Now that things are typically less restricted in the 2nd half of 2021 and hopefully stays that way through 2022, has anyone experienced sticker shock from increased prices when they were confident of their estimated budget?
Did you decide to stick to your vision of your wedding with your original budget or had to increase your budget to do so?
Were adequate or significant compromises had to be made in order to stick to your original budget?
Below is my current dilemma while planning for a 2022 wedding, so everything below can be skipped if it's too long to read:
Living in Southern California, I based my estimates off of the 2019 rates and was confident that even if the prices went up a bit, I could still cover it with my original budget of $20k with a $5k buffer. After getting some estimates from caterers and venues for 2022, not so much... It's looking like up to $10k will have to be added. We've estimated a guest list of just under 120 people, but are expecting people to decline so it will make the per-head costs a bit better. I'm prioritizing venue and good Asian banquet food, so I'm willing to spend more than the original allocations to do so, but will tighten spending in all other areas while making sure they meet passable standards such as photography and DJ.
One venue that's my #1 choice has a beautiful garden, remodeled, and closed during the pandemic. Its prices went up, but it also cut down the 12-hr rental period to 6 and setup/teardown has to be included in the 6 hours. It also removed the 2 suited-up security personnel, which may have been useful for open bar situations. Finally, their beverage packages prices doubled or more starting with beer & wine, then full service with house brands, then premium brands. The venue clarified that the bar services are outsourced, so there's nothing they can do about it.
The 2nd venue is a country club venue that allows outside catering, and provides a lot of nice-to-haves for being in a similar price range as the 1st choice. All of the must-haves, such as 7-hr rental time, dance floor, venue coordinator, wait staff, etc. Because this place has a high Saturday minimum, I can meet the minimum with my small guest list by opting for the highest package and it would only be $500 more compared to the first choice. From a value standpoint, I would get the must-haves and a lot of nice-to-haves that I don't feel strongly towards (e.x. string lights, upgraded linens, uplighting, votive candles, fruit infused water station, etc). On the other hand, the venue's architecture is nothing to write home about and the outdoors scenery does the job. This venue also only has 2 of my dates available in 2022 Q4, one of which has an earlier event and the other in December. Whereas the #1 choice has more availability.
