A wedding under 7000...anyone?

Knottie53898593

I am overwhelmed! Weddings are expensive! 

are destinations wedding cheaper and more practical? 

We are are having about 35-40 people

Places we are looking are : Mexico, California and of course our city  Chicago 

Any help and tips on how to keep cost down, what are the best times to get married in California or Mexico( something off season, perhaps october?) 

princessleia22

It depends on what you want or where. Destination weddings can sometimes be cheaper, but they can also be more expensive. A $7,000 wedding is possible in the US also. I've seen simple/cheap and extravagant/expensive weddings both in US and abroad. So, it really is up to you. Either way, having a small guest list is a good start as that is usually the biggest factor in cost. For 40 guests, you should be able to easily host wedding at home or away for under $7,000. If doing a destination wedding, you need to make sure you include all travel expenses into your budget. Doing destination wedding can also double as a honeymoon, so it can save money there also. California is probably not a good option if you are looking to save money, as nearly everything is more expensive in California. Bigger cities (LA, New York, Chicago) also typically have higher cost of living, therefore higher wedding costs. I got married on a cruise ship with about 25 guests. We did embarkation wedding in New Orleans so people could come to wedding without having to go on cruise. We had 12 people join us on the cruise. The wedding package was a little over $2,000, and that included everything (officiant, cake, flowers, reception, food, open bar, DJ, coordinator, photographer)... we just had to choose colors, flavors, and show up dressed. We had to pay for cruise fare on top of that, which can vary greatly based on type of cabin, length of cruise, and time of year. But, if you were to subtract some of our larger optional items (we bought the most expensive photo package, had spa suite during most expensive time of year, etc.) we could have easily done the whole wedding and trip for around $6,000 or less. But, we were thrilled with how the cruise wedding turned out and everyone had a great time. And we thought is was a cost effective option for our guests, since they didn't have to travel internationally or get passports to attend. The cruise ships do also offer wedding packages at various ports, so you could do wedding on the beach.