Whats a reasonable budget?

im getting married in fort bragg mendocino county northern california i have 136 people invited no clue how many will actually show. but i have no idea what a budget for this should be 10000, 20000 or is that way expensive for a wedding its outdoors with an indoor reception its going to be roses and gerbera daisys for the flowers .... i have no idea what to expect cost
Whats a reasonable budget?
You could do a really nice wedding for $20000. $10000 will be pushing it for that many guests and a "traditional" wedding, but it could be done with very careful planning and a lot of do it yourself.



Just for a feel, we had a wedding for $14000 with 90 guests. We had DIY flowers (orchids, callas and roses) and invitations. The rest we paid others to do.
Reply:I would say for that area of California you are looking at the VERY LEAST $15000, for a venue rental, food, flowers, dress, tuxedo, rings, officiant fees, wedding party gifts, dj/band costs, wedding cake, etc...
Reply:it's all going to depend on what you get. I had an outdoor wedding and indoor reception on a Sunday. I paid $3,000 for both. I had a buffet (it's cheaper than a plate by plate serving) with a fancy caterer, and I paid about $4,000. We had 140 people at our wedding. Then you add in the dress ($1,000 for me), the flowers (a couple hundred, a friend of mine did them), the music (A friend of mine did that too, I think we paid a couple hundred?), the programs (if you choose to have them....we paid $10 for the paper and a pretty stamp, and made them ourselves), and decorations for the tables...whatever those are.



I know that the average wedding costs about $25,000...but I imagine that's a church wedding and indoor reception with a lot of people. I think we spent about $9,000 on mine.



www.theknot.com is an excellent website for weddings...I'd take a look.
Reply:my wedding cost about 10000 and we did alot of dyi stuff. you can do it for less but it gets very difficult. i heard that the average wedding in the u.s. cost 20000.



it really depends on what you want for that day. and what you're willing to do without and what you really have to have.



bydoing alot ourselves i was able to get pretty much everything i ever wanted at that price.



we had about 150 guest, a sit down meal, and a horse and carriage but it was in a small town in nw pa, so there is a lower cost in general.



look around, think about a friday night wedding or a weekday night wedding, you can sometimes find deals on off peak days that can help you get what you want at a price you're willing to pay.



good luck
Reply:Honeybee,



Here's a rough estimate to work to:



136 people @ roughly $40.00/head incl. alcohol

Wedding venue hire @ $1500+ depending on location

Ceremony cost: $500

Wedding Attire: $2,000

Transport: $600

Flowers: $800

Favors: $200



Min Spend: $11,040



That being said, you need to realise that out of your 136 guests, only around 105 will likely be attending. Make sure you request an early RSVP date and anyone who does NOT RSVP does not attend the reception, simple!



Some ingenuity with your catering could bring your cost per head down greatly, but speak to your venue and see what they suggest.



Hope this helps
Reply:Focus on a setting a budget, and then try to work within it, otherwise you'll overspend. If you have an unlimited budget, then make the wedding whatever you want. Wedding can be as inexpensive as $5K or as lavish as $1M.



Once you have a budget, go to the link and download the budget planning worksheet. It will tell you how to break out your budget.
Reply:A reasonable budget depends on the couple. Our wedding is costing us between 20-25K.



Check out this website for the average cost of weddings in your area:



http://www.costofwedding.com/
Reply:for a carlifornian wedding 20000 to 30000 is good enough for the fairytale wadding we girls have always wanted since we were young
Reply:I would estimate maybe 15-18 thousand....good luck!
Reply:Im in Contra costa County and know how expensive it can be to get married here. As a florist I suggest calling aorudn alot for quotes and also use craigslist, it is a great resource to find photographers, florist (like me) and dj's.



One sure fire way to keep budget in check is with food and alchohal, limit the drinks to wines, beers and sodas, you can purchase a head of time from cotsco and save a ton. Just ask your caterer to provide a bar tender for the event so you are covered for liability.



I would expect you to pay aournd 20k for a wedding of that many people.
Reply:I would say that an average semi-formal wedding will go for around $20,000. Start looking at vendors. Whatever the reception hall + catering fees cost is usually about half your budget.
Reply:Depends, you need to check around. I got my flowers from a green house for much cheaper than my friend which kept our flower prices much lower. Mine were like $100 for a bouqet while hers was $1000. Check around, save money.