If you are reading this post, chances are you just got engaged (congratulations!) and decided to get married in France!
FIRST THINGS FIRST
One of the first things to define when starting to plan a wedding is your wedding budget… and this is no small task, as putting together a wedding budget requires insight (on what is needed and everything that needs to be thought of for a wedding), expertise (of how much things tend to cost), and local knowledge (as costs can vary depending on location)… which you may not have if you are not used to planning weddings in France.
SO HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
As wedding planners we get asked the question “How much does a wedding cost” a lot. And even for us there is no straight forward answer, as a wedding budget will hugely depend on location, style, standard, decor, entertainment, and guests services provided. But we do see that couples tend to under estimate the budget required to achieve some of the inspirations and ideas they have, and can be very surprised at how things quickly add up. Just like when you go out just to see a movie and come back home having spent way more than the cinema ticket in pre movie snacks and post movie drinks… which are nonetheless an important part of the movie night experience!
SAMPLE FRENCH WEDDING BUDGET
So to help you assess your wedding budget for a wedding in France, we are sharing below a sample budget with average costs on a basis of 100 guests:
- Venue rental: 15,000 Euros (depending on location and standard. Some venues cost up to 30,000 Euros and more, some day venues can cost under 7,000 Euros)
- Catering: 12,000 Euros
- Drinks: 2,000 Euros
- Photographer: from 3,000 Euros
- Celebrant: 1,000 Euros
- Furniture hire: 3,000 Euros
- Flowers: 3,000 Euros
- Live music for ceremony and/or cocktails: 1,500 Euros
- DJ: 3,000 Euros
- Bridal hair and make up: 700 Euros
- Lighting: 2,500 Euros
- Save the dates: 400 Euros
- Wedding invitation: 800 Euros
- Day of stationery (menus, place cards, seating plan,…): 600 Euros
- Decor items (wedding rings box, parasols, party accessories,…): 800 Euros
- Night shuttles: 1,200 Euros
- Wedding planner: 8,500 Euros
TOTAL: 59,000 Euros
This does not include videography, outfits, travel, honeymoon, wedding bands, bridal party outfits and beauty, bridal party gifts or side events / activities.
This is an average calculation based on our experience of planning weddings with the services of professional, talented partners throughout. The actual costs will depend on your choices, standards and vision. Also costs vary depending on location: the south west of France tends to be more economical than the South East. The French Riviera and Paris tend to be more expensive areas.
TAKE THE RIGHT FIRST STEP!
We hope the above is helpful to you.
Wedding budgets have a really bad reputation for being under estimated and sometimes massively exceeded. Your wedding planner will help you draft a realistic budget from the start and will help you stick to it throughout the planning, as well as making some savings by making the smartest choices according to your priorities. Even with a 6 figure budget you may need to make some sensible choices here and there.
We would be delighted to help you plan your wedding in France so for more insight and to start discussing how we can support you in the process do get in touch!
