a central location downtown. here's a general breakdown of our costs:

reception - $22,500 (includes sit-down dinner, 5 hr top-shelf open-bar, cake, honeymoon suite, tax, gratuity, etc.)
linens/chair covers - $1,000 (nothing fancy, just table runners & chair covers w/ sashes)
florist - $2,500
photographer - $3,500 (does not include albums or prints)
lighting - $1,650
dj - $1,000
live music for cocktail hour - $250
church & church musicians - $1,000
rings - $1,000
website - $100
invitations & rsvp cards - $250 (diy)
save the dates - $45 (postcards from vistaprint.com)
postage - $150
placecards, programs, labels - $150 (diy)
favors - $250 (will also be used as placecard holders)
bridal party gifts - $2,000 (for 10 people)
dress & accessories - $2,100 (dress $1,300, alterations $200, jewelry $300, shoes & other misc accessories $300)
tux rental & shoes - $400 (fh is wearing special shoes to give him some extra height so i won't have to compromise my heels) :)
hair, make-up, nails - $500

as for where all the money is coming from.. initially, it was supposed to be 1/3 from my parents, 1/3 from the in-laws, and 1/3 from us (meaning me, since fh just graduated med school and has no savings). as planning got underway, it became apparent the in-laws would not be able to contribute more than a few thousand, so my parents and i are picking up most of the tab and splitting it somehow.

as for the honeymoon.. the projected budget for the honeymoon is somewhere around $10,000. we're using some of my parents' mileages to cover about $4,000 of the expenses. the remainder will be out of pocket.

we are also doing a cash registry, so we will most likely recoup some of the funds through gifts, but we're not relying on this to cover the wedding costs.

[RosieAngel]

our planned budget for the wedding is around $40,000 for 150 guests, which seems like a lot, but i must mention that we are in a major east coast city and the wedding is being held at a historic hotel in a central location downtown. here's a general breakdown of our costs:

reception - $22,500 (includes sit-down dinner, 5 hr top-shelf open-bar, cake, honeymoon suite, tax, gratuity, etc.)
linens/chair covers - $1,000 (nothing fancy, just table runners & chair covers w/ sashes)
florist - $2,500
photographer - $3,500 (does not include albums or prints)
lighting - $1,650
dj - $1,000
live music for cocktail hour - $250
church & church musicians - $1,000
rings - $1,000
website - $100
invitations & rsvp cards - $250 (diy)
save the dates - $45 (postcards from vistaprint.com)
postage - $150
placecards, programs, labels - $150 (diy)
favors - $250 (will also be used as placecard holders)
bridal party gifts - $2,000 (for 10 people)
dress & accessories - $2,100 (dress $1,300, alterations $200, jewelry $300, shoes & other misc accessories $300)
tux rental & shoes - $400 (fh is wearing special shoes to give him some extra height so i won't have to compromise my heels) :)
hair, make-up, nails - $500

as for where all the money is coming from.. initially, it was supposed to be 1/3 from my parents, 1/3 from the in-laws, and 1/3 from us (meaning me, since fh just graduated med school and has no savings). as planning got underway, it became apparent the in-laws would not be able to contribute more than a few thousand, so my parents and i are picking up most of the tab and splitting it somehow.

as for the honeymoon.. the projected budget for the honeymoon is somewhere around $10,000. we're using some of my parents' mileages to cover about $4,000 of the expenses. the remainder will be out of pocket.

we are also doing a cash registry, so we will most likely recoup some of the funds through gifts, but we're not relying on this to cover the wedding costs.

This is also why my wedding cost so much - you have to pay top dollar for that gorgeous historic venue and open bar! It's so worth it, though!

I got married in a historic country club in the heart of a major West Coast city, but due to my personality (Crowds = no thanks, Declaring undying love in front of crowds = NO WAY) and budget ($15,000), I scaled down the guest numbers, which made the whole thing manageable for my single father and I.

That's cute about your FH wearing the lifts! My mother was taller than my Dad to begin with and fell in love with these gorgeous 4" hunter green heels, so Dad's eye-level is perfectly aligned with her breasts in all of their wedding photos. :lafhard:

[thegreatimponderablesband]

I'm in a band and all we play are weddings. We've seen the full spectrum on budgets. In fact, our lead guitarist will be getting married in March. My daughter is also a caterer for weddings. I hope some of this information will assist you.

First, decide what you think the most important part of the wedding is (other than the ceremony, of course). That is where you may want to spend a larger portion of your budget.

If you're planning on a meal for everyone, a conservative price is $25/head. Think of what it costs you to go out to eat, unless your having 'burgers and 'dogs. The price can easily go $40/head. Just remember, most likely your guests will not remember what they had to eat, as much as they remeber the good time they had being with you.

This brings up an important part. Entertainment. The wrong entertainment, DJ or Band, will have a great affect at your reception. Most all DJ's and bands play weddings, but not many are wedding professionals. This is where we find most people make their big mistake. I have seen some comments for a $300 band or $800 DJ. All I can say is, you get what you pay for.

Your wedding is important. You want things to go well. ALL of your vendors should be interested in your wedding, and not themselves and how much they can get from you. Make sure that when you talk with them they're not trying to sale themselves, but rather, taking into account that this is your wedding and that they are wanting to help you.

Don't feel rushed into a contract (unless they're in high demand and you feel you may lose them. Also, just so you know, the majority of bookings for the year take place in January. Most of the better vendors will be getting their year together now. So, do your homework. Don't be afraid to ask for references. Then, follow up with those references. Make sure you're not calling their cousin or mother-in-law that they did something for.

Our band just returned from Phoenix at a wedding merchants convention. The average cost of a wedding is around $27,000. You can do it for less or more. It's just a matter of what you want and what your budget will allow.

More than anything, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WEDDING!!!!! Have a great time!

[Tarin]

For 100 guests you could have a great wedding for $15,000. Of course this depends on how extravagant you want the wedding to be. Personally, I find the budget falls better for 100 guests at $20,000. Find a location that includes the cake, champagne toast and appetizers along with the entrée'. Be sure to shop for good vendors and a reasonable price. Don’t go with the first one you meet unless you have already seen two others (I have a three vendor shop rule :) ).

[Nekochanpurr]

Mine was about $5,000. I think we went a little over though.. Even though Steve's parents paid it and not us. They kept adding stuff. lol We had around 100 guests.

[rainbow]

My budget is in the 5,000 range. This isn't including my dress. My dress is 902 with tax. Our honey moon will be no more then 1,000. So far the budgeting is going good, but i still have plenty of time.. Most of my projects will be DIY. Really the part that matters is that we are getting married after a long wait, as long as it's nice and everyone has a great time, that's really all that matters to us. I already know that the site we are gonna book is only 150$ if we provide the food ourselves(which we are going to do) otherwise it would be 21$ a person, which would take us way over budget.