Ceremony and Dinner Party

We did this in New Orleans! For just the ceremony and dinner party for 40 people we ended up spending just under $5,000 (Ceremony space rental: $1500 / Dinner: $2200 / Bar: $1200) + tips

Additional expenses:

Officiant: $600

Musicians: $1100

Flowers: $1000

Photographer: $1200

Videographer: can't remember

Hair & Makeup: $1600

Wedding cake: $400

*Plus tips for everyone

We had a fantastic time and wouldn't change a thing about the ceremony/dinner party!

I've heard more and more of couples going this route. Sounds like a great idea!

I agree. This sounds like a perfect wedding plan!

View Quoted Comment Wow! Thank you so much, this was so helpful. About how long did it take you to plan and do you think a DJ is necessary, or would a nice playlist suffice?

View Quoted Comment I love that couples are doing things their way these days when it comes to weddings!

View Quoted Comment It was super quick and easy to plan! Just researching all the available options for venues and vendors and choosing which ones we wanted took the longest (but that’s also probably because I am a control freak, and I wanted to know every single option available to me, and to make sure I chose the exact “right” one 😂) A DJ definitely is not necessary. In fact, we thought it would be really strange to have one with that few people. We just used the venue’s sound system to play music. We had planned on making our own playlist, but they actually had playlists available there, so we just used one of those. It saved us the time and a hassle of having to make our own!

Getting married in two weeks and doing a civil ceremony and dinner party.


It's been exciting to be able to devote more to the small details and DIY some things. I feel whatever fits your style- follow that and don't think you have to add on a ton of things for the sake of it.
We aren't having any dancing, just an intimate dinner of 35 of our closest. Food, drinks, dessert, a microphone for speeches for those that want to and a playlist of our favorite tunes playing in the background.
I'll report back on my experience but so far, it's all aligning and feels great sticking to what we truly want.

View Quoted Comment I’m in the same situation—40 guests at a romantic restaurant for the ceremony and dinner. I’ve always thought dancing and music make a party, but having a DJ at the restaurant is becoming problematic for a variety of reasons. It will up our budget by thousands of dollars, which is silly. Can’t wait to hear from Samantha about her wedding and from anyone else who is trying to figure out how to have a memorable wedding without dance music!

View Quoted Comment It was a day/night to remember! From courthouse to dinner it was perfect. I would recommend anyone who is thinking of doing it small in that way, follow your heart and do what makes you happy.