Help...where to start

Anything is doable for any amount, it’s just a matter of how much you’re willing to compromise and what’s important. I would start by sitting down and making a list of your ‘must haves’ and approximate costs and then you know where to splurge and save - if you have your heart set on a more expensive venue, you might have to reduce the guest list or do a cocktail hour instead of a meal.

My sister’s wedding cost the same as my borther’s and she had 100 more guests - just a difference in what she was willing to compromise on.

As for all-inclusive vs not - that comes down to your personal preference. I never had any desire to plan a wedding and making a million decisions doesn’t appeal, so we went with an all-inclusive option in Las Vegas. I know I could have gotten more for less, but I really just wasn’t interested so was willing to pay for that ‘convenience’. If you decide to do all-inclusive, you will need to be willing to give up control and work with what your options are.

We are looking at a couple of venues this weekend. Offering different things. I am leaning more towards individually booking things that way I can eliminate the things I don’t need or that aren’t necessary for me. I have just started looking at caterers and pricing for a Buffett style or plated dinners. I am going to make my invitations and table centrepieces, wedding favours etc. I don’t think I will be able to stay under $10,000. I think I will feel better and be able to budget for the rest of the wedding if I had a venue. Hopefully I have a better idea of that this weekend. Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and suggestions. I’m really excited to plan my wedding ❤️

Whether you go with an all-inclusive venue or not is entirely up to you and I find the prices vary depending on the type of venue and location. As others have said before me, majority of your budget will go toward alcohol and catering. All-inclusive venue package prices per person tend to run higher, but they typically include gratuity fees (whereas venues that allow outside catering typically do not from what I've seen), so depending on the caterer, the cost may end up being similar after factoring that in (as well as alcohol.)

It's also important to note that some venues include chairs, china, linens, etc. so I'd suggest looking for a venue that does to save money as all of those things add up quickly.

It would be easier to provide suggestions if we had a better idea of the following, though:

1. The type of venue you're interested in.
2. The type of bar you're interested in having.
3. The style of dinner you'd prefer (such as buffet, cocktail style, family style or plated/seated.)

I'd also recommend finding a venue that could host both your ceremony and reception to avoid paying two fees.

I think it's doable once you spend time looking into your venue options to see what will work best for your vision while adhering to your budget! Prioritize!

I think you can and will find something that works within your 10K budget. I like the all-inclusive route and I think it can work for you if you choose to eliminate things like an open bar, late night tables, and any extras. I personally like having less vendors to deal with and wouldn't want to piece everything together otherwise.

I started with a venue and due to a short immediate and we paid $10 + taxes & gratuity for all inclusive meal and day set up/plated service. Cost per person was $115.

Find out the cost per person including drinks if the open bar option isn't available. Ask what would work in your budget based on your choices.

I have found in my area it really depends on the venue. some venues were way cheaper/easier to just do everything with them. others weren't.

I know a friend that wanted a more affordable wedding. but wanted an open bar. she did an evening wedding (I want to say a 7pm ceremony). and she served apps instead of a full meal (and she put that on her invitation so people knew to eat). hers still cost 20K for an 80 person guest list (granted she was in the Toronto area...so everything is more expensive).

there are lots of ways to cut costs. it really comes down to whats important to you. sometimes spending a bit more on a venue. but doesn't need decorations is worth it and has a savings.

when I started venue searching. I made a list of questions of what to ask/whats included/what extra costs/whats their gratuities/extra costs/payment schedule etc etc. and then priced it out based on our rough guest list (which is now smaller). and went from there.

I feel you on the age thing and not wanting to have regrets (I will be 36 getting married).

I would price things out first. based on that 125 person guest list. then determine if you need to raise the budget some or if you can cut people. or If you can do it for the 10K.

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Don't worry too much about the list of people - my guest list is at 250 and our budget is $20,000. Basically your wedding done twice!

The main place that the money really does go is the food and venue. Most all inclusive places tend to be fancy and use executive chef's which increase the price. What I am doing is going outside of the city for starters, renting a venue for the whole weekend (so I don't have to hire set up and tear down people), and having Danny's Whole Hog BBQ! Of course you don't need to have BBQ for your wedding, but we love them and it will end up costing only $15-$20 a person and we get to keep the leftovers! Way better than paying $60-$90 a plate and getting a choice of dry chicken or beef and gravy

It's doable!!! We are here to help as best we can! And Congrats on the engagement!!

Thank you for your reply. I have tried to cut the guest list down and I am still at 123. I have a large family. We will be getting married in the Fraser valley most likely. I plan on doing my own invitations and table centre pieces and wedding favours. I am hoping that will help with costs. And I have no problem looking at sites that people are selling their wedding decor. I don’t need or want a “fancy” wedding but I feel like if I can’t have my family and friends at the wedding then what’s the point in the wedding? Selfish of me maybe but I’m 37 and will be almost 39 when I get married and I don’t want to have regrets. I hope I can make this work out thanks for your input congratulations to you too!

Price wise, I would book individually. Especially look for places where you can just BYOB since usually places that include it have huge markups. But honestly here in the lower mainland you might struggle to stick to $10,000 for that many people. Definitely try for places the cities rent out because they tend to be cheaper. And for a officiant, use one of the marriage commissioners on the BC gov website, they’re ~$75. For decor, crawl Facebook groups, I’m always seeing good stuff on there!

Ask around. Community centres were usually under $1000 to rent for the day. Caterers could charge under $20 per plate. Our budget was originally $10 000 for 100 people but ended up being $15 000. But, we ended up going with an all inclusive which was $1500 for the hall and $35 per plate.

Other ways to keep cost down: have your wedding early in the day and have a lunch reception or have an evening ceremony and then a dessert or appetizers reception.

Cut down or out flowers. They are beautiful but pricey and really only good for the wedding day. We had our guests take the flowers but otherwise they would’ve just been thrown out since we were heading on our honeymoon the next day.

Minimal decor, no chair covers. I think tablecloths are a must but chair covers are overdoing it and decor doesn’t have to be extensive. People won’t remember this about your wedding. You’ll have a few pictures of empty chairs but most of the time the chairs will have people in them. The detail pictures photographers take aren’t of the chairs.

Also, if you can reuse any decor for ceremony and reception, rather than having different decor at both.

Unfortunately I don't think you can expect to stay within a $10k budget with 120 guests. I'm barely making my $20k budget with the same amount of guests, and many aspects of our wedding are being paid for by our respective families as gifts. We will be paying $20,ooo, but in total the wedding will probably cost around $30k.

I think for convenience it is great to book an all-inclusive venue though.

Depending on your vision for your wedding, I would have to say, it's not impossible, but it's improbable. The average wedding in Canada costs $30,000, and the average guest list is 120ish...

If you go with a more DIY venue, off season, don't splurge on a designer gown, etc, you can definitely have a budget conscious wedding, but your guest list plays a HUGE role in that, as the dinner is the most expensive part (about 40-50%)

I say, start doing some research, look into venues, and per plate costs... Just be honest with yourself about what your MUST HAVES are, and what else you're willing to compromise on.

Personally, in the Vancouver area, I am having a 100 person wedding, in a fairly turn key venue, with the top menu choice, however, it's a very well priced venue, no peak season prices, and is beautiful without decorations. So I was able to cut costs on flowers, decor, signs, etc... as well as DIY my centrepieces and favours. I splurged on my dress (almost $3000 with alterations, taxes and accessories).

Our 100 person wedding in January will still be about $18,000.