Can we pull it off

It depends on your vision. We’re spending close to $30k for only 70 people. With an inexpensive buffet. However the other vendors we picked are very pricey. I think $10k for 200 people would be really hard to achieve. Maybe do some research and look at pricing and at vendors you both like. You might be surprised how things add up

In my opinion i don’t think its really possible. We are having 50 guests and the food alone is $2000 (40 per person) that would be about $8000 for 200 people and that was one of the cheapest i could find. I have a feeling food costs will only increase by 2025.

Weddings cost as much as you are willing and able to spend. Some couples prefer a very simple wedding at the local park for the cost of a cake, coffee, invites and a marriage license, which could easily be $200 max. Others prefer to spend 6+ figures and be super elaborate. Many are in the middle. There is no one size fits all.


Cost for vendors depends on your local area. Los Angeles or NYC will cost more than Small Town Texas or Colorado. Also, something that is a hot topic on WW is whether DIY is cost effective. For most people it is not because very few if any take into consideration the cost of supplies plus their sanity and time at minimum wage per hour for the labor involved of set up/tear down, assembly, transportation, cleaning, selling, and the list goes on. Renting items locally (linens, vases, arches, etc) and purchasing crafts and stationery already made are much cheaper than DIY 9 times out of 10 or purchasing items that you will turn around and give away on Facebook because few people want to pay full or half price.

I think it all depends on what you want. Keep in mind, that’s still 3 years away. If inflation keeps up I highly doubt it will be possible unless you start booking things now.

View Quoted Comment Man!!!!! This is the truth!!!! Lol

My guest list isn’t as big but my suggestions would be finding vendors who can offer more than one service. For example our chairs,tables and arch rental place will also be providing artificial flowers for the aisle and arch, non-edited photography, and dj services and if we needed a day-of coordinator they provide that as well. They give very good discounts for “bundling” and less travel fees since their people would be there to set up and tear down the rentals anyways. For bouquets have a look at wood flowers(i keep looking at “sola wood flowers” website, they have random sales that go up to 70% off, and the original price is already cheaper than getting real flowers) one other thing i like about it is that i get to keep my bouquet after the wedding as a memento instead of it just withering away. For food, you can hve a family bonding moment and all cook together for the reception meals, it’s cheaper and fun but will add more work and time management to make sure the food stays good, be wary of when you want to do this cause it can cause stress and you don’t want to be drained on your wedding day. Same with decorating and setting up, it can be a group effort instead of paying vendors to do that and also if you have friends/family good with cameras then you can opt into that instead of a photographer too. As for an officiant maybe you can find someone you and your husband-to-be look up to and ask them to officiate instead of hiring. As for a wedding dress, i know it can get expensive, take a look at “shein” app, they have lovely dresses, a good return/exchange policy (buy multiples, try, return/exchange) and they have shoes, veils, and other accessories too. I know it’s a day to remember but you don’t have to spend thousands on a dress you’ll probably only wear for that day.

You most definitely can do it! Our guest list is 278 and we are spending $14,000 total (food, cake, dj, videographer, photography, dress, tuxes, venues x2, decor, invites/save the dates and flowers). I’ve also made all my own signs for the wedding and I made my own bouquets, boutonnières and corsages. You might just not have the “best of the best” with everything. Pick and choose what you want to spend your money on, that way if you want that nice photographer and venue you can go cheaper on everything else! I also bought my dress off a clearance rack, but brand new. And I also got all of my decor either for free or off garage sales/marketplace. It’s definitely do-able!
Good Luck! 🍀

All of these comments are helpful thanks everyone. I know our wedding would be more then 10k. Now I am going to let my FH read the comments and he'll know I'm not a DIVA just a bride to be that wants a beautiful day.

We're beginning to plan; with our guest list being at 100...the minimum as been $15k... that's not even including my dress, his tux, our cake, whomever will marry us, etc.

I think it all depends on what you both want out of your wedding!

We are doing a very relaxed wedding for 100 people on a £3 - £3.5k budget. But this means cutting some corners... buffet instead of sit down meal, keeping bridesmaid and groomsmen numbers low so we don't have to pay for too many dresses/suits. It also means my budget for a dress is £200 maximum!

For us this works as neither of us have big grand ideas for what we wanted our wedding to be - we would prefer to spend the difference on things we have planned in the next year

But if you want a designer dress, your hubby to be wants a glorious 3 piece suit and you want a sit down meal etc then it bumps up the price big time and you're right - probably isn't doable on 10k!