We Graduated! FULL budget breakdown for a totally DIY wedding.
WOW what a weekend.
We did an ENTIRELY DIY wedding, aside from our photo team, for obvious reasons!
We didn’t use a single coordinator, vendor, decorator or otherwise. Our community is what made this happen!! You CAN have an absolutely stunning wedding for cheap!
So here goes -
Photographer $3200, included engagement shoot.
Videography $1500
Venue (string g lights, wood columns, electric supplies, etc.) $800ish. This was entirely my dad. He is incredibly talented. A true renaissance man.
Food $1500. A friend made us an 8foot charcuterie table, and a groomsmen is a chef and he catered passed appetizers. Mashed potato bar. Etc. We had no formal sit down dinner.
Bar $750 ish. I was a bartender once upon a time, and I hired some very good friends to bartend the event. I stocked the bar myself from the liquor store. We had three signature cocktails, martinis flowing, and general open bar beer/wine/liquor all night long.
Staffing $700. I hired three college girls that I knew to carry trays with appetizers, and the two bartender friends.
Our band was a friend of my Aunt, a three piece that played jazz for the initial mingling portion, and then spiced up the dance floor later in the evening. $1600
We had a cigar bar. 60-cigars roughly $500
No “wedding cake”, we got a beautiful white cake from Wegmans for our topper, then had a cake bar with 7-8 different flavored cakes make my family/friends and a few store bought. $250ish
Since the event was on my parents property, we had to rent tables/chairs/food warmers/glassware etc. $1250
We purchased eucalyptus garland off of Facebook market place, and my mom sourced candles and votives for a year. The lights really created the atmosphere for us. Budgeted $1000 but I don’t think we got anywhere close to that.
Our guestbook was a voicemail guestbook from After the Tone. $375
Add in some accidentals and unexpected things, and our entire wedding was just under $15,000 for 120 people. And what a wedding it was.