wedding costs beyond reception

Hi,

I'm relatively new here and am trying to figure out the costs. I was told that people spend over 40.000 on weddings. I'm counting, but my numbers are comming out a lot lowers. Not that I'm not thrilled about that fact, but I am a bit worried that I'm underestimating hidden costs.

We are planning a wedding for about 100 people and lets say we spend $150/person (w/ tax and tips) - so about $15,000 for the reception. That's a far cry from 40.000.
How much more should I expect to spend on the wedding in total (not including Honeymoon)?

Jen

Here is a breakdown of my costs, but I know many ppl go higher ...

dj $600 (band can cost $5000)
invites $400
limos $2000
flowers $2500 (some florists quoted me $6000)
day planner $350
photo $2500 (if you get albums can be double)
favors $400
cake is an additional cost, if not included
dress $1000

thats abour $7000 and I am trying real hard to stay within a budget. There are also a lot of extra costs that I have included like BM and GM gifts, the hotel room for the wedding night, the rehersal dinner, the hm ($5k), undergarments and accessories for your dress, hair and makeup, personal touches such as programs and place cards, certain decorations that you might want to add, etc, etc.

The list never ends

ETA: ppl also pay for video and ceremony/cocktail muscians

In addition to the cost of reception and common vendors, here are some other expenses to keep in mind

Church Fee
Officiant Fee
Organist Fee
BP Gifts
Maid of Honor Gift
Best Man Gift
Grooms Men Gifts
Flowergirl Gift
Ringbearer Gift
Readers Gift
Parents Gift
Programs for Church
Basket for Programs/throw items
throw at church (rice,sead, petals)
Unity Candle
Candle Holder
Hair & Make-up/TRIAL
Nails
Shoes
Veil
Tiara
Gloves
Bra
Slip
Thigh Highs
Garter belt
Throw Garter
Bag
Hankerchief
Dress Cleaning
Toasting Glasses
Cake Knife & Server
Ring Pillow
Flower Girl Basket/head wreath
Guest Book, Pen
Card Holder
Favors
Seat Cards

i thought it was going to be a bit cheaper than it actually is.....
dont forget you also have to pay for a honeymoon.....

before i increased the list i was also planning on 100 people, and i came out to a real budget of ' 20,000 ' plus honeymoon
that included
7,500 100 people including tip
1,000 florist centerpieces & bouquets
5,000 photo and video
900 dj & mc
600 limos
400 invitations & 100 on stamps
925 dress(625dress & slip & bra & tiara)
500 bridal party gifts
1,000 in tips to various vendors
350 favors
585 church

of course now as im getting closer to the day, i decided to invite extra people since i thought it would be nice, so favors, flowers, and people are increasing so itll be an extra 1,000 per 10.

Our budget right now is including ALL...tips,little things etc around $23,000 and our reception is $11,000 rounded up ( hopefully )
So its almost double with all the other costs....

I think the wedding costs really depend on what you want and what your priorities are. There is no 'standard' for these things, some people spend more, some people spend less. Here's a rough breakdown of our expenses.
Reception- $42,000
bands (ceremony, CH and reception)- $5500
flowers- $2300
gown- $1200 ($1600 with alterations- more when you factor in shoes, veil, headpiece, undergarments, etc...)
photo/video- $3600
favors- $500
invites- $500 (not including stamps)
attendent gifts- about $1400 for all BMs, GM, FG and RB
officiants- $750

All of the extras are a little less than half of what the reception is costing. We splurged by getting a band instead of a DJ, but we had a small flower budget and skipped limos. Everyone should do whatever makes them happy and fits into their budget.

How much does getting the groom/male party dressed cost?

Also, who needs to wear a tux? - So far we have groom, FOB, FOG, and brother of bride.

I have to say that at this point, I am well over 40,000. Our reception is about 17 of that. But my gown was 4500 plus alterations(not including veil, shoes, corset etc.) Our photo was 5000 alone. Video was another 1800. It really all depends on where you spend your money. We are not even having a band. It just seems that some things we really spent a lot of money on. It all depends on what you want and how much you are willing to spend to get it.

I do feel that you can have a very elegant wedding on a lower budget to, you just have to be willing to search a little bit more. Best wishes to you and happy planning !!!

p.s. - also all those little extras cost a lot of money in the end(for example: candles, hankies for everyone, embroidery etc.)

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Posted by jbride2b

How much does getting the groom/male party dressed cost?

Also, who needs to wear a tux? - So far we have groom, FOB, FOG, and brother of bride.

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Well, it depends on whom you want in a tux. The only tux YOU pay for is FH's, everyone else pays for their own.

We gave ourselves a budget of 15,000 for everything OTHER than the reception. We are now at something like this:

DJ: 1500
Video:1150
Photo: 2500
Flowers: 3500
Rings: 1000
Church: not sure yet, will know tomorrow
Gifts: 1000
Hotel: 200
Limos: 2000
That's almost 12,000 with tax and stuff. but we are not including the HM in that budget. That's separate, and we already paid for our rings last year, so I don't even count that in the 15,000. But We'll be within budget. If not, oh well, I tried

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Posted by nferrandi

I think the wedding costs really depend on what you want and what your priorities are. There is no 'standard' for these things, some people spend more, some people spend less.

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I fully agree. It's all about your priorities, but that said, I think most brides wind up spending roughly half of their budget on the reception. We spent a (relative) fortune on the reception, because we wanted to show our loved ones a great time, in a style and setting which we enjoy. We spent a little more than I wanted to on flowers and got a large band, but at a decent price (again - 'decent' is all relative!). We had a nice morning-after brunch for the hotel guests and a great night-before dinner, but shopped araound alot to manage the prices of all of these items carefully. I loved my dress, and it was only $350 and I spent only $150 on hair and makeup (and really felt it wasn't worth even that - I should have done it myself!). We didn't have any need for limos, etc. There are lots of other incidentals, and it gets higher if you want to factor in the costs of hotel rooms, parking, and of course - the honeymoon!

All in all, we were able to get significant discounts on lots of things due to the fact that I was planning with short notice (2-3 months before wedding date), and because the end of March is a relatively slow time of the year, but as you know weddings are still a very expensive proposition.

Good luck with your planning!

Heh... I am surprised you guys aren't adding the Honeymoon to your budget. IMO thats part of the costs as well.

i wouldn't include the honeymoon either

i am not even going to try to calculate.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted by DjPiLL

Heh... I am surprised you guys aren't adding the Honeymoon to your budget. IMO thats part of the costs as well.

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We did the honeymoon separate. Please we budgeted one price for the Honeymoon adn we have so far doubled it. YIKES!

Big costs other than reception:

Officiant: $350
Flowers: $3000
Photo: $3000
Band: $5000
Invites
Rings
Favors/gifts for BP
Makeup/hair
Dress
Alterations!!


Reception wound up being less than half, plus all the workers need tips...