Wedding Budget

[Danny83]

We had 400 people show up in 2007 crazy no joke. $$$

[sco]

I'd consider not going to over the top in terms of food, booze, and venue. Instead think about what you can do with the money together after the wedding. Keep in mind, it's only one day and then it's over. If you can use the money for a down payment on a house etc. I would...

[Jackie Daytona]

Sounds like an odd piece of advice, but if you are already looking at Southern California, look just over the border in Valle de Guadalupe BC Mexico, in Mexican wine country.

Absolutely beautiful place, only about 45 minutes from the coast in Ensenada. Lots of vineyards with beautiful entertainment spaces, and relatively cheap compared to similar venues in the US. Sounds kind of intimidating I’m sure, but the ones I have been to there were amazing.

[LandWatch]

The wedding industry in the US sounds about as much of a scam as the healthcare industry from some of these prices!!

[colpol]

Originally Posted by Hulkhunter

Jeez...

Some of the prices being thrown around on this thread are crazy. $200k for a wedding?!

Unless things are completely different in the US you can do it much cheaper in the UK. You could have a decent wedding for 100+ people for £15k ($20k) over here.

$12k for a photographer, $5k to video a wedding, $450 a plate?

Maybe a celebrity wedding but that seems very steep for your average wedding.

No wonder you are buying Rolex watches if you are filming on those rates!

Yup - guy I know paid for his daughter’s wedding last year in Scotland

Country house hotel - £15k & that was with extras

[brandrea]

OP, if you’ve decided on a formal wedding with guests in the 250+ range, I would think it’ll run you in the $300 pp range or about $75k. I base this on all in costs: venue, food, entertainment etc.

Is that in line with what you’re seeing?

Personally, I’d opt for a smaller affair in a low key setting, but I totally get why some wish to splurge. No right or wrong, but IMO you can’t do a large wedding like this for less, unless you get creative and don’t use a venue that provides food and beverage etc.

As a personal aside, my wife and I did a very small wedding with 45 of our closest friends and only a few family (yes that’s tough). We decided to make it a surprise which was also a lot of fun, and obviously made it impossible to invite extended family etc.

[Blansky]

Gone are the days of wedding at the church, reception at the Moose Lodge and lets all bring the ladies auxiliary out of the kitchen for a big hand, for the great food.

Now it's an industry.

[austinp]

Hotel Del Coronado does a nice wedding. Been to a few there. Mine was at the Officers Club at North Island. Right on the beach. We still have friends say how much fun our wedding was. Lots of booze and music.

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[RTG]

Originally Posted by Initial_J

I just got engaged and we are starting to look at venues. I knew weddings were expensive and had mentally prepared myself for the price creep of a wedding, but some of the prices I'm seeing are still giving me a little bit of sticker shock.

The statistics that are out there for average cost of a wedding don't seem indicative of the total price in a high cost area for a large wedding. So I figured I would turn to the forum full of individuals with refined tastes: How much should I budget for a wedding?

We are expecting 200-250 guests (could try to limit to 200)
Location will be in California (likely Southern California), preferably close to the water

My wife and I had a great wedding. The key was to keep it small. Spend as much as you can per guest and keep the guest list as small as possible. We had 27 people invited!

200+ people sounds horrible. How do you engage with 200 individuals in a memorable way? You don't.

[Initial_J]

Originally Posted by brandrea

OP, if you’ve decided on a formal wedding with guests in the 250+ range, I would think it’ll run you in the $300 pp range or about $75k. I base this on all in costs: venue, food, entertainment etc.

Is that in line with what you’re seeing?

I priced out one venue I thought looked nice near the water. It's a hotel and you are required to use their food/booze. For 250 people, my math gets me to >$75k (>$300 per head) for the venue + food and beverage + chairs/tables/linens/some decorations + wedding cake. The ceremony, rehearsal dinner, band/DJ, and all the little things you forget to factor in are on top of that.

That said, I've spent about two days looking into these things...

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by Initial_J

I priced out one venue I thought looked nice near the water. It's a hotel and you are required to use their food/booze. For 250 people, my math gets me to >$75k (>$300 per head) for the venue + food and beverage + chairs/tables/linens/some decorations + wedding cake. The ceremony, rehearsal dinner, band/DJ, and all the little things you forget to factor in are on top of that.

That said, I've spent about two days looking into these things...

Add another 5-20K minimum for those 'little things' you haven't considered yet. Rooms, limos, photography, Tuxes/clothes, money gifts, airline tickets for some, stationery/invitations, etc

Think overall 3-5 Daytonas.

Good luck, an exciting but expensive time.

[Rashid.bk]

Originally Posted by Initial_J

How much should I budget for a wedding?

We are expecting 200-250 guests (could try to limit to 200)
Location will be in California (likely Southern California), preferably close to the water

The wedding budget is whatever your future wife says the wedding budget is going to be. Don't fight it, don't bare down, relax and it will go easier.
Hopefully she is understanding, but if she isn't you are fighting up Mt Everest to make her understand and it may cause problems. 200-250 people, yikes!

Luckily my wife wanted something small and economical, hopefully you chose wisely in selecting your wife, lastly, if you're thinking you're feeling sticker shock, word to the wise....stop. Nothing will be as expensive as having a wife.....and then a kid and then kids.
Welcome to adult male family life. Being humorous but dead serious, good luck and congrats.

[singe89]

Originally Posted by austinp

Hotel Del Coronado does a nice wedding. Been to a few there. Mine was at the Officers Club at North Island. Right on the beach. We still have friends say how much fun our wedding was. Lots of booze and music.

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Great suggestion!

Hotel Del does a great job! Pricey and could still be under construction for awhile. I've done my last two company conferences there. Think 3 day wedding for 400 people and can easily get to $1m+. Beautiful historic hotel but the main hotel is a little long in the tooth, with strange shaped rooms, crooked floors and hallways and we did lose hot water and cable last year. I would suggest staying in the Villas instead for a more modern room but you can still enjoy the historic feel of a haunted hotel with a short walk.

I did our receptions on the beach and they can bring in full platforms so it isn't too sandy or you can do it in the sand and they will provide a shoe valet. The front lawns are nice as well and the Crown Room loses the view but is a good back up plan if weather turns.

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by singe89

Think 3 day wedding for 400 people and can easily get to $1m+. .

Did you just say one million.

OMG, I've fallen and I can't get up.

Some people's lifestyle is definitely different from mine.

I can see spending a million on a divorce, but a wedding?

[Ferdelious]

My wife and I had about 120 guests at the Omni Champion's Gate almost 14 years ago. It was cheaper back then, we only spent approx $35k. Now in hindsight both of us say we should have used that money for something else, like a house down payment. Our wedding was great but you can also throw a great party in your back yard for $2K.

The wedding industry is ridiculous.

[DonRickles]

My father in law paid every penny for ours.... Heck, how else was getting her hitched!

[dba]

I'd rather elope and spend the money on a trip.

[Jabbo84]

Cash bar. Only way to go.....

[singe89]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Did you just say one million.

OMG, I've fallen and I can't get up.

Some people's lifestyle is definitely different from mine.

I can see spending a million on a divorce, but a wedding?

NOOOO not a wedding. My company's annual conference for employees, clients, vendors, etc. We pay for hotel room for 3 nights as well as dinners, F&B, open bar, music/entertainment, lighting, ballroom decorations, we place people at tables, its very much like planning a 3 day wedding is what I was referring to.

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by singe89

NOOOO not a wedding. My company's annual conference for employees, clients, vendors, etc. We pay for hotel room for 3 nights as well as dinners, F&B, open bar, music/entertainment, lighting, ballroom decorations, we place people at tables, its very much like planning a 3 day wedding is what I was referring to.

Wheeew. Ok, I can get up now.

My god I, though I accidentally got transported to the Newport Beach Yacht Club membership forum discussing some billionaires daughters wedding.

"Yeah, we're spending a million on Buffy's nuptials but thankfully I've only got 3 daughters left unhitched."

[singe89]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Wheeew. Ok, I can get up now.

My god I, though I accidentally got transported to the Newport Beach Yacht Club membership forum discussing some billionaires daughters wedding.

"Yeah, we're spending a million on Buffy's nuptials but thankfully I've only got 3 daughters left unhitched."

[cda555]

Originally Posted by Hulkhunter

Just hit Vegas for a drive through wedding and spend the money you saved on a Patek.

This. So glad my now wife surprised me with a wedding. We were talking about a big wedding to accommodate family and we were both stressing out. I was in Vegas for a work trip that happened to coincide with our anniversary. My wife showed up as a lovely surprise. She said "I booked a cheesy chapel and looked up the license information... what do you say?" When I woke up that morning I never in a million years would have guessed I would be married by that evening. I wouldn't change a thing. We have always had great memories together in Las Vegas so that just added to them. We waited a couple of weeks to tell family at Thanksgiving and just worked it into our "what are we grateful for" speech. Everyone was happy for us.

[Dr.Brian]

We did a destination wedding. Invited ~50 people, got 25.
Per head was very expensive (more than $1000) but we would have spent far more on a traditional wedding in the Boston area. I believe the Ritz Carlton was $35k just for the room. We flew in 1/2 the guests.
You could spend $10k or $250k it’s all about the details.
We had no regrets getting married in the Caribbean. When you go destination, you can really cut the guest list down dramatically.
We had a wedding planner plan the whole thing and basically just showed up.
It’s infinitely easier that way.
Good luck.
One of my friends married the only daughter of a billionaire. That was quite a wedding, though from the outside looking in it probably wouldn’t seem that different. But everything was the best of the best. Champagne, caviar, band, etc. I’m sure that was shockingly expensive. The bridesmaids and groomsmen flew in on daddy’s GV. What’s the fuel on 4 multi leg trips $200k?

[Jabbo84]

I got married the first time in Vegas at the Candlelight wedding Chapel by a man that looked like Elvis. Had a blast

[AF_Rob]

I think weddings are a total waste of money. Thankfully my current wife agreed. We had a small wedding (under 100 people) in a historic opera house, where everyone had a great time. Food and beer was catered and self serve. Damage was less than $2k. We are using the money set aside to travel and pad our savings account.

[V25V]

Save your money.


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[Pw92676]

We did a smallish wedding of 40 people as a destination wedding at a winery. Pretty much everything other than airfare was taken care of. Since it was on the smaller side, it was a priority to have great food and bar. In retrospect only things I would have done differently are 1) marry my wife sooner than I actually did and 2) cut out some of my family members who were, and always will be, royal pains in the backside.

[zaydans]

I got married in Vegas 10 years ago and it cost less than $500!! Did it again 6 months later for friends and family in the UK. About 150 guests and it cost about £50k ($75k). It helped that I used almost all the same people as my brother who got married 9 months before so got a few discounts here and there for repeat business. Have to shop around do lots of research and compromise too!! Having kids is even more expensive so you might wanna save some coin for that also!! Also don’t welcome the pressure that parents put on couples to invite lots of their friends and family unless they are contributing to the costs. Wish you the best of luck with your plans!!

[dkg1616]

We’re at about 60k all in for one of the nicest venues in NE Ohio for 135 people - it’s not the big costs that get you, it’s the little ones and extra couple hundreds here and there!

Get married in September

[marcusp23]

Originally Posted by AF_Rob

I think weddings are a total waste of money. Thankfully my current wife agreed. We had a small wedding (under 100 people) in a historic opera house, where everyone had a great time. Food and beer was catered and self serve. Damage was less than $2k. We are using the money set aside to travel and pad our savings account.

I like this philosophy. It’s amazing what have come the norm when it comes to weddings - bigger, better, more memorable. Seems silly. And I’ve been very happily married for 21 years.

Hint - there is zero correlation between wedding cost and success in your marriage. Zero