Today’s Real Wedding Budgets all fall around $22,000.
- VC had 155 guests at her Los Angeles wedding. She DIY’ed flowers, her father acted as videographer, and she spent a mere $70 on makeup. Having budgeted in these areas, she was able to splurge on a $4k+ dress, and also spend a generous amount on gifts for her wedding party.
- BS is planning a wedding of 100-125 guests in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. She’s saving money by skipping favors and having family and friends act as officiant, musicians, and day-of coordinator.
- NC’s wedding of 72 guests in LA was set in a beautiful gothic Catholic church. She and her husband budgeted fair amounts of money for their flowers, stationery, and photography/videography. In turn, they saved on music expenses by having their restaurant reception site play classical music through their satellite system! You can see photos of her wedding below.
Submitted By: VC
City: Los Angeles
Budget: $20-30,000
# of Guests: 155
Wedding Day Expenses:
Ceremony/Reception Site Fees: $0
Caterer/Food/Drink: $5950 or $40/pp
Service Charge/Gratuities: $0 (included)
Bridal Gown/Alterations: $4995
Bridal Accessories: $100 (veil included; all family jewelry)
Groom’s Attire: $350
Stationery/Postage: $875
Photography: $1300
Videography: $0 (best friend and dad are cameramen)
Ceremony Music: $0 (included in DJ package)
Reception Music: $900 (DJ)
Flowers: $625, DIY’ed
Favors: $1600 (placeholders and photobooth as entertainment/favors)
Cake: $575
Officiant: $250 donation
Coordinator: $400
Hair/Makeup: $70 (in supplies)
Wedding Party Gifts: $840
Transportation: $140
Hotels: $250
Misc: $2750 (including rentals of dance floor, tables, chairs, and linens, as well as additional decorations)
Nonwedding Day Expenses:
Wedding bands: $1215
Rehearsal dinner: $1500
Honeymoon: $12,000
WEDDING DAY TOTAL: $21,970
COST PER PERSON: $142
NONWEDDING DAY TOTAL: $14,715
GRAND TOTAL: $36,685
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Submitted By: BS
City: Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Budget: $10,000
# of Guests: 100-125
Wedding Day Expenses:
Ceremony/Reception Site Fees: $2650
Caterer/Food/Drink: $10,625 or $85/pp
Service Charge/Gratuities: $2000
Bridal Gown/Alterations: $650 (sale on David’s designer gown off the rack)
Bridal Accessories: $400
Groom’s Attire: $0 (free at After Hours Formal Wear with purchase of groomsmen’s tuxes)
Stationery/Postage: $250
Photography: $1200 (Gene Ho Photography: four hours of coverage with two photographers, 120 proofs, and 5×7 album with photos)
Videography: $0 (family member)
Ceremony Music: $0 (DJ from reception and two friends playing violin and guitar)
Reception Music: $995
Flowers: $500 (planning to spend this much by DIY’ing through Sam’s Club)
Favors: $0 (none)
Cake: $450 (four and a half tiers)
Officiant: n/a (family member officiating; travel expenses to be covered)
Coordinator: $0 (sister-in-law will coordinate day-of)
Hair/Makeup: $190
Wedding Party Gifts: $500
Transportation: $0
Hotels: $1450
Misc: $330
Nonwedding Day Expenses:
Wedding bands: $150
Rehearsal dinner: n/a
Honeymoon: $2800
WEDDING DAY TOTAL: $22,190
COST PER PERSON: $178
NONWEDDING DAY TOTAL: $2950
GRAND TOTAL: $25,140
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Submitted By: NC
City: Los Angeles, CA
Budget: $30,000
# of Guests: 72
Wedding Day Expenses:
Ceremony/Reception Site Fees: $2500. A beautiful gothic catholic church that charged us $2000 extra because we weren’t parishoners. Worth every penny.
Caterer/Food/Drink: $4800 or $67/pp, including three passed hors d’oeuvres, three courses, and wine and beverage service (no hard liquor).
Service Charge/Gratuities: $0 (included)
Bridal Gown/Alterations: $1000. Maggie Sottero Channing dress.
Bridal Accessories: $600. I got 10% off my veil and undergarments by purchasing them together with my dress, and for my shoes, I wore a pair of Puma running shoes in white, with a touch of sage!
Groom’s Attire: $3000. His parents custom ordered a suit for him and his brother (the best man); each suit was $1500.
Stationery/Postage: $1400. Stationery was my big splurge. I knew I wanted beautiful letterpress invitations and that it was something I would be able to keep to remember the day.
Photography: $2000. I hired a friend of mine who does beautiful photos and was willing to provide us unlimited coverage, at three separate locations (ceremony, reception, and a post-reception shoot at the beach) and all the digital files.
Videography: $1300
Ceremony Music: $300. The church organist and a parishoner who served as our cantor.
Reception Music: $0. I had the restaurant use their satellite system and just had classical music playing in the background. I would have loved a string quartet, but it wasn’t worth the $3000+ it would have cost for the five hours of coverage we would have needed. It would have been a nice extra, but it wasn’t necessary.
Flowers: $3200. We had 12 centerpieces (8 tall, showy ones and 4 smaller, compact ones). I booked my florist one year in advance, no questions asked, because she came highly recommended and she does beautiful work. On our way to our honeymoon, my husband said, “If I were getting married again, I would hire Debbie to do the flowers!”
Favors: $310. We had custom laser-imprinted chopsticks made as favors for our guests. Everyone loved them and it brought just enough “Chinese” flair to our otherwise completely western ceremony and reception.
Cake: $600
Officiant: $0, included in church fee.
Coordinator: $150. In addition to the church fee, we paid $150 for a church wedding coordinator who took care of all the paperwork and made sure everything ran smoothly the day of.
Hair/Makeup: $700 ($350 for my hair and makeup, and $140 each for my MOH’s hair and makeup; $70 for hair for one of the grandmas).
Wedding Party Gifts: $300.
Transportation: $200. We rented an Audi A4 to zip around town in after the wedding and to take us to the airport the next day.
Hotels: $0. Groom’s family took care of our hotel costs.
Misc: $400
Nonwedding Day Expenses:
Wedding bands: $2000. Half circle of prong-set diamonds for me, and plain platinum for my husband.
Rehearsal dinner: $1500
WEDDING DAY TOTAL: $22,760
COST PER PERSON: $316
NONWEDDING DAY TOTAL: $3500
GRAND TOTAL: $26,260
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