Wedding Venues under $10k in the NJ/PA area

JadedSkies25

Hello! 


I am recently engaged and new to the wedding community. I am finding myself overwhelmed with prices, venues and every fact you could possibly imagine! I want to keep my wedding at $15k, but its hard when every venue I find has a minimum of $100 a plate! I was not able to find any recent discussions about affordable venues in the area. Can you ladies help me out? Here's a few facts for starters. 


-Guess list will be about 150 ppl (Or less)
-Looking to get married during the off season of 2019. So March/April-ish
-Looking to have the Ceremony/Reception in one place, between $6-$8k for everything. ( leaving room for all the other aspects)
-These are the few places I've found and fell in love with so far. (They don't seem very promising on price though!) Anything similar to these would be great! 

-Celebration Weddings Bensalem, PA
-Brigalias Sicklerville, NJ
-Luciens Manor
-The Manor West Orange, NJ

missJeanLouise

Idk anything about that area but the #1 way to save money is to cut the guest list. It will save in every other area, i.e. food, centerpieces, chairs, stationary, etc. I also recommend buying a dress off the rack or second hand. Whatever dress you wear will be your wedding dress, don't blow 20% of your budget on it. There are lots of ways to save dollars and cents here and there but the guest list is the "easiest" way to do it.

JadedSkies25

Those are definitely some good tips. The guest list was originally capped at 200, then brought down to 150. I don't believe we can cut much off of that, at that point we would be leaving out important family. 

cowgirl8238

I got married in southcentral PA at a venue that included both ceremony and reception for $2,500.  It wasn't a big sprawling landscaped mansion, but it had some nice outdoor spaces and the inside was efficient for larger weddings and events so it worked well.  I am not as familiar with your area and this is an international board so you may not get a ton of locals responding. 

If you are looking at a March/April wedding, I would plan on your wedding being indoors.  There are a lot of rainy and "too cold" days that time of year in your area.  You can always go off site to a nearby park for photos if the weather is nice, but a bad weather plan is a must.  With that in mind does it change the type of venue you are looking for?

I would agree with the PP that guest list is one of the biggest factors in cost.  Catering is usually the biggest expense on the list (and the last thing you want to be "too cheap" about.)  Things that you can cut/reduce right away to help stay in budget:

-  Favors:  No one misses these!
-  Flowers:  Less is more, pick in season flowers or skip the fancy centerpieces altogether in favor of something cheaper...books are nice. Some flameless Candles?  You get the idea!
-  Cake:  You can get a very simple cake, or simply serve sheet cake.  No guests will really care as long as it is tasty!
-  Dress: Skip the designer label and go with "Off the Rack" or sales.
-  Photographer/videographer:  You can find someone who is just starting their business and often get a reduced rate. 

If your venue is taking a larger portion of the budget than I would look into a place that allows outside catering and then hire a catering company that does BBQ, Mexican, or Italian foods. These three are typically the cheapest options to feed a large number of people buffet style.  If you are set on plated dinners it will be difficult to find much under the $50-70 per person range.  Also check to see if your options includes beverages!  The lowest package is soft drinks/coffee/tea, then there is beer and wine (a great budget option!) and then the open bar followed by the premium bar (which is a waste IMO).  Never have a cash bar!!! It is considered very rude to make your guests pay for anything at your wedding!  It is better to have a limited selection than have some things free and some things that cost money!

Also when you are planning your guest list, be sure to include all SO's, and room for new SO's.  Anyone who considers themselves in a relationship at the time invites go out is a SO and must be invited.  A good guide is to give all single guests a "Plus One" which gives room in the list (and budget) for SOs, when invites go out.

If you need more help with the budget, feel free to ask!

JadedSkies25

Thank you for all the suggestions!

I was not looking for an outside venue at all, given the time of year. Some of the venues I have chosen include seating, plating, food, drinks, and ceremony. Pretty much everything I would need. I am just scrounging around for the best price, still offering everything that is needed. I am eliminating any need for purchasing a limo, so if the venue has a decent landscaping, I'd much rather do my pictures on site. I am pretty much trying to knock EVERYTHING out in one go! lol Sidebar: Where did you get married?

As far as my dress, I am not a big designer girl and am very resourceful. I am a hop, skip and jump from NY. I know there is a garment district where there's a 8 floor wedding warehouse, full of options for every girl in the wedding party. So I will be using that to my advantage. 

I was honestly trying to find a way to stay away from favors. Its such a waste sometimes lol I can stalk Michael's and Jo Ann's the next two years to catch amazing sales on flowers and other trinkets for the Center Pieces. Def wont be wasting a bunch of money is that area either. lol

cowgirl8238

Knottief1ae339d587fd427 said:

Thank you for all the suggestions!

I was not looking for an outside venue at all, given the time of year. Some of the venues I have chosen include seating, plating, food, drinks, and ceremony. Pretty much everything I would need. I am just scrounging around for the best price, still offering everything that is needed. I am eliminating any need for purchasing a limo, so if the venue has a decent landscaping, I'd much rather do my pictures on site. I am pretty much trying to knock EVERYTHING out in one go! lol Sidebar: Where did you get married?

As far as my dress, I am not a big designer girl and am very resourceful. I am a hop, skip and jump from NY. I know there is a garment district where there's a 8 floor wedding warehouse, full of options for every girl in the wedding party. So I will be using that to my advantage. 

I was honestly trying to find a way to stay away from favors. Its such a waste sometimes lol I can stalk Michael's and Jo Ann's the next two years to catch amazing sales on flowers and other trinkets for the Center Pieces. Def wont be wasting a bunch of money is that area either. lol

We got married in Carlisle PA, it is a smaller town not far from Harrisburg (capital city).  The place was called Whispering Pines. (https://whisperingpinesofcarlisle.com/). 

It sounds like you have a decent amount of room in your budget for a nice (fairly inclusive) venue.  I found mine listed on the Knot.  We skipped the fancy limo ride and no one missed that either.  In fact the only places we spent any larger amounts of money was the food/drinks, and DJ.  Our flowers were minimal and the Photographer was a "mid-range" for our area.  Everything came out great!  People still talk about how awesome our wedding was!  Also look into printing your own invites (either at home or through Vistaprint) if you need to cut a little bit there.

STARMOON44

For that kind of budget and guest list, in NJ you need to be looking more at a VFW hall than The Manor, which is a very upscale venue. You won't find anything at all similar to it for your budget. 

LD1970

Knottief1ae339d587fd427 said:

Hello! 


I am recently engaged and new to the wedding community. I am finding myself overwhelmed with prices, venues and every fact you could possibly imagine! I want to keep my wedding at $15k, but its hard when every venue I find has a minimum of $100 a plate! I was not able to find any recent discussions about affordable venues in the area. Can you ladies help me out? Here's a few facts for starters. 


-Guess list will be about 150 ppl (Or less)
-Looking to get married during the off season of 2019. So March/April-ish
-Looking to have the Ceremony/Reception in one place, between $6-$8k for everything. ( leaving room for all the other aspects)
-These are the few places I've found and fell in love with so far. (They don't seem very promising on price though!) Anything similar to these would be great! 

-Celebration Weddings Bensalem, PA
-Brigalias Sicklerville, NJ
-Luciens Manor
-The Manor West Orange, NJ

I got married at The Manor on March 28, 2009, so off season, etc.  My wedding totaled about $30k (including wedding rings, DJ, dress, tux, shoes, flowers, the whole shebang) for 100 people for the daytime slot (11:30 a.m. ceremony, 12 p.m. reception).  It adds up FAST.  I don't know their rates now, but when we did it, with ceremony seats, tax, and gratuity, it came out to $122/person just for the venue/food/bar/cake.

It was fabulous, the food was amazing, the waitstaff and maitre d' were wonderful, etc.  So I highly recommend.  But keep an eye on that budget... don't forget your attire and your FI's, hair & makeup if you're doing them professionally (I did my own makeup), invitations and other paper (if you're doing menus or save the dates or anything), and even postage.  Postage adds up fast!  We did small flower arrangements, didn't have the photog for the getting ready timespan, and nixed favors.

Cookie Pusher

You're going to be hard-pressed to find many traditional wedding venues in that price range in NJ. I think Snuffy's Pantagis might be, but their food is mediocre at best and everything about the place is dated and worn-looking. Your best bet is to look at non-traditional spaces and restaurants, but it will still be difficult with such a large guest list.

MesmrEwe

Stop looking at fancy "Wedding Venues" from the magazines, and start thinking outside the box.  KC/Lion's/VFW/Elk's/etc. halls, community centers, etc. are all viable and given your budget realistic options.  Just because you have that amount of money to spend doesn't mean that you NEED to spend it, and a poll building hall that you can afford is FAR superior to a fancy venue that's going to ruin your financial future.  Check with some nearby hotels.  There are banquet halls out there with budget friendly options.  Just keep your expectations in check.  

honey-brooke

cowgirl8238 said:

Things that you can cut/reduce right away to help stay in budget:

-  Favors:  No one misses these!
-  Flowers:  Less is more, pick in season flowers or skip the fancy centerpieces altogether in favor of something cheaper...books are nice. Some flameless Candles?  You get the idea!
-  Cake:  You can get a very simple cake, or simply serve sheet cake.  No guests will really care as long as it is tasty!
-  Dress: Skip the designer label and go with "Off the Rack" or sales.
-  Photographer/videographer:  You can find someone who is just starting their business and often get a reduced rate. 

Photography is a super easy way to cut your budget and you don't have to sacrifice quality. I had a friend of a friend who is still in college and building up her photography business to fund her education until she can pursue it full time. She's super reasonably priced but extremely talented. Ask around at the closest university and you might be pleasantly surprised. (On a side note, don't book someone without first seeing their portfolio. If they have even a shred of talent, they should have a website or portfolio to show you.)

CMGragain

@honey-brooke, I know you are new to The Knot.  It is a good idea to check the date on a post before you comment on it.  This post has been dead for more than  three months, and I doubt if the bride is still looking for answers.  These are called "zombie threads", and it is best to start a new thread if you have a question about the topic.