average cost of "most expensive county in US" weddings??

minekellyrich · January 2010

so according to many different bits of research and some conversations, 1) we all know fairfield county/connecticut in general is the most expensive area to live in. and 2) I have been warned that estimates online for costs are very skewed for CT pricing....

so, since I am not getting married until 2011 and have some time to save/budget; what are you all finding for average weddings...without getting too personal...

1) about range of wedding
2) how many people/how large/fancy

I know i have talked to others who are curious too!! Thanks!!

ggmae · January 2010

We paid $92/person for 100 guests at our venue when all was said and done. We had our wedding at Amarante's in New Haven (on Long Island Sound.) It was a semi-formal wedding and not fancy at all. I was offered anywhere from $65-$100 a person at different venues.

In total, our wedding was in the $15,000 to $20,000 range. I think that sounds about average for CT (at least in Fairfield and New Haven counties), but that's just my opinion. I think that if you get married in central/northern CT, you pay less than you do on the coast (or close to the coast.)

jmestyle · January 2010

Our wedding is at Anthony's Ocean View and with the tax and everything it comes out to $130 a plate. This is for EVERYTHING though, open bar,cake, 4 course meal and all apps

LaLee628 · January 2010

We paid (with tax and gratuity) about $105-115/person at Mahan's in Wolcott, depending on what meal they ordered. The venue included the limo and DJ, along with all the other stuff like open bar, cake, etc., so I feel it balanced out with what we would have paid had we had to bring in our own DJ, limo, etc. I think when all was said and done we were around $15,000 for our whole wedding (maybe a little more w/ all the little things).

The least expensive place we visited was about $50/person but it didn't really include much besides food, cake, and bar.

I have a friend in Nebraska that paid $12/person for her wedding so yes we are a lot more expensive over here, lol.

ggmae · January 2010

LaLee - A friend of mine in South Dakota paid $6/person! Lucky girl!

christikao · January 2010

I don't have the contract with me at the moment but I'm paying about $115-$120 per person with a min of 150 people at the Waterview for a friday night wedding(I guess it's considered fancy). It's more than what I wanted to spend but they are throwing in the martini bar for free plus they have special rates with the Shelton Marriott. From looking at my budget list I think the whole wedding will end up costing us about $33,000 and that's not including the honeymoon. Compared to most Fairfield County weddings I've been to, mine is considered cheap. I really want to get married on a cruise with our immediate family members and save half the money for something else but FI wouldn't go for it.

Chomie · January 2010

bond ballroom is $90/person (pre tax and gratuity) for 5 hrs open bar, 3-course meal, and cake. We're inviting 240 and the budget approx. $40K now. Sooo not what I was expecting.

JBelle7757 · January 2010

I'm hoping to pull it off for around $15-20k and we have about 80-90 people coming - I've been mostly finding sites that are + or - $100/head.

Connecticut IS expensive! It's insane!

akulaji · January 2010

Our situation is a bit different because we chose a venue that doesn't come with everything (or anything for that matter) included. We have to staff the event ourselves... hiring caterer, waitstaff, rentals, etc. That is definitely not the cheapest way to go, but it's what we wanted. We wanted to have our wedding at the same place FI's parents got married (The Lounsbury House in Ridgefield). After all is said and done, I think our wedding will be running us about $25,000-$28,000 for approx 90 people. That's including the venue and all of the vendors and rentals. Given, we're having members of the American Classical Orchestra play for our ceremony and give a salon concert during cocktail hour and we chose a pricier package with our videographer, so we do have several elements that add a lot of money to the pricetag. From what I gather though, I know of quite a few people that are spending wayyyyy more than we are. I think our cost per person for catering, bar, cake and rentals comes to about $95/person.

I think in many cases as you edge closer to NYC and some of the more affluent areas, pricing does go up. I got a quote from a baker for $15/person for wedding cake in Westchester!!! crazy.

trouble5112 · January 2010

We're getting married at The Woodwinds for $68 per person (including tax and gratuity). It includes 5 hour open bar, 3 course meal and cake. We're planning on about 130-140 guests (there's a 100 person minimum for Woodwinds in the winter). We are guessing that when everything is said and done, it will have cost just under $20k (not including honeymoon). We decided to get married in the winter to help cut costs, otherwise, we probably would have budgeted closer to $25k-$30k.

banana468 · January 2010

We were married at the Stone Barn in Monroe and had about 165 attend. We added an hour to the reception and I believe the cost was under $100 pp before gratuity/service charge/tips.

There are ways to lower your overall cost but it just requires some good DIY and creative thinking.

alinaandjared · January 2010

I think the national norm is much closer to 100pp than the $12 or $6 you may have heard about. I got married in Upstate NY (albany area) where cost of living is less than central ct and significantly less than fairfield county. Our wedding for 110 people cost about $30K +/- 3K. I'd say. Like banana said, there are definitely ways to maximize a wedding. Some people spend $10pp for favors, other's spend $1.50 and yet others forgo them all together. Just as much as the big things add up, its the little things we don't notice here and there that frequently add up to several thousand dollars.

Unlike most states in the US, CT is very small so even if you are having a "fairfield county wedding" you can get non fairfield vendors who may charge a bit less and not tack on travel fees.

beach11 · January 2010

We are getting married in Bloomfield CT at Birch Meadow (I guess we are considered Northern CT) and depending on which meal package we decide on we will run either 62-66pp or 76-80pp and we will have between 80-95 people. That includes apps, 4 courses, cake (choice of 3 bakers) and onsite ceremony. I think it is high, but when we looked at cheaper places they just were not as nice, and the staff was not friendly either. All in all we are planning on spending about $12K for everything not including the honeymoon. I am planning an doing quite a bit of DIY though.

sloanacz · January 2010

We're getting married in Stonington andits i think 115$ pp and that includes the venue,food,cake,open bar for 5hours and onsite ceremony were inviting 120 +/- people and It seems were getting alot of food soo I felt the price was justified. I think the total budget were trying to keep at 25K or under.

dpantaleoni · January 2010

We live in Fairfield County and really wanted to get married there, but were going to have about 200 guests and the prices in Fairfield County were way too high for us to do that. We wound up going to the Aqua Turf in Southington and paid about $92 pp (inc taxes and gratuity). The places we looked at OUTSIDE of Fairfield County offered so much more for less money.

ToiKenne · January 2010

Our Candlewood wedding was $150/pp for a Saturday night in July. Total, our wedding was about $50,000 (not including rings or honeymoon)

CTCheerCoach · January 2010

My wedding is also in 2011, and I'm looking for ways to cut on cost. My ceremony is in Bridgeport, my family is flying in...so I wanted something relatively close to either A.Their Hotel (TBA) B. Ceremony site C. Airport (White Plains)

The Waterview (Monroe) gave me an estimate of $82/pp (5hr open bar, apps, 3course meal, cake). So the wedding is approx $30,000 to include flowers, dj, photos, etc. I think its the cheap route too for $30K

tannymcgee · January 2010

i'm not getting married until 2011 either but i've booked my ceremony/reception site and have an idea for photog and band.. so the ceremony/reception is in hartford (we are from fairfield) and we are paying approx 175pp (includes grat and taxes). All said the wedding will cost about 45k.

kateeliza · January 2010

I am in the middle of planning my Sept 2010 wedding- everything is more money than I expected. In the end I am guessing it will come in at 45k for 200ppl. venue $4k, Cater: approx $20k (including tax and tip), flowers $4k, Photographer $5-6k, DJ $3k

Tink8331 · January 2010

We are getting married at The Hartford Club and it is $95 a plate. That is for an open bar, 5 butler passed hor'dourves, salad, appetizer, choice of 3 entrees. We will bring in our own cake because I have food allergies. PLUS, the whole club is ours: wood paneled cocktail room with two fireplaces, an upstairs ballroom, and another room just for the bar, and a smoking room. The whole wedding will come to about $35,000.

average cost of "most expensive county in US" weddings??

Re: average cost of &quot;most expensive county in US&quot; weddings??

Choose Another Board

Search Boards

average cost of &quot;most expensive county in US&quot; weddings??

Re: average cost of &amp;quot;most expensive county in US&amp;quot; weddings??

Choose Another Board

Search Boards

average cost of "most expensive county in US" weddings??

Re: average cost of "most expensive county in US" weddings??