In my last post we walked through the budgeting process. There were many great tips on wedding budgeting and links to my favorite wedding coordinators. I also listed the budget numbers for a real Maine wedding. In the interests of full disclosure, that example was my wedding in 2014, and represented a fairly basic, no frills wedding. In this post we are going to look at another wedding, more typical of my clients in many respects. I will point out some differences and some reasons why you may make different choices based on your wedding priorities.
The Wedding Budget
| Wedding Service | Actual | |
| and/or Products | Budget | Price |
| CEREMONY | ||
| Ceremony Site Fee (Courtyard) included in pkg | ||
| Officiant | $400.00 | |
| Marriage License | $40 | |
| Music (incl in venue pkg) | ||
| Catholic Church | $600.00 | |
| catholic marriage prep | $100.00 | |
| church tips & Music. Piano 175, singer 150, Fthr, dan 125, alter server 20 | $470 | |
| RECEPTION | ||
| Room Rental Fee | Included | |
| Venu & Food & Beverage / Vista (F&B $13,000++) | $10,000.00 | $13,250 |
| Wedding Night Suite incl in pkg | Included in pkg | |
| Cake included with venu | Included in pkg | |
| Specialty Linens | Included in pkg | |
| Flowers | $1,072.92 | |
| Photography | $2800 | |
| Videography | $2,900 | |
| DJ/MC – Lighting Technician (delivery, setup, & strike) 4 Intelligent light fixtures, 10 LED lights, 2 truss pillars covered with spandex featuring pillar up-lights (4 Hr Pkg), Add’l Hr(s)(1) – $850.00 Star Maze(1) – $350.00 LED Light(s)(10) – $1,000.00 Video Screen & 3000 Lumens Projector w/ Dress Kit(1) – $1,000.00 (4 to 10 pm) | $2,507.35 pkg price | |
| Invitations & Save the dates DIY | $525 | |
| Stamps | $175 | |
| Guest Book/Cake Knife/Glasses | ||
| Gown / Veil / Accessories (not to include in budget) | $1,083.00 | |
| Rings/bands | $1975 | |
| Bridal party gifts/groom part gifts | $175 | |
| Tuxedo Rental | $175 | |
| Valet Parking | Included | |
| Vendor Meals | Included | |
| Limousine | $600.00 | |
| Make-up | $500.00 | |
| Hair | Included w/makeup | |
| Favors | $183.00 | |
| Wedding planner | $1,200.00 | |
| Dance Floor | Included | |
| Cash Bar & Champagne Toast | Included | |
| Honeymoon | $2,687 | |
| wedding website | $0 | |
| save the dates | $0 | |
| GRAND TOTAL | $33,418.27 |
Where did the Money go?
This was a bigger wedding, with about 175 guests and a budget of $30,000. It was also an off-season date wedding, so they were actually able to get some great deals. In fact, between the venue, DJ, Photographer, and Videographer, they were able to save nearly $8,000.00. All of their chosen wedding professionals, including the venue were well established professionals referred by friends. The only thing they went over budget on was the venue, and it was well over their budget, but in the brides words “Once we saw it, there was just nothing else that would do”. The best part for them is that the videographer was a gift from the parents, almost certainly made as a concession for having 2 wedding ceremonies. The rest of the overage was made up with wedding gift money.
What is Off-Season?
Off-season dates vary around the country, but November through April are generally considered off-season dates in Maine, as well as Fridays, Sundays, Holiday Mondays, and select dates such as the weekend prior to Christmas, or the weekend after Thanksgiving. This wedding was the week before Christmas at a resort hotel.
As I mentioned, the couple in this example were catholic with may non-religious friends, so they had 2 ceremonies. Beyond that, and the lighting effects they chose, there is very little that could be considered extravagant. They had a cash bar that was included in the hotel’s package with a minimum total tab, which was cleared easily. Champagne toast was also included in the package offered by the hotel. Check out my Money and Alcohol blog for more tips on saving at the bar while treating your guests right.
The venue costs how much?!?!
When pricing a venue, always ask what is included. This is what makes the comparison of this wedding with my own so illustrative. We paid $1,500 just for a location for our wedding to take place. Everything else was extra – the caterer, linens and associated rentals, decorating, everything. Our wedding had 100 guests with a total venue, catering, rentals, bar & champagne costs of over $9,000.00. This wedding had a space with everything included for 175 people for $4,000 more, and the majority of that cost is for feeding the extra 75 guests. Some of that fee my hinge upon food choices.
How many guests are you expecting?
The number of guests you invite is the biggest variable cost of your wedding. Double your guest count, and you will significantly increase the cost of your wedding. It will double your invitation costs, your food costs, sometimes it affects facility cost. Doubling your guest count will double any costs presented to you as a per person cost. If you can DIY any of these, invitations, place cards, favors, seating charts, etc, you can save a nice bit of money that could be put to a static or fixed cost.
Fixed costs
We’ve discussed variable costs, the costs that rise and fall based on your guest count. but what about fixed or static costs? Your Videographer, Officiant, Photographer, DJ, Limo, wedding dress, photo booth, and so on. These are the same price no matter how many people are invited. There may be slight variations, but nothing like the variations that come with per person pricing. With these, choose based on quality, value, and priority.
More to come..
Now we have the middle and lower middle tiers covered. I will do my best to furnish examples of a $10,000 wedding, as well as a $60,000+ wedding to round out the topic. and even more if I can get them. Remember I am including the costs of Honeymoon, rings, formal wear and wedding gowns in these examples. These are ancillary and not necessarily part of the average couples core wedding budget. When possible I am including these figures to give you a full picture of what a wedding costs. These figures are provided by the grace of my clients, so I can’t predict specifically when I will get the next in this series up, but hopefully soon. In the meantime, stay tuned, as there is so much else to talk about!
What are your experiences?
I would LOVE to hear your wedding budget stories! Please let me know what experiences you have had, and any similarities or differences you may have had. you can send me your thoughts by email at mike@wickedgooddj.com if you would like. As always, the more information we can share the better. I can’t wait to here your story!
