Wedding budget

I think it really depends on location and what all you want. Also, what you consider small. My wedding is about 120-130 people and to some that might seem like a lot, but other people that have a guest list 300+ that might seem small.

Agreed with the above comment^^
If you’re interested in examples though I’m in Montana having a winter wedding for 40 people and it’ll cost me ~$4000

In general I would budget about $100 per guest. Knowing that only 50% of that will be for catering. Venue fees, DJ, Photo, Flowers, etc will eat up the rest. For a 275-300 person wedding we are looking at around 45k but that's in LA (high cost of living) and we aren't DIY-ing things. Also alcohol will be additional.

As previous posters have said, there are a lot of factors that go into that. I would start with researching weddings in your area (the wedding wire cost guide is really useful for this) and price out you dream wedding. From there you can decide (1) what you are able to spend and (2) what you want to spend.

We're having a wedding for about 50 and I splurged on a venue, so it should come up to about $6k when all is done. My sister had a much more low key wedding for about 30, splurged on getting a nicer dress, and spent about $1k total. Both in Oklahoma City. I think the biggest factor is what parts of the day matter most to you. Once you know that, it's easy to find other areas to cut costs for.

A lot goes into a budget. How many guests do you want? Where are you located? Do you have a specific time of day or month of the year you want the wedding to be in? What all do you want included? I've been a bridesmaid in two weddings, both in southern California. One spent 3k and one spent 20k.

This varies a lot, as others have said. Figure out how much you feel comfortable spending, and then figure out what kind of wedding you can afford. We're spending around $11k for about 65 people. But we splurged a bit on our venue, and we're not skimping on food, though we are skipping alcohol.

Mine is smaller, 100 people or less, our budget is 3k, but we're hoping to spend less. It can be done. We're trying to get a community center as our venue, 275 bucks, caterer 10 bucks a person. bring our own booze

We’re getting married this December in NC. We’re inviting 100 people. Our wedding total cost is 6k. I’ve done a lot of DYI myself to keep the cost down.

View Quoted Comment Can you paint a picture for me if how the wedding looked and was done with a 3,000 wedding? My budget right now is 4,500. I’m redoing my brain to make it all happen

View Quoted Comment That’s something I’m thinking of doing is the DIY

View Quoted Comment So here’s some of my DYI. We’re taking Mason jars and painting them gold. They will be placed on the tables on a gold charger plate with a small black lantern. They will hold a small flower arrangement. We’re also using them around the reception to double up as a candle holder. The inverted wine glasses will hold a ivory rose instead of red rose. I’m glueing down a glass candle holders instead of just placing the candle on top of the inverted wine glasses. I also bought the mirrors at Lowe’s (6 mirrors in a box-$10). I’m making my own pew decor because we can’t tack down anything at our venue. Hubby to be is retired military so I bought the soldiers at our local Dollar Store and bought the box from Michaels, I printed off the wording from work.

View Quoted Comment

Of course! It was very simple, and very DIY. They were LDS, so no alcohol was served at the wedding at all. The ceremony was in a public park (no seating except for a few park benches). The bridesmaids gifts were $10 watches, we paid for our own hair & makeup. The bride had her sister do her hair, and got her makeup professionally done. We had our dresses made (and so did she) by a friend who was a seamstress, mine cost $60 total. They didn't go on a honeymoon. They had a cash registry. The reception was in their church's gym with minimal decor and chairs/tables provided by the gym. A friend was their DJ, a member of their church did their photography (they paid - but at a discount), no videographer, no professional transportation. A local bakery did cupcakes for their dessert. No happy hour or appetizers. They did a full Hawaiian spread for dinner, her mom made all the chicken then sent it home with members of the church to cook all the food (some came out under-cooked - I wouldn't recommend this). They skipped favors, menus, programs.

Hey Camika! How is your wedding planning going?