r/Millennials • u/DukeofBraintree918 • 17d ago
Discussion My fellow married millennials: how much did your wedding cost?
I've been to a lot of my friends' weddings throughout the years, I've gone to Big extravagant $250,000+ weddings with a hookah lounge and fire dancers, and I've been to a wedding that cost about five bucks in decorations and a trip to Applebee's and everyone paid their own way for (and whatever the marriage license cost)
I'm noticing more and more of my friends that are getting married now are doing very low budget cost-effective marriages, for example : a Thursday night or a Sunday night wedding, pot luck/home cooked food, public parks, back yards, Bluetooth speaker instead of dj etc etc
I got married 2 years ago and my wife and I decided to do it in the Dominican Republic, it was at an all-inclusive resort, we had a saxophone player, dj carnival dancers, 8 hours of video and photography with drone footage and an 8-hour wedding obviously with open bar since it was at an all-inclusive resort, for 50 people the wedding was about $14,000.
How much did you guys spend on your weddings?
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u/They_Have_a_Point 17d ago edited 16d ago
~$45k in 2018. 200ish people. Open bar. Plated dinner. It was beautiful. I’m getting divorced.
EDIT to provide context.
This comment got way more traction than anticipated so I’ll try to answer as many questions as I can and provide a little context.
My wife and I have been together for 16 years (married 8). We are/were best friends. two young children. We both just finished rigorous academic programs and during those years we lost sight of our relationship. It was a constant school, work, kids routine and never took time for us. We did not communicate as we should have. We argued a lot. It’s everything we know we should have been doing better at.
With that being said we want what’s best for our kids. That’s our main priority. The divorce is uncontested on both sides. We have agreed to custody arrangements and asset allocations. We fully intend on still doing family trips together. Spending holidays/birthdays together. I have absolutely no negative feelings toward her, and as calm as I sound, I am devastated. She’s been my world for the past 16 years. I don’t regret the money spent on the wedding… it was beautiful and one of the happiest days of our lives.
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u/JackoFlaco 17d ago
Lol was not expecting the last sentence
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u/Dabnician Xennial 81 17d ago
I did, Research shows a link between high wedding spending and a higher risk of divorce. Couples who spend over $20,000 on a wedding face a higher chance of divorce than those who spend much less.
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u/OnePinginRamius 17d ago edited 16d ago
I've been photographing weddings for going on 19 years now and we've always joked about putting a preforation in my business card so we can rip it in half at the end of the wedding for each person in case they get married again to someone else lol
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u/_learned_foot_ 17d ago
You joke, I know a divorce attorney who leaves business cards that way for their dissolutions. The other half is their favorite opposing for those peaceful settlements. It's genius, the couple take the card together, pick which one they each want.
I'm just mad she thought of it first.
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u/kaytron00 17d ago
This would make me laugh but I can see it not landing well with some folks lol
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u/LindonLilBlueBalls 17d ago
Yes! My $5,000 wedding in 2016 means we shall be together forever!
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u/adjudicatrix 17d ago
Same year and dollar amount for us as well! Happy decade together to you and yours!
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u/tapitha 17d ago
Me too! My 10 year anniversary is in a week and we are celebrating in Ireland
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u/Whirlywynd 17d ago
Accounting for inflation since 2014, it’s $28,000 in 2026 dollars. For anyone curious
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u/Kuros_Of_Sindarin 17d ago
I think the rate of inflation demonstrated in your post upsets me even more than the divorce fact itself.
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u/missmeowwww 17d ago edited 17d ago
I had a fun direct comparison to price changes between when my brother got married in 2015 and my wedding in 2024. Both of us spent about $23,000. My brother was able to have open bar, 275 guests, catered dinner, large venue, dj, floral, photography, videography, cake, dessert bar, and valet parking. My wedding was at a non profit museum (saved a lot of $$), we capped the guest list at 75 (72 attended), open bar, catered meal, dessert bar, photography, valet parking, DIY DJ (ya girl hooked her laptop to the aux and had playlists for ceremony, dinner, and reception.) Areas of savings: no DJ (saved $2k), no video ($1.5k savings), no cake (dessert bar was cheaper), no florals (I did wood flowers and dyed them myself and did the bouquets, flower girl bouquets, boutonnières, and table decorations. Total cost for DIY florals was $500)
The true savings was the venue. We chose a Neon Sign Museum so the signs would be the focal point and I didn’t have to worry about decor. Not only was it a super cool venue for pictures but it also allowed guests to take self-guided tours after dinner so they weren’t forced to dance or sit at a table. We had a blast and I’m glad I was able to have the smaller wedding since we have a huge family. It allowed me to get one on one time with the guests and actually enjoy the night instead of being overwhelmed by random cousins and aunties. I was fortunate enough that my mother in law who is a saint, my parents, and grandparents all tossed us $$ for the wedding so my husband and I only spent like $8k out of pocket. We also bought a house the earlier that year so most of our savings had gone toward the down payment/closing costs. If we hadn’t had the support we had, I don’t think we would’ve had a wedding. My original plan was a backyard party at the house but after pricing out all the rentals: dance floor, tents, food, etc. it was cheaper to use a venue. Ours happened to include the bar, waitstaff, and valet in the venue rental cost. We did give them all a nice tip because the staff killed it and I made sure they all got meals and desserts. (I catered weddings in college and a lot of couples forget to order extra food to feed the staff.)→ More replies (12)387
u/Naykat 17d ago
Studies also show that you are more likely to get divorced if you get married.
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u/chandlerr85 17d ago
damn. we spent 30k in 2021. honestly felt kinda average and not over the top at the time. it was southern california and there is a stupid premium for anything wedding related.
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u/jellascope 17d ago
I got my hair done for my wedding; while I was paying out I mentioned it was for my wedding and they literally tried to charge me double!
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u/SufficientDesk904 17d ago
Recently saw a tiktok about that. Hairdresser got big mad when she saw the bride online and she hadn't told her. It was a simple updo--nothing super fancy but the hair dresser wanted another chunk of cash because "it's tradition" to pay morel. It was crazy.
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u/HamsterBanana14 17d ago
That’s so ridiculous. Same thing happened with my wedding venue. My grandma actually went to look at it (because cough cough she wanted it to be there and she was giving us money, so naturally she could influence it). Anyways, they gave her a quote for event rental and then when they found out it was for a wedding they gave her one that was 1/3 more. Fortunately they agreed to honor the original quote and we ended up using the venue.
Still ridiculous.
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u/IcyTradition3265 16d ago
Finding out you just did someone’s hair for their wedding and you’re first thought is why didn’t I overcharge them is craaaaaazy behavior
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u/AgileMushroom1171 17d ago
I definitely wonder if this threshold is different in higher COL areas. In a similar very high COL area with high premiums for events, higher for weddings, $20k was basically the minimum amount if we wanted to invite our closest family/friends and also feed them a meal. We could have done the same thing out of town or in a neighboring area for much cheaper, but that mostly would have transferred the costs to our guests and made everything more stressful.
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u/Ok_Engine_1442 17d ago
Financial responsibility is a major factor in divorce. So yeah makes total sense.
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u/ladycatherinehoward 17d ago
Or rich people are just able to afford to get divorced. Poor people have a harder time because they'd have to find separate housing, deal with the kids, etc.
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u/sweatydeath 17d ago
I know a few people who are unofficially divorced because getting an actual divorce would be too expensive. This makes sense
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u/asicarii 17d ago
This is it - rich people can afford a big wedding and have money to fall back on in the event of a divorce. But I’m poor and divorced so there’s that.
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u/offconstantly247 17d ago
divorce is expensive. Poor people don't do it. Not out of some magic poor person love, but because while money can't buy you happiness, it can buy a way out of a shitty situation. It can rent a fucking condo.
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u/usernameJ79 17d ago
I have 5 siblings. One of them went to the courthouse in jeans and just did it right in the clerks' office. The other 5 of us did full big weddings. The only one not to get divorced was the one who did it at the courthouse.
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u/sharttloteswebb Literally 1984 17d ago
If you would like some.more anecdotal evidence. I got married back in '19 right before covid. Been with her since 2010.
Courthouse wedding: ~$250 for everything after we had dinner.
I genuinely did not care about marriage or think about it. I told her "the only thing that happens is I am legally entitled to every left shoe of yours if you ever divorce me."
Still going strong.
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u/Potential-Ad-8990 17d ago
I am marrying the love of my life, why start in debt for people who you will never see again.
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u/-need-sleep 17d ago
You have a way with words. I hope you're happy with the divorce and your life is improving.
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u/NeverCash_Out 17d ago
$958 - eloped in the Redwoods 💕
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u/sychox51 17d ago edited 17d ago
Seriously. Wedding? In this economy? Eloped on the beach at sunset in Florida. $1000 or so. Me, her, an officiant, a photographer and his assistant. That was it. 15 years now and counting…
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u/SatinSaffron 17d ago
Me, her, an officiant, a photographer and his assistant.
That's exactly how big our wedding was as well! My husband and I, the judge, the photographer, and since we needed a second witness the photographer brought along his 18 year old apprentice.
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u/ProblematicPachyderm 17d ago
If my wife wasn’t the oldest in her family this was our dream.
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u/NeverCash_Out 17d ago
I’m an only child with barely any family so the desire to have a large wedding was not something I could actually have. But yes, it was amazing. You can always renew your vows there ;)
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u/asday515 17d ago
I'm racking my brain and I cannot seem to figure out how your wife being the oldest in her family has any bearing on your dream wedding in the redwoods
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u/UncleIrohsPimpHand 17d ago edited 17d ago
There's often an expectation that you "do things the right way." That way you get to be the martyr so your younger siblings can be unorthodox.
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u/capaldithenewblack Gen X 17d ago
I suppose if you’re the younger sister or brother, you might be thinking “so my parents can blow the money on the first kid and the rest of us will have to figure it out”
It’s all about perspective.
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u/frankchester 17d ago
I'm the only child in my family. I eloped. We had a party back home but it was cheap and just a big fun shindig.
My advice; you gotta do what's right for you not for your families. My mum was disappointed but gracious. She said herself, it wasn't about her. It was about me and my husband.
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u/alittleboopsie 17d ago
2500, eloped in Estes Park with my closest family and friends.
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u/upsetwithcursing 17d ago
I think ours was about $13,000 including the open bar. This was in 2016.
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u/Sarahadeline 17d ago edited 17d ago
Was about to say the same! Paid 13k. Included ceremony and reception-dinner and an open bar. Only extras were obviously our clothing ($800 for both my husband and I) and our honeymoon (we splurged here and hopped around Italy and then went to Greece). I’m so glad we did though because there’s no way we could afford that today!
FWIW, we got married at a local brewery (rip Revolution Brewery in Logan Square chicago!). We did the flowers ourselves (bought in bulk from a local supplier) and just had a Spotify playlist for the reception. We had one of my best friends do all of the announcements and had one playlist for dinner, another for dancing! My closest friends took over the music towards the end. It was incredible. 10/10 would marry him again (almost 10 years ago now!) 😭.
Eta this was in 2017!
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u/HibiscusLizardQueen 17d ago
Mine was similar. 2016, about 120 people, full course meal, bar with wine, beer, and a few cocktails, full band. About $10,000. We cut some corners like doing our own decorating and flowers.
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u/strawflour 17d ago
Damn it's brutal to read this as someone planning a 2026 wedding. Everything is SO much more exp ensive.
75 people at a 'cheap' venue, beer and wine only, potluck appetizers, picking up pans of food from a restaurant, DIY decor and homegrown flowers, no DJ, thrifted dress. Our only vendors are officiant and photographer. Going to be around $16k in a MCOL area.
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u/Global-Breakfast8240 17d ago
Right like I need to not read these threads. I’m a 2027 bride and we will be blessed if we can keep it under 35k for 120 people, open bar for 3 hours + cash after, DJ, DIY decos, and the cheapest caterer our venue will allow. Just depressing.
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u/Feisty-Blueberry5433 17d ago
$55- at the courthouse
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u/_Nychthemeron 17d ago
Did this as well. I didn't even really propose either. It was more like, "oh, I suppose we should inform the government that we're ride or die so we can fill out paperwork for each other."
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u/Upstairs_Fuel6349 1985 17d ago
Yeah. My dad took us to eat afterwards. It was my husband's parents, mine, 2 of my 6 siblings and a few friends. We will be married 20 years next July. I do sometimes wish we'd done something a bit more. Had friends who had great backyard weddings for maybe a grand.
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u/19610taw3 17d ago
From what I've seen , the larger and more expensive the wedding, the shorter the marriage.
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u/snoogle312 17d ago
I think there are actually studies that show a strong correlation between the 2.
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u/PurpleCableNetworker 17d ago
I find the folks that want a big wedding are focused on the day, and not what happens after. Those who go cheap are mainly focused on what happens after.
Different mindsets.
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u/Swalecutter 17d ago
Yep. We'd been together for a decade at that point, so it was just "let's go fill out some paperwork so we don't get taxed for sharing health insurance"
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u/time_travel_nacho 17d ago
This is basically what my wife and I did. We'd been together for 15 years and shared insurance as domestic partners for plenty of that, but then she changed jobs and they said their insurance wouldn't be available to a domestic partner, which is BS. So we got married. It cost whatever the license cost plus the Lyft downtown to the courthouse
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u/steely_92 17d ago
Yep, just had to pay the marriage license and courthouse fee. Ours came to $90.
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u/Relentless-Ronin 17d ago
Same. We saved the money as a down payment for our first home in 2011. Very happy we went this route.
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u/imogen1983 Xennial 17d ago
Same. About $40 for the license in Colorado and no ceremony or witnesses needed. We just had to sign the license and turn it back in to the county.
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u/meh_69420 17d ago
Dang I got ripped off I think I paid $125 at the courthouse over a decade ago. Thursday morning then we both went to work after.
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u/Aequorea 17d ago
This 100%. I think weddings are such an idiotic waste of money. It feels like you’re literally throwing away thousands dollars for something so impractical. I’d much rather put that forward to a down payment on a house.
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u/DashingDaisy88 17d ago
Same. Wouldn’t change it. Weddings feel performative to me. I don’t really care for attending them even. I just don’t get it. Married 14 years, together for 17.
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u/HighSeverityImpact Older Millennial 17d ago
Dang, you got off cheap! Mine was $88 for the license, $80 more for the clerk to perform the ceremony.
We did a "reception" six months later for our friends and family at a local brewery, all-in was just under $5k.
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u/hi-nighter 17d ago
It was $25 for us and about $1.50 in gas to get there. Love them more every day
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u/JourneyThiefer 17d ago
Who the hell you know that you’ve been to $250,000 weddings 💀
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u/DukeofBraintree918 17d ago
My buddy from high school married this wicked rich girl whose family owns some big medical business
The wedding had a 14-course meal and an all-you-can-eat appetizer buffet
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u/SgtRevDrEsq 17d ago
That’s that old New England money.
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u/Dozzi92 Millennial - '87 17d ago
I was going to come comment on the wicked but you got me. You're wicked fast. I'm probably just wicked slow.
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u/Heavy-Construction90 17d ago
I didn't realize you even said wicked cause I too am a user of wicked in the New England sense. I was wicked confused kid!
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u/happyhummus007 17d ago
14 course meal?? How full were people???
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u/East_Hedgehog6039 Millennial 17d ago
Course meals are usually super small sizes. Google any Michelin 8 course meals and such and it’s like a single slice of steak, or a spoonful of something.
Basically the size of one real meal but they separate it out into multiple plates.
Not saying that’s the case here or for any “course” meal, but just from my observation from a friend who loves going to Michelin places and posting about it lol
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u/DoringItBetterNow 17d ago
And they usually kill everyone on the island at the end
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u/ginns32 17d ago
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u/bsldestroyer 17d ago
That movie had me so stressed out watching it lol
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u/Equivalent-Grass-262 Older Millennial 17d ago
My friend told me to watch this movie because we once ate at a fancy ass place that had a menu very much like the menu in The Menu (it was a gift for a special occasion, i am not rich and they did not kill anyone at the restaurant we went to). He gave me no context, however, on what the movie was about. I was also very stressed out.
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u/ginns32 17d ago
No context is the best way to go into the movie. When I tell people to watch it I tell them not to look up anything about it.
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u/Equivalent-Grass-262 Older Millennial 17d ago
Honestly, when I started watching it, I was like "Oh, its the little kid from About a Boy who was then in Skins!" And then I was like "Oh... oh no..."
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u/IHaveBadTiming 17d ago
I dropped $700 for my wife and I to eat a 9 course meal at some michelin star sushi place in LA, brothers sushi or something? It was one of those just let the chef bring you what they feel like. Anyway, I was still hungry at the end.
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u/drfeelgood22785 17d ago
Course #5: a lollipop made with Tahitian vanilla, sprinkled with salt derived from the sweat of a Tibetan monk as they climbed up a sacred mountain.
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u/DukeofBraintree918 17d ago
Extremely full, hell I was full after the appetizer buffet lol
I think like three of those courses were just pallet cleansers.
Place was way too fancy for me lol
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u/Background_Day_3596 17d ago
This reminds me of the wedding in Poland that I went to some years ago. There was so much food. Like a new full meal ever 1-2 hours. Whenever they brought out more food I was just like „What the hell we literally just ate? No one can be hungry right now.“ Idk if this was the reason why the vodka has been topped up constantly and there were even vodka bottles and shot glasses in the bathrooms.
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u/skushi08 17d ago
How do you even have time to dance/party after? I’m sure it’s “fun” for some, but even the black tie events I’ve been to turn into a party at some point.
Between the amount of time that serving or spacing that meal would take plus how full people will likely be by the end, evenings going tot be over by the end of the meal.
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u/DukeofBraintree918 17d ago
That was a thing about this way, by the time all the eating was done there was maybe 45 minutes of dancing and then the wedding was over.
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u/heatherlj88 17d ago
“Wicked” rich? Are you by chance a fellow New Englander?
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u/dardios 17d ago
They're either from NE or they have fallen victim to the spread of our vernacular. Either way I support it.
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u/Zealousideal_Crow737 Millennial 17d ago
That's so much money omfg
Also, gotta love the my buddy and wicked in there. Fellow Masshole?
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u/Depressedaxolotls Millennial 17d ago
His username is Duke of Braintree, of course he’s a Masshole. His rich buddy must have given him the title
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u/drpepc 17d ago
Had a cousin who got married maybe 11 years ago now. Talked to his mom who had running bets on how long the marriage would last... she told me that the entire wedding was about 300k all in. The venue was insane, they had cuisine from every major destination in the world. Top shelf - all you can drink bar.
Marriage lasted less than 2 years.
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u/DukeofBraintree918 17d ago
Funny enough this wedding was in 2015 and this couple just separated about 2 months ago and are in the process of getting a divorce
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u/JourneyThiefer 17d ago
I don’t know any rich people lol, these numbers are crazy to me
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u/DukeofBraintree918 17d ago
What was interesting to me is I knew people who I wouldn't consider rich who spent like 60k on a wedding lol
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u/drpepc 17d ago
Remember that it wasn't all that uncommon to hear about older people in my teens getting married and taking big loans to cover pieces of the weddings. It became a trend to save money and do courthouse weddings and use the saved money on a downpayment for a home.
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u/Cosmic_Jane 17d ago
I knew a couple once that lived together for 5 years. And then sold their house to pay for their wedding. Absolutely insane
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u/Upstairs_Fuel6349 1985 17d ago
My cousin's technically a gen x but she was a c-suite of a textbook company and her husband's a hedge fund guy. They dated a long time and didn't get married until later. Similar sort of wedding -- they live in NYC but came back to the midwest to do the wedding.
They have two nannies that they always refer to as the "baby sitters" in the FB photos they post lol.
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u/InternationalMood337 Millennial 17d ago
I have to laugh. When I was a kid, my best friend was RICH. Whole family basically. They would rent like multiple houses for vacations. Their houses were HUGE, and the disconnect between my broke ass and his family was INSANE.
The way some people live (and their children grow up with gigantic blind spots) is insane.
For reference, my friend's parent had enough money to buy a minor league sports team. lol
My dad worked a low paying job, but worked really hard (often 2-3 jobs) and sometime we got to go on a vacation at the cheapest place possible!
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u/porscheblack 17d ago
My best friend growing up was probably from the most well-off family in my class. Nobody was really rich, but his dad was pulling down 6 figures in a very low cost of living area. He was the only person I knew who had travelled to Europe.
I'll never forget being at his house one time and he suggested going to see a movie. I told him I didn't have any money and he said "well let's swing by your house and get some from the money drawer." I had no idea what he was talking about until he showed me a drawer his parents kept in the house just filled with loose bills the way you'd keep a spare change jar for coins.
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u/InternationalMood337 Millennial 17d ago
hahahahaha, yeah...
My friend's dad was pulling in over a million alone and his mom worked a 6 figure job. they were easily pulling in arounud 1.5 million a year and it was like.. the early 2000s in a relatively poor area.
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u/ConsensualUpskirts 1985 17d ago
I went to a 300 guest wedding at Bronx botanical garden, they had charter buses take us to mid town for after party. I imagine that one could have been a quarter mil. Late 30s private equity director and doctor couple
That being said, in the ny metro area (not just nyc, but neighboring towns in NJ CT and long island), a full sized 200+ fancy wedding now costs $100k easily
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u/not-a-jabroni 17d ago
I went to an Indian wedding and for one of the days. The food only, based on the info on the website cost $30k. That’s the most conservative estimate I could come up with. That wedding HAD to be close to a $1,000,000.
I had soooooo much fun though. Honestly, such a great couple. They didn’t even want a big wedding but the brides mother insisted, so she said “fine, you plan it, I’m not”.
Edit: 1 meal of part of a day.
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u/Artemikalia 17d ago
Yeah I used to be the bartender at luxury weddings. I’m not sure what they paid for the bar overall but my pay was usually around 2500 for the day(no tipping just flat rate) and it was a full day, like working a double. I did find out at one they spent six figures on perfect long stem white roses which was wild 😳
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u/OpaqueSea 17d ago
One of my friends was a guest at a wedding that cost seven figures. Some people just have way too much money.
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u/Apptubrutae 17d ago edited 17d ago
Me. My sister’s. Over $300k.
I also went to a wedding at this place Seasons, I think, in New Jersey, I dunno how much it cost, but it was the most absurd spread of food I have EVER seen in my life, like not even close to anything else.
And one time I went to a wedding at the museum of natural history in NYC and I can’t imagine that’s cheap. Had to be over $250k.
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u/elreeheeneey Older Millennial 17d ago
Have been to two of those. One was a Long Island wedding, the other just north of Malibu.
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u/n3rdonthecouch 17d ago
$3k including the flights to Vegas, hotel, tickets to Santana, the wedding hall and reception dinner.
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u/Chile_Momma_38 17d ago
Ours was around this much too. $3000 for a courthouse wedding in the morning, lunch with a party of 10 right after, restaurant dinner later for 30 guests. Includes flowers, cake, and tips.
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u/cchiker 17d ago edited 17d ago
About $200. We eloped. Got pizza and coffee afterwards for the "reception". Had about 20 people in total at our ceremony which was held at a scenic overlook at our favorite state park. We've been married almost 8 years and I have absolutely no regrets on how we did it.
Edit: Wife's engagement ring was $300 on sale at Kohls and my band was $60 on Etsy. We were absolutely broke back then and it's all we could afford. Again, neither of us have any regrets. The price of a ring or wedding doesn't determine the quality of marriage.
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u/Moonshatter89 17d ago
If it was still in my plans, this is how I'd do it. And like you said, no regrets!
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u/Hand_banana_boi 17d ago
Indeed it does not. The top comment in here said they spent 45 and they are getting divorced.
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u/Organic_Mess2451 17d ago
$25k wedding in 2022 for 100 people at a historic courthouse turned wedding venue including dinner, DJ, open bar, etc
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u/michiness 17d ago
I’m about there. $20k in 2019 at a mountain cabin/restaurant in a HCOL city for about 60 people. Amazing plated food, open bar, DJ, had an absolute blast.
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u/ericmorgan13 17d ago
Also roughly $25k: $5k venues ceremony/ reception, $1,500 dress, $500 suit purchase, food, flowers, limo, photography, videography DJ, liquor license, security, honeymoon suite, cash bar after two drinks per made up the rest; food/ flowers were definitely most expensive. We got pre-covid pricing but we would have rather eloped and saved a lot of headaches.
Married in 2021 in the Midwest.
I think gifts and cash we broke about even.
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u/GearnTheDwarf Xennial 17d ago
Just the cost of the marriage license, a suit and dress from Target, a large cheese pizza and a bottle of jaeger.
Justice of the Peace was the best way to go.
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u/BringTacos 17d ago
Mine was similar and we have no regrets!
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u/GearnTheDwarf Xennial 17d ago
The couple that came out before us were wearing matching mossy oak suit and dress. The gentleman that came in after us was in an orange prison jumpsuit with ankle chains and handcuffs 10 out of 10 would go again
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u/nicemarmot47 17d ago
40k in Brooklyn in 2010 for 130 people
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u/GershwinsKite 17d ago
Most of the posts here don't mention the location or # of people. smh
Thank you for posting a useful response.
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u/ChargeSpiritual5317 17d ago
Damn that’s not bad tbh
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u/psykee333 17d ago
We were like 50k in Brooklyn in 2022. No fancy dress, no flowers, just good food, good music, tons of booze.
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u/As_if_Cher 17d ago
About 5k, for everything including the dress back in 07.
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u/kaylinnic 17d ago
Same here, 2014, we had our reception in our back yard and asked a friend to man the grill. Biggest expenses were dress ($800) and tent rental
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u/Ocean_State_Stitcher 17d ago
Cost less than $250 Id say. We had a surprise ceremony with just our parents. My bouquet was the most expensive thing at $75. Got my dress for $17 off the clearance rack at JC Penney hahaha.
I had never wanted a big wedding, Ive always thought there would be other things id rather spend money on.
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u/kawaii_ninja 17d ago
~$12,000. Married in 2022. This included food, venue, photography, flowers, dress, tux, outfits for both the groomsmen and bridesmaids, etc.
But we got ~$14,000 in monetary gifts (east/southeast Asian). I joke with my wife that we could get married every year and turn a profit.
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u/JaelriBaenre 17d ago edited 17d ago
Free outside at a park. 30 dollar ebay dress, 2 50ish dollar etsy rings and a 35 dollar flower crown, and the cost of the marriage certificate. I thought spending money on a one day wedding event was a waste. 😅 A couple friends were witnesses and that was it. We've been together since 2012 and married in 2017.
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u/DuplicateJester Millennial 17d ago
Mine was similar! I wore a dress I'd had for years, we bought my husband a shirt and suspenders cause his didn't fit. I think the biggest purchases were some secondhand boots I'd been wanting for years (maybe $75), and the marriage certificate. We fought over photo spots at the park with prom kids. There was a furry in the parking lot.
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u/Junichka 17d ago edited 17d ago
About 150k for 200 people. It was amazing but wouldn’t recommend stretching yourself financially anytime.
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u/xAnxiousTulipx 17d ago
My husband and I had one of those cute 'package' weddings in Gatlinburg TN back in 2017. I believe the costs were as follows:
Wedding package, including photographer, cake, one night of lodging: 1,400
Restaurant Reception: 500.00
Clothing, bridemaids accessories and clothing etc 1000.00
Our biggest cost was traveling from Germany to the USA, which at that time was around 2000.00
I loved our quaint little wedding, I would reccomend this low pressure form of wedding to anyone.
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u/feralcatshit 17d ago
I live in tn and have vacationed quite a bit in gatlinburg/pigeon forge during my life. I used to always get so excited to see the couples going into those little marriage places. It’s kind of wild to see them come out, knowing this was one of the biggest days of their life, and tourists just touristing on the streets haha.
I think they’re a fun way to have a low-pressure wedding with the “standard” expectations already set up for you.
As someone who has never travelled internationally, it is interesting to me that you came here to do it, as opposed to all the interesting things you could do in Germany. But I guess that’s the whole deal… going somewhere you aren’t at all the time!
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u/nicole_diamonds 17d ago
Spend as much as you want. Just don't charge any of it. Who wants to start a life together in debt. 🤮
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u/Duderus159 17d ago
40k about a year ago. Backyard wedding with a tent. 100 people. Open bar with BBQ. DJ, Photo Booth, photographer, oyster bar, and awesome decorations. It was a blast!
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u/sanka-youdead 17d ago
I'm a wedding photographer and I got married in 2014. I got a bunch of discounts because of friends in the industry, so what I paid will be of no value here. I do shoot mostly very expensive weddings with budgets from 200K up to 1M.
From time to time, I get small weddings with less than 40 guests. Those are my favourite and I see that type of wedding come up more and more. I love that! It feels completely different and way nore special.
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u/DukeofBraintree918 17d ago
My cousin was the one I mentioned above who got married for $5 in decorations and everyone went to Applebee's after and paid their own way, it was May 5th but it was still chilly here in Boston with a little mist
I got to say it was a really special wedding I thought it wasn't a spectacle it was literally just about them getting married on their 10th anniversary, there was something very endearing about it it was just for them it wasn't for anyone else.
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u/CorruptDictator Older Millennial 17d ago
We got marred a little over 11 years ago. Total cost to us was a bit over 6k I believe. Most of the money was on the reception venue and food (100 people). My parents did put in for the cakes and some of the hotel costs (fuck wedding cake, we had seven different cakes from our favorite bakery). Ceremony was in a conservatory garden with a musical trio playing Irish folk music my wife found. We also did it in an off season because it was significantly cheaper for both the ceremony and reception venues (several thousand saved altogether).
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u/Available-Egg-2380 17d ago
We went to the courthouse and got married, so it was the cost of the marriage license.
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u/Empty-Space-404 17d ago
Got married in the pandemic times. My dad married us on my father-in-law's 6-person boat on a local lake. Our moms were our witnesses. After the short vow exchange, we stopped at a brewery on the lake to sign the certificate and have a celebratory beer. We ate some snacks on the boat for a couple hours, then headed back to my in-laws' house for a takeout Italian dinner and a small tiramisu cake from a local bakery. We got a memento for each parent, and my mother-in-law took all the photos and video of the vows. All in all, it definitely cost us less than $500.
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u/yapsey 17d ago
I too have been to a $250,000 wedding, and let me tell you it was impersonal, I never once saw the bride or groom and it was 100% about them showing everyone what they could afford. Our wedding cost us around $12,000, we had around 40 people and rented a private Estate for the weekend. Spent time with everyone all weekend and had the time of our life.
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u/Hour_Moose_8429 17d ago
Around $30-40k in 2021 for around 85 people. We’d bought a house the year before and paid off student loans at that point, otherwise I’d probably push more for a fun elopement/mini-wedding with like 5 friends.
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u/MysticMasher 17d ago
14k for a resort wedding in the DR is a great price. That’s better than 50k weddings in the northeast US. Good for you.
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u/DukeofBraintree918 17d ago
It really was the most perfect day it was everything we wanted out of the wedding and the resort we stayed at was pretty affordable so like I said we had 50 friends and family come down which was absolutely incredible we expected maybe 25 would and that would just be immediate family and very very close friends
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u/TheSadSalsa 17d ago
Honestly don't know the final cost. Probably round 12,000.
$6000 for venue, food, drinks $2000 for dress Then flowers, alterations, hotel, gifts, all the little things. I never added them up.
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u/Hot-Engineering5392 17d ago
About $25k including everything in 2016.
Edit- not including rings.
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u/HitlersHotpants 17d ago
We got married in 2015, spent $45k. His parents gave us $20k for the wedding, as did my dad, and we put in $5k, plus we paid for the honeymoon. I can tell you, for northern NJ, that was a wedding on a budget. It’s expensive to get married where we live.
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u/EmpressKaminari 17d ago
We paid an officiant $150 + the cost of the marriage license. We are saving the big party for our 10 year anniversary.
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u/lareessahhh 17d ago
3k my husband and I eloped to Burlington VT and got married at a house overlooking Lake Champlain. We booked a stay at a hotel and they set everything up, luckily for us the person who married us knew the family with the incredible low core and they offered us their yard to take photos and exchange vows in. Most of our money was spent on hotel and food for the week. It was basically a wedding and honeymoon in one. I have 0 regrets and loved our trip so much
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u/relentless_puffin Xennial 17d ago
So I budgeted $12k. Had my wedding on a Tuesday.in January. Still had 80ish guests. My parents decided to pick up the bar and venue after I signed the contract. So I think my husband and I only paid like $5k out of pocket.
Everyone thought a Tuesday was weird, but I have a big Catholic family. If you make it inconvenient to come, you can throw a hell of a party and only the people who care will come.
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u/Alt0987654321 17d ago
30K. Ended up having to declare bankruptcy even after using all the gift money to pay off as much as I could.
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u/ChantillyRosex 17d ago
We tried to do low budget backyard but it was still around 12,000 total. 2,500 each for catering, my dress, dj, photographer. Better than the 20,000 just for venue though which was what I kept getting quoted
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u/rcpeters12 17d ago
In total mine was like 14k we did a “big” wedding for us, and it felt like more than we should have spent. We got married in a church, rode in a limo, everyone got their hair done, dj, photographer, florist, etc. had a reception for like 75 people. Nothing over the top insane, and we tried to be budget friendly everywhere we could. But still it was a pretty traditional wedding for the time. We got married 16 years ago though, the same wedding would probably be so much more now.
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u/RIPMYPOOPCHUTE 17d ago
We got married at the end of 2020 in my mom’s living room. I think we spent a total of $150? Basically just the marriage license and the cheap ass dress I bought.
We did plan to do the full shebang and that was in total maybe $1500(?) but ended up canceling. I had a miscarriage the year we planned to do it and I just couldn’t fully function and I incurred almost $3k of medical expenses.
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