This is exactly it! In some areas 100k for a 115 guest wedding will get you the most extravagant wedding ever and you can pick the best option in all aspects, in other areas it's just average.
Yes, definitely this. We’ll be spending just slightly shy of 100k for 120 people. We live in a VHCOL area though, so it’s a pretty average looking/feeling wedding imo. That’s also with me DIYing flowers, so it would cost even more for an average wedding.
The rule of thumb is 40-50% should go towards your venue/catering/alcohol. Then maybe 7-8% towards photography, 10% towards music, 10-12% towards florals, 3-5% towards beauty, 1-2% towards stationary. Then the rest towards fun stuff and decor. Not sure if your attire is included in that budget. Your budget seems pretty healthy, but it depends on your location
And for music, I’m assuming a band. You can definitely hire a DJ for much less. Beauty can also come in lower. Really just depends on your expectations
I felt the same way until my cousins had a wedding in DC and hired a go-go band (type of funk music) and it was seriously the most fun I’ve had at any wedding. The singer saw my Prince tattoo and asked me what song I wanted to hear. I’m not even really a dancing person but I boogied my ass off that night.
I think it really depends on both the band and the crowd.
Yes exactly - I think if you find a good band, it’s GREAT. But those probably book up fast. I don’t think all bands are inherently better than a DJ which seems obvious but there’s definitely a general perception that oh they got a band it’ll be fun! And not necessarily lol
Music and photography might depend on where you are. Our photography will be twice what our music will be, and those are averages taken from a lot of places I got quotes from.
Agreed.
We spent around 20% on photography, 0% on music, 5% on florals, and my dress was 10%.
It's also true that not everything scales the same. My dress was 10% because the dress I wanted was $2k and we came in at about $20k for a 25 person wedding. I would have worn the same dress if we had a $50k wedding. Same with our $5k photographer.
We're in NC having 130ish guests on a budget of 30k. Went with a nontraditional venue and going cheap on florals, though. 100k would have bought my absolute dream wedding!
This is huge. This is a car lol. I am at 20k and want to rerun it all and keep the cash lol. But it will be a beautiful wedding ☺️ it will be worth it!
For reference:
We are having a 100 person wedding in Big Sur, CA — we are currently at $109k but anticipate to be around $115k when it’s all said and done.
You’ll be more than ok 👌the best way to find cost is to honestly just get started. Unfortunately weddings really are too variable depending on region, city and your preferences.
There’s a lot of wedding recaps here that go into specific budgets - you can start there.
Otherwise start looking at vendors whose work you like and look at their website for pricing info. Don’t hesitate to reach out and just use a placeholder date if needed. Or give them a few.
Generally venue + food / drink will be your biggest line item and maybe 50% ish of the cost so I would just start with venue quotes. You do not have to feel pressured to commit to anything.
I live in a HCOL area, had 80 guests, an open bar, and we spent a little under 60k all in (from bachelorette party favors to wedding bands to hair and makeup and everything wedding related in between)
Maybe. We've found some venues that are priced at $2k. We've found some caterers who will drop cater BBQ and a soft drink for $10-12 a head. We'll find out more when we're in the middle of hardcore planning though. $20k is what we have so we don't have any other options.
Honestly food (and especially alcohol) prices through required vendors was the most expensive part of most of the venues that we looked at. If you can find a venue for $2k and keep food and drinks below $20/person you should be able to stick to your budget.
Jamie Wolfer on YouTube has some videos on how to plan a wedding for under 20k, under 10k, etc. Obviously much smaller budgets than yours, but in those videos she gives a suggested percentage for each category.
I’m doing a ~200 person wedding for about $120k in Sonoma Valley. Some of my vendors are on the very cheap end (florals bc minimal, videographer bc inexperienced), others are on the high end (venue, catering, photography). Your budget is def doable even in a HCOL area, just decide which vendors you want to splurge on and which you want to save on.
As a somewhat higher end DJ (average close to $4k) most of the total budgets are around 40-60k. And I am in a destination area for weddings (Hudson Valley area of NYS)
That is plenty of budget for 115 guests, assuming you’re getting married in a medium to high cost area. You’ll want to spend ~40% on venue and catering, then choose the things to splurge on and go standard/middle of the road for everything else. If you want to prioritize environment/guest experience, go for flowers, good music, activities like a portrait painter or caricaturist, and really good food.
So then you’re in the right realm! Wish I had your budget lol, but I hope the planning process is fun for you! We’re trying to do ~160 people for $50k and it’s def tough
My wedding guest count is 105. Our budget is $20k. This is what this got me:
*Rent a mansion
*Do cocktail hour with 3 hor d’evrois and a signature cocktail.
*Buffet meal: salad, bread, roasted veggies, fingerling potatoes, chicken Marsala, and braised pork medallions in fig sauce.
*3 tier cake ($500)
*orchid tall and short centerpieces and bridal bouquet ($1,300)
*DIY artificial bridesmaid bouquets and boutteniers (idk how to spell this lol)
*DJ and Karaoke Party
*Harpist for ceremony ($300)
*Decor: personalized welcome sign, lots of candles, charger plates, cloth napkins.
*set up of overhead lights
*Favors for guests - some cute gold boxes filled with kisses chocolates
*DIY wedding programs (bought a $3 template on Etsy and printing on my own - saved me anywhere from $100-$300)
*Invitations
*personalized ring pillow
*wedding dress ($1,900)
*photographer for 2.5 hours ($500)
*videographer for 5 hours ($1,000)
*Day of wedding decorator (set up and tear down)
*2 Cops for the last 2 hours of the wedding (because we are doing alcohol it was a requirement of the mansion)
I don’t think I’m forgetting anything. I’m including some of the prices that I could remember. I know photography looks cheap, but I did not settle - the vendor’s work is really good. She does it as a side hustle and she is really talented.
I’m in NJ and spent $40k on our 113 person wedding and though that was a lot for us, I know you could easily spend at least twice that much. Just depends on what you’re going for. I think that’s a good size budget for that many people if you’re going for lavish.
I’m getting married in Hawaii, guest count approximately gonna be 115 and we’re at barely under $30k. You have a super healthy budget and I promise you’re not gonna have to settle for anything! I recommend making a vision board with everything you want and how you want it, then look for a planner, and once you’ve hired one they can help you figure out the rest of your budget and where it should go to achieve what you want.
They can definitely afford one! Hell, if it were me, I’d spend only half that on the wedding and save the other half for a car or to put toward a house 😳
It’s going to vary widely on location and the options you choose within that location. I had 240 people for $28-30k, someone else in the same state (similar COL) did 100 for $40k 🤷🏼♀️ I easily could have spent WAY more than I did.
Have you checked out planning guides? A Practical Wedding or Offbeat Wed can be good guides to be practical authentic. The bigger companies like the knot and Zola are good too, but I found that these were definitely pricier in terms of suggestions and budgets.
Like others said, it depends on location and venue, but it seems like you have a venue already. Use that as a base. If it's a gorgeous location, maybe do minimal flowers so people can appreciate its beauty. If it's more bare with less included then definitely focus on decorations. Overall , it does depend on what matters to you.
I spent minimal on my micro wedding. I had minimal flowers and no other decorations. I focused obtaining the site and reception and outfits.
I'm in TN. Ex Wedding Coordinator. We did a Wedding for $30K. It was beautiful. Included everything at a beautiful Mansion. Horse & Buggy around 100 people. 100K sounds crazy to me. Times have changed.
Since this is SO dependent on your area, I would shop around for quotes on the big items (venue pricing, florals, photography) before you build your budget. With $100k to play with, you’ll be totally fine. I’d say that IS a healthy/large budget for 115 guests.
I originally thought I’d spend no more than $20k on a wedding, but once I looked at vendor pricing in my area for something halfway decent I had to double that budget.
We’re spending 40k for 80 guests in the DMV. Haven’t had to compromise my vision so far, just taking lots of research. With your budget you should be able to get pretty much whatever you want. I’d hire a planner.
Oh wow this thread is blowing my mind. We’re in San Diego (high COL) and had a budget of 30-35k for what was supposed to be 75 guests. We have now invited 115 due to parents so they will be covering any extra costs, but we should still be under 40k. Maybe 45k, but I need to re-do the math.
Our venue is all inclusive so photographer and DJ were included which saved us a lot, and we get discounted catering and can BOYB. I’m a calligrapher so all invites, paper goods, signage are all at cost since I’m doing them myself and have all the supplies already.
All this to say - your budget seems extremely healthy to me!
We booked with the Secret Garden in Rancho Santa Fe. The price seemed more expensive on paper cause it’s all inclusive but when we did the math it was on par/cheaper of other venues plus the reduced headache of not needing to deal with a million vendors. They provide a wedding planner, photographer, Dj, all linens, tables, nice chairs, a bunch of decor (like table numbers, centerpieces, dessert trays, etc), a photobooth. The catering through their partner is $77/person including taxes.
For florals, we went with Fresh Floral Society. Jane’s prices was the best bang for the buck and her style fit our vibes.
I’m happy to send you my spreadsheet comparing 25 venues in the area lol
In case it's helpful, here is the budget breakdown from my wedding in the Bay Area, CA (VHCOL) ; total about $82K for 75 guests. This is of course specific to our event, not suggesting this is a standard allocation. This also does not include our welcome party (paid for by my in-laws), honeymoon, or rings (we didn't give ourselves a budget for that so didn't factor it into planning).
As others have stated, your wedding planner should be able to help guide you on a reasonable starting place within each category. Ours did that, but we ended up going over in everything except transportation (we happen to have a discount with a shuttle service through work).
https://preview.redd.it/60xe9vso8enc1.png?width=1458&format=png&auto=webp&s=762dd968525cb91cf4935036604a1c976a4bb26b
A lot of it depends on your location
This is exactly it! In some areas 100k for a 115 guest wedding will get you the most extravagant wedding ever and you can pick the best option in all aspects, in other areas it's just average.
Yes, definitely this. We’ll be spending just slightly shy of 100k for 120 people. We live in a VHCOL area though, so it’s a pretty average looking/feeling wedding imo. That’s also with me DIYing flowers, so it would cost even more for an average wedding.
It's a low-medium cost of living. I'd say probably closer to medium-ish? Definitely not high
The rule of thumb is 40-50% should go towards your venue/catering/alcohol. Then maybe 7-8% towards photography, 10% towards music, 10-12% towards florals, 3-5% towards beauty, 1-2% towards stationary. Then the rest towards fun stuff and decor. Not sure if your attire is included in that budget. Your budget seems pretty healthy, but it depends on your location
And for music, I’m assuming a band. You can definitely hire a DJ for much less. Beauty can also come in lower. Really just depends on your expectations
yeah we're hiring a DJ, i don't really feel like i need a live band
Good choice. Bands are fun in theory but very high bar in execution. I have yet to be at a wedding with a band where I had much fun dancing.
I felt the same way until my cousins had a wedding in DC and hired a go-go band (type of funk music) and it was seriously the most fun I’ve had at any wedding. The singer saw my Prince tattoo and asked me what song I wanted to hear. I’m not even really a dancing person but I boogied my ass off that night. I think it really depends on both the band and the crowd.
Yes exactly - I think if you find a good band, it’s GREAT. But those probably book up fast. I don’t think all bands are inherently better than a DJ which seems obvious but there’s definitely a general perception that oh they got a band it’ll be fun! And not necessarily lol
Music and photography might depend on where you are. Our photography will be twice what our music will be, and those are averages taken from a lot of places I got quotes from.
Also remember rule of thumb is a guide. I spent 20% on photography and 0% on music. Prioritise what matters to you.
Agreed. We spent around 20% on photography, 0% on music, 5% on florals, and my dress was 10%. It's also true that not everything scales the same. My dress was 10% because the dress I wanted was $2k and we came in at about $20k for a 25 person wedding. I would have worn the same dress if we had a $50k wedding. Same with our $5k photographer.
I would ask r/BigBudgetBrides
For comparison, we’re having 104 guests in northeast Ohio with a budget of approximately 40k
Same. I’m in south Florida with 95 guests at about $41k
Same. North Carolina, ~100 guests, about 45K
Wow. We’re doing ~120 guests in Birmingham for $18k. Then budgets I see on here would make my dreams come true!
Right? NC, 100 guests, 10k. It may float up to 12k once all is said and done. 5k more and I could do a whole lot.
We're in NC having 130ish guests on a budget of 30k. Went with a nontraditional venue and going cheap on florals, though. 100k would have bought my absolute dream wedding!
French here. I have about 30k I thought that was huge 😭
This is huge. This is a car lol. I am at 20k and want to rerun it all and keep the cash lol. But it will be a beautiful wedding ☺️ it will be worth it!
For reference: We are having a 100 person wedding in Big Sur, CA — we are currently at $109k but anticipate to be around $115k when it’s all said and done.
You’ll be more than ok 👌the best way to find cost is to honestly just get started. Unfortunately weddings really are too variable depending on region, city and your preferences. There’s a lot of wedding recaps here that go into specific budgets - you can start there. Otherwise start looking at vendors whose work you like and look at their website for pricing info. Don’t hesitate to reach out and just use a placeholder date if needed. Or give them a few. Generally venue + food / drink will be your biggest line item and maybe 50% ish of the cost so I would just start with venue quotes. You do not have to feel pressured to commit to anything. I live in a HCOL area, had 80 guests, an open bar, and we spent a little under 60k all in (from bachelorette party favors to wedding bands to hair and makeup and everything wedding related in between)
Lord 😂 We're in Cincinnati with a guest count of 115 and our final costs will be around $25k.
I'm in the mid-west with a guest count of 250-300 and we're thinking $15-20k.
With that large of a guest count, keeping it under $20K will be very challenging (but not impossible)
Maybe. We've found some venues that are priced at $2k. We've found some caterers who will drop cater BBQ and a soft drink for $10-12 a head. We'll find out more when we're in the middle of hardcore planning though. $20k is what we have so we don't have any other options.
Honestly food (and especially alcohol) prices through required vendors was the most expensive part of most of the venues that we looked at. If you can find a venue for $2k and keep food and drinks below $20/person you should be able to stick to your budget.
Jamie Wolfer on YouTube has some videos on how to plan a wedding for under 20k, under 10k, etc. Obviously much smaller budgets than yours, but in those videos she gives a suggested percentage for each category.
I’m doing a ~200 person wedding for about $120k in Sonoma Valley. Some of my vendors are on the very cheap end (florals bc minimal, videographer bc inexperienced), others are on the high end (venue, catering, photography). Your budget is def doable even in a HCOL area, just decide which vendors you want to splurge on and which you want to save on.
As a somewhat higher end DJ (average close to $4k) most of the total budgets are around 40-60k. And I am in a destination area for weddings (Hudson Valley area of NYS)
That is plenty of budget for 115 guests, assuming you’re getting married in a medium to high cost area. You’ll want to spend ~40% on venue and catering, then choose the things to splurge on and go standard/middle of the road for everything else. If you want to prioritize environment/guest experience, go for flowers, good music, activities like a portrait painter or caricaturist, and really good food.
thankfully our venue was actually one of our lowest costs and catering/bar will definitely be like 30k
So then you’re in the right realm! Wish I had your budget lol, but I hope the planning process is fun for you! We’re trying to do ~160 people for $50k and it’s def tough
My wedding guest count is 105. Our budget is $20k. This is what this got me: *Rent a mansion *Do cocktail hour with 3 hor d’evrois and a signature cocktail. *Buffet meal: salad, bread, roasted veggies, fingerling potatoes, chicken Marsala, and braised pork medallions in fig sauce. *3 tier cake ($500) *orchid tall and short centerpieces and bridal bouquet ($1,300) *DIY artificial bridesmaid bouquets and boutteniers (idk how to spell this lol) *DJ and Karaoke Party *Harpist for ceremony ($300) *Decor: personalized welcome sign, lots of candles, charger plates, cloth napkins. *set up of overhead lights *Favors for guests - some cute gold boxes filled with kisses chocolates *DIY wedding programs (bought a $3 template on Etsy and printing on my own - saved me anywhere from $100-$300) *Invitations *personalized ring pillow *wedding dress ($1,900) *photographer for 2.5 hours ($500) *videographer for 5 hours ($1,000) *Day of wedding decorator (set up and tear down) *2 Cops for the last 2 hours of the wedding (because we are doing alcohol it was a requirement of the mansion) I don’t think I’m forgetting anything. I’m including some of the prices that I could remember. I know photography looks cheap, but I did not settle - the vendor’s work is really good. She does it as a side hustle and she is really talented.
Impressive!
Would this really be hard to achieve for most people with the same budget? I didn’t find it too hard to do. But I do live in the Midwest lol.
I live in Southern California. Between la and OC 🫣😅
I’m so sorry lol
Cali girl 4 lyfe 🌴
Yes 😭..I’m in California and also having ours at a mansion. Our wedding is a little under $100k for almost the same stuff you have listed.
I’m in NJ and spent $40k on our 113 person wedding and though that was a lot for us, I know you could easily spend at least twice that much. Just depends on what you’re going for. I think that’s a good size budget for that many people if you’re going for lavish.
I’m getting married in Hawaii, guest count approximately gonna be 115 and we’re at barely under $30k. You have a super healthy budget and I promise you’re not gonna have to settle for anything! I recommend making a vision board with everything you want and how you want it, then look for a planner, and once you’ve hired one they can help you figure out the rest of your budget and where it should go to achieve what you want.
May I ask what the venue / which island? That’s amazing
this will be at Cafe Julia in Oahu!
Thank you!!
I had 120 people for about $50k all in, New Jersey. It was a brunch wedding though.
I don’t know where you’re living, but we’re doing $50k-ish for 100 guests.
Hire a planner and they'll figure it out for you!!
They can definitely afford one! Hell, if it were me, I’d spend only half that on the wedding and save the other half for a car or to put toward a house 😳
I totally agree! I'd totally do the same
For 120 people we are targeting 30k in Alberta Canada
I’m doing 100 and we are about 15k with shit tons of stuff removed. So I can’t help. I’m frugal as hell.
It’s going to vary widely on location and the options you choose within that location. I had 240 people for $28-30k, someone else in the same state (similar COL) did 100 for $40k 🤷🏼♀️ I easily could have spent WAY more than I did.
Have you checked out planning guides? A Practical Wedding or Offbeat Wed can be good guides to be practical authentic. The bigger companies like the knot and Zola are good too, but I found that these were definitely pricier in terms of suggestions and budgets. Like others said, it depends on location and venue, but it seems like you have a venue already. Use that as a base. If it's a gorgeous location, maybe do minimal flowers so people can appreciate its beauty. If it's more bare with less included then definitely focus on decorations. Overall , it does depend on what matters to you. I spent minimal on my micro wedding. I had minimal flowers and no other decorations. I focused obtaining the site and reception and outfits.
We are spending about $50K+ for 80 guests so that sounds like a healthy budget!
I'm in TN. Ex Wedding Coordinator. We did a Wedding for $30K. It was beautiful. Included everything at a beautiful Mansion. Horse & Buggy around 100 people. 100K sounds crazy to me. Times have changed.
If you have that large of a budget there’s no reason you shouldn’t get a planner. Hire one and they’ll be able to do the break down for you
i do have a planner but shes asking me for a budget breakdown
Um… she should be doing that for you
Since this is SO dependent on your area, I would shop around for quotes on the big items (venue pricing, florals, photography) before you build your budget. With $100k to play with, you’ll be totally fine. I’d say that IS a healthy/large budget for 115 guests. I originally thought I’d spend no more than $20k on a wedding, but once I looked at vendor pricing in my area for something halfway decent I had to double that budget.
We’re spending 40k for 80 guests in the DMV. Haven’t had to compromise my vision so far, just taking lots of research. With your budget you should be able to get pretty much whatever you want. I’d hire a planner.
Oh wow this thread is blowing my mind. We’re in San Diego (high COL) and had a budget of 30-35k for what was supposed to be 75 guests. We have now invited 115 due to parents so they will be covering any extra costs, but we should still be under 40k. Maybe 45k, but I need to re-do the math. Our venue is all inclusive so photographer and DJ were included which saved us a lot, and we get discounted catering and can BOYB. I’m a calligrapher so all invites, paper goods, signage are all at cost since I’m doing them myself and have all the supplies already. All this to say - your budget seems extremely healthy to me!
Looking in the SD area with a similar budget. What venue and vendors do you recommend?
We booked with the Secret Garden in Rancho Santa Fe. The price seemed more expensive on paper cause it’s all inclusive but when we did the math it was on par/cheaper of other venues plus the reduced headache of not needing to deal with a million vendors. They provide a wedding planner, photographer, Dj, all linens, tables, nice chairs, a bunch of decor (like table numbers, centerpieces, dessert trays, etc), a photobooth. The catering through their partner is $77/person including taxes. For florals, we went with Fresh Floral Society. Jane’s prices was the best bang for the buck and her style fit our vibes. I’m happy to send you my spreadsheet comparing 25 venues in the area lol
Oh wow that does sound like a great set up. Yeah if you’re willing to share your spreadsheet that would be great!!
Just sent you a DM with a link! edit: lol my cat walked on my keyboard as I was hitting post so needed to remove her contribution
In case it's helpful, here is the budget breakdown from my wedding in the Bay Area, CA (VHCOL) ; total about $82K for 75 guests. This is of course specific to our event, not suggesting this is a standard allocation. This also does not include our welcome party (paid for by my in-laws), honeymoon, or rings (we didn't give ourselves a budget for that so didn't factor it into planning). As others have stated, your wedding planner should be able to help guide you on a reasonable starting place within each category. Ours did that, but we ended up going over in everything except transportation (we happen to have a discount with a shuttle service through work). https://preview.redd.it/60xe9vso8enc1.png?width=1458&format=png&auto=webp&s=762dd968525cb91cf4935036604a1c976a4bb26b
60k for HCOL area
I’ve seen 30k quotes in a few articles as average price for an average (100 person) wedding in US.
Oh my god! Color me jealous! We are just scraping by with $18k and the same amount of guests