Austin is an incredible destination to get married! Of course we may be a little biased, but with over 100 venues in the central Texas region and an outstanding number of highly experienced & talented wedding vendor professionals, Austin and the surrounding hill country offers an unparalleled landscape for planning your wedding.
So what does that mean for you? There’s an extremely wide variety of options, which makes budget planning an even more challenging task. And that makes answering the question- “what does an Austin wedding cost?” a varying answer that we’re going to guide you through.
For the purpose of simplifying things, I’m going to categorize price ranges as Economic, Average and Luxury. I’ve listed below several of the major wedding vendor expenses, what you can expect to spend, and added a few pro tips to help guide you along the way.
How much does an Austin wedding cost?
Venue
- Economic: <$4,500
- Average: $5,000-$7,000
- Luxury: > $7,000
Pro Tip: Most venues include tables & chairs and these numbers are based on that inclusion. However, you want to know if the venue will set them up and break them down, or if your catering company (or a staffing company) needs to provide that service. You can expect to spend at least 1K for the labor or more depending on the size of your event.
Photography
- Economic: <$3,000
- Average: $3,500-$5,000
- Luxury: >$5,000
Pro Tip: Check out these 3 steps to finding the perfect photographer.
Band
- Economic: <$4,500
- Average: $5,000-$7,500
- Luxury: >$8,000
DJ
- Economic: <$1,000
- Average: $1,500-$2,000
- Luxury: >$2,000
Catering
*this is based on a wedding with approximately 150 guests
- Economic: <$12,000
- Average: $12,000-$20,000
- Luxury: >$20,000
Pro Tip: Your catering quote should include staffing for your event, not just providing food & beverages. Some caterers will automatically include staffing in your quote and others won’t, so you want to make sure you have a full understanding of what is included & what you may need to add. Your wedding planner will help you with this.
Pro Tip: Some venues provide the catering ‘in-house’ meaning they handle all the catering services within the venue. Typically in addition to a venue rental fee, you will have a food & beverage minimum you’re required to meet. Make sure to factor this in your budget.
Floral:
*this is based on a wedding with approximately 150 guests
- Economic: <$4,500
- Average: $5,000-$7,000
- Luxury: >$7,000
You will still of course have things like cake, hair & makeup, stationery, officiant, possibly rentals (such as linens, lighting, china, glassware, furniture, etc.) which should all be factored into your wedding budget, but the key vendors included above will take care of all your major factors. Every wedding is very different, as is how each couples’ budget is allocated between vendors based on the importance of each element. If these numbers are quite surprising to you, the best thing you can do for yourself is- hire a wedding planner and if you’re really wise, hire Uptown Events! 😉
Our team has nearly two decades worth of combined experience planning weddings in Austin and Texas Hill Country, and has a strong knowledge of how to make your budget go further -where to splurge, where to compromise. With our full service planning package we guide you each step of the way to ensure your budget is maximized and you get the wedding of your dreams while keeping the cost within a price point you’re comfortable with.
Insider Tip: We have vendor partners that offer our couples special value rates because they enjoy and appreciate working with us.
I hope this guide has helped you to have a better understanding of the overall cost of an Austin wedding. I suggest having the ‘budget’ conversation early on with everyone who is contributing, so you can begin planning with a clear target in mind. Then we will help you stay on target!
Contact us to get started.
