Budget befuddled

The biggest cost dependent thing is your guest list. More guests= more food/beverages, more tables/chairs, more centerpieces, a larger cake, etc. We live in a very high cost of living area and although we could have easily had 200+ people on our guest list, we wouldn’t have been able to afford that.

Budgets aren't really realistic until they are based on actual quotes from local vendors for the services you want. Now is the time to look at the quotes you have gotten compared to the amount of money you are able/willing to spend. That will help you decide what things you need to cut (including the guest list) so that your expectations match up with what the wedding you want will cost,

Hi Louise! Have you played around with WeddingWire's Cost Guide at all? It's a great tool that shows you the average costs of wedding services in you area - complete with pricing breakdowns and low and high end price ranges! It gives really context for figuring out at realistic budget:

Wedding Cost Guide

Holy cow! 20K is a huge budget! We have a 5K budget and after booking the venue, photographer, DJ, my dress, entertainment, wedding favors, invitations/RSVPs/Thank You cards, and the cake we still have wiggle room. It's all about NEGOTIATION and never taking the first offer.

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But it looks like you haven't booked catering? That's usually the most expensive budget item.

View Quoted Comment Catering was included with the venue price. Along with linens, glasses and dinnerware, chair covers, lantern centerpieces, day of coordinator, and butlets for cocktail hour.

*butlers for cocktail hour.

I doubled my budget once I actually got quotes and started planning. You're right- if is hard to know before you actually get into the nitty gritty of planning! Additionally "average costs" won't be a predictor if you live in a high cost area (part of the sticker shock for me!)

Absolutely. i wanted to do a wedding for under 10k but once i got quotes i realized i needed to hike it up and so i did

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That's great that you were able to do it with 5K! Unfortunately, 10-20k I would say is pretty much the average nowadays for most people.

I wanted to stick to around $15k for just the wedding (no honeymoon included on that) and we're closer to $20-$22k now. I have areas I can compromise on (plastic instead of china) and we can trim our guest list a bit, but just like you we have extras we're committed to.

Not sure how you're factoring your budget or where you're pulling the money from, but I picked up a second part-time job to make sure I could afford everything I wanted. It is stressful making sure we keep in line, but the big thing is to make sure everything truly has a place/home before we buy anything! Especially when it comes to decor!

Once you get to your flowers, ask if your florist has any recommendations on buds she could swap out to get the same feel for a cheaper price. That's one thing my florist specializes in!

View Quoted Comment We were given a 35% discount by our venue since we're both military, and we're getting married on a weekday during the off-season. In addition to that the venue includes the dance floor, tables, chairs, linens and napkins, China and glassware, set up and break down, lantern centerpieces, cake cutting service, private wedding suite for getting ready, and a complimentary overnight stay for the wedding night. Also included at a discount is a culinary display with butler passed hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour and a plated dinner service. Since we're having a winter wedding and flowers don't do well in cold temperatures, the only flowers we're having are for our cake, my bouquet, MOH bouquet, boutonnieres for the groom, bestman, both of our dads, my brother, and maybe a corsage for MILs.

I relate to this so much. It seemed like every time I budgeted for something, I was always $300-$1000 off of the average. It really is crazy how much everything costs.