Venue: Ceremony and reception $500-$1500
Photographer: $1000+
Food/Beverage: $1000
Dress/veil including alteration cost: $1000 (my personal goal was to spend close to $600...)
Cake: $200-$300
DJ: $500
Centerpieces/Tableware: $10 per table
Save the Dates/Invites including stamps for 100: $200
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You get the idea. These were estimates...some were close, others were way off.
We were very fortunate to find a venue where we could have the ceremony and reception in the same place, it is a gorgeous old hotel with a ballroom that has a fireplace and chandelier. Included in the cost of the venue are 15+ round tables, a handful of rectangle tables, and 140+ chairs. Tables and chairs included in the cost were a huge cost saver! Our venue cost is $1,000.
I bought my dress after trying on TONS of dresses...and I am not a dress person. We were up in the Seattle area. Our first stop was a wedding dress consignment shop. My first thoughts were "awesome, I can get a great deal!!". Wrong, totally wrong. The least expensive one that I tried on was just under $1,000....and it was used. Next store please! We then went to a boutique and tried on tons of dresses until I tried on THE ONE....Problem was, it was in ivory and it was $900...Yes, they could order a white one...but it was still $900! Remember, my personal goal was $600. The other issue was that my mom didn't give me a budget for my dress...which was very gracious of her. We had two other bridal shops to go to, one was David's Bridal, and the other was a local store near my mom's. I knew that dress was THE ONE but wanted to make sure. We canceled the David's Bridal appointment because I didn't want to try on 50 more dresses for no reason. Our experience at Hermosa Bridal in Snohomish, WA was a fabulous experience, I'd recommend them to anyone. We were able to scour the rows of dresses to find ones we liked, they even had sale dresses :-D. And then, there it was...on the sale rack....THE ONE. In white. In my size (it was a sample so it was the only one left) For around $600. I tried on a few others before THE ONE and then put it on....and it was still THE ONE. We ended up getting a veil too, which is probably something I wouldn't have spent that much money on, but hey whatever (you CAN make veils). The dress AND veil (which was over $100) rang up to just over $700 after taxes.
That was a long enough dress story so I'll save you some reading. I would recommend searching Craigslist, Facebook yard sale sites, thrift stores, and physical yard sales for anything you think would be awesome as a centerpiece. We scored on Black Friday this year at Goodwill. Goodwill took 50% off everything so we got a bajillion votive candle holders (and some brand new candles) for half off. We probably got 80 vases/candle holders for $37. We also hit up Michaels craft store for some pretty things to use for center pieces, dollar tree for glass marbles, and Joann Fabrics. I sent my mom to meet someone to pick up teal satin table covers from someone on Craigslist, saving a lot of money. I also made my flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow. I bought a white basket used for $1 and glued a teal ribbon and a teal flower to it. I bought some white satin material at Joann's for 75 cents, added teal ribbon and teal tulle and a flower and sewed it up. I spent less than $5 on the two. I couldn't bring myself to spend $20 on a tiny pillow or basket.
Save the Dates/Invites: My amazing friend created a collage of our engagement pictures with our date on it and I simply printed them as prints for about 9 cents a piece. Each save the date was just over 50cents including postage. I sent out 110 save the dates. For my invites, I scored 125 blank invites that you print on for $20 from a Facebook selling site. I can customize it however I want.
I will do more blog posts about my wedding planning adventure, and once May gets here, I will post pictures of all of my projects, including my super secret Bridesmaids Gifts. Happy Planning!
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