Is it cheaper to get married in a church, or find a venue?

I think it honestly depends on the church and what you are expecting ceremony/ reception wise. The church I am getting married at is free for me to use (I am a member) however the reception area had hundreds of rules (no dancing other than speciality dances, no alcohol (of course), had to be done by 6 etc.) that we decided to go with another venue for our reception. If it wasn’t for it being so very important to my FH and I to get married at the church, we probably would have gone to a venue just because of the rules that normally follow to have receptions at church places- but it meant too much so we are still paying for a venue (and giving a donation to the church).

Ceremonies aren’t that expensive. Unless you are a member to the church, you will probably pay about the same amount (there are always exceptions) to have your ceremony. The reception is the big one. FH and I are getting married at the church we attend together, but are traveling to have a fun reception filled with dancing and alcohol. If the venue is out of your budget, keep looking around. We are getting married in “off-season” for our particular venue (April) so we got a discount. See if you can negotiate or if your date is flexible, look at a Friday or Sunday.

good luck, you’ll find one!

Do you want to get married in a church, or merely considering it for budget purposes?? I don't ask to be rude, I ask to see what you want, so that I can offer advice.

My first suggestion is to really think about what you want.. Also, reach out to that venue for information and pricing. You never know if you don't have the information. I viewed venues that were out of my budget, didn't know at first because some wouldn't give me pricing info until I toured the venue. I politely said, "While it is a beautiful venue, it's just not in our budget.". One venue I absolutely adored, like I WANTED my wedding there, it was at the higher end of my budget, but the event manager talked badly about another venue in front of me, and that honestly put me off.

Again, think what you want, gather information for ALL options, look at your budget, and go from there. Some churches have large donation fees to have your wedding there, some don't. If you're computer savvy, i'd suggest creating an excel spreadsheet for each option, and include quotes form vendors. This helped me in the beginning see what each venue would cost, including each separate vendor. From there we were able to make our decision. Now I track everything for the wedding on our excel spreadsheet.

It usually ends up costing the same. Most venues I have seen charge a $1K fee to have your ceremony there, and the church we are getting married in will end up costing about the same when all is said and done.

Depends on both. My church is asking for a set price of 200. Then we have to "donate" to the priest. He has a set amount of 200 also.

my family is very traditional so a wedding at a church is a must for us.