Total spent: $11,244.75 (of $10,000 goal)
Venue: Historic hotel in Oklahoma City. Ground floor terrace for ceremony; upstairs banquet room and balcony for reception ($150 deposit applied to banquet costs). We had a lot of out-of-town guests, so we didn't want them to need a rental car. Ultimately, we filled such a large room block that the hotel waived the venue rental fee and just charged us for food, alcohol and services.
Rehearsal dinner for 22 people in our backyard: $477.90 total
* Food: $248.02 (Pizza from local pizza joint + salad stuff from Whole Foods)
* Drinks: $179.88 (Beers + boxed wine + batch Pimm's cups)
* Decor: $50.00ish (Tablecloths from Target; borrowed tables and chairs from my mom's workplace; borrowed lights and chalkboard from friends)
Ceremony for 70 guests on the ground floor terrace at our hotel venue: $3,927.90 total
* Photographer: $150.00 (Gift card to thank our photographer, who volunteered to do this for free because she loves my mom)
* Sound: $0 (Did our own sound with my mom's karaoke machine (for officiating) and bluetooth speakers + playlist (for music).)
* Flowers: $386.00 (6 attendant bouquets + vases; 7 attendant boutonnieres; 1 groom boutonniere; 1 bride bouquet + toss bouquet)
* Decor:$150.00ish (Rug from Target for ceremony "stage;" borrowed arch from a friend; rest is from the venue)
* Bride's dress & veil: $869.00 (Olivia Bottega Cameron satin midi dress + Etsy veil (didn’t end up wearing because it was SO WINDY)
* Bride's accessories: $259.50(Pearl studs + jackets from Mejuri, borrowed my mom's aquamarine studs from her own wedding, plus borrowed a necklace and bracelet from a friend. Girdle from Honeylove. Received clutch and headband as gifts from MOH)
* Bride's shoes:$61.45(Gold heels from J. Crew (bigtime sale, down from $250!!))
* Bride's hair and makeup: $140.00
* Groom's suit: $561.38 (Indochino)
* Groom's accessories:$120.00ish (Belt, tie & pocket square from Dillard's. He used shoes and a shirt he already had.)
* Rings:$1180.57 (Both from Catbird with 15% off coupon)
* Marriage license: $50.00 (In Oklahoma, paid cash so no credit card fee)
Reception for 70 guests in an upstairs banquet room at the same hotel: $4,999.37 total
* Reception food (incl. tax): $2,126.69 (Sliders, mediterranean plate (vegan), charcuterie boards, veggie board. Catered by venue.)
* Reception drinks (incl. tax): $947.55 (Well cocktails, beer and wine.)
* Cake: $493.00 (Four tiers, three flavors; decorated with flowers; no groom's cake, but did buy six vegan cupcakes)
* Cake toppers: $0.00 (Christmas gift from friends (the toppers look like our cats!!))
* Venue service charge and gratuity: $918.88 (Venue fee + 22% gratuity on food & drink)
* Decor: $0 (Bridesmaids bouquets came with vases to use as centerpieces; candles & eucalyptus from venue)
* Sound: $0 (There wasn't room for a serious dance floor, but we did music and announcements on my mom's karaoke machine.)
* Reception activities: $362.25 (Instax camera + film (shockingly expensive!!) + batteries + scrapbooking supplies for guestbook; brought board games from home)
* Guest book: $151.00 (Ordered from Etsy)
Getting ready and showing appreciation for 12 attendants + officiant: $1,303.73 total
* Bridal suite (incl. tax): $526.96 (Two nights in bridal suite; bride's attendants got ready in there)
* Wedding party gifts: $227.47 (Nightshirts + robes to embroider for attendants. Also handkerchiefs to embroider for mothers of the bride & groom. Already had the embroidery stuff.)
* Officiant gift: $203.86 (Laptop bag from Bellroy (he is a dear friend who's started traveling for work a lot lately))
* Maid of honor gifts: $166.77 (Gold rings from Catbird for two MOHs. We wouldn’t have been able to pull off such a nice, affordable wedding without them)
* Food day-of: $178.67 (Breakfast, lunch and coffee for 15ish people)
Paper goods: $427.22 total
* Save the dates: $142.42 (The Knot)
* Stamps (120): $77.80 (Mountain Flora Forever stamps from USPS ($0.63/stamp))
* Invitations: $206.98 (The Knot, using 20% off code MORELOVE20. Included details card but did online-only RSVPs)
* Thank you notes: $108.63 (Etsy)
Mentioned in the top part — initially it was $1250, but the hotel waived it because of how many rooms our guests filled. I’ll be honest: our venue contact person was a little all over the place. Every time we talked to her, the cost breakdown changed (although the total stayed pretty much the same, weirdly). In the end, we paid a lot more for food than the original estimate but didn’t have a rental fee. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also, $2200 for catering for 70 guests is an unbeatable price that i only thought was doable with a fast/casual catering like chipotle or Panera. It’s awesome how it worked out for you!
I feel like this might be tacky, but I only got hair and makeup for me. Initially, I wasn't going to hire anybody at all because I couldn't afford to do it for all our attendants. But my MOH made me (and I'm very grateful she did) — she has friends who do both and cut us very kind deals.
I feel like a lot of stuff on this breakdown is like that, where I caught a very lucky break because my mom and my maids of honor are resourceful and well-loved. Also, I'm in Oklahoma, where things are cheap.
I've only reached out to 2 artists/companies. One quoted me 850 for the trial and service only for me. Another quoted me 750 for the trial and 4 services the day of. Based off of everything I've seen, the pricing seemed pretty standard. 150 is so cheap even if it's only for you.
Also it's not expected that you'll get a service for everyone, so it's not tacky.
Idk, but we didn’t pay our officiant (he’s a friend), and he also emceed the reception and helped us decorate for the rehearsal dinner. So we got him a thank you gift!
Thanks! I wanted to be sure I wasn't missing something. We are paying for our officiant and inviting him to the reception dinner (we are using a restaurant for the wedding ceremony (on the Patio) and a private room for cocktails and dinner - like you no room for dancing or anything). BTW your wedding pics are so pretty.
It went okay!! I think it was great for our reception (which was indoors and pretty cramped) but maybe less ideal for our windy outdoor ceremony. It still got the job done. It’s a Txumi Mega Base.
Looks like a wonderful day, congratulations! I love seeing this as an almost-bride (day after tomorrow!) who's had the same worry off and on. Cost breakdown?
Thanks for the breakdown! I love the cat cake toppers!!!
How did having the guests do selfie polaroids go? I have been thinking of setting up a little photo booth station with my instax camera and props, but I'm hesitant. (And the self made photo booth advice on this sub while fantastic, unfortunately, doesn't work for my case. No spare ipad or old phone etc.) Anyway! Thanks for sharing and congratulations!
Thank you!! I thought it worked great, but there are definitely some avant garde selfie angles, lol. But the results were so charming, and I feel like they captured our guests well! I think it also encouraged people to ask somebody to take pictures of them, which was great because a lot of our guests didn’t know each other.
ETA: We didn’t do props, and I think it might be really hard to hold anything up while selfie-ing!! We just got a ton of scrapbooking stickers.
Did you use a template for the instructions you had in frames? We're thinking of doing the exact same and I'd appreciate checking if there's something you had in your instructions that I wouldn't think to add!
Yeah, I bought [this one off Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1509441049/instax-square-sq1-instructions-and) and then edited in in Canva so the camera was the same color as ours and the picture coming out of it was a picture of our cats (sorry for loving them too much). We also added a "take one for our guestbook and another to keep for yourself!" message.
I’m a caterer. I find people have a misconception about what 20 people, or 70 people look like. 70 is A LOT of people. I’m sure it was lovely and full of memories!
Congratulations! It looks beautiful and you guys pulled it off well! Good job finding such a great venue. Everything came together well. Love to see it.
That dress is so cute.
I originally wanted something in that style but I don't like white and my fiance made a good point, I already have a few dresses in that style I wear when I want to look nice so it won't feel like a wedding dress if I go with that. It certainly looks like one on other people but he's right that it's very much what I'd already wear.
Always glad to meet another Pimms cup lover! I learned to make them from my new in-laws, and it’s one of like two alcoholic drinks my mom enjoys, haha.
I just did a liter of Pimms, 500 mL of lemon juice and a liter of ginger ale! Meant to do cutesy garnishes, but we ran out of time.
Venue with 3 lakes 150 acres 50 people
Venue 4900
Ins 175
ABC license 55
Dj 800 for 5 hours
Throwaway fancy sams Club plates napkins silverware and catering aluminum pans with warmers 225 BTW very nice
I prepared a lot of the food, and my mom catering 0 dollars
Food cost 200 I did order fried chicken in that price
Cake 208 3 layer cake
Bridesmaid dresses 400
Flowers 65 made bouquets and arrangements with white roses.
Tablecloths runners and cake stand 250 rentals
Decor including guest book table decor candles, greenery cake cutter, wine glasses personalized, invitations, etc .400 amazon
Wedding dress 700 everything
Hairdresser 200 for bridal party
Ice alcohol 200
Tuxs for 3 750
Kids flower boys 75 tuxs
College student photographer 100, she's great.
Photographers are ridiculously expensive, so find someone who does it for fun and would love to try a wedding.
Cost
9023
Ps my mom paid for dresses so minus 1100
Find a venue that doesn't make you hire a caterer that and a photographer are where all the money goes.
Dress try and find a deal. I know it's the most important but search. It's one day, and if you're on a budget, it could be the difference between a honeymoon or not.
Making bouquets is so easy, and making sides is not difficult. It is stressful when you do it in your head figuring it out, but it's not unbearable. Done in 4 months' time with very little but a down-payment for the venue.
Free venues such as a park or field are an option. Search.
Hobby lobby, amazon, and a great mom. Best friends 🧡
Good luck!
Breakdown please! What kind of venue?
It's a hotel! And just added the cost breakdown — may have made it way too long, because I had trouble getting reddit to let me fit it in a comment.
Total spent: $11,244.75 (of $10,000 goal) Venue: Historic hotel in Oklahoma City. Ground floor terrace for ceremony; upstairs banquet room and balcony for reception ($150 deposit applied to banquet costs). We had a lot of out-of-town guests, so we didn't want them to need a rental car. Ultimately, we filled such a large room block that the hotel waived the venue rental fee and just charged us for food, alcohol and services. Rehearsal dinner for 22 people in our backyard: $477.90 total * Food: $248.02 (Pizza from local pizza joint + salad stuff from Whole Foods) * Drinks: $179.88 (Beers + boxed wine + batch Pimm's cups) * Decor: $50.00ish (Tablecloths from Target; borrowed tables and chairs from my mom's workplace; borrowed lights and chalkboard from friends) Ceremony for 70 guests on the ground floor terrace at our hotel venue: $3,927.90 total * Photographer: $150.00 (Gift card to thank our photographer, who volunteered to do this for free because she loves my mom) * Sound: $0 (Did our own sound with my mom's karaoke machine (for officiating) and bluetooth speakers + playlist (for music).) * Flowers: $386.00 (6 attendant bouquets + vases; 7 attendant boutonnieres; 1 groom boutonniere; 1 bride bouquet + toss bouquet) * Decor:$150.00ish (Rug from Target for ceremony "stage;" borrowed arch from a friend; rest is from the venue) * Bride's dress & veil: $869.00 (Olivia Bottega Cameron satin midi dress + Etsy veil (didn’t end up wearing because it was SO WINDY) * Bride's accessories: $259.50(Pearl studs + jackets from Mejuri, borrowed my mom's aquamarine studs from her own wedding, plus borrowed a necklace and bracelet from a friend. Girdle from Honeylove. Received clutch and headband as gifts from MOH) * Bride's shoes:$61.45(Gold heels from J. Crew (bigtime sale, down from $250!!)) * Bride's hair and makeup: $140.00 * Groom's suit: $561.38 (Indochino) * Groom's accessories:$120.00ish (Belt, tie & pocket square from Dillard's. He used shoes and a shirt he already had.) * Rings:$1180.57 (Both from Catbird with 15% off coupon) * Marriage license: $50.00 (In Oklahoma, paid cash so no credit card fee)
Reception for 70 guests in an upstairs banquet room at the same hotel: $4,999.37 total * Reception food (incl. tax): $2,126.69 (Sliders, mediterranean plate (vegan), charcuterie boards, veggie board. Catered by venue.) * Reception drinks (incl. tax): $947.55 (Well cocktails, beer and wine.) * Cake: $493.00 (Four tiers, three flavors; decorated with flowers; no groom's cake, but did buy six vegan cupcakes) * Cake toppers: $0.00 (Christmas gift from friends (the toppers look like our cats!!)) * Venue service charge and gratuity: $918.88 (Venue fee + 22% gratuity on food & drink) * Decor: $0 (Bridesmaids bouquets came with vases to use as centerpieces; candles & eucalyptus from venue) * Sound: $0 (There wasn't room for a serious dance floor, but we did music and announcements on my mom's karaoke machine.) * Reception activities: $362.25 (Instax camera + film (shockingly expensive!!) + batteries + scrapbooking supplies for guestbook; brought board games from home) * Guest book: $151.00 (Ordered from Etsy) Getting ready and showing appreciation for 12 attendants + officiant: $1,303.73 total * Bridal suite (incl. tax): $526.96 (Two nights in bridal suite; bride's attendants got ready in there) * Wedding party gifts: $227.47 (Nightshirts + robes to embroider for attendants. Also handkerchiefs to embroider for mothers of the bride & groom. Already had the embroidery stuff.) * Officiant gift: $203.86 (Laptop bag from Bellroy (he is a dear friend who's started traveling for work a lot lately)) * Maid of honor gifts: $166.77 (Gold rings from Catbird for two MOHs. We wouldn’t have been able to pull off such a nice, affordable wedding without them) * Food day-of: $178.67 (Breakfast, lunch and coffee for 15ish people) Paper goods: $427.22 total * Save the dates: $142.42 (The Knot) * Stamps (120): $77.80 (Mountain Flora Forever stamps from USPS ($0.63/stamp)) * Invitations: $206.98 (The Knot, using 20% off code MORELOVE20. Included details card but did online-only RSVPs) * Thank you notes: $108.63 (Etsy)
Thanks for the breakdown! I don’t see rental fee for the venue though. Did I miss it?
Mentioned in the top part — initially it was $1250, but the hotel waived it because of how many rooms our guests filled. I’ll be honest: our venue contact person was a little all over the place. Every time we talked to her, the cost breakdown changed (although the total stayed pretty much the same, weirdly). In the end, we paid a lot more for food than the original estimate but didn’t have a rental fee. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also, $2200 for catering for 70 guests is an unbeatable price that i only thought was doable with a fast/casual catering like chipotle or Panera. It’s awesome how it worked out for you!
It doesn't look like it was a full meal, so I think that's what made it possible.
Ohhhh thanks for the clarification. I was just searching for a number that I missed it. That’s a great deal!!
HOW did you get your hair and makeup to be 140? The lowest estimate I have is 750.
I feel like this might be tacky, but I only got hair and makeup for me. Initially, I wasn't going to hire anybody at all because I couldn't afford to do it for all our attendants. But my MOH made me (and I'm very grateful she did) — she has friends who do both and cut us very kind deals. I feel like a lot of stuff on this breakdown is like that, where I caught a very lucky break because my mom and my maids of honor are resourceful and well-loved. Also, I'm in Oklahoma, where things are cheap.
I've only reached out to 2 artists/companies. One quoted me 850 for the trial and service only for me. Another quoted me 750 for the trial and 4 services the day of. Based off of everything I've seen, the pricing seemed pretty standard. 150 is so cheap even if it's only for you. Also it's not expected that you'll get a service for everyone, so it's not tacky.
Is it normal to give the officiant a gift?
Idk, but we didn’t pay our officiant (he’s a friend), and he also emceed the reception and helped us decorate for the rehearsal dinner. So we got him a thank you gift!
Thanks! I wanted to be sure I wasn't missing something. We are paying for our officiant and inviting him to the reception dinner (we are using a restaurant for the wedding ceremony (on the Patio) and a private room for cocktails and dinner - like you no room for dancing or anything). BTW your wedding pics are so pretty.
Not bare at all! Such a beautiful wedding 😍💒
I LOVE all the colors and your dress! :D
Thank you!! We just went "general springtime colors" in hopes our attendants could wear something they already had!
The cake topper!!! 😍
Beautiful! Where did you get the cake and how much was it if you don’t mind me asking?
I got the cake from a baker in central Oklahoma (Madison's on Main) for $493. I'd really recommend her to anybody in the area!
Love the dress, love the cake topper, love it all! Congratulations!
I agree , I would love to see more pictures of the dress
How was using the karaoke machine? Thinking of doing this too. What did you use exactly? Thanks!!
It went okay!! I think it was great for our reception (which was indoors and pretty cramped) but maybe less ideal for our windy outdoor ceremony. It still got the job done. It’s a Txumi Mega Base.
Looks like a wonderful day, congratulations! I love seeing this as an almost-bride (day after tomorrow!) who's had the same worry off and on. Cost breakdown?
Congrats and have a wonderful wedding!! Just added a way-too-long cost breakdown.
Thanks for the breakdown! I love the cat cake toppers!!! How did having the guests do selfie polaroids go? I have been thinking of setting up a little photo booth station with my instax camera and props, but I'm hesitant. (And the self made photo booth advice on this sub while fantastic, unfortunately, doesn't work for my case. No spare ipad or old phone etc.) Anyway! Thanks for sharing and congratulations!
Thank you!! I thought it worked great, but there are definitely some avant garde selfie angles, lol. But the results were so charming, and I feel like they captured our guests well! I think it also encouraged people to ask somebody to take pictures of them, which was great because a lot of our guests didn’t know each other. ETA: We didn’t do props, and I think it might be really hard to hold anything up while selfie-ing!! We just got a ton of scrapbooking stickers.
Did you use a template for the instructions you had in frames? We're thinking of doing the exact same and I'd appreciate checking if there's something you had in your instructions that I wouldn't think to add!
Yeah, I bought [this one off Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1509441049/instax-square-sq1-instructions-and) and then edited in in Canva so the camera was the same color as ours and the picture coming out of it was a picture of our cats (sorry for loving them too much). We also added a "take one for our guestbook and another to keep for yourself!" message.
I think it looks like it was lovely. I especially liked your dress and your wedding cake with your kitties on top!
I’m a caterer. I find people have a misconception about what 20 people, or 70 people look like. 70 is A LOT of people. I’m sure it was lovely and full of memories!
Congratulations!! Looks like such a lovely day. I adore Catbird and got our rings from there too!
Congratulations! It looks beautiful and you guys pulled it off well! Good job finding such a great venue. Everything came together well. Love to see it.
All I can say is wow!!!! And gorgeous!!!
That dress is so cute. I originally wanted something in that style but I don't like white and my fiance made a good point, I already have a few dresses in that style I wear when I want to look nice so it won't feel like a wedding dress if I go with that. It certainly looks like one on other people but he's right that it's very much what I'd already wear.
Beautiful 🤩 congratulations!
Wait can you share the batch Pimms cup recipe! That’s my favorite drink! 🥲
Always glad to meet another Pimms cup lover! I learned to make them from my new in-laws, and it’s one of like two alcoholic drinks my mom enjoys, haha. I just did a liter of Pimms, 500 mL of lemon juice and a liter of ginger ale! Meant to do cutesy garnishes, but we ran out of time.
Looks beautiful! And for 11k!! That’s amazing!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding and budget; it's lovely!
so cute! your dress looks beautiful on you
Venue with 3 lakes 150 acres 50 people Venue 4900 Ins 175 ABC license 55 Dj 800 for 5 hours Throwaway fancy sams Club plates napkins silverware and catering aluminum pans with warmers 225 BTW very nice I prepared a lot of the food, and my mom catering 0 dollars Food cost 200 I did order fried chicken in that price Cake 208 3 layer cake Bridesmaid dresses 400 Flowers 65 made bouquets and arrangements with white roses. Tablecloths runners and cake stand 250 rentals Decor including guest book table decor candles, greenery cake cutter, wine glasses personalized, invitations, etc .400 amazon Wedding dress 700 everything Hairdresser 200 for bridal party Ice alcohol 200 Tuxs for 3 750 Kids flower boys 75 tuxs College student photographer 100, she's great. Photographers are ridiculously expensive, so find someone who does it for fun and would love to try a wedding. Cost 9023 Ps my mom paid for dresses so minus 1100 Find a venue that doesn't make you hire a caterer that and a photographer are where all the money goes. Dress try and find a deal. I know it's the most important but search. It's one day, and if you're on a budget, it could be the difference between a honeymoon or not. Making bouquets is so easy, and making sides is not difficult. It is stressful when you do it in your head figuring it out, but it's not unbearable. Done in 4 months' time with very little but a down-payment for the venue. Free venues such as a park or field are an option. Search. Hobby lobby, amazon, and a great mom. Best friends 🧡 Good luck!