**Wedding Budget/Cost Breakdown**

Time and Place: June 2026 in Twin Bridges, Montana,

Guests: 185 (Approx 160 adults and 25 kids under age 15). This ended up being 25 round tables of guest seats!

**Total cost: $25,487**

I found it so helpful to see cost breakdowns on reddit when I was planning our wedding, so I wanted to post ours too!

We live in a very rural area, which makes a lot of things cheaper. We received about $9000 from our parents to help pay for the wedding, so we paid about $16000 ourselves and we were able to spread it over the past year fairly well. We got all the attire and rings in the Oct - Dec 2025 range so those were all paid for well in advance of the wedding, which helped financially.

**Venue - $0.** My husband works for the ranch that owns this gorgeous venue, so we did not pay anything for it. This was a huge gift for us as it allowed us to spend money on other categories more freely! If we had had to pay, it would have been around $6250.

**Dinner catering - $2800.** Local BBQ company that barely has an online presence. We got tri tip steak, baked beans, coleslaw, and garlic bread. I also spent around $50 on alternatives for guests who were vegetarian or had allergies (veg baked beans, dairy-free coleslaw, etc.)

**Cocktail hour food - $1500.** Local business that does charcuterie grazing tables. She did a 6 foot table covered in cheese, meats, fruit, crackers, and more. It was amazing!

**Linens and utensils - $416.** The venue had plates and utensils included. We rented tablecloths (25 round tables and 8 rectangular tables) and some supplementary utensils

**Dessert - $145.** This was not a big priority for us and we didn’t have a wedding cake. We ordered a variety of bars (lemon bars, cookie bars, brownies, rice krispies) from a nearby college’s dining hall! We ordered 16 dozen bars total and cut them up so guests could try several types. They were decent. Nothing revelatory, but super budget friendly. Also made a batch of gluten-free and dairy-free brownies from a Betty Crocker mix for guests with allergies.

**Bar - $3317.** We hired a local bar and had an open bar during cocktail hour and dinner (about 2.5 hours). After that guests paid for their own drinks ($4 for beer, $5 for cocktails, cheap!!) It was worth the cost to have professional bartenders and not have to worry about running out of alcohol or dealing with the licensure/registration ourselves.

**Flowers - $1526.** I found a company called Something Borrowed Blooms which does flower rentals, and I am so happy with how it all went. The flowers were beautiful and so many guests initially thought they were real. We got 2 garlands for the arch, my bouquet, my husband’s boutonniere, and about 30 centerpieces. The best part was that the day after we could put everything back in the boxes and ship it all back! The peace of mind and not having to keep it in my house or try to resell afterward was so worth it. Plus not having to deal with water or worry about wilting/transport. I would highly recommend renting flowers just for the ease of experience (and they still looked so good!)

**Band - $1000.** We hired a two-man band from a nearby city. Their quoted price was $900 and I added a tip because they were so great. Really fun to have live music for dancing.

**Other music - $30.** I used spotify to make playlists for pre-ceremony, the ceremony itself, cocktail hour, and the time after our band left. I also got a subscription to a site/app called mixcloud that has a lot of DJ mixes that you can download and play offline. We didn’t end up using it but it was a great option for more upbeat dancing at the end of the night!

**Photographers - $5500.** This was a big splurge for us, but I wanted great photos and really loved the work of the photographer we chose. This price includes $1000 add-on for a second photographer, because our guest favor/gift was a professional photo. Basically during cocktail hour they could get their photo taken (as a couple, with family, or a group, or solo) and then we will send them the photo as a keepsake. Our guests seemed to really like this and I am excited to see all their photos! This photography package also included our engagement photos.

**Save the dates, invites, stamps - $510.** We used WithJoy for our wedding website and ordered invitations through them. We had about 110 households that we sent invitations to. The per-card cost seemed high when I ordered, but in hindsight it was worth it for the ease of designing and ordering. Especially because they printed guest addresses on all the envelopes for us!

**Signs and programs - $10.** I bought a ream each of plain cardstock and plain paper and we printed everything ourselves. I designed the signs and programs myself in google slides. 

**Paper goods and decor - $352.** This includes things like paper napkins, plastic water cups, water dispensers, napkin rings, table number holders, ribbon, and various miscellaneous items.

**Rings - $4373.** This includes my engagement ring, two wedding rings, and necklace ring holders from a company called Pixie Wing. 

**Dress and alterations - $1970.** I found my dress at my first try-on appointment, and bought it that day! The place where I got my dress has in-house alterations and so I got a discount on that, since I bought the dress from them. Alterations were $140 for hemming, shortening the shoulder straps, and adding a bustle. 

**Hair and makeup - $514.** I did my hair and makeup myself. I usually don’t wear makeup, so I did pay for a lesson at a salon and all the needed products.

**Suit - $1271.** We got a custom three-piece suit for my husband as well as some nice new dress shirts. 

**Dishwashing/plate clearing - $200.** We paid two high schoolers to clear plates and do dishes and paid them $100 each for about 4 hours of work. In hindsight I would have hired an additional person because they got pretty backed up with dishes.

**Marriage license - $53.** It’s official! This part was easy.

We had an amazing day and I have no regrets about the money we spent! Yes, it was a lot, but it meant we could have a wonderful celebration with all our friends and family that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Hope this is helpful to someone!

Budget/Cost Breakdown - $26k