Reception only for $7000

We are having our reception at a church hall and having it catered by a Slovenian community caterer. We are having a lot of food but it’s fairly simple and will be served family style and is $60 a person including midnight buffet, appetizers when people arrive, all the glasses, dinnerware, table cloths, chair covers, etc. A friend also had her dinner catered buffet style by a food truck (it was a BBQ food truck so they set up carving stations for pulled pork, brisket, and chicken). Hers was between $40 and $50 a person. Look for options that don’t say “wedding” and you can find some creative and affordable caterers. If you work somewhere that has events or corporate lunches, check out those menus. DJ iPod is your friend. Big ticket items that will hang you up that you will have to get creative with are photography and your dress. But if you go for not a lot of hours on photography you can keep costs low. It is definitely possible!

We are opting for a reception with 4 stations and it’s roughly 35 a person at our venue. Originally before COVID we were looking at 125 a person for a cocktail reception but spoke with the owner and were able to find a work around

Hi Courtney!
It is possible, but requires a little more work and research.

My one friend rented the Gilford Community Hall for the entire weekend for about $500. She had about 60-70 people and the wedding was both outdoors and indoors. She filled a giant canoe of alcohol and had two bartenders serving drinks just outside (it was covered). Then she had it catered by a Pizza Food Truck, along with some added side salads her family made. The pizza truck was about $500. She also hired a DJ for inside. We both used the same photographer, and only hired them for 2 hours (1st hour for pictures of just us plus family, and 2nd hour was candid shots of guests etc). I think the photography came to $350 for 2 hours. She bought her flowers from Costco and saved a ton. She spent under 5k on the entire reception.

I really liked all of Amelia's suggestions to save!

At that budget, you could feasibly have a Saturday morning brunch. You could try to do this at a restaurant or book a small meeting room in a hotel and have them serve it. This is where Saturdays become more economical than a Sunday because Sundays are typical brunch days in Toronto. Morning weddings also provide no expectation of an open bar. And the timeline will mean less hours for a photographer.

Reception after elopement is a good idea considering the cost of everything going for a full day event. Searching into a venue for the budget set you have may be less if you do consider going Anniversary than Wedding which does go up in costs of terms. Even you consider this year to get married on your original date and have the celebration next for guests flying out this way.

Its the one tip I would give knowing how vendors work around pricing when your booking events. Vow Renewal is also another option to do if you want guests to see the celebration being done without the officiant cost.

View quoted message

And i got all my BMs bouquets on there as well for $6 each with shipping and i got all the guys boutineers as well. i got tons of decor on there as well

View quoted message Air BNB what an amazing idea!! I love those bouquets so different and pretty

You can rent a community centre or someone elses condo room, you can also rent a giant air bnb house and get some food and booze and youre set. get some decor a cake, outfits and rings and youre good! email out invites. my bouquet i got online and it was $30 it looks something like this

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32613880068.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.3d70586d4alMVu&algo_pvid=57dc5864-c6f2-482b-8e82-f0908fa6d450&algo_expid=57dc5864-c6f2-482b-8e82-f0908fa6d450-17&btsid=0ab50f4915918858247434170ed2dd&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

View quoted message Hi Kelvin,


I appreciate your suggestions as well! We have considered restaurants as well, just trying to find something big enough with a small enough per person a plate type of deal. I did find some nice dresses from Azaize (I think that’s how you spell it LOL) for under $500

Hey!! You can absolutely have a gorgeous reception on a 7k budget. It just takes a little strategizing is all. Amelia has already raised a lot of key points so I'll add the following.

I gather from what you've told us that you'll need to rent a space. It probably goes without saying that a super high end venue with a hefty per person charge or astronomical minimum food/beverage spend may not be a good fit. It could easily eat up the lion's share of your budget. Have you looked into community centres, boat clubs, legions, things along those lines? A bare bones space (preferably one that supplies tables and chairs) may be perfect. These will often only run you a few hundred bucks and as an added bonus you may even be permitted to supply your own alcohol--a huge opportunity for cost savings. Pair that with some DIY decor and you're off to the races.

Alternatively, maybe look at renting out all or part of a restaurant? I know many restaurants will give couples exclusive use of the space provided they guarantee a minimum food/beverage spend. If you go this route, you won't have to waste money on the space itself; it will be "absorbed" in your food and drink costs.

I think attire is another opportunity for savings. I love a lavish wedding dress as much as the next person--but you definitely don't need to drop thousands in order to feel/look beautiful and bridal, if it's not in the budget. Buy off the rack or, better yet, buy second hand!

I also have some thoughts on photography. Given the structure of your event(s), you could significantly cut costs here. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably bring a professional in for 2ish hours to cover the ceremony and take some portraits/family photos afterwards. That's really the important stuff photo-wise. And then I'd probably forego professional photography for the reception and let friends and family capture the night organically. I guess you just have to ask if it's worthwhile to spend money on professional photos of guests drinking and partying ahah.

I hope this is helpful! Good luck!!

View quoted message Hi Amelia,


I appreciate your response!
We are looking at doing either a Friday or Sunday to save money and would definitely be looking for very minimal (if any flowers, but I love the idea of a lot of candles), as well as limited photography I feel like we would only need a few hours not a full 8-10 hours like most weddings.

Hi Courtney! If you're willing to have a less conventional wedding reception then it is totally possible. Look at less popular days like Friday or Sunday, skip a full meal and go for a later evening party with appetizers. Skip the open bar, maybe have table wine or arrange to pay a portion of the tab ( ex make all drinks a set price and pay the difference).


We are having a Friday night reception without a full meal or an open bar. I snagged a great deal on our venue through work (it never hurts to name drop!). We can't bring in our own booze, but we are playing with the idea of paying for a champagne/sparkling wine toast and leaving the rest to our guests. We will have appetizers early on and cupcakes later in the evening. By starting the party after 730 and being clear on our invitations people will know we aren't feeding them a full meal which saves us about $40-50 per person.
If you still want the full meal, look for other ways to save. Maybe skip florals and just do candles. Or have a limited amount of photography coverage instead of a full 10 hours. Or send our paperless invites to save on stationary and postage.