Things are adding up! What is realistic?

tiggy5555 · May 2011

Silly me for thinking that a DW would be the cheap route...I guess if you sacrifice a lot of things it can be quite afordable but for simple things it's really starting to add up. What is your ballpark final cost? We would love to save as much money as possible but I know that you get what you pay for. If you aren't comfy sharing your cost then please give me an idea or even a REALISTIC idea of what this would cost...

Maui wedding
25 people
Private location (no beaches we need chairs for the guests)
Ceremony (rental, minister,guitarist, arch-no flowers )
Dinner reception at a local restaurant with open bar during dinner
Photographer
Videographer
Coordinator
Cake
Bouquet for me and bridesmaid
Two Leis

We make decent money and can save pretty well but it's so hard to get a final amount in my head so we ahve a goal to look towards...thanks for the help!

breaness · May 2011

I would highly recommend posting this on the Hawaii board. We have some knotties on there who recently got married with similar weddings to this. Our wedding is a Maui wedding and it's much smaller and simpler than yours and our cost (not including our travel / hotel / honeymoon costs) was about $600 and that includes everything for the ceremony including my hair & makeup and hair for my mom.

akhunter1 · May 2011

Those are all things that you need, but I would check around and look at prices. Also I would prioritize...options I see use an ipod instead of a musican for your ceremony or find a high school or college student that will play some songs at a discount. You could also use beach blankets instead of renting chairs.

Good luck!!

sparklegirl84 · May 2011

Im doin an oahu wedding for around 8k, ive got info in my bio. I know maui is generally more $ than oahu. Were renting a house & bringing in all of our vendors, no wedding planner & were bringing our photographer friend.

chosen175 · May 2011

Have you looked at companies that offer package deals on Maui? That could give you a ballpark figure. Usually, you will get the site, minister, bouquets, coordinator, and cake for 1 price and then add on additional services. That's the way I'd go, rather than trying to book everything independently. With wedding planning companies, they have usually worked with the same vendors for a long time. They know who's good, who's reliable, etc and who isn't.

Also, remember that you don't HAVE to pay for your guests' hotel/airfare. So if you're counting this in your budget, you can definitely take it out if money becomes an issue.

risa1818 · May 2011

Well the thing is you picked a pretty expensive location. Nothing in Hawaii is cheap. So I think most of your worries is that your choice in location is on the pricier side. I knew from the start that as much as I would have loved Hawaii for a location we could not afford it unless we had not many people attending.

We are spending roughly 12k on everything. Flights, lodging, wedding, OOT bags, favors, attire etc. We wanted a smaller budget but we had to switch locations from Mexico to Aruba and knew it would be more expensive. Considering what a wedding would have costed here in Boston, it is not bad at all! We aren't cutting corners on things either...still having open bar the entire time, still having a full reception with DJ, dinner, cake etc. I think most of it is establishing your budget and making sure your location can fit that budget. If you are set on Hawaii, maybe look more in Honolulu or somewhere that won't be as pricey as Maui. Hopefully you can find a way to keep your budget in tact and have the wedding that you want.

Good luck!

Orchid2011 · May 2011

Our is totaling 15k and it includes everything thing you can think of except our rings. But we added a lot of extras and I'm splurging on our Photographer and videographer. If not it would of been less or around 10K

ridgebackbride · May 2011

I second the PP regarding the more expensive location. We would have loved HI as well, but knew it wasn't going to be possible.

We are doing an AI in Costa Rica. Ceremony, decorations, flowers, set-up, officiant, 1 hr. cocktail reception (and decorations & set-up), plus a sit-down 3-course meal (linens and set-up) for 20 people and we are looking at 3k. Yeah, it's $150 pp, but it is for everything, plus I get a WC. I couldn't do all of that for that price where I live. Plus, my guest list would increase dramatically if I didn't do DW.

You can go as "cheap" or as expensive as you want with a DW. It all depends on you, your budget and your location.

Good luck,
S

tiggy5555 · May 2011

Thanks all!! Yes I am learning how expensive Maui is by the day. It must be on Maui for sentimental reasons so switching locations is not an option...I really want FI to be happy and it's his dream. He is more relaxed on the cost of everything and says if we must spend 20k then no problem BUT I have a major problem spending that kind of cash LOL.

I'm going to do my best to let that happen!

Things are adding up! What is realistic?

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