My daughter (the one in the ‘gifted kids and love relationships’ thread) got engaged on Christmas eve. They want to marry in July or August in mid-coast Maine (where we all live) because they are moving back to Boston so she can start grad school in September. They want a brunch wedding reception (both hate dancing and late nights). Brunch is cheaper, right? Maybe 120 people. What’s a reasonable budget for this thing? There goes my Viking river cruise!!
Sit-down or buffet? Maybe budget $70-$100 pp for the venue. Then the ancillary items (flowers, music, dress, invitations).
Buffet, I think. Mimosas, Bloody Marys, and champagne to toast. They don’t have a venue yet, but that figure helps, thanks!
Just make sure you get in writing EXACTLY what’s included.
We started off looking at the brunch option. TBH, the costs were about the same regardless of which meal was served. We ended up going with a sit down dinner reception with open bar and it’s within dollars of the same cost as a brunch would have been with just mimosas, bloodies, and champagne.
Of course…YMMV.
Are you talking about July/August 2018? If so…yikes. Your choices will likely be more limited as many wedding venues or places that can accommodate a wedding group might not be available six months out.
But I agree I think you are looking at $100 per person give or take. Keep in mind most venues add the taxes and an 18% to 20% gratuity onto your per person cost.
The reception is not the bulk of cost, it is all the extras - dresses, flowers, cake, music, photographer(s), invitations, transportation, hotel, rehearsal dinner…Others may want to chime in, but for D1’s wedding the actual reception is about 1/3 of the total cost. You can cut down cost on those extras, but you would still have to pay for them.
I am not sure if 100/person includes alcohol.
There goes your Viking river cruise times 3. 
I already told D1 that I want to go on a river cruise for my 60th birthday - and I expect her and sister to pay for the trip. It is pay back.
I told my DD that i expect a wing on her house for me…in my old age!
Oh my, so maybe a beach bonfire with roasted marshmallows instead of wedding cake? 
Oh my, so maybe a beach bonfire with roasted marshmallows instead of wedding cake?
Start looking at venues ASAP. You might find something…but I would say for 120 people…you should have about $20,000 in your head…and if you can come in lower than that…kudos. As @oldfort suggested…you can cut down on the extras and try to allocate your funds just towards the reception itself.
Remember…you will need a dress…and shoes…so don’t forget that in the budget!
Yeah, 20-25K was what we were thinking. I told her to set a date ASAP or she’d be having the reception in our backyard.
She will be setting her date based in the availability of the venues.
You’re really, really pushing it if they want to marry in 6 months.
You can do things for cheap or expensive. My dress cost like $200. I didn’t wear shoes for the ceremony but the ones I wore for the reception cost like $20. What cost the most money was food and alcohol. I did ~100 people in a tourist town in MI in June and was able to keep it around 10k. I would’ve cut down considerably if I hadn’t insisted on things like local beer and wine- but these are the choices I made.
Yup, venue first. D1 is engaged, and her best friend gave her a book called A Practical Wedding as an engagement present. D has found it invaluable. The internet makes it all overwhelming these days. The book has helped her keep her priorities and tasks straight.
Yikes! I am hoping my daughter will want a micro-wedding when the time comes!
Hahaha! As if…
We chose our wedding date based on the availability of the venue that my dad preferred. H and I didn’t have any strong preference and my older sister had that same venue as well as the same church we used (the church our family had attended for decades).
My D’s micro-wedding of 60 people is going to cost around $15,000. And we are doing things as budget-wise as possible. Things just keep adding up. The dress was $450 but with the undergarments, the veil and the alterations the total was $900! I had no idea alterations would cost so much.
Other expenses: DJ $1200. Caterer - $4,500. Bar - $1,000. Wedding day of coordinator - $800. Venue - $2,000 (historic home in a city park). Cake - $300. Photographer - $1800. Party rentals ?? Flowers ??
We did save on invitations. Going to the expensive paper stores the invitation were going to be $700. Got some okay ones online for 150. Yeah, saving money. ha.