What is the average cost for a reasonable wedding?

I have a 10,000 budget but I am not sure if this is enough for about 150 guests, photographer, DJ, the hall, the church, etc.

I live in the Midwest and we had a beautiful wedding. We paid for everything ourselves and I spent roughly 6,000. That was for EVERYTHING. It was not the most glamourous wedding, but it got the job done and we had a wonderful time! We had beautiful decorations, dresses, gifts, hall, church, DJ, photographer...everything I could ask for.

Ten thousand is more than enough. The key is to watch your budget and give yourself more than enough time to search and find the best deal for your money.
When you meet with vendors ask them do they have budget bride package or can they put one together for you. Most wedding vendors have budget packages but they will not tell you unless you ask. They are trying to make the most money that they can too.
Another big way to keep your cost down is to limit your bridesmaids to 3 or 4 the bigger your bridal party the larger your expense. remember 4 b-maids equals 10 adults plus the flwr-girl that flowers have to be bought for in addition to the flowers for the parents.

Just remember budget, ask questions , and learn to say no.

The Wedding Report says that the national average cost of a wedding in 2007 was about 28,000. That number will vary depending on size of the wedding and geographic location (big cities in the northeast tend to be more expensive than rural locations in the south and midwest). That said, it may be difficult to keep your budget below 10,000 - but that doesn't mean that it's not doable.

I found this wedding budget checklist that will help you determine how much money to allocate towards each wedding detail:
http://www.elegala.com/pdf/planning_work...

I also found this list of tips to cut wedding costs:
http://www.elegala.com/go/ideas_advice/f...


Hopefully these will help!

I did my wedding for $2000 with about 200 guests without really cutting any corners. I had a beautiful dress, brand new. I had a really cool wedding cake from an expensive local bakery. I had a photographer, live band, reception hall, and chapel, etc. I simply used many of the talents of my friends and family, including my own creative abilities. We made lots of the items, and used people we knew to complete many of the tasks (like the music, the preacher, and the decorations). I had the wedding at my Christian college which I could do for free because I was a student there. And so much more. If I could do all of this for 1/5th of the price of your budget along and more guests, I'm sure you can pull it off, splurging even more than I did. If you have any questions or want more details, email me.

Good luck and congrats on your upcoming wedding.

I've pulled off a wedding for 100 guests for less than $3,000 (we splurged on a few things - like flying out a family member who wouldn't otherwise make it - in the end). The biggest thing is to get some of your guests to volunteer to do things. Photographers can be expensive - maybe you can find a guest or they know someone who can take the pictures for less (I know two professional photographers myself - surely with that many people, somebody is or knows a professional!). I also know someone who makes movies (I recently starred in one) - so that person is my videographer.

Some women from church are donating flowers because they have huge gardens, so that's free. But in the past I have been able to get flowers donated from the store - just mention that they donated them and it's free.

You don't really need a DJ. Hook up an IPod to some speakers or a stereo - you can create your own playlist. Have a friend be in charge of it if you need someone to make annoucements.

The church and hall can be expensive. Our church only charges $180. I've seen some that charge $800 (or more!), which is just silly, in my opinion. I don't personally use halls - we almost always have receptions at the church grounds or at someone's home, so no need to rent anything else. A local park is nice, too.

Food will probably be your biggest issue as far as cost goes. Go for a simple menu without a lot of hor d'eouvres. Cut other corners where you can.

And don't waste money on extra things that are unneccessary - favors (that aren't edible), paying for transportation or hotel for your guests, etc.

A lot of people will be glad to help out if that is their wedding gift to you. If they don't have to spend $100 buying you a gift, but can give you their service instead, they are often very happy to do so. In the end, it can save you thousands of dollars. And you don't get 5 food processors.

:)

well if you work out that 150 guests could cost you atleast $80 a head....that's $12,000 or $15,000 if it's $100 a head. that's just on the reception...a venue can easily cost $1000, photographer could cost $1000 or more, not sure about the church. 150 guests is alot for $10,000. You'd probably need to have more like $20,000.

Well if you are a DIY girl, you can surely make a good wedding with that much!!! Watch "Whose Wedding is it Anyways." They do really cheap weddings all the time, and then again they do $100, 000 weddings to that you can get ideas from to do yourself.

It's enough. My best friend(recently divorced) had the same budget but she actually was way under. Shop for the best price, and if your lucky, and know people in the business and owe you favors, use them!

$10,000 should be plenty to have a nice wedding. Just cut costs on the small stuff like favors that no one will notice and choose an inexpensive place to be married like a local park.

Good luck!