Budget

buncham

Ahhhhh!!! I have no idea what we are doing with a wedding budget. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to go about this.

My mother has given us 10k for the wedding and said she would continue to help on top of this but I know she is strapped financially, so i hate even taking what she has offered. My future inlaws have offered NOTHING. they have not even offered to help pay for the rehersal dinner. We have roughly 5k saved.

So total we have 15K in the bank for this wedding. We have a guest list of 200 plus people. We are figuring we will need 25 to 30k for a wedding in our area. I guess what I am wondering is if we need to have all this money already in our savings before we start looking into venues or even setting a date? We still need an additional 10 plus thousand dollars to be able to pay for everything. We are avoiding even setting a date at this point because we dont know how to go about all this. Do you have to pay vendors upfront and make payments leading up to the big day? R we better off having all the money sitting right there so we know everything will be paid for? If someone could please help I would really really appreciate it!

Thanks!

July2012bride

A few tips hopefully you will find them helpful:
1. Vendors will typically require a deposit to hold their services for the date requested.  Often you will make periodic payments leading up to the day, but some vendors only require the balance to be paid by the day of the wedding
2. Take a look at your spending habits (incoming versus outgoing $ per month).  Determine what you can set aside each month and figure out how many months of saving that amount to reach your $30,000 goal.
3.  Please leave some money in your savings (i.e. don't spend all $5000) you are going to need to buy things, unexpected things are going to pop up, etc. for your everyday life, so tying up all of your funds is not advisable.
4.  See if you can cut down your guest list at all...this will significantly save you money.  To keep a budget under $30,000 for 200 people is going to require you spend no more than $150 per person total a lot of catering places start their food options in the mid $20 range per person, then you have to include drinks, decorations, outfits, accesories, etc.   It can be done, but cutting your guest list is going to REALLY help you keep inside your budget
5. Don't count on your FILs contributing $ unless they have offered...try and keep your budget within what you and your mom are able to afford
6. The Knot has a budgeter tool...this is a good starting point for most budgets, although things will need to be adjusted based upon what is important to you and where you plan to save money
7. When you are looking at locations and caterers, account for 100% attendance.  Make sure the space can handle all your guests and make sure you can afford all of the invited guests attending and eating.

HTH! GL!

Ljacks87

Very good advice in the PP. Ditto all of it. Definitely figure $30,000 at least for a wedding of 200 people. Right now you have $15,000 available. Look at your and FI's monthly budget, decide how much you can set aside each month, and then this will dictate how soon you can get married. Figure conservatively because it's better to have a cushion than not be able to pay the last $2000 for the reception. It's bad etiquette to ask for $$ from FIL's. If they offer to pay for anything, consider it as a great bonus.

Personally, our wedding is costing about $22,000 for 150 people (not including HM, and including rings).My mom gave us $5000, FFIL gave us $3,000 and is helping with the RD. We looked at our budget and decided we could conservatively set aside a total of $1500 per month for a 10 month engagement. We chose a 10 month engagement because we knew we wanted to be married in July or August, but we would have married later if we were unable to save enough $$. I used TK's budgeter to research venues, because it gives you a PP cost. Definitely start with the venue and catering, as this takes up the bulk of the budget. Many venues offer a package wedding; don't be a afraid to ask how you lower the PP cost. 

As for payments, we put a deposit of $2,0000 on our venue once we signed the contract, about 8 months out.Photographer, we also put down a 20% deposit at contract signing and same goes with all other vendors. Everyone requires the balance to be paid about a week before the wedding. Payment plans may be different from vendor to vendor, so make sure to read the contract, but no one will ask for all the $$ up front, and if they do, run!! So no, you don't have to have it ALL saved up immediately. 

If you still feel like you are going to have a hard time saving enough, consider getting married October through March, or on a Friday or Sunday. Having a wedding in the Spring/summer and on a Saturday will be most expensive. 

If you read all of that, you must be very stressed about this HTH and GL! Keep posting your Q's and keep us updated about the wedding plans!

JKohio

Both of the pp's have GREAT advice for you. I just wanted to add that you CAN have a wedding for 200 people for $15k. You just have to do a bit more research on which vendors are in your price range, and be prepared to DIY some things.

DH and I invited about 230 to our wedding and had 175 actually in attendance. Our grand total, not including honeymoon, was around $13k for the whole thing -- ceremony and reception. It can be done.

Our hall (Belarusan American Community Center at off-season prices) cost us $29/pp and we provided our own beer and wine (skipped liquor). I found a great 'grocery store floral dept' florist who did weddings from her home workshop and had amazing prices (and superb talent). We went with a lesser known, but experienced, DJ. We skipped the limo. I purchased my dress/veil from a consignment shop. We selected a budget friendly church (Pleasant Hills UMC in Middleburg Hts for something like $350). DH put together our ceremony musician quartet (he's a musician himself). A pair of photographer friends handled our pics and gave us a great deal. We chose budget-oriented (simple, elegant) invites from rexcraft.com and my sister who is a graphic designer helped us with programs, maps and other such items. My DIY favors were holiday m&m's in tulle. Just a few ideas of what we did, and it was the perfect wedding for us. And, no debt. (We paid for the whole thing ourselves.)

And, IMO, even though you're only responsible for deposits up-front, I would feel more comfortable having ALL of the $ in the bank. That way, you KNOW for a fact you won't end up in debt because of the wedding. Going into debt of any kind for a one day deal is just not smart. JMO, of course.

Laur0813

You can ABSOLUTELY have a beautiful wedding for 15k.  I understand that its every girls dream to have the most amazing wedding possible; but practicality should come into play too.  dont spend your life savings on your wedding!  FI and I are having our weddidng at our #1 venue, serving filet mignon and chicken piccata, and our budget is less than 15k.  we are expecting 160-170 guests. 

the key to staying in budget is to get your key items as inexpensive as possible.  get your dress, photography package, and your dj for all under 1000 each.  dont go crazy with flowers.  the idea is to get married right?  focus on having a nice meal for your guests, and getting married!

031107

Research, Research, Research....Most vendors have their prices online (or atleast starting prices).  This will give you an idea of what you will pay for venue, photographer, cake...  Both you and your FH should make a list of the most important items to the least important items to you each and compare.
 
For us, we wanted really good food.  I hate going to weddings and getting dried out chicken breast with limpy carrots.  So the bulk of our budget when toward the venue with the best food ($50/person for just the food).  Since the venue was quite expensive we cut the guest list.  No family past first cousins and only our closest friends (total of 65 people).  I wanted real flowers not silk.  I found a grower online for calla lilies that would ship the flowers to me.  The local vocational school had a florist department that agreed to put everything together for me for the cost of supplies ($80) and a donation of $50 towards the school.  The flowers turned out perfect.
 
Pictures were important to us both.  I wanted a photographer that would be there all day to get pictures of us getting ready and stay until the last guest left.
 
My dress was not something I wanted to spend a lot of money on.  I wanted a nice gown, don't get me wrong, but there were other things that were more important to me than a designer label no one would see.  In the end, I got the perfect dress for $450 and another $65 for alterations.
 
We got married on a Sunday.  This lowered the minimum spending limit at the venue from $40,000 to $2,500 (no, there is no typo there).  Some vendors offered a discount since the wedding was on a Sunday, some didn't.
 
Don't limit your search to only vendors in Cleveland where prices are higher.  We got married in downtown Cleveland but I bought my dress and cake in Dover Ohio.  It was a lot cheaper to buy my cake from a bakery in Dover and have them deliver the cake to Cleveland than have any of the bakeries I contacted in Cleveland make the cake (actually, we had a 4" x 4" x 4" square cake for each guest for a total of 65 cakes).  Invitations can be purchased anywhere, including online.  Chair covers and floor length linens are not absolutely needed.  Buffets can be just as nice as plated dinners.
 
Above all else remember, GETTING MARRIED IS NOT ABOUT THE WEDDING BUT ABOUT SPENDING THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH SOMEONE.  Don's loose focus.

buncham

Thanks so much girls for all the great advice. My FH is so impressed with this site! We are going to take all of this advice and combine it. I am keeping my on the prize which is a happy marriage. THanks so much again! I hope all of your weddings were/will be exactly what you want/wanted! :-)

ayamm1123

you absolutely can do a wedding for 200 under $15K.  you will have to get creative, but PRIORITIZE what you want to spend $ on, what you don't need to spend $ on and do your research.  I like a lot of PP points - especially grabbing vendors from outside the area. I know several photographers that are not located in CLE (everywhere from Columbus to toledo to Akron/canton) that routinely go to CLE area and are a lot less $$$.  As you go through this - ask for references on this site with price points you are looking for.  I loved everything about my wedding - including the price tag - and I got the important things i wanted and spent minimal $$$ on things I didnt care that much about - flowers (silk - $140 total), cake, etc. you can do it!  

JoeyOz

Wedding planning can be fun, but it can also be overwhelming.  Time to get creative! 
We invited 100 people and had 90 final guests.  Our venue was $26.50 per person, which included open beer/wine/soda bar (no liquor, but the price difference was too high for us and we're more of beer drinkers anyway, ha!), food, hall rental, tableclothes, buffet servers, bar tender, cleanup, etc.  Willowdale Lake Country Club if you're interested, but the place can only hold 150 people.  Lolli's in Belden Village is reasonably priced if you pick the cheaper food options and can hold a large crowd. 
So:
Venue/Food = $2385
Flowers = $200.  We used Nikii's Perfect Petals: http://www.nppdesigns.com/index.htm
Dress = $89 (originally $799 and I loved it, but it was a discontinued style so I got it really cheap) from Magical Moments Bridal in Strongsville
Wedding Rings = $1300
Music = Rented speakers from Canton Chair Rental ($100) and had a friend run all the music from his laptop (we paid him $100)
Centerpieces = $30 (bought vases and floated fake flowers in the them, surrounded by votive candles borrowed from a friend (she had boxed of them in her basement, left over from her own wedding).
No limo or transportation.
Stationary: $60.  Bought all the stationary from Walmart, came up with the wording and font on my computer and emailed it to Office Max.  They printed all of them for $8.  Future in laws bought our stamps.
Don't remember how much we spent on bridal gifts.
Photography = $750.  We used Michelle Brown: http://www.michellebrownphotographyohio.com/
Cake = Giant Eagle, $100.

There were other odds and ends that I'm forgetting.  But in all it cost us roughly over $5000 and it was, for us, a perfect day.  So you can do it!!  Good luck!

ellen73

We had a big wedding (300 +), top shelf open bar with microbrews, too, a live band from Chicago, and didn't spend anywhere near $30k.