Staying within Budget

This really depends on how many guests you have. If your guest list is small and you aren’t looking to spend a lot on flowers or attire I think it’s doable. If your guest list is huge, that $6,000 could easily not be enough to even feed your guests.

View Quoted Comment I’m trying my best to stay between 100-110 guests. At first we were close to 150, but since we decided no kids that cut down our guest count by A LOT

A lot of this is going to depend on how big your guest list is- The larger your guest list, the higher the expense for food and alcohol. For example, $29 per person for 50 people is $1450. But $29 per person for 150 people is $4350. Also, make sure you are reading your contracts closely and paying attention to ”hidden fees”. For example, our venue has on-site catering. They charge X amount per person for meals, but then there is also a 20% service charge and 10% sales tax. Just those two fees alone added an additional $2500 onto our catering total.
Also, does your venue price include all the tables, chairs, silverware, glassware, table linens, etc. you will need? If not, you will have to factor in all of that as well. I also see you didn’t list videography, flowers or decor. If you plan on having those items, you will need to factor that into the budget as well. Do you have a separate budget for attire? Or will that come out of the $6,000 also? If so, you have to also factor in the cost of your wedding dress, shoes, veil, accessories… and your fiancé’s suit/tux, shoes, tie, etc. Will you be having professional hair and make up services? And what about wedding rings? Will those come out of the $6000 budget? There are a lot of unknown variables here that you will need to consider.

View Quoted Comment That’s what I’m afraid of with their caterer because they don’t have listed the service charge and tax %, but they mention it.
Our venue doesn’t offer is linen or plates/silverware so there’s that.
With videography I’m not prioritizing it at the moment, if there’s enough in our budget we’ll consider it but for now no.With attire I don’t have a solid $ amount. Same with flowers and decor since my family want to pitch in and help make the decor.With hair I have relatives that are cosmetologists that want to help with that, with make up I have an idea who to ask but not sure how much they charge.For rings I already have mine, now it’s just to look into for my fiancés.All in all I think if I pick an affordable caterer I may have enough for everything else BUT I don’t know

View Quoted Comment In that case, I would definitely reach out to all these vendors whose prices are unknown, prior to committing to a venue or caterer. Find out what the service charge and taxes will be for the catering. Decide what types and amounts of alcohol you will have to purchase, and what that is going to cost. Reach out to the make up artist you have in mind, and find out what their fee is. Decide on the maximum amount you are willing to spend on your dress. Reach out to rental companies to find out what they charge for linens, plateware, silverware, etc.
$29 per person is definitely on the low end of pricing for catering. However, you said you plan to invite 110-120 people. That means you will be spending about $3200 on catering, before any fees. If they do a standard 20% service fee and 10% tax, you are now looking at about $4200. Which means you will only have $1800 for your dress, your husbands attire, his wedding ring, linens, plateware/silverware, makeup artist, and all your alcohol. Will the caterer be providing wait service and bartenders? If not, you will have to hire all of those on your own as well. And keep in mind, all of this is before tipping your vendors. I’m going to be honest, with that size of guest list, it is definitely going to be tough to stay within a $6000 budget for everything you listed. Personally, I would find a more affordable venue. $5750 for a venue that doesn’t really provide anything isn’t the best way to invest your money with such a strict budget. I would look for low cost venues to save money that you can invest in all these additional items you are needing.

View Quoted Comment For our venue it’s that amount for being available to us from 9am-11pm. Bridal suite and groom room. With 5 hours day of coordinator. Chairs and tables. 8 hours security. Decor set up and clean up. And vendor coordination. Parking is free. SO I am not sure if that is worth the price or not.
We do have to pick their bartender that is $400 for wine, beer, & 2 signature drinks.
We do have the choice to pick our own caterer so that’s a plus. The main thing on us regarding venue itself is DJ, caterer, picking our decorations, buying alcohol, and picking our officiant.

No, I don't think so. Your catering is going to cost over $3000 for 100 guests. There's the per person charge, plus tax, service fee, and any gratuity. Average cost of dress, attire, decor, cake, alcohol for 100 guests (which are all subjective to your taste) are going to be over $3k as well.
When I first starting figuring out my budget, this article was helpful.. It recommends your venue and catering to be about 40% of your budget, which is $6000 for a $15k budget. You are already there even without the catering.
https://www.brides.com/story/wedding-budget-guide-allocating-funds-staying-on-track

View Quoted Comment Only you can decide if it is worth that price to you. It just seems like you are going to have to really cut down on a lot of other things in order to afford the venue; whereas if you got a more affordable venue, you could then better afford catering and alcohol for your guests, or have a higher budget for your wedding dress, etc. There are definitely much cheaper venue options available, if you are flexible in your vision. For comparison, our venue is only charging us $1500 rental fee, which includes tables, chairs, linens, candles, set up, tear down, and day of coordinator. However, if you are completely set on having this particular venue, that’s OK too! You will just have to be very flexible when it comes to the rest of the items for your wedding, in order to stay within budget. Definitely reach out to all the other vendors though, and get pricing for them so that you can have all costs in front of you and make informed decisions.

View Quoted Comment Okay you need to show me your ways because when I was looking for venues everything I found was about 12k and up and it was very frustrating

But yes I think my problem here is I absolutely fell in love with my venue 😭

Waaaait how?! $15k is also my budget and Idek how to start!!! I feel like it would double!

View Quoted Comment And that’s ok!! If this is your dream venue, and it is one of your top priorities for your wedding, then by all means go with it! We all have different priorities when it comes to our weddings, and none of them are inherently right or wrong. Maybe sit down with your fiancé and together determine the top three priorities for your big event, and make those the three things you focus on; then remain flexible with the other items. I did think of one more item I didn’t see on your list though – are you planning to have a wedding cake? If so, you should probably reach out to bakers in your area to get an estimate on that as well, because they are usually hundreds of dollars. When I started planning, I definitely learned there are SO many little details you don’t think about at first, and they end up eating away at your budget because you didn’t plan for them.

View Quoted Comment For me it’s venue, dj, and photographer
His is venue, food, and photographer
Literally everything else we don’t care much about 😅

Yikes, OP. I’m not sure where you’re getting married, but close to 6k for a venue that’s providing close to nothing is a LOT. And why do they decide you’re only allowed to serve beer, wine and two cocktails with their bartender but you have to supply the alcohol?? Do you have to supply the fruit, etc. too? Glasses, servingware and flatware can be very expensive to rent and a logistical nightmare to manage.
I don’t think with your budget spending more than a third on venue rental alone is feasible. If you can majorly downsize your guest list, it might be okay. But I’d strongly suggest finding a new venue!
Also, not sure why you need a DJ for seven hours?

I think if you had 80 guests that would be doable, but not 150. There are also all the "extras" to consider...gratuities alone can add up to $1500 and you will need to provide vendor meals as well. Does your venue at least include a Day of Coordinator?

View Quoted Comment For our venue it’s that amount for being available to us from 9am-11pm. Bridal suite and groom room. With 5 hours day of coordinator. Chairs and tables. 8 hours security. Decor set up and clean up. And vendor coordination. Parking is free. SO I am not sure if that is worth the price or not.

View Quoted Comment I know, I read that in your previous post. I don’t think that’s worth $6k when your budget is $15k.

I have to agree, it doesn’t seem worth it.
OP, to give you an idea of the costs you are looking at if you choose this venue….You say you will have $6000 left over afterwards:
Catering: $29/person (for 120 people): $3480Average catering service charge and taxes: $1044Average cost of wedding cake for 120 people: $350Average cost of only beer & wine for 120 people: $1720And now you are already over budget by almost $600And that’s before you factor in your dress, shoes and accessories, FH’s attire, FH’s wedding ring, the $400 for using their bartender, flowers, decorations, the cost of renting linens, silverware and glassware, and tipping all your vendors. I honestly just don’t see how it would ever be possible for you to stay within budget with the venue you selected. I would either look for a more affordable venue, or find a way to significantly up your budget (maybe take on an additional part-time job from now until the wedding? Or postpone the wedding for another year to save up more money?).

View Quoted Comment Yeah we ended up deciding to increase our budget 😅 really if we wanted to we can go up to 30K
But it’s mainly me not wanting to spend too too much either

View Quoted Comment Hahaha! GIRL… I was literally trying to think this morning of any way to keep you within your budget because I know how much you loved your venue! Thank goodness you had a lot of wiggle room in your budget! I’m so excited for you that you get to keep your venue!!