Can I have this kind of wedding for this budget?

Ok guys, I'm getting the gist. Basically the answer is "maybe". I'll probably have to compromise somewhere (day of week, size of guest list, vibe of venue, etc.). Some posters have had some great ideas and I've definitely taken them all into consideration. I really think I have to let go of my vision of having a band. like we'll try, but if it's only a wish for me and it's so expensive I might just have to kiss that goodbye. I've definitely have fun at weddings with DJs, but just like bands so much more.

I obviously have to spend *some* money on decor, but my general vibe is more classic and understated. I defintiely don't plan to throw some fake flowers in a mason jar, lol, but I get the point. Thinking something like this - https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTowgYhrpP_MgIzer5BUoW0FAul-uvHNNlY-JqrFLtFdpjCzZVi.

Not sure what happened to the rest of my post. Basically, we're super early and don't plan to plan anything in earnest until early 2018 (we have a lot coming up the rest of the year), but as we start to talk we want to get an idea of what's possible. I needed to get my SO a bit of a reality check, for sure. We both have kind of an all or nothing attitude about the wedding, where we either want to have a big blowout with everything really nice for our guests, or we want to have a small formal dinner (like, 30 people, maybe $10k budget). The in between just really isn't appealing to either of us.

Check out the Indian trail club in Franklin Lakes NJ. We're doing our whole wedding for 45k including our honeymoon and having 200 guests.

Seriously for me that is 3 weddings. for 150 people 100% attendance, ( yes I am properly hosting with full bar, full meal ) Decor and honeymoon included. You should be able to do that for 60k!

NY/NJ metro is no joke... planning on around 55k so far for 100 without any super high-end vendors. Cutting out floral/decor doesn't seem to make a big dent around here....250 might not be possible to have the type of affair you would like on a highly sought after date. I know you said you want everyone there but if you have already cut it to 200 why don't you just stick with that?

LOVE Indian Trail! They were just renovated recently, and it's gorgeous.

I work at a venue on the Eastern Shore of MD....right over the Bay Bridge. We get so many brides from NJ/NC/PA. It becomes like a mini-destination wedding. Your budget is very doable too. IF you want an amazing band look at Washing Talent Agency and one of thier bands called "Mellennium." They are pricey, but amazing!!

I'm in NJ and doing a wedding for 200 guests on a $10,000 budget. Totally do able

How, Jess?

Girl! It seems to me that your guests are a priority for you judging that you want to include all your friends, have good food, drinks and a killer band for some epic dance floor moves. It's my understand that NY/NJ area can be very expensive in terms of giving you all of that. You have a killer budget for other parts of the country and even internationally. You mentioned your guests will be flying from all over the U.S. but majority are based on the east coast. With this budget you can maybe think on having a destination wedding and use it as a vacation time for all of your guests. Flights from the east coast can be super affordable and if you pick a location that the scenery is gorgeous that decor/flowers really don't do much, bam! ... https://www.keylargolighthouse.com/ they offer all inclusive wedding package with private properties for you and all of your guests to stay for a weekend and their pricing start at $12k... just something for you to think about it. You'll get more for your buck, a vacations experience and everyone will enjoy their little holiday!

I'm from SF area and I think that in California north or south that is an appropriate budget. Lots of wineries and country clubs are at or below that budget, even in season on a Saturday night! Also, I think you should prioritize which guests and how many you want. For example if you get married on the east coast your parents friends will likely be invited and attend. If you get married on the west coast you will likely only get the people from childhood you are really close to. On the flip side if you want those people there then the east coast makes more sense. Think about your friends, who would be able to afford the cross country flights? I think that will help you determine which coast makes sense. I imagine some of your 200 won't be able to make it either way (with the caution to plan either way - my sister got married in a castle in Ireland where her husband is from and was pleased and surprised to realize 40 Americans were willing to make the trip)

Also if you start thinking about winter months you might lose your outdoor ceremony!

ETA I spent about $30k for 100 guests at a country club. we didn't do top shelf liquor but everything else seemed similar priorities to yours. I think the additional 100 guests would have been about $13,000 more. The other venues in my area, mostly wineries, were similar prices. Also some DJ's I found are singers so you can have a professional singer for your first dance and such. Might be a decent priced compromise?

It completely depends on what area you are in and the quality you put in.

My advice would be to go look at venues, get your venue down and go from there.

Photographers can be anywhere from $3k and up on a wedding of that size.

Also, bands...that can be your whole budget in a nutshell. There are so many variables.

Yes, of course you can have a nice wedding for $60k in many areas, some places 1/3 of that will just be the venue fees.

From your description of venue - not ballroom but large enough to accomodate 250 guest with a beautiful outdoor ceremony space. The Chesapeake Bay Club in Annapolis, Maryland (near DC) comes to mind. And DC is on everyone's bucket list to visit.

@futurefiji - thanks for this info. I actually wasn't sure about the Cali area. Obviously the COL is pretty expensive here, and I know that crazy expensive weddings in the NY metro area are kind of a "thing", but I had no idea about what it's like out here. I actually originally wanted to do the wedding in CA, even if we move BUT SO is unsure because he really wants the right people there. I was thinking that we wouldn't save *that* much money having in SoCal, but it does have so many more venues (just off the top of my head) that are exactly what I'm looking for. I think we need to go more one-by-one on who would travel, but it's hard with both of our families being northeast to justify the cali thing, especially if we end up moving. So difficult!

@Thais F. - that's totally my thinking on the DW thing. International destination weddings are OUT (FI hates them), but since there's not a single location that exists that doesn't require at least 50% of our guests to travel, I wanted to pick a moderate destination (I mentioned Newport RI in a previous post). Also good point on winter months making me lose my outdoor-ness. Compromises everywhere! I will definitely take your suggestion into consideration.

And to everyone - I definitely know I am extremely lucky to have a generous budget to work with and you're right, my guests are absolutely my priority. I'm just trying to balance my expectation with reality. I obviously know I could have a lovely wedding on much much less, but as I mentioned, there are family contributions and expectations involved. I just want to make sure I balance their wants with the things that are important to me too.

Your budget sounds doable but if you are in an expensive area like, CA; NY you may hit that budget. I live in the MD/DC area and we have 150 people and a budget of $35k. Not doing real flowers because of my allergies and my dress was only $175. So we have room on the catering and open bar. Our venue was $5k for 8 hours.

OP it depends on where in California you look. For example, I'm getting married in Sonoma and paying about $200 per person. I considered approx. 45 venues in Napa/Sonoma and they were all very similarly priced, or if their per person price was lower, their venue cost was higher (this ranged from $2,500 up to $10,000 just to use the space). But where I live in the Sacramento area, there were places that were $100-150 per person, with venue fees of only around $1,000-1,500. I hired an 11-piece big band out of San Francisco and am paying $4,000, but I got quotes from $2,000 up to $8,000.

If you could cut the guest list to closer to 200, Newport RI may be a good option for you. Plenty of non ballroom venues!

I think we will be about $55k to host ~180 for the party you're describing though in a historic hotel ballroom in Boston (check out the Fairmont Copley Plaza, we are OBSESSED CANT WAIT). Buses to and from the church, cocktail hour, plated dinner with 3 entree options, cake, open bar, champagne pour at each seat, 8 piece band (about 9k with uplighting and duo for cocktails), photog, invites, coat check, my dress, bridesmaids shawls, hair and makeup, etc. Only doesn't include our hotel stay as we haven't planned that yet and the flowers that my grandma is gifting us. So I think you may be able to do 200+ for $60k if you do less premium stationary, don't need to bus people, can live with built in decor and find a few bargains. We got 10% off food and our room rental was waived due to being off season, something to think about as well.

@tina0610 I have been to a wedding at that hotel and it was GORG. Your wedding sounds lovely and your post definitely gives me hope. We're not having a religious ceremony so we could do it all in on-sight, no need for buses.

Hi, could you please let me know who your florist / photographer were? I'm planning a wedding at the Cescaphe ballroom and would love to hear who you used. Thanks!