How You Can Save Money On Your 2024 Southern California Wedding

By KingStreetOrchard | August 27, 2024 | Comments Off on How You Can Save Money On Your 2024 Southern California Wedding

This blog post reveals how you can save money on your 2024  Southern California Wedding.

The average cost for a wedding with approximately 75 guests can range from $25,000 to $45,000, depending on the couple's choices and preferences1.

Southern California is known for its favorable climate and picturesque venues. The beautiful climate allows you to have outdoor weddings for many months throughout the year. Southern California climate allows you many more days to have your wedding outside.

Your wedding cost can vary significantly depending on various factors such as the venue, catering, photography, and other services.

The average cost for a wedding with approximately 75 guests can range from $25,000 to $45,000, depending on the couple's choices and preferences1.

Let's break down the typical expenses to better understand where the money goes.

1. Venue and Catering

The most significant portion of a wedding budget usually goes to the venue and catering. In Southern California, venues range from beaches and vineyards to luxury hotels and banquet halls, and their prices typically range from $5,000 to $15,0002.

Many venues offer comprehensive packages that include catering, which can cost between $100 and $250 per person.

For 75 guests, this could mean spending between $7,500 and $18,750 on catering alone, depending on the menu and service style chosen.

Money Saving Ideas

Venue

Southern California is known for its favorable climate and picturesque venues. The beautiful weather allows outdoor weddings for many months throughout the year.

The outdoors offers you:

  • Backyard of a family or friend
  • Rent an outdoor space. Numerous properties are geared towards wedding venue rents. You can find these properties on Airbnb, Gigster, The Knot, and Wedding Wire.
  • Parks - you can rent out an area of a public park

Catering

You can save a substantial amount of money if you opt for:

  • Buffet style wedding
  • Taco truck
  • Hamburger truck

2. Photography and Videography

Capturing memories through professional photography and videography is another crucial element of wedding planning.

In Southern California, the average cost for a wedding photographer ranges from $2,500 to $5,500, while videography can cost between $2,000 and $4,0004.

Couples often spend around $5,000 to $9,000 on these services to ensure high-quality photos and videos that capture the essence of their special day.

Money Saving Ideas

If you need to save funds, there are numerous ways to save money on your photographer and videographer:

  • Hire a wedding photographer and have a friend or family video your wedding. These days, everyone has a cell phone.
  • Forgo both a photographer and videographer and opt for a photo booth.
  • Contact the photography school around you and inquire about student photographers.
  • Find a wedding photographer on Thumbtack. This website allows you to post your needs and allows people to contact or reach out to you.
  • Yelp is another resource you can use to find a photographer and videographer.
  • You can find photography and videography vendors on The Knot and Wedding Wire.

3. Flowers and Decorations

Flowers and decorations are essential for creating the desired ambiance.

Floral arrangements, including bouquets, boutonnieres, and centerpieces, can cost between $2,000 and $4,500, depending on the type of flowers and the complexity of the arrangements5.

Additional decor elements, such as lighting, draping, and other design features, can increase the budget by $1,000 to $3,000.

Money Saving Ideas

  • Make your bridal bouquet using real flowers. Purchase the flowers a couple of days early, trim them to fit your vases, and keep them alive by submerging them in a bucket of water.
  • Use flowers that are in season.
  • Greenery is inexpensive and can bring a real pop to your tables
  • Purchase clear bud vases on Amazon and place several vases on each table.

 

Tea Lights, which come in a variety of transparent colors, are a fabulous way to add a little pop to your reception tables.

These Tea Lights are available on Amazon. As I write this, they are $39.99, and a 5% coupon is available. This breakdown is just a little over a dollar for each of these tea lights. The tea lights are a must-have if you are having a night wedding.

 

 

 

 

4. Attire and Accessories

The attire cost, including the wedding dress, groom's suit, and accessories, can vary widely.

In Southern California, brides typically spend between $1,500 and $3,500 on a wedding dress, while grooms might pay between $300 and $1,000 on a suit6.

Additional accessories, hair, and makeup costs can add another $500 to $1,500 to the overall budget.

Money Saving Ideas

  • Just as groom can rent a tux, a bride can rent a wedding dress
  • A friend or family member may offer their wedding dress to you
  • You can find a wedding dress on Amazon that does not break the bank. I have a highly rated wedding dress below:

 

5. Miscellaneous Expenses

Other costs associated with a wedding include invitations, favors, transportation, and entertainment.

Depending on the couple's preferences, these expenses can add up to $2,000 to $4,0007.

Additionally, many couples opt for a wedding planner, which can cost an additional $2,000 to $5,000 but can help save time and stress in organizing the event.

Money Saving Ideas

  • Your wedding invitation should revolve around postage. If you are sending out a hardcopy invitation then make sure your invitation fits the postal requirements: Standard wedding invitation sizes such as 5″ x 7″ or 5.5″ x 8.5″ are standard USPS sizes and do not require additional postage just because of the size. Square wedding invitations on the other hand are considered irregular and just on dimensions alone will require additional postage.
  • Vista Prints and Canva are some companies that offers competitive rates on wedding invitations.
  • Wedding invitations are nice but there are other options,  such as digital. Both Paperless Post or Canva provide digital wedding invitation.
  • You can write on your wedding invitation regrets only to save you time and money.
  • The wedding RSVP can be digital and linked to a wedding site such as The Knot or Wedding Wire. Both of these website are free to set up your wedding registry, recieve RSVP and sent out special messages to your guests.

Conclusion

The average cost of a Southern California wedding for 75 guests can range from $25,000 to $45,000, with some couples spending even more depending on their specific desires and requirements.

You can have a beautiful wedding without breaking the bank. I hope the Money Saving Ideas feature is helpful to you.

It's essential for couples to prioritize their spending based on what aspects of the wedding are most important to them and to plan their budget accordingly.

Cheers!

Footnotes

  1. WeddingWire Editorial Team. (2023). Average Wedding Cost: Insights from Real Couples. WeddingWire.
  2. The Knot Editors. (2024). The Knot 2024 Real Weddings Study. The Knot.
  3. Brides Editorial Team. (2023). How Much Does Catering Cost for a Wedding? Brides.
  4. Wedding Photography Prices: How Much Should You Pay? (2023). Brides
  5. Southern California Floral Design Costs. (2024). California Wedding Day.
  6. Average Wedding Dress Cost in 2024. (2024). The Knot.
  7. Complete Guide to Wedding Expenses. (2023). Martha Stewart Weddings.
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