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Realistic Budget for a Wedding?

laurejohnlaurejohn member
Third Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
edited October 2015 in Not Engaged Yet
This is going to be a vague post, but: what is a realistic budget for a wedding in Maui? Or anywhere in Hawaii?

Just thinking about having a small, intimate wedding in the future (15 people). Trying to get an idea of costs.

Been with my boyfriend eight years, and we discuss marriage.

Trying to determine our financial situation before taking the plunge and planning next steps.

Thanks!
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Re: Realistic Budget for a Wedding?

  • kimmiinthemittenkimmiinthemitten member
    2500 Comments 500 Love Its Third Anniversary 5 Answers
    minskat30 said:
    laurejohn said:
    This is going to be a vague post, but: what is a realistic budget for a wedding in Maui? Or anywhere in Hawaii?

    Just thinking about having a small, intimate wedding in the future (15 people). Trying to get an idea of costs.

    Been with my boyfriend eight years, and we discuss marriage.

    Trying to determine our financial situation before taking the plunge and planning next steps.

    Thanks!
    I saw your earlier post before you edited it, please don't plan a wedding until you are engaged.  Posters here don't like preplanning. I have no idea what a wedding in Hawaii costs but my advice would be to wait until you are engaged, then call around for places in Hawaii to get ideas if that is where you want to get married.  In the meantime, enjoy your relationship as it is now with your BF.  
    I agree with PP about not pre-planning, but I see nothing wrong with getting an idea on how much things cost as long as your SO is also on board.  

    The first thing you'll need to do after you're engaged in the planning realm is to set a budget that is realistic.  From there, you set your guest list, and then you find a place that works for your list and your budget.  Just don't waste any sales reps time or book anything obviously.
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  • minskat30minskat30 member
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    kimmiandkoley said:
    minskat30 said:
    laurejohn said:
    This is going to be a vague post, but: what is a realistic budget for a wedding in Maui? Or anywhere in Hawaii?

    Just thinking about having a small, intimate wedding in the future (15 people). Trying to get an idea of costs.

    Been with my boyfriend eight years, and we discuss marriage.

    Trying to determine our financial situation before taking the plunge and planning next steps.

    Thanks!
    I saw your earlier post before you edited it, please don't plan a wedding until you are engaged.  Posters here don't like preplanning. I have no idea what a wedding in Hawaii costs but my advice would be to wait until you are engaged, then call around for places in Hawaii to get ideas if that is where you want to get married.  In the meantime, enjoy your relationship as it is now with your BF.  
    I agree with PP about not pre-planning, but I see nothing wrong with getting an idea on how much things cost as long as your SO is also on board.  

    The first thing you'll need to do after you're engaged in the planning realm is to set a budget that is realistic.  From there, you set your guest list, and then you find a place that works for your list and your budget.  Just don't waste any sales reps time or book anything obviously.
    Meh, I disagree.  I think talking to your SO about what you think is a realistic budget is one thing...calling venues and caterers to ask for prices is something else.  I also think OP's original post discussed how she and her SO were disagreeing about budget.  Personally, I think they should iron out what they can afford.  You can get married on any budget really, I think rather than focusing on what a wedding in Hawaii costs, its more important to focus on what each half of the couple thinks they should spend.  Just my two cents.  
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  • laurejohnlaurejohn member
    Third Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    Hi, yes I edited my original post. Trying not to "preplan" but just trying to determine what a realistic budget would be considering there are so many components. Not to mention I am not familiar with what market rate is for some of these components. Thank you for your honesty.
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  • jenjen047jenjen047 member
    1000 Comments Fifth Anniversary 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    This feels like putting the cart before the horse. Once you are engaged either you (meaning you and BF) decide you are comfortable spending X on a wedding and then you plan a wedding within that budget or you (again, you and BF) decide you want to get married in X location and will do whatever it takes to make that happen (meaning a long engagement, small guest list, etc).

    I don't see how either of these make it necessary to be posting on a board about wedding costs before you are even engaged. Also agree with @minskat30 that you can get married on virtually any budget as long as you are willing to be flexible on certain elements. This post feels like you are trying to justify pre-planning.
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  • laurejohnlaurejohn member
    Third Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    eilis1228 said:
    I agree with @minskat30. Just wait until you're engaged to worry about it. Start saving now, and then when the time comes you can look at your savings and guest list and determine from there what your budget is.

    As someone who did a lot of pre-planning, I would strongly recommend against it. FI and I looked into so many different options pre-engagement, and none of them panned out. I wasted so much time and energy and stress on researching wedding-related things, and I wish I would have just waited. Pretty much everything we thought we wanted changed completely when it came time to actually plan the wedding. You do not need more than 6-12 months to plan a wedding. There is no need to do any planning at all until after you're engaged, I promise!

    I definitely understand wanting to figure out the true cost of a wedding prior to engagement if you're planning to pay for it yourselves. I understand wanting to figure out a good savings plan. I was in the exact same place a few years ago. However, there's no need to do a ton of research on venues, destination weddings, local weddings, etc. Simply look at your current expenses and figure out how much per month/paycheck/whatever you can comfortably put into a savings account, and then when the time comes that can be your budget. That's what FI and I did, and it's helped a lot. 


    Thank you. :-)
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  • WinstonsGirlWinstonsGirl member
    Knottie Warrior 2500 Comments 500 Love Its 5 Answers
    I got married in Hawaii.  You can do it for a $60 marriage license, cost of a JOP and dinner after (if you have guests).  We spent considerably more, about as much as we would have staying home.  Hawaii is very open in terms of options.  Many hotels offer packages.  A quick note, that you can get married on the beach for a $20 permit, but you are not allowed structures (arches, chairs, etc.) and 99% of beaches are public, so this isn't always the best option.  Feel free to ask me more specific questions when you get engaged and really start planning.  

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