Is a $6000 budget realistic for a nice wedding?

I priced out something similar of tent, table, chair, etc. rental and found that an all-inclusive venue was cheaper in my area. We booked on a Friday and off-season (November 1st), and it was half the price. For 3K, we are getting the modern industrial venue, tables/chairs/tablecloths, DOC, and DJ.

The little things really do add up and weather can be unpredictable. Find out the cost of all the rentals and see if it is worth it first!

We are doing our wedding for $5,000. It hasn't been easy but it's definitely doable! We prioritized photography and good food.

This! if you live near and national or state parks you can usually rent through park services for a cheaper fee than a normal venue. I looked at the GSMNP and they had Saturday rentals including chairs and table for around $500 in little cabins! We ended up going a different route because of how large our guest list turned out to be, but for a smaller wedding something like this could totally work!

Try looking for a botanical garden or similar venue. There is a venue where I live that offers a garden ceremony with an indoor reception in their hall for $2500, so you don't need any additional permits. It sounds like something along those lines would be good for you and you will have lots of nice places for photos and could provide your own catering. A tent set up in a park can be done really nicely, but the rentals add up especially if you want any upgrades like a nicer floor, table or chairs.

Alternative: Does anyone in your family have a really nice backyard? My FHs brother did a backyard wedding and put the money towards a tent, dance floor, and lots of pretty lighting instead of an actual venue and it turned about beautiful.

This is what we are doing 1500 for 10 hours an 3000sq ft banquet hall and with an extra 3000sq ft outdoor patio included.

I am doing an 80 person wedding for $7000 so yes, 57 guests for $6000 is completely doable! You definitely need to penny pinch but I am having everything that I want including a videographer! This however also depends on the area you are getting married in. I am getting married in Maine so the supply/demand/inflation isn't as crazy as California or New York. I think you can definitely do it though!

I don’t know if a park would let you have a DJ. I would suggest going to a park that has a gazebo that can be rented but it’s late in October so I don’t know. Our wedding is on Halloween and we had the same issue that you’re facing. You could always do a wedding at the courthouse, like my fiancé and I decided to do. You might have to look at surrounding areas for more reasonable banquet halls. If you’re a part of a church they may be able to do that for you as well, which would save you money. Our reception is going to be at a popular downtown restaurant that has a private room. We rented the private room for only $100 and we will pay for their meals.

I figured out during my searches that renting your own tent/tables/chairs/heaters/etc. somewhere you also have to rent the space is not very cost effective. Most places want to set up Friday and pick up Monday, so you have to rent the space for the whole weekend. If you do just a saturday, there's a fee for same day set up and pick up.

We decided on a winery venue. We are having 100 people so we had to rent their tent outside which was about $3200 but came with tables, chairs, bartenders, and staff to do the trash.

They have an upstairs room that is really cute that could hold about 75 people for $600 for a saturday wedding. Something like that seems doable for you. I'd check restaurants, wineries, breweries that have rooms you can rent. Most let you bring your own food (not restaurants, but the others). And you can splurge on something like a photographer or videographer (which were SHOCKINGLY expensive to me. So I'd be prepared for that. In my area, photography goes for around $2,000-$4,000 for the average wedding day, which is insane. I found a friend of a friend who does it for $800 and she's awesome.)