How Much Did You Pay?

A lot depends on where you live and how many people you want there. My sister just got married in the bay area with 150 people at the wedding, and she had a great deal of difficulty keeping the budget under 20,000.

A venue in the BA is going to charge you anywhere from 1500-5000.
Caterers are going to charge you an arm and a leg-- for a buffet meal (not seated--no waiters) with simple chicken or veggie alfredo and some salad and a soft bar (wine and beer ), they charged us $80 per head.
The flowers were 1500.
The attire was 1000. That`s dress, shoes, accessories, viel and her groom`s tux. She got her makeup done at MAC for 40 and her hair at the local salon for 50.
The DJ was 1500.
The invites, thank you cards, response cards, save the date cards, and guestbook were 500. She printed them all herself.
The favors were 2.50 each
The photographer was 1000

And the entire time she worked darn hard to keep the prices down and many of the vendors she contacted actually laughed in her face when she told them her budget. I`m glad she hasn`t read your conversation here where people are criticizing other`s for "throwing away" money when it costs $20,000. Blame the industry, not the people who are just trying to throw a relatively straight-forward party.