Is my dream venue too expensive?

No one can tell you whether it’s too expensive or not. Does it fit in your budget?

No one here knows your budget. Is that something that's in your budget? Yes. Then no, it's not too expensive. No. Then maybe, you could potentially move things around or cut your guest list in order to make things work.

I personally do not feel that it is too much. I also do not know your budget. My youngest has picked three different dates, three different venues and the estimates varied from $50,000 to $13,000. Are you able to afford the rice quoted? You will also need to budget for the following vendors, Officiant, Cake, Flowers (if you are having them, centerpieces, transportation, Hair and makeup, etc. Look at everything you still have to pay for and see if the total costs of everything is doable. Only you can answer the question as to if it is a good deal. I would suggest finding out what is included in the catering as what meats are included. $70 pp may not be great if you only get one entree, or if the items served are not items you or your guests would eat. In my experience some caterers provide specific menus based on the pp cost. SO iff you were planning on serving filet, then many only allow roast beef. Not to say there is anything wrong with either choice it just may not be the items you wish.

On my budget, yes this venue is too expensive. But I don't know your budget so I can't say one or another.

For a golf course wedding in Thousand Oaks that sounds like a good deal for that size party. Estimate at least another $15k for the rest of your expenses though. If that seems like it's in your budget then go for it.

I myself cant reason spending that much on a wedding. I mean it's a down payment on a house., thats just me.

But that's about average for weddings these days. So if Yal don't have a problem spending it and have the money to do so then go for it.

That doesn't sound too expensive; similar to the pricing of mine, but I live on the other coast in Washington DC. I think it would depend on your location and your budget.

I think that’s a good price for what you’re getting but it’s up to you and FH to determine your budget and if you can afford it.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. We don't have an established budget yet because we aren't paying for the wedding. Our families have said pick the venue we want and then we will talk money, but we don't want to just blow through their money either. We are trying to see if we can save money in other areas to make up for it, but I know everything else is pricey as well. Cutting the guest list is definitely an option we will have to look at.

As others said it really depends on what your budget is and what you feel comfortable spending. For me that would be in range, we are spending around 45-50k for our day. You also have to look at it as would you feel comfortable going over that if you want to include flowers, the actual cost of the cake, wedding dress, Officiant fees, etc.

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This is a very dangerous way to do things IMO. Budget, guest list, then venue IMO, otherwise how will you know you picked a venue that fits your budget and guest list?

I would explain to your families that at the very least, you need a ball park.

I think you should tell the parents to give you a budget and see what you and FH can add to it. I wouldn’t want to be looking at venues, flowers and getting other wedding ideas then being told it’s out of the budget. It will lead to disappointment.

It is only too expensive if it is over your budget

I think budget has to come first, it will be practically impossible to find a venue without a budget.

i had to have an awkward conversation with my parents after they kept saying “oh we’ll help! We’ll help” and at one point all the parents were together and all said they’d help and we were on the cusp of discussing budget and FH was like “cool thanks we’ll Let you know what things cost and you can pick and choose where to help” I was like ‘noooo!!!!’ ha I was so mad. I later had to sit them down and talk specific numbers, bc it’s trixky to try to plan when you don’t know if “help” is closer to 1,000 or 10,000

i think what you’ve described sounds like it’s a good price for what you’re getting, but if you need I spend less, you should definitely be able to

You have to pin down a budget FIRST. Your parents may not realize how expensive a wedding can be. You then need to have the money sitting in your bank account before any contracts are signed. People on here have had to redo their entire weddings and were stuck with the bill when people who said they would pay changed the amount or pulled out after contracts were signed.

So it's roughly 155 pp with all of that . My venue is 140 pp after tax . I think it's a normal price point for venue catering alcohol ect.. but be prepared to add it more .. I'm spending about 13k more then just venue..you have more guests then me too .. it's ultimately what's important to you ..

We are getting married in Agoura Hills and $20k is about on par with the venues we looked at in the LA area. It might be good to price out a few venues and then talk it over with your family.

It seems not out of line...but whether you should pay it with your budget is up to you and your wallet!

Sorry just read through everything—definitely get your parents to at least give you a range. It’s good that you have those prices because you can say “for example, we saw one place that cost...” and have a discussion. I am paying for my wedding, but I have found that when I tell my parents or others what things cost they are astounded. My FFIL nearly fell out of his chair when I said some venues charge 10k for just the venue. So your parents may or may not know what the going rates are these days.

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General question- is $20k really enough for a 20% down payment on houses in some places? Somewhere between $20-30k seems to be the point where people say, "but that's a down payment!" and I'm always wondering where the heck people live that that's actually a down payment on a real house.

Back to your question OP, I think the pricing seems reasonable for what it is and the location. However, you definitely want to get a ballpark from your families before continuing. Weddings are a lot more now than they used to be, so your families might not fully realize how expensive everything is until you start bringing back prices.