[Oceans]

I am posting here because I don’t want to go out in the world and find a wedding forum – and because this forum gets lots of reads… hehehe

I am setting a preliminary budget for a formal evening wedding (about 7PM) with heavy Horderves and an open bar (wine, beer, liquor), and about 150 guests. Has anybody been married recently (like last 4 years) or know the costs of someone who did? We are trying to get a feel for what’s reasonable and there’s not a lot of general info I can find on the net… Plus, I’m a bit lazy and don’t want to start calling places when we aren't even sure of what city were going to choose. The wedding is a ways off but we have a short time to plan because of pending deployment. So, I hope it’s not in bad taste but…

What did the open bar cost per person?
How many drinks per person do you plan (avg. drinkers overall)?
What was the food cost per person?
How long ago was the wedding (and I’ll adjust for inflation – LOL)?

Thanks in advance!!

OH! and any cool ideas you've seen out there in wedding land recently? It's been ages since I've been to one....

[mommamarci]

My friend got married 2 years ago. They had a full meal and a completely open bar. It was probably 150 guests or more. I know she said her budget was $15k and they went over a couple thousand... They are in the Northern IN area. I am uncertain how much it was per person or what the breakdown was on the expenses.

Good luck! Weddings are getting crazy expensive these days. And you aren't kidding about inflation. My sisters and I all got married 4 years apart. Same exact reception and the cost went up at least a few thousand with each...

[paigeturner]

Oceans,

Congratulations if I haven’t told you already! My niece just got married last month and is now planning a reception. I also plan a lot of reception type functions as part of my job (ok I don’t do the planning, I just approve the budget, still…).

First, I would consider limiting the hosted bar to beer and wine depending on your venue. If guests want a mixed drink I’d have them pay for it because it can get spendy. A keg of beer will net 14 cases and will be cheaper than bottled beer – you can also request a pony keg which is about ½ as much. Consider your guest list when ordering wine. Each bottle will serve approximately 5 small glasses. A die-hard wine drinker will easily drink a full bottle. A fifth of liquor will serve approximately 25 drinks. Don’t forget champagne for toasting.

Heavy hor d'oeuvres will run from $25-$45 per person depending on if you have them out buffet style or hand passed and of course what you order. Believe it or not, hand passed is less expensive, but if you are serving a lot of alcohol you might want the heavier buffet style. You won’t want to purchase hor d’oeuvres for all 150 guests as all won’t come and not all will eat a full plate. I’d do something about 1/3 to ¼ less.

The wedding cake will be a cost as well and can go up to several hundred dollars. I believe my niece’s was about $450 and it was small.

I’ll ask my daughter the photographer about some of the weddings she’s seen lately and see if she has any great new ideas!

[Oceans]

Momma - I got married 15 years ago with a big 350 person wedding and it cost $10K - Now with less than 1/2 the guests I am looking a double the costs... Uggghhh.

Of couse I would prefer the $$ going to the send Oceans and hubby to be on the tropical vacation and Botswana all-in-one-year fund but no such luck. This is his first and I think he may have been dreaming about it since HE was a boy LOL..

Paige - Good info. I am hoping to find a historic B&B that will accomidate us, has about 10+ rooms to rent, and let us bring in our own booze & caterer's. My preference would just be wine, beer and champagne and I could probably get away with it had Scotch never been invented...

[blessedbybug]

Originally Posted by Oceans

I am posting here because I don’t want to go out in the world and find a wedding forum – and because this forum gets lots of reads… hehehe

I am setting a preliminary budget for a formal evening wedding (about 7PM) with heavy Horderves and an open bar (wine, beer, liquor), and about 150 guests. Has anybody been married recently (like last 4 years) or know the costs of someone who did? We are trying to get a feel for what’s reasonable and there’s not a lot of general info I can find on the net… Plus, I’m a bit lazy and don’t want to start calling places when we aren't even sure of what city were going to choose. The wedding is a ways off but we have a short time to plan because of pending deployment. So, I hope it’s not in bad taste but…

What did the open bar cost per person?
How many drinks per person do you plan (avg. drinkers overall)?
What was the food cost per person?
How long ago was the wedding (and I’ll adjust for inflation – LOL)?

Thanks in advance!!

OH! and any cool ideas you've seen out there in wedding land recently? It's been ages since I've been to one....

I am so not going to be helpful with the costs of things, esp the alcohol. it was 10 years ago and in the Midwest. We had hors d'ouerves (??SP) at I think $9 a person (a friend was a chef so that was a big discount... I think it might have been 15-18 regularly for what we ordered??) and a cappucino bar for $200 per hour. But that was a long time ago for a very non-fussy crowd.

As for cool things recently, we just went to a wedding where the couple spent alot of time outdoors and they used pictures they took of some of their favorite places (mostly mountains and beaches) as centerpieces set in sand, rocks and shells from their favorite place on Vancouver Island. It was very personal and I am sure inexpensive compared to other centerpieces of flowers on the tables. And the bride was going to frame them all for a wall in their family room.

Another idea that I liked was that instead of a regular guest book, they had a photographer at the end of the receiving line to take group pictures (whether it was a family or a group of friends or whatever) and then they all signed their names in a spot in a scrapbook that would be under where the picture would go. I wish we would have thought of something like that.

Another idea was instead of an open bar, they "designed" 4-5 drinks that were made for the guests. There was a variety (and I think they all had some personal meaning too) and it seemed all the guests liked them. I had the non-alcoholic drink and it was luscious. And so nice for them to think of us non-drinkers. Usually I end up drinking ginger ale or sprite/OJ.

The trend here is to have a picture montage on power point that shows the couple's life together so far.


I love weddings and I'm so excited for you!!!!

[Oceans]

Tammy: I LOVE the group picture idea! and the designer drinks is a good one as well...

[paigeturner]

Finding a venue where you can bring your own beverages and bartender will really cut down on the costs! The markup on booze is outrageous!

Check with some local wineries and/or wine stores; sometimes they'll give a greater than 10% discount by the case for special occasions. Also, don't be afraid to hit the stores on the indian reservations...huge savings!

Love the idea of the group pictures!

[Free_to_be_me]

I'm getting married in less than three weeks...I don't really know costs of most things because my brother is brewing our beer and making our wine for us. We have also found a venue that allows us to bring our own alcohol and have just picked up a bottle each week at the grocery store since we got engaged...

As far as the guest book is concerned, we are doing something similar, but we are using poloroid pictures, which are taped/fastened into the book right then and there so there is no chance of procrastination. It could be possible to use a digital camera and a picture printer, too. Also, that way there is no mixing up pictures and putting them with the wrong notes...

Good luck and have fun.

[DPline]

No help with the cost as I got married 16.5 years ago, but my brother got married a couple weeks ago (which cost me almost as much as MY wedding!) and instead of a guest book their engagment picture framed with a huge mat and had everyone sign the mat instead of a book.

Happy planning!!

[loveajax]

oceans, I am thrilled for you....dh and I paid for our own wedding and got married at the house of seven gables...really lovely and we had about the same number of guests...all and all the wedding was about 25k...this was 10 yrs ago and we live in boston which is super expensive...we had an open bar but limited it to beer and wine...we brought in beer and wine and it saved us a bundle!!!did I mention I am thrilled! i'll come out and be your wedding planner...hahaha

[JLW99]

We got married almost 7 yrs ago, had 120 guests, but not an open bar. Everything was included except the invitations and photographer, and the church, and it was $5200.00. We were paying for our own wedding too, I think it was $50.00/plate, and was a sit down dinner, cake, limousines, flowers, etc. The photographer was another $1500.00.
(Loveajax, this was in the Boston area, too---a little north of the city. But oh! The House of Seven Gables must have been such a cool place for a wedding!!! I never knew they did that! ) Call around, there is a huge variety in pricing! Look for inclusive packages, too. If anyone's getting married in the area, PM me b/c I really recommend this place.

[Oceans]

LA: I would love someone to plan for me!!! We are paying for it ourselves too (my M&D already helped pay for the first and since we are in our 40's... I would prefer our parents keep their retirement in tact...).

I keep thinking what a fab vacation this would be OR retire a year early (at these prices) LOL.

$25K - 10 years ago.... Nice wedding my friend!!

[Oceans]

JLW: WOW - that is a good deal. I'm on the other Coast and couldn't even touch a sit down dinner here for $50.

[ourdreamcametru]

Well, it's been 20 years since our wedding so I am going to be of NO help on pricing! We had an open bar at our wedding but limited it to only the first 1 1/2 hours of the reception that way the cost didn't get out of hand nor did the drinking......Congrats!

[BrandyHagz]

No help here either...

Mine was under $500 - we kinda did a spur of the moment thing...no planning really. The most expensive piece was the tab we ran at the bar at Chili's afterwards.

Loved our 'wedding' tho - beach, officiant, couple of witnesses and rings.