Church charges?

halfbrit

Our priest just told us that the church charges $250 to use the sanctuary, $250 for the organist, $250 for the cantor, and tips for the wedding coordinator, torch bearers, priest, organist, and cantor on top of that.  He said the whole thing will be about $1,000.  I expected to pay something, but not this much!  Just wondering what other churches charge?  Is $1,000 the going rate? 

agapecarrie

Think about it itemized as you listed. It costs money to turn on the lights, run the a/c/heat, and clean up after a group. How much would it cost to rent out a hall?

Musicians deserve to be paid, just because they are with the church doesn't mean it should be less, in fact, they have to have special knowledge and ability for the liturgy.

People that are giving up the middle of a Saturday (coordinator, priest, servers) also deserve to be recognized.

halfbrit

Thanks for the input.  We aren't renting a hall or having a reception - our ceremony will have no Mass as fi is Hindu.  There will be 10 guests and no decorations, so we didn't think there would be much to cover in terms of clean up.  I'm fine with paying for musicians and the priest, but a $1,000 was more than we expected. 

Riss91

We spent well over $1,000, but it was partly our choice to do so. Most people in my area average around $500 (without musicians).

Seeing that your ceremony is so small, I think you should talk to your priest about all the fees. You do not need many altar servers, and you might be able to cut down on some of the music. My sister didn't use a cantor (she didn't have mass) and was able to bring in her own musicians without having to pay the organist.

ElisabethJoanne

$1,000 is at the high end for the Catholic parishes around here.

Keep in mind that the Church is not allowed to charge you for the Sacrament. That's an ancient heresy - charging for sacraments. If you really can't afford the money, talk to the Priest. "really can't afford" it would be like you're just having cake and punch for the 10 people afterwards, and no honeymoon, no special clothes, etc. I'd think it awful if the church charges were 10x the rest of the wedding budget.

agapecarrie

In this case, because it seems you aren't doing a big huge thing, talk to the priest if its too much. Make sure he knows its so small.

tmeyer621

$1000 is exactly what our church charges.I know some parishes don't charge as much or may just ask for a donation. If you truly cannot afford it, talk to them. They won't deny someone the sacrament of marriage because they cannot afford it

tropicalpalmleaf

It may vary from parish to parish. A woman at work told me that her daughter's church charge was 1k and that was about 3 years ago. A friend of mine was married at our childhood parish about 7 years ago and it was a suggested donation of $300. I am not sure how much my current parish would require, but I don't think it would be $1000. However, if you factor in a cantor, organist, etc - it may get up there. Also don't forget the donation to your priest!

lalaith50

My parish charges $600 for non-parishioners (and slightly less for parishioners,) and another bigger church in the same city I think charges about $1000. But yes, you should definitely talk to the priest about seeing if they can decrease the rate. They're expecting to have to clean up etc after 200 people like it's a big extravaganza, and certainly might make an exception when they realize that the ceremony will be a bit more "low-maintenance."

COSmitty

My chapel is $300 but once you include paperwork fees (for 2 churches), priest fees, preparation classes (2), wedding coordinator for the chapel, and more we figured we'd be at $1,000 without the musicians/flowers/etc. 

One place I looked at was $1,500 just for 3 hours and then if you wanted to do a rehersal'other things it was more (and the people such as priest, etc were not included).

While I was surprised at the costs I also adjusted fast.... just like photographer costs.

[Deleted User]

Ours cost almost $1k after all was said and done. However, it was the most important part in our eyes, so it was worth it to us.

roxiems75

It all depends on where the church is located.  FI and I are getting married in the Northwest suburbs of chicago we are paying $500 for our ceremony.  But when we looked at getting married  in the city of chicago it was $1000.  every parish is different.  getting married in the city of chicago is very costly it is just the location. I belong to the parish we have decided to get married at so that also is part of the price.  hope this helps. 

OliveOilsMom

My Church will cost $550 and that doesn't include the musicians or tips for the altar servers or our Priest (who is outside of the Parish).  There is a higher cost for non-parishioners, so you may be running into higher costs due to that.

professorscience

Base fees at our church also add up to $1000.  We are paying an additional $350 for a harpist and will be making a donation.

I agree that you might be able to work something out since your ceremony is going to be so small, but for larger weddings, that's really a drop in the hat compared to the cost of renting a reception hall and feeding all your guests.

brianabrad

We had a ceremony without mass at our church. It was originally going to be $500 for us because we had not been members for 6 months but once the priest found out we were paying for it ourselves he dropped it down to $250.

We were not required to use any church musicians and I found a lady who teaches piano for the college I work for. She did the music for the ceremony for $100 and came to the rehearsal.

see-those-stars

We paid only a $300 donation to the church.  I guess it depends on the parish and the area.

halfbrit

Thanks very much for the input.  Roxie-we're in the west burbs and attend church in Hinsdale.  That's probably why the charges are so high.  Thx for the tip! 

Kate61487

I believe our charges were 250 for the church, 250 for the priest 175 for the organist (whether you used him or not - he's the music coordinator) 175 for the cantor (optional) 20x2 alter servers and then like 100 for paperwork and precana, so yeah, right at 1000. And they get to keep any flowers you bring into the church. I agree you should talk to the priest; you may have to do an off-time, but I think they'd work with you

lisa89760

Ours was free, the organist with $125.  We gave a donation and plan on giving the priest a picture and a gift.  I'm not sure if it was free because I am related the priest or not. 

bibliophile2010

We were $800 for the church, $150 for the musician, and a $200 donation to the priest, before the costs of Marriage Prep, which was probably another $500 or so.

That said, we were clearly told that scholarships were available for the Marriage Prep stuff and the parish would have worked with us because we are long-time, active members of the parish. However, we felt that because we spent plenty more on the reception, flowers, photographer, etc.

I think that there are lots of variables that affect these costs: cost of upkeep, size and location of the parish, desireability of the chapel (for non-members, for example), etc.

OP, given what you are telling us about your wedding, I think it is reasonable to talk to the priest about the situation and your desires. They can probably work something out.

vondalee

WOW - I never realized all of the stuff involved! I got married in a small Protestant church the first time and we paid $300 for usage of the church (we attended there) & gave the preacher a "love gift" of $100 or so. (Pre-recorded music, short ceremony, only about 65 ppl)
This time, I am Catholic now and my FI & I are getting married in our parish which we've attended for 2yrs now. We are at the very beginning of planning and don't know the cost yet. But I forgot about all the extras like the organist, etc. We are not having communion (hardly any other Catholics, haha) so I assume we don't need altar servers? We will probably have about 50 ppl.