Cost of a Wedding

Cotta

Hi All,

I am planning to propose to my girlfriend in a few weeks (she knows it’s coming) and I would like to get married around Sep/Oct of this year but I am looking to gauge what we should be expecting to spend on a wedding. Highly subjective question of course, however I thought some on here could give some good advice of what ball park figure we should be looking at. Some points are as follows:

• Should be maximum of 100 guests.
• Service will be held in a church

Obviously I know it’s very subjective but I would be keen to hear others first-hand experience.

Thanks in advance

gettingtheresometime

tbh a huge part of the cost will be the reception &/or party afterwards.


something in (say) a village hall whereby you self cater will cost a hell of a lot less than a hotel with a sit down meal.


What about drink - will it be a free bar, just drinks on arrival & toast or bring your own type event.

Robin9

You can married in a church for about £500 - its the reception where the costs can run away.

HanPop

I’m sure you’ll get lots of different responses on here! Here is what we did: Church wedding and then reception in a country spa in the summer of 2012 so prices may have changed. The reception cost around £11,000 with upgraded food and drinks package but the whole thing cost about £20,000 (including dress/suits/cars etc). However I know that it can be done for a lot less and depends what type of reception venue you want. Also I had to book 2 years in advance to get the date I wanted in August and I know September can be quite a busy month too so just be warned.

Gavin83

£500-£1m. It's an impossible question to answer, it will depend entirely on what you want. I'd suggest a standard wedding, in a proper wedding venue with all the usual trimmings will cost in the region of £20k.

As others have said it's the reception which costs money.

Savvy_Sue

If you ...

make your own dress(es) and don't have (m)any bridesmaids and ...

don't need a special hair-do and make-up ...

you don't hire or buy formal wear for anyone ...

and you dispense with buttonholes ...

and live with the church's normal flowers or they know you and do something special for you anyway ...

and you don't want a choir and bells ...

and you don't hire cars to get the bride (and hangers-on) to the church / reception venue ...

and you ask guests to bring food to the reception rather than presents ...

and you don't want to turn the reception venue into a fairy-tale castle with frills and nets all over the shop ...

And the reception venue doesn't allow alcohol but you have friends who know how to make a really nice non-alcoholic punch ...

And a friend is willing to make a really nice but very simple cake ...

And you don't hire a 'proper' photographer ...

and you can't understand what a wedding 'favour' is anyway ...

Then you can do it really inexpensively.

We didn't even have to pay to hire the church and its hall, because we were members.

So, what are your expectations, and your bride's?

Another tip, if you're expecting your bride's parents to pay, you reduce the amount of control you have over the whole thing.

I'm one of three girls who each paid for their own weddings rather than let our parents anywhere near the affair. One of my BILs thought they'd paid the least for their wedding, and I said that was unlikely. I was right ...

Savvy_Sue

BTW, Saturdays are not only booked further in advance than other days of the week, but may also cost more than mid-week dates. But of course mid-week dates may be difficult for further-flung guests.

engineer_amy

a relative recently spent £34k on a wedding. 80% of that was on the venue/reception with a sit down 4 course meal. Yes, it was a spectacular location, and one of the premier wedding locations in Northern Ireland, but realistically no more memorable for me than any other wedding I have been to.
I have also been to a wedding where the reception was held in a local working mans club with a buffet supper and was done on a relatively tight budget. It has to be one of my favourite weddings, but that was because the DJ/Entertainment was top notch and the company at my table was so funny (best mans speech had us in stitches)!
At either of the 2 weddings mentioned, I don't remember what colour the bridesmaids were wearing, or what the party favours were, or how the table was decorated. my memories are of the happy couple and the other guests on the dancefloor, so don't worry about spending (Wasting) money on the little things as no one will remember them and you will spend more time stressing about them than is necessary. Wedding planners and suppliers will always try to talk you into buying unnecessary extras

Robin9

You can hire a venue for a party OK - mention the words "wedding reception" and the price will escalate.

Like others above my wife of 34 years and did it DIY - we even cleaned the village hall beforehand. An afternoon reception for us then we were off.

Thrice

As a rough ROUGH guess I would say with 100 guests you would be looking at £7000 as a minimum. Church hire £500, venue charging about £50 a head for a simple meal and small drinks package (enough for toasts and welcome drink) , you're up over £5500 before buying a dress, rings, hiring cars, paying for a photographer, a DJ/band etc etc etc etc.

A local hotel or similar might do a package deal, X for £X, but it's usually restrictive on numbers or possibly the day of the week.

System

For 100 guests I would say:


Nice (small drinks, local venue) - 7-10k
Really nice (hotel, DJ, better food, buffet in evening) - 10-14k
Very nice - (really nice hotel, extra things like magician etc.) 15k - 20k