My Wedding will Cost HOW MUCH!?

Wedding expenses add up. We know that your big day won’t be cheap. Here is a list of the top 6 most important vendors you will need for your wedding day and their average costs:

Catering

According to Wedding Wire's Wedding Catering Cost Guide, most couples spend around $1,800-$7,000 on food alone with an average cost of $4,000. Note that your location, food preference, and style of serving will affect this cost.

Some things your caterer may include in your cost is the food, of course, beverages, staff, rentals, and some additional fees like cake cutting and corkage.

Alcohol is often not included in this price and averages and additional $15 per person.

A caterer’s fee often includes tips, but if it doesn’t, it is a courtesy to tip 15-20% of the bill for the caterer.

Venue

Wedding Wire's Wedding Venue Cost Guide shows that most couples spend around $2,700-$10,500 on a wedding venue, with an average of $5,400. Many factors will impact the cost of your wedding venue including location, wedding date, and guest count.

Many venues do not include costs like parking, taxes, tips, and outside vendor fees in their contracts, so be sure to plan for these extra expenses.

Photographer

The average cost of a wedding photographer is

$2,000 with most couples spending between $1,200 and $3,000 according to Wedding Wire's Wedding Photographer Cost Guide. These costs will vary based on your location and the level of expertise that the photographer has.

A photographer’s fees will often include time, travel, secondary shooters, editing, images, albums, prints, and additional shoots like engagement sessions.

You should also take note if there is a tip included in the price. If not, it is common to tip $100-$200 for your photographer.

Videographer

Wedding Wire's Wedding Videographer Cost Guide states that most couples spend between $1,000-$2,500 on a wedding videographer, with the average couple spending $1,700. Once again these costs will differ the same as a photographers costs.

A videographers cost often includes time, travel, staffing, the final product, and sometimes extras like drone footage. If tip is not included in the price, it is common to tip $100-$200 for your videographer.

DJ

Live musicians and DJs can vary in price. According to Wedding Wire’s Wedding DJ Cost Guide, the average cost for a DJ is between $780 to $1,495. DJs also often expect a tip anywhere from 10-20% of the total bill.

A DJs cost includes their time, equipment (sometimes lighting and special effects), music, and other operational costs. A good DJ will be able to liven up a party and keep your guests on their feet and dancing all night. Picking the perfect DJ for your wedding will make the night unforgettable and will definitely be worth the cost.

Wedding Planner

Wedding planning and coordinating services vastly vary in price based on location and expertise of the planner. Wedding planners often offer a variety of services ranging from day-of wedding coordination to partial planning to full-service wedding planning.

According to WeddingWire's Wedding Planner Cost Guide, on average you will spend $800 for a day-of wedding coordinator and about $1,250 for partial planning services. Full-service planning has more of a range, starting around $3,000 and exceeding $12,000. Wedding planners often are in charge of communicating with vendors and other important contributors to the wedding day, venue and vendor selection guidance, organization, wedding preparation, day-of coordination, and post-wedding tasks. Tipping a wedding planner is optional, but if they went above and beyond for you, you may decide to tip them 20% of the total planning fee.

Now that we have the top 6 vendors that you will be working with and their prices, we can sum up a grand total. Between these 6 vendors, you will be spending an average of $15,600, not including tip. Weddings get pricey, but if you shop around and get quotes from competing vendors, you will be sure to find the right vendors who will make your big day unforgettable and will make the price tag worth it for your guests, and more importantly, YOU!