Wedding Blog

Date: June 6, 2009
City, State: Philadelphia, PA
Budget: $50,000
# of Guests: 115
Planning Time: 11 months

Wedding Day Costs
Ceremony/Reception Site: A tall ship turned into a restaurant on Penn’s Landing

The Moshulu really “made” our wedding.  We weren’t too keen on having a “ballroom” wedding, but were overwhelmed by the work of a “tent” wedding.  The Moshulu is a great restaurant with a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces.

Caterer/Food/Drink: $20,734 total (approximately $175 per person, but also includes parking which wasn’t for everyone)

Service Charge/Gratuities: $200

Bridal Gown & Alterations: $284 (Purchased copy of “Augusta Jones” Isola from China, through Jeff Liu. In all, the cost of the dress equaled the cost of the alterations, but that was to be expected)

Bridal Accessories (Veil, Undergarments, Shoes, Jewelry): $433

I splurged on Stuart Weitzman Shoes- but since they’re nude embossed leather I’ve already worn them again.  The jewelry was done by an Etsy seller, and the feather fascinator is from an Ebay.co.uk seller.

Groom’s Attire: $987 (A suit & shoes he’ll wear again)

Stationery/Postage: $911 (Save-the-Dates via Vista Print) (Invitations via Designerpi at Etsy)

I regret not having a photo of the invitations, because they’re what initially drew me to Teresa of DesignerPi.  They’re double sided, which is great when you have a lot of information to add.  We used DesignerPi for our Quaker Marriage Certificate, seating chart, table numbers and thank you cards.

We did the rehearsal dinner on Evite online.

Photography: $3,369 (We choose to forgo a wedding album, in lieu of a photographer we loved, Spark Photography. We plan on doing a book via MyPublisher or Mpix shortly.)

Videography: $0

Ceremony Music: $820 (Steel Band)

Reception Music: $925 (DJ)
Gotta love a dancing groom.

Flowers: $1,102
We used a new floral designer who did all the flowers at cost- PM me if you’d like his name.  We gave him very little input, “No roses, No pink”.  I love what he came up with!

Favors: $83 (Paper Fans). Fans were purchased via Luna Bazaar.

Cake: $0
Dessert buffet provided by Moshulu & included in reception catering price.

Officiant: $325

Coordinator: $1,100 + $250 Tip = $1,350
I cannot express how much having a DOC+ took the stress away.  We live in the UK and we were getting married in Philly.  All those little pesky tasks, like buying vases, researching xyz, etc were just lifted off our shoulders.  Well worth every single penny.

Hair/Makeup: $225 (which includes hair trial, travel time, hair on day of)
Decided to DIY my makeup, which I was quite happy with:

Wedding Party Gifts: (5) Bridesmaids hair $460 + (5) bridesmaids’ Mani or Pedi $204 (5)
Bridesmaids shawls $65 + Groomsman hotel ($388) = $1,107
In the end it turned out to be too warm of a day to use the shawls!

Transportation: $0 (we walked from Hotel to Ceremony/Reception Site)
This was a great opportunity to destress before the big moment.

Hotels: $1,325 (4 nights in suite)

Misc: $2,000

WEDDING DAY TOTAL: $34,680
TOTAL COST PER PERSON: $304

All Inclusive Costs:
Wedding Bands: $904
Rehearsal Dinner/Day After Brunch: RD $2,100 and Brunch $1,500
Honeymoon: $665 (Flights PHL-SLC & Car. The accommodation was gratis)

ALL INCLUSIVE TOTAL: $39,184

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