Mrs. Bell Pepper, Philadelphia
Age and Occupation: 28, Resident Physician
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Resident Physician
Engagement Date: May 30, 2006
Wedding Date: June 2007
Venue: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
About Me: I love whimsical details and design, everything that *sparkles*, sipping on hazelnut lattes, pugs, shopping for antiques and second-hand goods, scenic photography, delicate flowers, and checking out new restaurants in the city with my fianc??. We are planning our wedding at a unique city venue for about 75 close family members and friends. I have a lot of DIY ideas and I like to blog about ways to save money on your wedding.
Right On The Money
June 28th, 2007 @ 12:04 pm by Mrs. Bell Pepper
There’s been a lot of discussion about budgets on weddingbee, and I thought I should share our budget details..
Our Ideal Wedding Budget: about $20,000
The Actual Wedding Budget, here’s the breakdown:
(Note: The major budget costs are accurate but less significant budget expenses such as candy buffet jars, candy, DIY stuff, are an approximation of the original cost)
Ceremony/Reception Site Fee at the PAFA: $2000. The rental fee is typically $4000 at the PAFA, which is a pretty standard rate for renting a museum. For having a guest list under 100, the museum offered half the original rate.
Liability Insurance: $225
Officiant: $500
String Trio: $465
Catering : $8200. The catering includes gold chairs, matching linens and place settings, reception tables, and all other tables. Also included is a one hour open bar, hors d’oeurvres, and all food and drinks (appetizer, dinner, wine, champagne, and wedding cake)
DJ: $550
Slideshow: $0 Equipment was provided by our DJ.
Florist: $2300
Transportation: $450. We rented a 1950’s Bentley for us and our photographer.
Lighting: $575. Includes 4 breakup lighting patterns on the dance floor, 8 pinspotted reception tables, the candy buffet table, and cake table. The museum also provided some lighting on the painting and the sculptures.
Photographer (We bought the “fine arts” package which included two large photos albums, one guestbook photo album, DVD of proofs, and 8 hours of wedding coverage) : $4500
Videographer: $0. I was seriously planning to book a great videographer in the Philly area but Mr. BP really made me think about the value of having one. The reality is the image quality is not comparable to photography and what are the chances I’ll watch my video over and over? The cost of having one is at least $1000 and I definitely wanted to use this money for our photography budget instead.
Day-of-coordinator: $0. Days before our wedding day I was really nervous and stressed about the wedding. So many questions were running through my head: What if we missed a guest’s RSVP? What if it rains outside? Do all of the guests know where to park? What if my updo falls apart? All of these questions made my head want to explode! Luckily, the event sales and catering manager were extremely supportive and helped me arrange all the details as I imagined.
Wedding Hair/Makeup: $170
Wedding Dress: $2500. I got a small discount on my dress because I bought it during a Judd Waddell Trunk Show Sale.
Wedding Accessories & Shoes: $1200
Alterations: $320 for a 4 alterations sessions and a french bustle
Qipao: $350
Groom’s Tux: $0. Men’s Wearhouse has a deal where when you have at least 4 wedding party members rent a tux, the groom’s tuxedo is free.
Wedding Candy: $375
Candy Buffet Jars: $240
Cake Topper: $60
DIY stuff: ~$1000
Total Cost: $25,940
Many of the readers are right on the money, around $25,000. I gotta say if I had all the money in the world, I would love to spend whatever amount for all the details of our wedding. The reality is that both of us graduated medical school and we both owe around $150,000 of loans each. With our living expenses and our loan expenses, there was really little money left for us to spend on our wedding. My parents offered to pay for all of my wedding expenses but I really didn’t want to ask for a lot of money. A budget around $25,000 is pretty reasonable and I’m happy that it all worked out. We have just enough more to buy more crepes and ice cream in France! 
25 Responses to “Right On The Money”
OMG, I felt like I was reading about me with this post. I had, crazily, first thought that we would spend 10k. Then after we realized what the reception bill would be, 20k, but the truth is it’s closer to 25k.
Oh, and another thing, the two things I considered that would throw the budget even more off kilter were the videographer and the day-of coordinator, two things which you also went without. I must say I feel better about the choice to skip these after seeing your post: thanks!
Thank you for sharing Mrs. Bell Pepper! These breakdowns have been so informational.
Thanks for sharing! Your wedding looked very luxurious at any budget! Just wondering–did you get any red envelopes from guests that ended up covering some of the cost?
Wow, it sounds like you got a great deal on your catering expenses, especially for a big city like Philly! You did an awesome job on your budget!
Our budget is about what yours was and after seeing your wedding it gives me a lot of hope that it’s going to turn out really well! Thanks
this is our proposed budget so i’m glad to see how it worked for you in philly [we’re most likely have ours in the sf bay area]. thanks for sharing!
thanks for sharing, mrs bp!
i’m soooo jealous though. costs over in Philly are HALF as much as they are in SF!!!
makes me think i should’ve had a destination wedding!
I agree that the inevitable “miscellaneous” stuff tends to be an extra, say, 10% to 20% on top of the formal budget. There’s postage, gas & travel, little things you pick up but forget to count, stuff you will use later (e.g., trouseau — clothes to wear on the honeymoon, splurges at the drugstore on makeup & skincare) so it doesn’t “count.”
Now that the wedding is all done (everything paid for, too), it’s such a treat to see the checking account build up again.
Thanks for sharing–I’m amazed that a PAFA wedding (yours esp.) could come out to less than $30,000! (Had I known that when planning my own smallish Philly wedding…). And it looks like your catering company was sooo reasonable!
Tips? Hotels? (Or was this not a factor?)
Gorgeous wedding!
Good for you! Thanks for the info, I have a friend who’s looking into PAFA for her wedding and I’m going to send her the link to this site for input/feedback. One thing I question, though is that you say that video has a lesser image quality than photos - well, all I can say is that while researching photographers and videographers with my friend, we discovered that you definitely get what you pay for on both counts. Video is important to her because she’s a hopeless romantic who really wants to hear her vows and toasts - plus we have a bet going that she’s not going to get through them without crying! Anyway, glad to hear you were happy with your day!
i would have thought your wedding cost more because it was so beautiful - you really did a great job personalizing all the little details!
Can you tell me where you got your hair and makeup done? I’m getting married in Bucks county, not far from Philly, and am kinda having trouble finding someone. You look beautiful in your wedding photos! Thanks!
I totally appreciate all these posts on budget because it really goes to show how far you can stretch the dollar when you put in a little effort. Great job, Mrs. Bell Pepper!!
[…] Below are the typical expenses to fill out, but you can adjust them to fit your particular budget (or include other categories). And you’re welcome to write short explanations of your expenditures as Mrs. Bell Pepper did here. […]
Ummm I wouldn’t exactly use the term stretch, having the option to spend $25,000 is a pipe dream for many brides.
Rebecca - in Philly $25K is definitely a ’stretch’…I was married this past March and can attest that getting married in the city even during what one would consider an ‘off season’ was more than I expected - but totally worth it! I hope your wedding was all you hoped it would be!
Miss BP - your wedding looked fabulous!
My hairstylist is Cali, 267-973-9488
Molly, my relatives took care of the hotel bill. Tips? I think we might have spent an extra 100-200 for all the waitstaff and everyone involved. I was kind of generous to the caterer because he did such a great job coordinating this event!
Hi! Can you tell me where you rented your Bentley’s for the day?
May I ask how many guests did you invite for your lovely event?
I’m trying to budget and it’s hard to keep the budget down!
Hi Mrs. Bell Pepper,
I’m getting married at PAFA in November. I was wondering if you were happy with the string trio or if you thought a string quartet might have filled the space better? Thanks!
Caroline
Hi Caroline,
The Bella Corda string trio was the perfect size and I don’t think it’s necessary to have a quartet.
[…] dream turned into reality, the PAFA was truly a beautiful place to have our intimate wedding. Our budget gives details on how much our venue costs turned out. […]
