Afterwards I had to sit down and figure out how much it would cost to have the entire wedding there - its a restaurant/gallery space so they would do their own catering and the building/ceremony fee is pretty much non-existent. I included all the elements that both Beau and I liked (example: hors d'oeuvres stations and passed), but wouldn't necessarily have. I budgeted for 90 guests (the max - I hope), and I included 4 hours of open bar (which may or may not occur). I had a nice number, and then I remembered that I have to budget for gratuity... and I did know what to do. How much does one leave? Is it like when you go out to dinner and you decide whether to be stingy or generous based on the service, or is there an expected amount?
My other dilemma is that I'm not sure how to proceed once we do have a budget. The amount that we would spend on a wedding at this venue (which we both love and is relatively inexpensive) would add up to about 40% of the number in my head and over 50% of the number in Beau's head. Is that reasonable for a number that includes ceremony and reception site fees, all the set up and take down, all the service, all the food (except dessert), 4 hours of open bar and 17% gratuity (a totally made up number that may have no basis in reality)?
I guess I really need to sit down with Beau and my parents to see what the actual budget is, and get a book/website/person to tell me (about) how much difference parts of the wedding cost.
1 comment:
Hey. Gratuity is usually 20%. In NYC, it's part of the "plus-plus" which is actually 20% + 8.375% in tax, so you need to multiply your food budget by about 30%. My understanding is that you do not multiply the cost of labor or the rentals by the 30%, just the projected cost for food. You're right on target with the 40-50% figure - that's about how much it should cost for the reception. Then figure about 10% for each of the other "domains" (photography, music, flowers, dress, paper goods and favors), but really, I think the remaining 50% disbursement is up to your preferences. (There's no way our clothes are 10% of the budget.) In any event, ask the venue about their gratuity policy. And remember to multiply your projected costs by 110% to account for things like overages (things you forgot to budget for), and tips.
Rasel + Hazel have some very nice (free) planning worksheets.
http://russelandhazel.com/ideas_weddingtemplates.html
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