Church's should NOT cost this much to 'rent'

jbwed1 · November 2009

WTF? We are opting for a more cost effective wedding, and decided to inquire about our church's fees for space and an officient. OMG...she came back to me saying that it would be about $2800 - actually a little more. I'm freaked out. Yet, if you contribute more than that in a year (through tithing/offering) then the fee is waived. Wellllll... we haven't been going to church very regularly and I can't say that that is the case. We ARE both members and were once more active than we are now. Sooo umm yeah. That stinks! I wrote back saying our wedding is going to be SUPER tiny...which it is...and that we just can't spend that for our ceremony. I guess if they are willing to budge, she'll let me know. For those of you that have inquired about or had your ceremony at a church, how much did you pay?

Night_Sprite · November 2009

With everything, our church is about a grand.

MeaghanandMichael · November 2009

Actually I barely minded paying 2k to 'rent' my church. With all the money we spent on bs like limos and centerpieces I was more than happy to give less than 10% of our venue cost to the Church. In my mind this is money well spent.

BioGirl21 · November 2009

Our is looking to be around 700. If one of us were a member, it would be around 350, but the church I'm a member of won't marry us.

Brie2010 · November 2009

We are renting basically a huge, ornate cathedral for $500. Our officiant is $250, so $750 total. If you add in musicians, probably $1000. That seems kind of nuts unless you're getting married at, like, the Vatican.

TiDa2009 · November 2009

Our church is free. We'll be making a donation, but other than that, they don't expect anything. Our officiant told us she'd be insulted if we tried to give her anything for her services.

danieliza1127 · November 2009

That is insane for just the ceremony and pastor. Was this including a room for the reception too? Even if it was, you could probably find a wedding venue for less that includes food and bar. Try posting on your local board for local recommendations of good places in your area.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · November 2009

I booked an non-denominational chapel for $600, and they throw in a DOC for the ceremony.I had a public park quote me something around $4600, ceremony only. I said, "Oh, ok, I'll call you back if I'm ready to book or having any other questions." Questions like "Are you effing kidding me?"

BostonBride919 · November 2009

What's the location? Ours was $3300 in downtown boston and that's very normal for the area.... The fee does cover cleaning fees, electricity, etc too so keep that in mind.

ring_pop · November 2009

We paid a $400 donation. Is your church a very large cathedral? Does it have a smaller chapel that you could use instead (for a smaller fee, of course)?

jbwed1 · November 2009

Sorry I was trying to respond to these...and TK was messing with me! Anyway, I indicated in the email that it was ceremony only. That total included the pastor and the space...the DOC, the musicians, etc were all extra on TOP of that figure she quoted. And yeah..it's gorgeous...but it isn't the Vatican. It's on Park Ave. though..does that count? Evidently they assume so. Good grief! And no, I wouldn't mind that money going toward a church, as opposed to another venue, if the economy wasn't so crappy already and if I was having more than about 20 guests. But I can't see spending that much for a 30 min. ceremony for so few people. Just seems outrageous to me. I'm really disappointed!

Calypso1977 · November 2009

we ended up paying a total of maybe $500. that does seem high. the size of your wedding doesnt matter though. the priest still has to be there whether he marries you before 500 peopel or before 25 people. his job is the same regardless of how many attend. and you are still occupying the space. your argument that your wedding is tiny is really irrelevant as far as their fees are concerned.

kate51485 · November 2009

Ours is $735 for the space alone. Add on officiant and musicians and I'm sure it will be over $1000. I don't really mind paying that much for the chapel, though, it's on the campus of Michigan State University and is special to a lot of people.

danieliza1127 · November 2009

I don't blame you, I would never spend that much on a wedding with only 20 guests! With only 20 guests, you could just hire an officiant, pick a pretty spot in Central Park, stand there and get married and then take everyone out for a really nice dinner afterward.

ExpatPumpkin · November 2009

Ours cost $800 for the ceremony and music. (We didn't use their music lady, however, but we still had to pay for that even though we brought in our own.) Plus $1,200 for the use of the church. Total price of $2,000. We also made an offering to the priest.

jbwed1 · November 2009

I think it's just 'sticker shock'....I was assuming I would be quoted something a little more reasonable. But ah well, what can you do!

mandysmear · November 2009

I paid 1k for a mansion from the 1800s for 3 hours.

britne28 · November 2009

I was thinking that was nuts but then you said Park Ave. So maybe that is not so nuts.

notquiteblushing · November 2009

Ours is a $300 donation because my grandfather is a parishioner, otherwise it would be $800.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · November 2009

My $600 doesn't include musicians or officiant or flowers, though I can order those through their flower shop. Still, pretty reasonable considering I was happy to find something I loved for less than $1500.

Pirata13 · November 2009

Wow, yeah mine is also $350 and that covers everything. I will get Fr. M a Starbucks gift card and something else (I heard if he gets cash, it goes to the church). But yeah, $350. That's it.

3plus2=5 · November 2009

That seems ridiculously high for a church that you are already a member of. It's not a Scientology church by chance is it? :P

AlexiaANDRobert · November 2009

In NY on Park Ave, yeah, that sounds about right...

ac_in_dc · November 2009

Yeah, I'd x-post on the NYC board and see what they say there.

Leah&Christian09 · November 2009

Ours was $2K. Park Avenue, yeah that sounds about right, particularly if you aren't a contributing member. Running a church in the middle of New York has got to be insanely expensive. If you'd said some random town in the midwest, not so much.

lyndausvi · November 2009

That sounds about right for Park Ave in NYC. I'm sure a regular member can easily give more than $53 per sunday in the collection basket. I know between Sunday and holiday collections my parents easily gave them much a year to their church.

LilyAnna06 · November 2009

holy crap. Our Catholic church was $200 if you were a registered parishioner. And only $400 if you weren't. Even with a soloist and a pianist, it will be less than $500. In my city, we have a massive Catholic Basilica that easily seats 4,000 people and is decorated with the largest collection of mosaics in the world. It's THE place to get married here if you're Catholic and having a totally expensive, over-the-top wedding. And its rental fee for non-parishioners is only $2,000. Unless is comes with a 12-piece choir , $2800 is insane.

jbwed1 · November 2009

Thank you for the input girls..I will post over on the NY boards and see if this is fairly normal/accurate. Even if it is....it's still a long shot I think (for us..financially.) But it wouldn't hurt to find out!

jeannigirl · November 2009

In my opinion I really think that is totally off the charts if you are a member of a church you should not have to pay for the church. Everyone is out to make a buck. I think personally that I would not contuine to go to a church or be a member of one where they would charge me to hold a wedding.

lyndausvi · November 2009

I think it depends how you define 'active member' of the church. For example I'm a member of the Catholic Church down here. I have not attended mass is quite sometime. I have not given money towards the church either. But that does not mean I'm not on their member list. Running a church in NYC can not be cheap. Having people just sign up and pretend to be members just to be able to get married in a pretty church annoy me. So many people sign up to be a member and then attend the church again after they get married. A lot of time those type of fees weed out those type people.If they attended mass on a regular basis, give to the collection basket (even if it's not the amount told above), volunteer, etc. Then would imagine they would work with them on the cost.

samurai21 · November 2009

We're getting married in a pretty ornate Catholic church in Indianapolis, and the church costs $1000, $100 for the wedding hostess (I'm pretty sure that's who will run the rehearsal) and then I won't know how much the music will cost until I meet with their Music Director.We're not members, so we're using our own priest. At first I thought it was a lot, but after looking into other similarly large and ornate churches, it's in the same ballpark range.

Church's should NOT cost this much to 'rent'

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