A Pacific Northwest Marriage Celebration: What Do You Get for Your Budget?
What do you get for your budget when throwing a Pacific Northwest wedding or elopement? Our region has its own set of nuances when it comes to costs, availability, and style. We’ve spent our careers dabbling in events from two person Pacific Northwest elopements to intimate weddings to weekend long celebrations, and we know that navigating money conversations is a key component in deciding how to celebrate. We want to help couples have clarity early on about what their investment looks like and how that impacts their event style.
Before we dive in, we want to be clear that this guide is merely a starting point. We have based these figures on some of the most common couple celebration profiles we’ve come across in our years of experience. When we create budgets for our planning clients, we start with a base budget model then undergo a full vetting process in order to hone in their budgets by category. We also want to be clear that this budget may not address every category that interests you. There are also some categories that vary widely based on the individual, and we’ve done our best to demarcate which categories those are.
While these budgetary numbers are a great place to start, you can always customize the numbers like a switchboard: you can turn the volume down on some, and up on others, and still create a balanced budget that reflects your unique priorities. Without further ado, let’s break down line item costs for different styles of events based in the Pacific Northwest.
A DESTINATION WEEKEND CELEBRATION.
Total budget: $240,000
Headcount: 150 people
| Category | Spend |
|---|---|
| Partner A Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Partner B Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Planner | $35,000 |
| Venue Site Fee | $24,000 |
| Accommodations | $25,000 |
| Catering + Desserts | $40,000 |
| Bartending + Alcohol | $15,000 |
| Rentals | $20,000 |
| Photography | $17,000 |
| Videography | $10,000 |
| Floral | $15,000 |
| Music/Entertainment | $9,000 |
| Officiant | $1,500 |
| Beauty | $3,500 |
| Transportation | $4,000 |
| Decorations + Lighting | $12,000 |
| Event Insurance | $200 |
| Marriage License | $70 |
| Gratuity | Varies |
A SEATTLE WEEKEND CELEBRATION.
Total budget: $140,000
Headcount: 120 people
| Category | Spend |
|---|---|
| Partner A Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Partner B Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Planner | $20,000 |
| Venue Site Fee(s) | $12,000 |
| Accommodations | $3,000 |
| Catering + Desserts | $35,000 |
| Bartending + Alcohol | $9,000 |
| Rentals | $15,000 |
| Photography | $13,000 |
| Videography | $8,000 |
| Floral | $9,000 |
| Music/Entertainment | $6,500 |
| Officiant | $800 |
| Beauty | $3,500 |
| Transportation | $3,000 |
| Decorations | $1,000 |
| Event Insurance | $200 |
| Marriage License | $70 |
| Gratuity | Varies |
No matter where you’re at in your wedding planning process, this guide will help you! There is a lot of information in this article and it can be hard to figure out exactly where you want your money to go. This guide is meant to help you narrow down, WITH INTENTION, where your money is going.
A DIY resource for couples who want an elevated wedding with a financially-savvy approach.We’ve carefully designed this one-stop-shop guide to help you:
Walk away with the insider knowledge you need to DIY your dream wedding on a budget without the stress between you, your partner, and your family
Develop a foundational set of budget decisions to plan your DIY wedding while remaining financially healthy
Create clarity and connection with your partner in building your wedding celebration
A SEATTLE DAY VENUE WEDDING.
Total budget: $110,000
Headcount: 120 people
| Category | Spend |
|---|---|
| Partner A Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Partner B Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Planner | $16,000 |
| Venue Site Fee | $8,000 |
| Accommodations | $2,500 |
| Catering + Desserts | $25,000 |
| Bartending + Alcohol | $7,500 |
| Rentals | $7,000 |
| Photography | $10,000 |
| Videography | $8,500 |
| Floral | $7,000 |
| Music/Entertainment | $6,500 |
| Officiant | $800 |
| Beauty | $3,500 |
| Transportation | $2,500 |
| Decorations | $500 |
| Event Insurance | $200 |
| Marriage License | $70 |
| Gratuity | Varies |
AN INTIMATE WEDDING.
Total budget: $70,000
Headcount: 35-50 people
| Category | Spend |
|---|---|
| Partner A Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Partner B Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Planner | $7,500 |
| Venue Site Fee | $6,500 |
| Accommodations | $1,500 |
| Catering + Desserts | $14,000 |
| Bartending + Alcohol | $5,000 |
| Rentals | $5,000 |
| Photography | $8,000 |
| Videography | $6,000 |
| Floral | $6,500 |
| Music/Entertainment | $5,000 |
| Officiant | $800 |
| Beauty | $1,750 |
| Transportation | N/A |
| Decorations | $500 |
| Event Insurance | $200 |
| Marriage License | $70 |
| Gratuity | Varies |
A DESTINATION ELOPEMENT.
Total budget: $50,000
Headcount: 2 people
| Category | Spend |
|---|---|
| Partner A Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Partner B Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Planner | $8,000 |
| Venue | N/A |
| Accommodations | $4,000 |
| Catering + Desserts + Alcohol | $2,500 |
| Rentals | $1,500 |
| Photography | $12,000 |
| Videography | $10,000 |
| Floral | $2,500 |
| Transportation | $3,500 |
| Officiant | $1,200 |
| Beauty (+ travel) | $1,750 |
| Accessories | $500 |
| Marriage License | $70 |
| Gratuity | Varies |
A LOCAL MINIMALIST ELOPEMENT.
Total budget: $15,000
Headcount: 2 people
| Category | Spend |
|---|---|
| Partner A Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Partner B Apparel + Accessories | Varies |
| Planner | $5,000 |
| Venue | N/A |
| Accommodations | $2,500 |
| One Meal + Desserts + Alcohol | $1,000 |
| Rentals | $500 |
| Photography | $8,000 |
| Videography | N/A |
| Floral | $750 |
| Transportation | $750 |
| Officiant | $1,200 |
| Beauty (+ travel) | $1,750 |
| Marriage License | $70 |
| Gratuity | Varies |
YOUR ON DEMAND WEDDING PLANNER.
Get an expert in your corner.
So you’re engaged and ready to dive into wedding planning?
You’re a confident self-starter and project manager?
You’re ready to take DIY planning on by storm and want to have the right strategy in hand?
Wedding Planning Power Hour was created for couples like YOU who want to take the lead role in planning your event. You feel great about certain aspects of planning, but you also want access to a wedding professional to help get organized, make decisions, overcome roadblocks, and feel confident about your event planning journey. We offer a la carte wedding, elopement, and ceremony planning sessions to help you navigate event planning with professional advice, mindful strategies, and clear intention.
During our 1 hour session, we can discuss any number of topics (see examples below). We send you a list of topics and ideas ahead of your session to capture the most relevant topics of conversation for you. We will also send you 4 example timeline templates that you can adopt and adapt for your own use!
Buy your session today and, within 48 hours, you’ll get access to our calendar to schedule your Planning Power Hour at a day and time that works for you. We can’t wait to meet you!
Want more personalized help? Our wedding planning power hour is going to help you on your journey to DIY-ing your wedding.
We want to remind you again that these are ballparks — you can mix and match services, budgets, and DIY efforts to fit your needs. These numbers are from working with our couples and what we have seen within our vendor community.
If you’d like to learn more about how a planner or coordinator benefits your wedding planning experience, we invite you to check out this article.
