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Wedding Cost

jennadam77jennadam77 member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Kentucky-Louisville
What should be the average cost of a nice wedding (not expensive and not cut-rate) in Louisville for the following:
Wedding site
Reception for 100 people
Photographer
DJ
Flowers
Officiant
Dress
Thanks so much!
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Re: Wedding Cost

  • inkygirlinkygirl member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    It really depends on what you want and how you do things.  I'm was a super DIY bride and we even made our own bouts and bouquets.  My bouquet was $50 and the rest of the flowers for everything else was $40.  I got the loose flowers from Jill at J. Elizabeth Designs.  She's amazing and will work with your budget.  A dear friend who is at Nanz and Kraft did my bouquet for me.  And remember that the types of flowers you use will greatly determine cost.  Go with the colors and styles you want and ask them to stick to your budget.  Jill does a great job of that. 

    Your reception costs will vary greatly depending on what kind of reception you have.  We were very low budget and did a dessert reception.  We served 13 kinds of dessert and made 8 of them ourselves.  The other 5 things were made by my parents, FIL, and 3 good friends who offered to help.  We spent $100 on our reception food and it was great.  If you're serving dinner, plan on $15-25 per person at a minimum. 

    Photography was our biggest section and we spent $950 for Jacquie Carman out of Hope, IN.  She's a good friend and takes amazing pics. 

    DJ was an ipod and speakers, but I wish we'd have had the money.  Ed with Night Owl DJs is amazing.  I'd budget $1000 for this if I could have. 

    A good friend (the youth minister who introduced us) was our officiant.  We gave him $100. 

    Dress will also greatly depend on what you want.  I got mine for $450 at David's Bridal.  Get a good bra.  I spent $65 on one from Vickie's and it was worth every penny. 

    Decide what is most important to you and make sure that you spend the most money on that.  If cake isn't very important to you, get it from Sam's Club.  They look great, taste fabulous and are very inexpensive.  If you don't care about the cake, don't spend $1.50 per slice!  Oh, and anytime you buy something at Hobby Lobby or Michael's, never pay full price.  Always use a coupon or buy during their wedding sales. 

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  • jennadam77jennadam77 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for that information.  Would love to go with that DJ.  Also, someone else told me they got a cheap officiant and he absolutely ruined her wedding!  Guess you get what you pay for....
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  • Birdie1483Birdie1483 member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Just because an officiant is cheap doesn't mean they'll automatically be bad. I would ask for references when you talk to a potential officiant and see what others have said. We can give suggestions here as well.

    And the overall price of a wedding is whatever you make it to be and what is important. I've seen weddings done from anywhere between $5,000 - $20,000 in this region.

    If you'd like suggestions on how to save here or there, feel free to ask! :) You can also check out the national DIY and Budget Bride boards if you have general questions regarding the wedding planning.
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  • amanda2183amanda2183
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    If you are on a tight budget, the best way to stick to it is to really shop around.  People on this board will post great and informational reviews that are good to go by.  That is how I found many of my vendors.  Also, don't be afraid to call/email/stop by places and ask lots of questions.

    As for a DJ, we are using Adkins Island DJs. ( www.adkinsisland.com )  They have a couple of different packages that will work with most bugets, starting at $300.  I found them from a great review that someone wrote right on this board!  I don't yet know how well they DJ, but they have been great to work with and always email back within 24 hours.

    If you aren't set on a church wedding, consider having your ceremony and reception at the same place.  For non-members, churches are very expensive to use for ceremonies.  There are many places out there that are set up and have spaces for both ceremonies and receptions.  Also, think about this:  This option would cut down on travel time for your guests!

    I am using J. Elizabeth Designs for my flowers as well!  I'm not that crafty, so I'm having her make the bouquets and bouts.  Jill is very friendly and worked with us to get what we wanted within our budget.

    As for food, think outside the box!  Unless you are having a formal reception, you don't always need to hire a traditional caterer.  There are tons of great local businesses around that will cater weddings for cheap!  FI and I are having our reception catered by Mark's Feed Store.  We were able to get tons of food, including apps for the cocktail hour, for WAY cheaper than what we would have paid for any standard catering company.

    As Inky said, talk amongst yourselves and decide which parts of the wedding are most important to you.  This way you will know where to be easy and where to cut back.
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