130+ people or so
10 in the wedding party
I'm getting hitched in Oct. There'll be about 75 people and I think the cost is in between 13-15k in total for me.
How big was it?
Mine looks like it is going to be small. (14 people, all family). Knowing this, it looks like we do not have to spend all of our money on food and the rental hall.
Also, how much am I looking at for a photographer?
Dam....yeah, we want to spend much less than that....
Mine was small -- about the same number of people, maybe a few more. Definitely under 20.
Depends on what you order, but make sure you OWN the photos they take. Many will take pictures and then retain ownership of the photos, meaning you pay them for prints. I think we paid $800 and we got full ownership of everything, a print of each photo in a binder, and all of them on DVD as well.
WTF??? Man...if I went through all that and they told me I did not own the photos....I would be heading to jail the next day!
You can do much less than $13K. We spent around $5K IIRC and most of that was the reception with open bar. :awe:
No, the ceremony is not the issue. the places I found were in Boston were all less than $1000 and some even have a "requested donation" instead of a set price. The reception though...dam....people can get into serious debt with those prices.
How big was it?
Mine looks like it is going to be small. (14 people, all family). Knowing this, it looks like we do not have to spend all of our money on food and the rental hall.
Also, how much am I looking at for a photographer?
Be honest, you're one of those people without too many friends, not that there's anything wrong with it (maybe).
no, if I invite one person, then another one has to be invited or they will feel "left out". Then there is the "+guest". Then there are kids you have to accommodate. Yeah, it will turn into a 100 person reception fast. at around $120 a head for food, it's not cheap.
wait....you mean people who attend the actual wedding do not always attend the party after (with a band and everything)?
I did not want lots of people because I did not want to spend money on the food during the party. It's something like $120 a head and for every 12 people, you need to spend another $160 for a server.
Or am I missing and event in between?
After the ceremony, there is usually a cocktail hour before dinner. Basically, the bar opens, everyone gets hammered for an hour, and then you sit down to dinner. It's not seated, so everyone can say hello, talk, etc. It's a lot of fun, I really suggest doing it, because you and your guests can walk around, talk, etc. There are usually passed hors d'oeuvres (pronounced whores-doovers, trust me) and a bartender, so if you have to pay servers for the night you can keep them working.
Ask your reception venue if it's built into the cost. If you're doing it at a hotel or something that is specifically a reception hall, it's probably already planned.