Hi,
I need your opinion on wedding cost since the majority of us will go through this one day.
Please be honest and express your concern about budget.

-Charlotte

I think that if you're going to have a wedding nowadays...esp. an asian one....it'd be relatively pricey depending on the amount of people. But the cool thing is that it comes back to help you pay it off.

And with regards as to who pays for it, don't most people go dutch nowadays? I don't think its exactly fair to make one party pay for everything. When I get married, I don't expect my parents to pay for it. I'll pay my share (i.e. dress) myself.

25k-50k : weddings are relatively cheap in Australia
I chose who ever has the most bling, but I believe both parties should chip in. At least its a change from the traditional, bridge pays for wedding.

Holy. And I thought $10K was the max for the typical family.

Do weddings really get that expensive nowdays? (In prospective, most of my relative's weddings were < $100. But that was back in China)

I'm in Ontario, Canada, and getting married in 2011 (planning way ahead!)

I've booked my reception hall already for 130-200 people. The deposit (to keep the date I want) was $1200. The price is $85 per person for a European menu dinner and open bar (plus champagne toast and wine with dinner). I think this is a good price, even though it's still pricey. Kids under 14 are half-price (not including the price of the open bar). Already, the reception alone is going to be around $15k with taxes and gratuity (yes, you must pay for both).

I am still looking for a good photographer... But the ones I have looked at range from $2k-$4k for a standard 12 hour coverage package with DVDs of the raw images. Don't forget that you will have to feed your photographer(s), so include them in the reception costs!

Prices for both the reception and the photographer will rise year after year though, so as soon as you are engaged, I would suggest booking the reception and photographer as soon as possible since the prices will be frozen when you sign the contracts.

There are still soooooooo many things to consider. Bridal party gifts, wedding favours, center pieces (luckily the reception hall is providing mine), the cake, the floral arrangements, the dresses, the suits... Eventually, it will al add up to over $25k for sure, but it really depends on how BIG your wedding is and what kind of reception you would like since that is the big bulk of the wedding cost.

The wedding is pretty much for the gal.. it's what they dreamt about since they were kids.

Whenever I do get married, the cost would depend on how the gal feels.. but for myself, I don't want a couple to have to spend a large amount on money on something that has no return or permanence. Same reason I don't like spending money on luxury hotel rooms or resort vacations.

I think that paying an arm and leg for a wedding is one of the most stupid things a person can do. It is one day of your life, and I would be much happier with not going into debt over a wedding, than spending thousands of dollars for a fancy one. When I get married it is going to be simple simple simple simple! I will get married at a church, hold the reception there, and I have no plans on inviting every person that I have ever met in my life. It will be close friends and family only. And it will be paid for in full with cash.

My sister is getting married in August. I think she said her budget is 8000. However, she also has student loans, credit card payments, car payment, and then her other monthly expenses and she is a teacher, so she doesn’t make that much money. She had to borrow money from me to get her dress. I have decided to stay out of the issue though, because the one time I brought it up she blew up at me, so I am just cheerfully going alone with her plans.

I can understand why so many marriages fail. If I got married and ended up with 20000 in debt for the wedding, I would not be Mrs. Happy.

It's strange.

IMO- Chinese weddings tend to be very cheap.
First off, most Chinese couples marry through City Hall and just sign the papers to be legally married.
Then, secondly, the most important part for a married couple is the banquet/reception/dinner.
Another words, the dinner IS the wedding b/c that's the time where all of your family and friends are there.

Chinese people tend to have certain, designated reception halls that they could look at. (in NYC, I would say there's about 7 really popular ones) and it really depends on your taste (i.e.: location/parking availability, internal decor, SIZE, food). Most, if not all, of these reception halls tend to put a package for you -- meaning the wedding cake, food, room, and DJ are all included.

Dresses, flowers, invitations, pictures, videos, MC -- they're all picked/paid separately and I feel like a big chunk comes from this part.

----

I went to a Caucasian-Chinese wedding with a mixed couple.
Both the bride and groom pretty rich so I should've known that their wedding would've been top notch.
They spent $100,000+ on their wedding and holy moly, it was VERY VERY nice. It was organized (Chinese banquet ceremonies tend to be kind of... well, all over the place) It was done in the SOHO areas of NYC, which by itself is REALLY expensive.

There was an appetizer session, the actual wedding in a church nearby (BIG), and the final Chinese banquet at the end -- making the wedding half Chinese and half Caucasian style.

**NOTE**: $100,000 + was a lot for this couple, regardless of their wealth. But you know what, they actually earned it back PLUS profit -- meaning, the families and friends that gave red envelopes and "wedding" money REALLY splurged. So they actually made $10,000 over the wedding cost. Weddings are almost like a business, even for the couple.

So honestly, I think if you really want to splurge on a nice wedding and want to make the money back, let's just hope your families and friends are very generous.

my wedding, cost $15k-$20k.
Not sure the exact total, it's 2 years ago, and my hubby took care everything, he's a groom and a wedding planner ^^"

My job was just picked the MUA, and to look pretty the whole time LOL ^^"

My wedding dress was got it on sale at David's Bridal, for $300. Reception dress for around $170s
The invitation, my sister designed and printed them, that saved at least $600-$700
The guest wedding favor, my other sister made a keyhain out of handmade hand-blown glass. That saved another $100-$200.
It was very popular among the guests. =)
I got a nice florist that gave us a good deal. It's her personal business so she didn't charge as much as other companies.
My white roses bouquet was as big as a basketball, it cost me just around $125, forgot the exact total, it's under $150.
Total for flowers, I think it was under $2000 (bridemaids, grooms, for church decorations, etc). Then she re-used the church decors for the reception.
Everything looked so awesome. <3

Food for guests was the most expensive one. 100 people at a Chinese restaurant, 10 different kind of food per 5 tables, total $5000+
Church was the 2nd most expensive.
and then the photographer and videographer. Got each for under $4K, for 10-11 hrs of event.

My parents pitched in $5000
His parents paid for the food
The rest, covered by the money gifts for the guests. It's quite break even in the end. =)

I'd spend $20-25K on a wedding, I think it's a little ridiculous to go over that unless you have the means to comfortably do so. I'd much rather spend that extra money on a down payment for a house or something

As for who pays for it, I said whoever has the most money, but I think it should be mostly a half/half split between the bride and groom (unless there's a diff in financial status and the they're both willing). Parents I think should only pay if they really want to but remember, if you're using their money, they might want/insist to get a word in or have things their way

weddings are amazingly beautiful and memorable.

but in my opinion, it's entirely over-rated?

(even if i had the $$, i still could careless)

if i'm gonna start my future with someone,

i don't wanna be held in debt.

better yet, work my butt off just to pay

for an event that only lasted, ONE day?!?

for me, the thought of that sounds ridiculous.


i'd say, hitch and go to vegas!

Agree with you completely!

IAWTC >.>;


I've never really thought about weddings. I mean, a lot of my friends have thought about it, even down to the littlest of details, while I just... don't.
My main concern is about the man I'm getting married to and the future we'd have together, LOL @_@;

I had a family member who decided close to the wedding that they really didn't want and wouldn't be comfortable with an elaborate large wedding so they got married in city hall, used the money they had saved to put a down payment on a house and held the wedding reception/dinner in the new house (catered). We had a great time at the reception/housewarming party all rolled into one

I don't want to spend alot of money on my wedding. I want it to
be simple and beautiful. I would like to help out with the costs too. I
am not going to make his parents or my parents pay for it all.
I said less than 25K and most bling.

Wedding's ARE expensive, but they don't have to be...if you're innovative. I am cutting back cost by having my wedding ceremony and reception both outside on a beach - it's free! I am THINKING about maybe renting a huge yacht or some type of boat for my reception to be held at....but that is only if budget allows.

For me, it's more about everyone having a great time than showing off bling. I want them to be impressed, but I think because I am doing a LOT of the stuff on my own, I can impress on a budget =P

My fiance and I are paying for most of the wedding. My parents are providing 2000K for us, and....I'm not sure about his parents? They haven't offered anything, but the official planning hasn't even begun yet - it will when we set a date, haha. But I am not relying on anyone's money.

most of the asian ones that ive been to werent too expensive. i think the majority of the expenses were just on food and renting a banquet room to hold the reception, cost wise maybe like 3k-8k. but my cousin is actually getting married in the summer and i think he said his total cost of his wedding is going to be around like 25k cause hes renting land from some hotel or something (its an outside wedding), hes gotta get catering, decorations, supplies, etc.

Am I so weird to not care about having a wedding?

Seriously, maybe a small party gathering in my own house with close family and friends, and city hall thing? That would be enough for me. I think I'd spend 5000$ tops.

When I was engaged my wedding was pretty pricey but that was all for my mother than anyone else.

My dress was 6K

The alcohol was 10K (my parents owned a liquor store so we got a mass discount)

The location fee was like 10-15K

food was 30K-40k (300 guest)

Flowers were 12K

Centerpieces were like 2K

Bridesmaid gowns added up to 7K

Photos were 5K, my friend was a dj so I didn't pay for that

and we rented a photo booth for like 3K.

Luckily we got most of the money back. I think my parents lost like 15K on the whole thing when we called it off 3 months before the wedding. We had a couple of deaths in the family and I was really sick so most of the places took pity on us and let it go with minimal cx fees.

I still remember planning the thing and begging my ex to elope - I really didn't want a big wedding but I'm the youngest of 4 girls and my mom didn't really get her big weddings with my sisters so it came down to me. The one sister that didn't elope got a divorce 4 years later so my mom was "saving face".

Na I agree with you, I much rather have a small gathering than some extremely extravagant gathering of people I don't care about. But of course, wedding is a two person thing!

Wow. That's just under 100k. Platinum wedding.

yeh, usually, I think a big chunk of the cost comes from food and alcohol.
I'm assuming you provided a 6-course meal & open bar for your guests.

I honestly had nothing to do with food. I think it was like 6 courses may more?My onlu request was for the food to be plated and not family style because my fiance wasn't asian he wanted buffet or plated and my mom would rather die than have buffet.

I'm definitely having a low budget wedding. I'd like to invite a lot of people though 200+ so it's gonna cost a lot too. As long as I have family and friends there (to partay!), then it should be a memorable night nonetheless.

we got married 3 years ago. we wanted to have a destination wedding to Costa Rica (invite only immediate family members) and then when we return, have a huge party for friends that would be casual.


but....my parents wanted to have another wedding (my sister got married years before I did), so they helped pay for a lot of the wedding. I don't know the exact figure, but I know it was somewhere between 20-30K. We had about 200 guests there? It's been awhile and honestly, on your wedding day, you are so nervous that all those details you worry about for months before the wedding...you truly don't care. I remember not being hungry at all because I was nervous, tired, and just busy that I did not really eat any of our food. But I did remember to drink! After the reception, we also had an after-party for all our friends and out-town/country friends that came to PA. The reception site we used had like a game room with bar access, so we rented that out, that was the most fun. haha.

if we had to do it all over again, we would still want the destination wedding, but we know the parents would want other..

my mom wants to have a big wedding for my and my bf when wwe get married but my bf wants a smalled ne.. i think he wants around 50 people =/

my mom wants 200+

o_o my mom wants to spend around 30-40 k on it

he wants to spend like 5 k o_o @_@ @_@

^ I'd be so good with a 5K/50-person wedding. There's simply no need to invite the whole world. It would turn out to be too hectic and impersonal.

The honeymoon retreat is what I look forward to. After all, traveling to an exotic location is going to be so much more memorable than any banquet.

uhm. if i were to ever get married, i would pay whatever it costs to get the thing registered at city hall.
spending a bunch of money and getting dressed up is a waste of my time.
plus, i don't know anyone that would come, and my family is literally 3 people.

Honestly, this depends on who you are marrying, how much money you have, blah blah... you may not want it to be a huge affair, but your spouse, your family or his family might want to. It also depends who is going to pay for the wedding, which usually is the families.

Maybe this is hideously unromantic, but spending all that money on just one day of your life? You could put a down payment on a house or something with that kind of money and that's an investment. I think I'll just elope and splurge on an awesome honeymoon.

The thing is, the wedding may be about the couple but its for the families. Sometimes you don't get much of a choice with family pressure. The money my parents were going to spend could have been a good downpayment on a house for me. They knew that- but in their minds they were giving their daughter the best that they could, and they knew what was best for me. I chose the groom so they chose everything else.

I would prefer my wedding to definitely be less than 25K.

I have started planning MY wedding already so that I can see how to spend my money efficiently and find ways of how to save my money as much as I can.
But I still don't know the costs of various venues and catering and ETC yet so... 25K?? Hmmmm unsure, but I would certainly hope my wedding does not go over that budget. It's expensive..

And who will be paying??? ME!! MWAHAHAHA >:OOOOOO I wear da pantsu!

My bf wants to elope to Vegas (being the poker player he is how fitting), but I want a real wedding with close friends and family. Maybe about 150-200 people. My sister has offered to pay half if I have a wedding because she never had a real wedding (she eloped). My bf's parents have offered to take care of all the alcohol. They want open bar and a beer truck. I come from a drinking family. Thank God my cousin owns a chain of liquor stores.

my cousin in China had a HUGE wedding and ended up making money from it because of all the "red envelops" (money gifts) he got

^ which is the logic behind my moms idea..

o_o she figures our 'friends' and my bf's family wouldnt' be giving us actual wedding money to help pay.. =/ just toasters and stuff




i know for sure 5 k wouldnt even cover the cost of everything ...
for 50 people !_!

for 50 people at least a 10-15k wedding o_o

OMG $25,000? Seriously? I'm not trying to be rude or anything but I honestly never imagined so much money could go toward a single nonpolitical/celebrity event (and that that would be on the lower end of things, much less)

The thing is I would rather have no wedding than a cheap wedding as I'm kind of an all or nothing person. I would rather do what others have said -- city hall and a party with only the people who we'd really want to be there (and who'd really want to be there).

With asian weddings, you end up making a profit from it. So honestly, I don't really care how big its gonna be or how much that is gonna be spent on it. I just hope that I'll be comfortable with my own wedding instead of feeling awkward. I could care less if its a huge grand one or something small.

Oh man....
I have to save up like crazy for my future wedding.
I mean, this wedding happens only once (I hope) so its pretty common for girls wanting to go all out.
But really, I think the wedding cost as much as you put of it.
It doesn't HAVE to be expensive.

I hear ya. With the current divorce rate, people needs to save money for SEVERAL weddings.

wow I never thought of how expensive weddings can get.

I will NEVER spend that much on a single event even if my family offered to pay. Spending so much on flowers, food for everyone, and wedding favors ? It's suppose to be MY day wth? I'd rather spend that money on the honeymoon and actually enjoy myself : ).

i'm going to my cousin's this year and it'll cost around 50k.

Provided both parties work/are generally even in $$, I still hate to see the olden day thinking of the guy paying everything. Really it just doesn't make sense to me since with modern day thinking and equality, why should girls not pay a cent when a wedding is just as much for them as it is the groom. I mean if they don't work fair enough. Well I know with my gf she leans more towards the guy paying, lets just hope I can convince her to put in at least a somewhat share if we ever get married some yrs down the track...

and yeap definitely under $25k for me too.... under $15k would be great, tbh i'd just want good food, drinks and a place to party up with family and friends. Doesn't have to be too big but yeah, I agree that blowing a huge amount of money doesn't seem that great of a thing to do.

Very true.
Also, whoever is holding the money gets to choose the guest list and pretty much everything else. & like others have said, you do get money back from the guests so a lot of adults attended my wedding (I didn't know any of them from his family's side).
I wanted 80-90 people but it grew to 200.
I would estimate 10k from each set of parents and then money back, probably enough to cover the food.
We found a site where ceremony, reception, catering was all a package; got a hair & makeup artist to come to the place; dress was $900; rings weren't that much (simple bands and he didn't get gold); photography&video were a package (although now I would suggest spending a little more money on those because even if you have a simple wedding, amazing photos make it look amazing); flowers were cheaper because his mom knew the florist and she was very generous; we also did paebaek (traditional Korean ceremony) so we just had to buy hanbok and the florist provided the actual costumes and set-up. Oh and rice cakes along with the food they served. Cake was cheap and simple & smaller than for the amount of guests there.

Really, it was a single day & great, but personally, I kept thinking about the honeymoon

LOL.. wow, Im a bit used to weddings in general. I have a HUGE family. epitome of HUGE. thats about 600+ people right there. T_T;;

My cousin whos like a bro to me, his guests list was 1700.
Open bar, beautiful gorgeous dining hall that provided center pieces, bridal color choices, food..etc.. in packages.
wedding was at a gorgeous gothic cathedral. lol.

and I was entertainment during the meal. meh. weddings I guess are just second nature in our family. o_o; we're just too used to them.

For that wedding, i'd probably say that they managed to spend about... 20k ish on it actually. [love having deals]

Most of the money was prob on my cousin's side since he was the only son/last child and my uncle is loaded.

I do think i'd prefer a middle to large gathering since Im so used to it, but if moneys tight, I wouldnt mind a smaller one. Just have the ones I love there and i'll be content.

^ awwwwwwww i wish i could be there ^_____________^

off topic: but JJM you remind me of jessical biel in your avatar!!! <3

I know parents will offer nonetheless. IMO, the couple should pay for their own wedding. It's like a rite of passage. If you're young, haven't been working long, and can't afford an elaborate wedding, so be it. At the end, it's something you work for and devote to your partner. It's a sign of maturity/independence from the parents. It's also a sign you're willing/able to sacrifice for your mate. Have a bigger celebration/renew your vows later when you've more to spend.

There's simply too much of the "mine's gotta be bigger than theirs", "it's about face" mentality going on. Especially with the un-realistic shows on TV glamorizing celebrity/platinum weddings, and other parties like sweet 16...etc.

The meaning is often time lost in the commercial/artificial production and cost inflation, or worst, from conflicts with the inlaws/couple fighting for control simply because of money spent.

I've been to a couple of weddings while in Vietnam and boy are they troublesome. If I had a wedding it would be small since I hate most of my relatives anyway. I'd rather save the money for the honeymoon honestly.

All the answers in the poll didn't really fit me. l think even spending 10k (excluding the dress/tux and honeymoon) is too much but than again l have never fantasized of getting married while growing up nor do l now. lf l were to ever get married it would be relatively cheap and something small. Since l don't have any family in the States except my emidiet family my guest list would be very small mostly consisting of friends. l'd rather take the 25k we'd spend on our wedding and put it into our home (down payment for a house/refurnishing it/save it so we can travel later/invest it into something etc.)

Both parties should pay for it though (the wife and groom since l could never accept a large sum from mine or his parents... it just wouldn't feel right). They should decide on a percentage of their income that they can afford rather than doing it 50/50 because one might earn more thus can afford to pay a little more.

I've always wanted a big, beautiful wedding (maybe not HUGE... but like 100-150 people?), but I guess (seeing as how I'm not even engaged) I never really thought about the costs. Gosh. So expensive! My boyfriend now has very frugal parents too... if we even end up getting engaged one day, I can foresee many disagreements with his family and mine.... =(. I wonder how people work it out if one side wants a relatively fancy wedding and the other doesn't...

P.S. I'd love to see any pictures of these beautiful weddings people have had =]. I love looking at pictures of brides all gorgeous in their dresses! The romantic little girl in me, I suppose =]

P.P.S. I just realized how silly I am to even be thinking about marriage right now. Oh well. Again... the romantic little girl in me.. hahaha.

My wedding is in 3 months and planning it has not be the funnest ride! (nor the cheapest)

I'm from Montreal, Canada where there are alot of Italians who do big lavish Italian weddings here. Thus pretty much setting the standard on the wedding industry's costs throughout the whole city.

Originally I had budgeted for 35-40k max on the entire wedding for ~225 guests, however as the wedding day gets closer and closer, more and more people are getting added to the guestlist (by parents mainly) which is the main determining factor in the overall cost of a wedding (currently rising to 280-300 guests).

So here's the breakdown of my current situation (mind you, I tried to go cheap wherever I could):

Hall rental = 5000$

Caterer = 20,000$ - 25,000$ (depending on the # of guests)

Alcohol (open-bar) = 7000-8000$ (depending on the # of guests)

Wedding dress, veil, 4 bridesmaid dresses, Qipao, red shoes = 500$ (flew to China to have them custom made)

Invitations = 400$ (custom made in China also)

Favors + attendant gifts = 900$

Photographer = 1200$

Lighting / Decor / Projectors / Staging / etc.. = 2500$

Wedding officiant + ceremony music = 900$

DJ = 800$

Limo = 500$

Florist = 5000$

Cake = 400$

My wedding ring = 0$ (using my promise ring as wedding band)

Totalling ~ 45,000$ and that's not factoring every single cost (ex. hair/makeup, stamps, tux rentals, etc..)


*CRIES*

I read the average cost for a wedding in America is around $27,000, however, I don't think there's really a set price. It all depends on what you want and what you can afford.

A few close gfs got engaged this year so lucky for me, I have been dragged into looking at gowns, flowers, locations, bridesmaid gowns, cake designs.... It is overwhelming!

My parents are pretty liberal, they told me they're fine with however I want to do this and they'll pay for whatever I want. While I appreciate that, I am totally cool with paying for our wedding ourselves. I understand his family might want a more traditional celebration, ie ceremony, reception, etc, the works, something I certainly respect, and we'll communicate thoroughly before we make any plans.

I've always loved Greece, if I can have it my way, I'd love to get married in Santorini, by the water. A very small intimate wedding with immediate family members and close friends, 20, maybe 25 people max. When we return, we'll hold a dinner party for everyone else, nothing formal, just an evening with good food and good company. I'm happy getting married elsewhere as well, as long as it's a small intimate affair.

I don't really have a budget for my wedding. (within reasonable range of course.) It's going to be the happiest day of my life so I don't care to stress about it for months. I just want to put on a nice dress (doesn't even have to be a wedding gown)and marry the guy I want to spend the rest of my life with, in front of people we love.