Wedding budgets

To me, overpriced only means something beyond your means or that puts you into debt. If you can reasonably afford it without going "wedding poor," and you both agree that's how you want to spend your money, that's the only thing that matters in my eyes! Just a word of caution, if you are going to accept financial help from your families, make sure that you all agree that no "strings" are attached (i.e. are they going to want a say in what food you choose, will they want to add more people to the guest list that you might not necessarily want, will they hold it over your head the whole time). I've seen couples on here accept financial help from family only to regret it later on, but they can't walk away because they've already made financial decisions/contracts at that point. Good luck!

That's about what we spent in NYC ($30k), and we figure we got away with murder for having a wedding for that little.

Which is *terrifying* when I think about how... I don't actually make that much in a year. (...We had very generous family help.)

It's all about what you can afford/what is available in your region. There are many couples on here having a fabulous wedding for a third of that... but generally not in Northern CA or NYC.

Welllll . . our plan was $15,000 but somehow we're at $30,000 now lol I think it's a good budget to have nice things. And if it'll be in 2022 you'll have time to pay it off. Congratulations and happy planning !

Our wedding is going to be over 30k but it sounds like a very reasonable price. Good luck!

$30k is the average cost of a wedding. It also greatly depends on where you live. I think the right budget is what you can comfortably afford. Also, when budgeting, be aware that you will likely go over budget, so make sure to account for that. We went about $5k over.

Before I started planning our wedding, I would have said $30k is too much. Now that we are in the thick of things, it seems like $30k is right about average. When we found out how much the venue we chose was for weekday or a Saturday morning, we were shocked, thinking our $14k budget would be enough to get everything we wanted. We were so wrong! $24k later (excluding the honeymoon, rings, and attire) here we are! I think what matters most is not the amount you think you should spend, but what you are comfortable with. We will pay everything up front, in cash, maybe not the honeymoon prior to the wedding. Good luck!

$30k is probably about average across the country but not sure if Northern Cali is considered above average or not. When setting the budget, also make sure you factor in things you and your SO might be spending for yourselves. Like is your dress in the budget, or is this an additional expense to yourself. We have a budget that is cut all kinds of different ways (factors in any financial aid, my dress vs his tux, GM gifts vs BM gifts, bach parties, etc), so make sure you establish what the budget covers too.