Why is everything so expensive!?

Yes its expensive...but those prices you listed aren't bad considering...at least for my area. I couldn't have found a tent any where near that price.

FH and I always joke that any time you mention the word " wedding" for any service the price inflates by 3 times lol. LBVS.

Yeahhh, a backyard wedding is not cheap by any means. Here are some of my numbers after all was said and done...

Tent, Tent Sides, Heat, Lights, Extension Cords = $1973.08

White Chairs, Tan Chairs, Tables, Generators, Grill, Coffee Urn (60-cup) = $768.90

Restroom Trailer (nice restrooms, not port-a-potties) = $1121

Day-of Coordinator (and she gave me a steal of a deal!) = $360

Total for above: $4200. That doesn't include ANY decor or any other vendors (photographer, DJ, caterer, etc.).

Catering was $4685. Alcohol is not included in that catering cost.

Final cost for every last detail: $21,161.77 (we had 90 guests, 11 of which were kids).

It's not cheap. Did you decide on backyard wedding to save money? We try to tell people all the time that is almost always not the cheapest option. Have you looked in to all inclusive venues that will be cheaper or are you okay with putting up the cash for your backyard wedding?

Weddings are ridiculously expensive! My head was swimming when I first started checking prices.

I really want a backyard. My all time dream is to get married at Holy Hill but i dont think they marry anyone if not belonging to a church or religion.

That's why we picked a venue instead. Our venue is beautiful and wound up being $1300 cheaper than our original idea of FIL property. All of the tid bits for backyard weddings add up so quickly.

This is why I chose a nice restaurant. No need to rent anything and I can spend my money on food and drinks. I was NOT going to get involved in rentals and decor.

We chose this over a lovely venue that would have cost us $5k rental space plus rentals and staffing which would have added another $5k. That is $10k for the space not including food!

We spent a total of $14k on the restaurant for everything and had a ton of amazing food and service!

I am getting married in 38 days on top of a mountain. Its an amazing place and all together with everything. We are coming in around the same price. And we have 120 ppl coming. You would be around **** dollars. cheaper. Good luck

I hear you, I was having the same issue this morning... "Where has all my money gone?!?!?!" lol

I think wedding prices are also higher because the vendors realize it is not an annual event. If you call for say, an office party, or reunion, they hope for an annual event. So if they spend a day planning, meeting with you, seeing if tent fits, where parking is, they hope it will be one hour next year.

I do think some office events have VERY high expectations.

We have to bring everything to our venue and it wasn't much cheaper than just having it at a venue. We only did it this way because in my area most venues require a specific caterer and they're outrageous. Tents are soooo expensive!

I agree with TheeOne2Love! It's the wedding tax! And then everywhere you turn, there's some ridiculous service/item that every bride/groom "must" have. Good luck with your planning. I didn't realize how expensive everything was until we started planning. I ended up having to triple our budget after the 1st week of planning.

I feel ya! My FH set a 10k budget for 80 ppl but I know that is not going to happen! I'm up to 14k already florists in my area are not cheaper then $1500 and now I'm thinking I need a tent too!

Catlady, I have seen firm functions where the planning was virtually the same as a wedding. Entertainment, favors, seating, decorations. I don't think you can generalize like that.

I can understand your frustration. Have you ever called Holly Hill and spoke to them about what their requirements are to be married their? You would be surprised how some places will do a non denominational Wedding or a Non-Religious Ceremony especially if they haven't been booked on the date you want. It does mean more money for them after all. I have a Venue and have to bring all my own vendors its not much cheaper the only expense I got to save was on chairs and tables.

We were initially going to have a backyard wedding but after looking at rental prices for tents, tables and chairs, we decided it was not cheaper like we thought it would be. Try to find a banquet hall or venue. It'll come to about the same price or cheaper and it'll be less work for you

We are renting everything...tent, tables chairs, utensils, plates...and I thought I got a great deal. We got a 44x65 tent for $1,599 - then we are paying an additional $100 for side walls all the way around. $800 for that size tent seems like a steal! We also are paying $3/garden chair.

I chose to have a restaurant 'reception' for exactly this reason.

Backyard weddings tend to be more expensive than an all-inclusive venue such as a country club or hotel.