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Church Wedding Fees

chf08chf08
First Comment First Anniversary
in Connecticut
FI and I heard back today from a church we contacted regarding the fee to have our ceremony there. The secretary said that normally, the church requires a donation of over $1,000, but because we're having a smaller wedding, they will reduce the amount to $750. That still seems to be a bit high to me, but I'm not sure what is typical. We aren't able to get married at the church I attend because it is over an hour away from the reception site. Can anyone tell me if $750 is average, or if it's a bit high? We're really not sure how much we should expect to budget for this.
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Re: Church Wedding Fees

  • stefpet22stefpet22
    First Comment
    I think that is too high. The church we are using only charges $200 and $150 for the music. I can't believe they want that much money. We are using Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Hamden. I would totally check them out, if they are in the area you are looking for. 
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  • cronin85cronin85
    First Comment
    It seems high to me.  We are using Holy Trinity in Wallingford and the fee is $550 (music included)
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  • Amanda1443994Amanda1443994 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    I actually think that is pretty average if you are not a member of that church. We are not getting married in my church either due to timing issues, so we had been looking at other churches. All of the ones we looked at, if you are not a member they do charge you significantly more. The highest cost we saw was $2000 for the church and the lowest was $1000. So I think that's pretty good if you are not a member.
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  • redjellybean128redjellybean128 member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    That seems a bit high, but I'm not sure because I'm a member of my church.  Our fees are $200 for music and a suggested donation of a couple of hundred dollars to the church along with a gift for the preist and tips for the altar servers. So in total, we are budgeting about  $500... 


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  • cmac3504cmac3504
    First Comment
    That seems high, however, my parents are members of the church we used... We budgeted $500-600 for everything (donation, music, tips/ gifts for priest/ altar servers)
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    First Comment
    I think it's about average especially if it's not your church.  We're getting married in a church where neither of us belong and it's $700 including music but not including the cantor.
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  • Vanessa630Vanessa630 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    Does that include everything?

    Our fee was $500 (nonmember) plus the organist ($200) and the ceremony coordinator ($200), The cantor was about $150-$200 (she charged separately) and then any altar boy/girl was maybe $20?

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  • Abeja1226Abeja1226
    First Comment
    Our ceremony plus organist fee plus cantor fee is coming out to be $850.  It's a catholic church and I definitely think it's way too much money for a ceremony and all these things but hey that's what it costs.  Even a few years ago there was no set fee, just an optional donation. 
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  • toomanychoices17toomanychoices17
    First Comment
    OMG! I had not budgeted this much and hope it is cheaper than that! The priest has pushed off meeting with us because he's been busy and I didn't ask the secretary... I'm definitely going to call this afternoon to find out!
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  • demkoj1demkoj1 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    Our church is 200 dollar fee for the organist and then a donation to the church... we are also planning on having the hand bell chior play which we would then give a donation to them as well. It's at our desgrssion. 
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  • mrsrutkowskimrsrutkowski member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    ours is $500 and we are members
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  • chf08chf08
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited May 2012
    Wow, thanks for the replies! I hadn't realized how expensive it is to get married in a lot of churches now, so I appreciate everyone's feedback. The $750 fee we were quoted includes only the use of the church. Music, etc would be seperate. I think we'll look around a bit more before we make a decision.
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  • jaime10285jaime10285 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I'm not getting married at my church but at my venue.  If I were to get married at my church this is what it would cost:
    Pastor: Honorarium of $150 – 250 is customary.
    Use of facilities (waived for church member families): $300
    Organist: $200 (required if getting married in church)
    Janitorial services: $75
    Police officer (parking) – required $230

    Getting married at my venue costs $1,000 and and we still have to pay the pastor and musicians separately.
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  • banana468banana468 member
    First Answer First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    It seems to vary by parish.  I know of a couple that were married in Newport and it was $1400 for the use of the church.  

    We were married in my home parish where my parents are members and I'm pretty sure it was $500 plus fees for organist, cantor and server.
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  • gabe&laurengabe&lauren member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I am paying $700 plus for the church I am a member of.  Non-members pay $1,000.  It is not a donation but a required fee.  I asked about it since we're on a tight budget but the $700 was the lowest option.
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  • toomanychoices17toomanychoices17
    First Comment
    Called the chuch now and found out... $200 for just the church, $300 for organist and $300 for cantor. They don't want us to use outside musicians but possibly we could.  Doesn't include a tip for thepriest. What is traditional for that, anyone know?
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  • mrsjmwolfemrsjmwolfe
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    My church doesn't charge! My cousin, however, is getting married in a church in Naugatuck and they charge $550. They're members too!
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