How much did/will your wedding cost?

[wolftress]

My brother-in-law and his fiance are getting married next year in Melbourne, Australia, where we live. They are now trying to work out a reasonable budget for their wedding and DH and I have been helping them out with realistic sums based on how much our own wedding cost us.

I was curious about how much weddings cost in other parts of the world, and also the different types of weddings other brides are choosing. Ie. budget, eloping, the full she-bang or city hall?

Please also share if there is anything you regret cutting costs on for your wedding as I would hate for my future sister-in-law to budget on something and then regret it in the future.

I''ll get the ball rolling with some figures from my own wedding, even though it was (gasp!) two years ago.

Reception: Approx $6000 for 75 guests. All inclusive venue which included hire of a small chapel, flowers and decorations, drinks, hors d''oeuvres, and full three-course meal
Rings: $1500 (excluding engagement ring)
Dress: $1250
Accessories (veil, shoes, etc.): $100
Flowers: $500 for bride''s and attendant''s bouquets, men''s buttonholes, mothers'' corsages, cake topper
Cake: $250
Photographer: $1800
Rehearsal lunch: $400
Gifts for attendants: $400
Total: Approx $12.2k

I''m sure I''ve missed out on some expenses as I''m pretty sure the total sum was slightly more than that. But the one thing I regretted saving money on was the photographer. He forgot to take photos with the parents, so all we have now are big group wedding shots with extended family, but none with just our parents.

I have been kicking myself for being so stupid and not realising on the day, but it was such an overwhelming day and DH and I were floating on clouds, I don''t we would have noticed if someone had run us over!

Anyway, thanks for letting me share and I hope others will as well!

 

[honey22]

Hey Wolftress! I am a Melburnian too

Do you mind sharing some more details? Where your venue was, where you got your gown etc, I am just curious

We are running away to Palm Cove to get married, and I will share some costs. (Fingers crossed DF doesn''t come across this thread

)

Venue - Angsana Resort Palm Cove
Reception, including drinks deposit (paying on consumption) $ 6100 (16 guests), please don''t do the math!

Gown - $3100 - Linda Gorringe Couture
Shoes - $400 Mallouk Shoes (custom made!)
Photog - $3600 Sass Studios QLD
Celebrant $500
Flowers $900
Ceremony, chapel hire $1700
Jewellery for bridal party $300
Rings $ 2500

OMG I am stopping now, I feel sick

 

[wolftress]

Date: 7/3/2009 8:22:16 PM
Author: honey22
Hey Wolftress! I am a Melburnian too

Do you mind sharing some more details? Where your venue was, where you got your gown etc, I am just curious

We are running away to Palm Cove to get married, and I will share some costs. (Fingers crossed DF doesn''t come across this thread

)

Venue - Angsana Resort Palm Cove
Reception, including drinks deposit (paying on consumption) $ 6100 (16 guests), please don''t do the math!

Gown - $3100 - Linda Gorringe Couture
Shoes - $400 Mallouk Shoes (custom made!)
Photog - $3600 Sass Studios QLD
Celebrant $500
Flowers $900
Ceremony, chapel hire $1700
Jewellery for bridal party $300
Rings $ 2500

OMG I am stopping now, I feel sick

Honey, your wedding sounds incredible!

DH and I had our wedding at Elizabethan Lodge. It was essential that we picked an all-inclusive wedding venue because we had a lot of out-of-town visiters flying in from overseas just to attend out wedding, and we didn''t want them to have to worry about finding their way from one venue to another.

 

[honey22]

Thanks Wolftress. We are really going all out for our wedding, we can''t wait.

Your venue looks absolutely gorgeous. It''s got a great reputation, and the gardens look divine. I am sure you pics are amazing. Are they here on PS?

 

[Clairitek]

Newport, Rhode Island USA Wedding for 35 Guests

Church: $450 donation
Dresses: $1200 (discounted through Pearl''s Place), and $150 (Nicole Miller on Rue La La), $360 in alteration costs
Reception: $5200- open bar, great wine list, 4 course meal
Cake: $270 for 40 people
Wedding Bands: $440 (2 mm plain plat for me, 6 mm 10K WG for him)
Groom''s Attire: $20 for new tie, wore suit and shoes he already owned
Attendant Gifts: about $600 (custom made sterling necklaces for girls, Swarovski crystal bracelets, ties for guys, silver engraved USB flash drives for guys)
Veil: $35 in materials, DIY
Shoes: $40 from Amazon.com (Thanks, Freke)
Invites: $65 (DIY pocketfold)
Flowers (Bouquets, bouts, and centerpieces): $290 **** Not realistic price! I had access to a flower wholesaler, bought glass cylinders and river rocks for the CPs from the dollar store and assembled the bouquets and bouts ourselves- This cost makes up for the obscene amount I spent on my dresses.***
Photographer: $2300 for unlimited time, disk with high res images for own printing purposes
Rehearsal Dinner: $450

Total: About $12,000.

Good gried. This is the first time I''ve added that up! Wow. Well, it WAS the best day of my life. No regrets.

 

[wolftress]

Date: 7/3/2009 8:47:31 PM
Author: honey22
Thanks Wolftress. We are really going all out for our wedding, we can''t wait.

Your venue looks absolutely gorgeous. It''s got a great reputation, and the gardens look divine. I am sure you pics are amazing. Are they here on PS?

Yep, here''s the link! https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pictures-of-a-cross-cultural-wedding.68468/

I''m not entirely happy with the photos, but the wedding day itself was wonderful, and we had a HUGE luxurious wedding suite where I had a relaxing time drinking champagne with my two bridesmaids while we had our hair/makeup done. The staff at EL were really professional. There was a stuff up with my flowers and one button hole was missing. They ran out to a florist and got a matching one made up for me in a jiffy. Now that''s service!

 

[wolftress]

Date: 7/3/2009 9:01:10 PM
Author: Clairitek
Newport, Rhode Island USA Wedding for 35 Guests

Church: $450 donation
Dresses: $1200 (discounted through Pearl''s Place), and $150 (Nicole Miller on Rue La La), $360 in alteration costs
Reception: $5200- open bar, great wine list, 4 course meal
Cake: $270 for 40 people
Wedding Bands: $440 (2 mm plain plat for me, 6 mm 10K WG for him)
Groom''s Attire: $20 for new tie, wore suit and shoes he already owned
Attendant Gifts: about $600 (custom made sterling necklaces for girls, Swarovski crystal bracelets, ties for guys, silver engraved USB flash drives for guys)
Veil: $35 in materials, DIY
Shoes: $40 from Amazon.com (Thanks, Freke)
Invites: $65 (DIY pocketfold)
Flowers (Bouquets, bouts, and centerpieces): $290 **** Not realistic price! I had access to a flower wholesaler, bought glass cylinders and river rocks for the CPs from the dollar store and assembled the bouquets and bouts ourselves- This cost makes up for the obscene amount I spent on my dresses.***
Photographer: $2300 for unlimited time, disk with high res images for own printing purposes
Rehearsal Dinner: $450

Total: About $12,000.

Good gried. This is the first time I''ve added that up! Wow. Well, it WAS the best day of my life. No regrets.

Do you have any photos on PS of your wedding, Clairitek?

I love the idea of silver engraved USB drives for the guys. I bet my DH wishes he had thought of that one

 

[wannaBMrsH]

We are from Texas, USA, but our wedding will be in the Dominican Republic.

Travel/Lodging for 12 people (we are paying for us, FIs kids, 2 photographers and 6 family members): $14,500.00USD
Ceremony: FREE (included in package- bouquet, boutonniere, license, location decoration)
Reception (includes renting a restaurant for private dinner, DJ, cake, champagne for toast for 43 people, 41 guests and bride and groom): $4,000.00USD
Photography: $1,000.00USD (we had to switch photographers and lost our initial deposit)
Stationary: $700.00USD for 150 STDs, Information Booklets, Invitations, Thank You Cards
Rings: $1400.00USD for both rings
Wedding Dress/Accessories: $1300.00USD
Grooms Suit/Accessories: $500.00USD
BMs Attire: $300.00USD for 3 BMs
GMs Attire: $250.00USD for 3 GMs

Total: $25,050.00USD (If I did the math right...which is a huge IF!)

We began with a $30,000.00USD Budget and I am sure I missed a few things...I think we are right around where the budget should be...but we wanted to pay for most of it.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Our wedding is about 90 ppl in Rochester, NY.

It's a traditional church wedding, and then a 9-course family style chinese dinner reception (with alcohol) at a restaurant, there's a dancefloor and we're also having karaoke (of course). It'll be on August 1, but we have a good handle on the price already.

It would take too long to list all the costs individually (I noticed nobody posted DJs, limos/transport, favors, makeup and hair, programs/guestbooks, etc, all these things add up quick, lol). But the total is looking to be right under 10k.

Almost half of that goes towards the reception and rehearsal dinner. The dress was 500 (I had it made in china), and the rings were custom mokume palladium and white gold bands (I LOVE them) which were 1500 (and the most expensive item on the list!).

Our parents were gracious enough to fund the wedding, so I wanted to keep it to a modest budget.

 

[laughwithme]

We have budgeted for roughly 175 people. We are paying for the majority of the wedding (thank goodness we have good jobs....)

Reception (room rental, full meal, open bar) - $10,000
Church - $1,200
Dress - $1,000 (mom buying for me)
Photog - $3,500
Florist - budgeted $1,000
DJ - budgeted $1,000
Wedding bands - budgeted $1,200
Invites - the ones I want will cost us about $400
Cake - we are going with a cheap-o cake, budgeted $500
Accessories, decorations, bridal party gifts, other small items - $1,000
Honeymoon - paid for by FI''s parents, expect it to be $3-4k

 

[wolftress]

Thanks for your responses, wannaB, Makingthegrade and laughwithme.

Makingthegrade, good point about the hair and make up! I was quoted a very reasonable $450 for hair and makeup for myself and my whole bridal party, but on the actual wedding day, the stylist demanded almost $900 and claimed the quote she gave me was only for hair styling. I couldn''t believe it. Luckily I had the cash on me or things could have gotten ugly.

We didn''t have any limousines, no deejay, we just used a laptop with some music on it and the best man doubled as the MC.

It''s interesting to see what some brides budgeted on. DH and I funded our own wedding with a little bit of help from our parents so we couldn''t have everything we wanted, but we were very happy with the way everything turned out in the end, and all our guests said they had a lovely time which is the most important thing

 

[cindygenit]

My wedding will cost approximately 10000-15000 AUD.

I''m in Perth btw

Here are the details:

Venue: $650
Reception dinner: $6000-7000 for 50 people
Flowers: $1000 (fingers crossed, i haven''t actually organise them yet)
Carpark hire: $45/hr for 6-8 hours
Wedding dress: $500
BM dresses:$500 Max
Tiara: $230
Veil:$150

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Wolftress, have you picked up the latest edition of Cosmo Bride? It is JUST weddings and the majority have costings in them. There is a fairly good price range too, from about $16000 all the way up in to the $100 000''s.

I am having my wedding at home here in Perth so my budget would not be relevant to a real wedding.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Mine is all in USD

Dress: 5,000 (including alterations)
Veil: 1,000 (custom)
Tiara: 350 (Swavorski)
Shoes: 550 (Stuart Wietzman)
BM dress: 3,500 (grand total for all 4...I paid)
Venue: 35,000 (including food)
Bar: 10,000 (top shelf, special drink, ect)
Flowers: 15,000 (everything)
Music: 10,000 (DJ, Ceremony, cocktail hour)
Cocktail Hour: 7,000 (food and drink)
BM Dinner: 1,000 (including gifts)
Misc: 20,000 (rings, candles, gifts, invites, thank you notes, post reception party, hotel rooms, travel for OOT guest, unity candle)
Rehearsal Dinner: 1,500
Hospitality Suite Stuff: 1,000
Dessert Bar: 1,300

Grand total: approximately $112,200 (but I know I''m missing some expenses because it was more than that--I remember

)

 

[wolftress]

Date: 7/4/2009 5:27:05 AM
Author: cindygenit
My wedding will cost approximately 10000-15000 AUD.

I''m in Perth btw

Here are the details:

Venue: $650
Reception dinner: $6000-7000 for 50 people
Flowers: $1000 (fingers crossed, i haven''t actually organise them yet)
Carpark hire: $45/hr for 6-8 hours
Wedding dress: $500
BM dresses:$500 Max
Tiara: $230
Veil:$150

I think $1000 is a very healthy budget for flowers. Are you just getting bouquets for yourself and your BMs or would the $1000 include table decorations?

 

[wolftress]

Date: 7/4/2009 9:33:51 AM
Author: hawaiianorangetree
Wolftress, have you picked up the latest edition of Cosmo Bride? It is JUST weddings and the majority have costings in them. There is a fairly good price range too, from about $16000 all the way up in to the $100 000''s.

I am having my wedding at home here in Perth so my budget would not be relevant to a real wedding.

Thanks for the tip! I''ll pick it up for future SIL when I''m next at the newsagent.

I think it''s so romantic to have a wedding at home. One of my close friends and her FI bought a house with a beautiful outdoor area shortly after they got engaged. They had their wedding in Spring, on their huge deck, and it was one of the most memorable weddings I''ve ever attended.

 

[wolftress]

Date: 7/4/2009 5:40:07 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor
Mine is all in USD

Dress: 5,000 (including alterations)
Veil: 1,000 (custom)
Tiara: 350 (Swavorski)
Shoes: 550 (Stuart Wietzman)
BM dress: 3,500 (grand total for all 4...I paid)
Venue: 35,000 (including food)
Bar: 10,000 (top shelf, special drink, ect)
Flowers: 15,000 (everything)
Music: 10,000 (DJ, Ceremony, cocktail hour)
Cocktail Hour: 7,000 (food and drink)
BM Dinner: 1,000 (including gifts)
Misc: 20,000 (rings, candles, gifts, invites, thank you notes, post reception party, hotel rooms, travel for OOT guest, unity candle)
Rehearsal Dinner: 1,500
Hospitality Suite Stuff: 1,000
Dessert Bar: 1,300

Grand total: approximately $112,200 (but I know I''m missing some expenses because it was more than that--I remember

)

Italianhaircolour, you have my dream budget for a wedding! Do you have any pics on PS of your dress and veil? They sound amazing.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I forgot to include an important cavet...this was my parents budget...not mine. We would have happily gone to Las Vegas. But, my FI's parents were insistant that we had a "traditional" wedding, and my parents felt like if they were going to do it anyway, they might as well go all out. My FI and I paid for nothing. Which, is important to point out...because while 100k+ on a wedding sounds insane and lavish, it wasn't out of our pocket. If it had been, it would have been far more modest and reserved. However, it was a heck of a good time planning it.

Here is a picture of my dress and veil...well, the best I have on this computer...

ETA: My veil had freshwater pearls and Swarovski sewn on, it was bustled and I wore it all night (I just had too!) it was more a work of art than a head piece.

 

[vespergirl]

My first wedding that my parents paid for in 1999 was at a country club in NY for 150 guests and cost about $25K (excluding honeymoon).

My second wedding in 2006 was a destination wedding & honeymoon in Bermuda for 11 people that cost us around $10K, including travel, honeymoon, and expenses for our guests.

 

[Dannielle]

I''m in Sydney and so far we have booked our wedding ceremony and reception.

Ceremony $1,600
- Site fee
- Bridal arch
- White aisle
- 2 flower pews
- 20 chairs
- Champagne/waiter
- Signing table

Reception $8,000
- 50 guests
- Roving dinner
- Full bar
- Signature cocktail for each guest
- Dumpling bar
- Gelato bar

Sydney is expensive, especially when you want views of Sydney harbour

 

[cindygenit]

Date: 7/4/2009 8:40:47 PM
Author: wolftress

Date: 7/4/2009 5:27:05 AM

Author: cindygenit

My wedding will cost approximately 10000-15000 AUD.


I''m in Perth btw


Here are the details:


Venue: $650

Reception dinner: $6000-7000 for 50 people

Flowers: $1000 (fingers crossed, i haven''t actually organise them yet)

Carpark hire: $45/hr for 6-8 hours

Wedding dress: $500

BM dresses:$500 Max

Tiara: $230

Veil:$150

I think $1000 is a very healthy budget for flowers. Are you just getting bouquets for yourself and your BMs or would the $1000 include table decorations?

Hi wolftress,
$1000 for everything. We are only having 4 guests tables and one bridal table so hopefully the flowers won''t cost so much.

 

[arjunajane]

Hi Cindy,
do you mind to share where your venue in Perth will be?

 

[cindygenit]

Hi arjunajane,

No i don''t mind at all. The venue is Forrest Centre on St George''s Tce.
It''s a family business, the owner is Greg Walker.

Cheers,
Cindy

 

[Bjedifish]

Good topic!! I JUST started the planning because we JUST got engaged. My mother says our budget is around $80K USD. He has a very big family, but thankfully they are all local! We shall see how this stretches in NYC!

 

[happydreams]

Date: 7/4/2009 11:27:57 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor
I forgot to include an important cavet...this was my parents budget...not mine. We would have happily gone to Las Vegas. But, my FI''s parents were insistant that we had a ''traditional'' wedding, and my parents felt like if they were going to do it anyway, they might as well go all out. My FI and I paid for nothing. Which, is important to point out...because while 100k+ on a wedding sounds insane and lavish, it wasn''t out of our pocket. If it had been, it would have been far more modest and reserved. However, it was a heck of a good time planning it.

Here is a picture of my dress and veil...well, the best I have on this computer...

ETA: My veil had freshwater pearls and Swarovski sewn on, it was bustled and I wore it all night (I just had too!) it was more a work of art than a head piece.

where is your dress from? looks like a fairy tale dress. beautiful!

 

[House Cat]

Date: 7/4/2009 11:27:57 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor
I forgot to include an important cavet...this was my parents budget...not mine. We would have happily gone to Las Vegas. But, my FI''s parents were insistant that we had a ''traditional'' wedding, and my parents felt like if they were going to do it anyway, they might as well go all out. My FI and I paid for nothing. Which, is important to point out...because while 100k+ on a wedding sounds insane and lavish, it wasn''t out of our pocket. If it had been, it would have been far more modest and reserved. However, it was a heck of a good time planning it.

Here is a picture of my dress and veil...well, the best I have on this computer...

ETA: My veil had freshwater pearls and Swarovski sewn on, it was bustled and I wore it all night (I just had too!) it was more a work of art than a head piece.

Italia, you were so incredibly beautiful!! I love your gown. It''s a dream!

 

[princessplease]

I'm in NJ, with a guest list of around 130.

Venue/Food/Cake(incl topper)/Liquor/Ceremony $10,500
Photographer (two day of photographer, album, proof book, AND the rights to all of out photos): $2,800
Dress: $665
Flowers (DIY): around $300
Stationary (I'm DIYing the STD's, invites, guestbook, place cards, DIY table numbers): $400
Favors (Again, DIY, seed packets and BBQ 'Luv Rub'): Around $100
WB's: $600
FH tux: $160
Accessories (shoes, veil, earrings, tiara, necklace): $400
Attendant's gifts: around $300 for BM and GM
Officiant: around $300
DJ: $575
Rehersal dinner: around $300
Honeymoon: $2,000
Total: $19200. We were going for under $20K. I'm sure there is a lot that I forgot

FI and I have already bought a lot of stuff now, and we're storing it until next year. For us, it's easier to pay a little bit of money each check or each month (like my photog, who set me up on a payment plan) and spread it out rather than shelling out big bucks next year for all of the little things that really add up.

 

[meresal]

Texas, USA 250 guests

Dress: 750 (including alterations)
Veil: 20 (Ebay - only wearing it for about 20 minutes.)
Shoes: 950 (Christian Louboutin)
Church: 900 (Donation and Minister Fee)
Venue: 25,000 (Food, premium open bar... 250 people)
Favors: 500
Linens: 500
Flowers: 4,000 (everything: centerpieces, bouquets, bouts, pews, corsages, etc )
Music: 1500 (DJ)
Misc: 7,000 (wedding bands, invites, thank you notes, monogramed napkins, wedding programs)
Hair: 175/hr (birdesmaids and moms for about 5 hrs)
MUA: $500 (bride, and 2 bridesmaids)
Photographer: 5,500 (package and prints)
Cake: 1,000 (bride and groom)

RD restaurant is being rented out for our party- 150 guests
Rehearsal Dinner: 10,000 (meal, specialty drinks, open bar... rented out the restaurant)
RD Flowers: Apprx 3,000 (centerpieces, bathrooms, entry table)
RD Misc: 12,000 (Hotel rooms, flights, and travel accomodations for the entire weekend to/from airports and while at the hotel)

All in all the entire weekend will be around $70,000 (I think.)

 

[DMBFiredancer]

More than I originally wanted to spend....
Southern CA

Venue/Food/Cake/Liquor/Ceremony about $11,000
Photographer $800
Dress: $400 (alterations $60)
Rings: $1000 for both
Flowers / Centerpieces: around $300
Stationary: $200
Favors (contribution to bestfriends animal society): $100
FH suit: $300
Accessories (flip flops, necklace, purse): $100
Officiant: not sure on price yet
DJ: $1000
Rehersal dinner: around $600
Honeymoon: haven''t planned yet - going to Hawaii in December
Total: about 15k (but its a wee bit more with the ''little things'' added in)

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Whew!!!

Good grief weddings are expensive. I mean I already know that, but it''s amazing to see how things add up.