Budget

A good way to determine would be to do a budget break down in percentages. Give each category a percentage of your budget and make adjustments as needed. This way you can see what's affordable and what may be unrealistic.

Example for $10,000 budget
Reception 50% = $5000
Ceremony 3% = $300
Attire 8% = $800
Flowers 8% = $800
DJ/entertainment 10% = $1000
Photography 12% = $1200
Stationary 3% = $300
Rings 3%= $300
Gifts 3%= $300

Maybe you already have your rings. So you can throw that 3% somewhere else. Maybe you want to do text and online invitations so you can put that 3% somewhere else too, etc.

Also remember that reception includes food, and alcohol so that $5000 needs to stretch between your venue and your food for guests. If you have 50 guest's with the average plate costing $30 that's already $1500 of your reception budget.

I'd say play around with it and figure out what works and what you can afford to cut out, and what you absolutely don't want to skimp on, to make it work for you!

I think its totally reasonable, you just may need to "give" on some things. A lot of venues are $5000 just to book the space without catering, so you just might need to look at some alternatives to traditional spaces/catering.

We first plan to do a 10,000 hotel wedding but for 60 people ended up going to 15000. the hotel we chose charge us reception fee and a minimum food and beverages. But we chose an expensive place. for 10,000 it will work for reception and decors, but if you add the dress,ring,photographer and extra stuff,that might wont work.

We are having about 100 people too and our budget is 10000. But that is not including what both of our families are contributing. My mom and step dad are covering the wine making, my dad and stepmom are covering the dress, his parents are covering the bar and his aunt gave us some money too. We are doing a lot of DIY too so that's saving us some money!

Katie,
You can make your vision for the amount work by online shopping to save you tons than retail stores. As for 2017 stats, average price is $35 grand. Personaaly, i purchased all my small item tickets on ebay or amazon sites. Bug ticket items in the retail stores waiting until it was huge savings. Thats my best advice to you and beware as many will tell you that the venue will be most expensive cost.
Ashley, same advice to you because your paying someone to do a service that is managable by driving yourself crazy if something doesn't come across as your vision. Save yourself the cost.

Be open to different suggestions like a week day wedding or an afternoon wedding as they generally cost less. Also look into doing DIY to save some money as well.

Have you considered having an afternoon wedding? From the looks of the venues I’ve contacted, their lunch prices are usually less than their dinner price. This could leave room in your budget to enhance other aspects of your wedding.

Definitely possible. ive got 10,000 for a budget of 200 people. so its defintely possible. Ways youll save money is getting your venue in 1 place for the cermony and reception, if possible to not do an open bar, and to have a cheaper catering, or DIY.

It depends on your vision of the day. It would probably be very tight but doable. Diy will be your best friend, you might have to make a few sacrifices. Less alcohol, probably a paid bar instead of open.

We have 40-50 guests and are at around $18,000. BUT we choose a very expensive venue for our size wedding but we wanted a certain look for our wedding.

I don't know much about the cost of hotel receptions, but I would say it's doable if you are strict on your budget. Find out how much it would cost at the hotel you're thinking of and then sit down and allocate the remainder of your expenses (dress, rings, decor, flowers, music, photographer, honeymoon, etc.). Track all of your expenses and keep a tally so you know when you've maxed out different categories.

A hotel wedding for 100 guests should cost somewhere between 15.000 and 20.000, that’s just the average. Even to book most venues you need a minimum amount, and in most hotels it is 12,500 to 15,000, not including gst and hst.

Maybe you should readjust your budget or find an alternative?

This was my case as well, you know! We are doing a hotel reception for 60 guests and the initial budget was around 6.000. However, soon it was clear to me that putting all the little things together, shifted the budget to 11,000

Hi Kaite.

I am totally new to the wedding scene and realizing there are so many variables to this exciting new adventure! From venue, to decor, to entertainment - a few hundred dollars here and a few hundred dollars there....it all adds up! I firmly believe you can have a wedding of your dreams within your budget, but you need to plan it out before hand so there are no surprises.

I plan to get married at the end of 2018 and am currently debating getting a planner because I think in the long run they may be able to find better deals as well as save me the stress of planning it all.

From one future bride to another, good luck!

Ashley

My original budget was 10,000 but I bumped it up to 15,000 with our rings of course (engagement ring included). I find even DIY stuff to be a tad expensive! We are having 140-160 people. If you aren't having alcohol than it would 100% be do-able. Alcohol is a big outright expense, but you can make most of it back with a toonie bar. Just remember that most people go a little outside (over) their budget anyways just remember to reevaluate constantly and ask yourself do I really need that? Also, photographers can be pricey so just factor that into your budget dependent on whether you want a particular photographer (some vary from 500-5000). Totally just my opinion though! You don't have to follow it! Just want I've noticed so far planning! 😋

Definitely doable, but you have to DIY a lot of stuff and you cant be super picky. You pay in time vs money.
We are planning a 160 guest backyard wedding for under $10,000

Hi Kaite,

That seems like a reasonable budget for 100 people, but it really depends on how much you plan to DIY and whether you are going to be super strict with your specific budgets for everything (e.g., venue, catering, dress, etc.). Are you planning on having a ceremony as well or just a reception at the hotel?

You can definitely cut costs a lot if you are willing to DIY things like decorations and flowers, whether part or all of it. Also, make sure to stick with a very specific dress budget if you want to save some costs because you definitely can get carried away with ones that are way over your spending limit!

Other options to save include buying second-hand items (e.g., decorations, dress, accessories), or if you are open to borrowing things from friends and family that could help you cut costs too.

In terms of catering, hotels often have set menus but sometimes you can choose whether to go with buffet style or sit-down plated. The latter option is usually more expensive, and for 100 people it may be good to go with a buffet.

Hope some of that helps!