What did your big city (NYC, Philly, Chicago, Atlanta, L.A.) wedding cost?

Question

I live in Philadelphia and am planning my wedding. It's going to be very expensive, but I know that I could have went even higher. IMO, I'm doing a middle of the road wedding for my area. I'm having about 150-175 guests. What was your TOTAL wedding cost (expect for engagement ring and honeymoon since really they are before the event and after)...reception costs, photographer, videographer, flowers, attendant gifts, limo, decorations, DJ, wedding rings, attire, church costs, etc.

What bothers me is that I'm reading on yahoo answers that some people spend only 10K (or less!) on their weddings! I don't think that would be possible where I live, even if I had the wedding at the most inexpensive catering hall. Is this just because these people might live in an area that isn't as expensive?

I'm just wondering what other people who live in major cities are paying...how many guests are you having, etc?

Answer 1

I live in Pittsburgh...and I only paid about $7000.

Believe me...Pittsburgh area is not cheap...some people I know spent almost $40,000....I had some connections, haggled a little and kept my eye open for bargains and discounts.

I had a nice, intimate wedding in the Botanical Gardens and the reception followed in a restaurant overlooking the city of Pittsburgh...it was amazing!

My pictures tell the story of a very expensive wedding...which makes me snicker every time someone comments on how much it must have cost...because of my keen sense of bargaining I saved a ton of money without it affecting my wedding at all...

Answer 2

I'm in the Philly area, too, and I paid about 30K when all was said and done. We had 120 guests. My dress was less than $1000 and I got a deal on the limos (family friend), so it would have been more if I'd been more extravagant with the dress and had to pay full price for the limos.

If you're looking for a reference for a videgrapher, I can recommend mine- they were cheaper than most that I had looked at and they did a FABULOUS job- I was thrilled, and I know a number of girls who have used them. Email me if you're interested.

Answer 3

$6k in L.A.

Answer 4

Los Angeles, California- $50,000 with honeymoon, and i am NOT going all out at all!! the hall alone is $25,000. I'm not even spending a lot on my dress max 1000$

Edit: i feel the same way about how are people getting married for under 10k. Sorry you said without honeymoon, it's around 35-42k for us. Also i have to mention that we will have 350-400 people at our wedding.

Congrats BTW

Answer 5

Total for E-rings, wedding bands, honeymoon, church and reception for 150 people in Boston: $41,000

Answer 6

Consdering I'm in NYC, I spent significantly less than what I thought I was going to spend.  I had 160 guests and spent a total of $20K--that included everything and we spared no expense.  

Answer 7

I live in NY but am getting married right over the border of NY-New Jersey (a little cheaper for a GORGEOUS venue).  Not counting the honeymoon, our wedding budget (so far) is about $20,000, but that is considering we are only having about 85 guests at our wedding.  Since yours is double the size of ours, you would probably have to spend around $35,000 to have the same type of wedding as ours.  The best way to save is to shorten your guest list, and that is what we did because we really want a nice, beautiful wedding, and didn't want to sacrifice that just to invite extra people.

If you factor in our honeymoon, we would spend more than $30,000, since our honeymoon is long and very expensive.  We still have 7 months left though and a lot of miscellaneous stuff to buy/order/sign contracts for, so let's see how close we stay to our budget (my parents are paying for like 80% of wedding stuff though, which is awesome =)

good luck and congratulations!

Answer 8

I live in Chicago, but we're getting married just outside Albany, NY (partially because we knew with our budget, we wouldn't be able to have the wedding we wanted in Chicago - it's an expensive city).

Minus the engagement ring, our wedding budget is currently $25,500, and we're staying on track so far with all major vendors booked and contracts signed. With centerpieces (we're making our own) we're under budget.

Let me also say that we hired an expensive photographer because we wanted the best photos possible (she was $5100 total) and my dress will most likely be a designer gown, costing about $3000 with alterations.

We're only having about 70 guests total, outdoor ceremony in a garden by the hotel, and reception inside at a hotel. We're also not having a reception DJ (recruiting family members to make more personalized announcements throughout the night) but we are having a cellist/violinist for the ceremony.

So really, it came down to prioritizing. We sacrificed a live band/DJ for high quality photos and floral centerpieces so I could have the beautiful dress I really wanted (because it will always live on in the photos - didn't ever want to regret my choice).