Whether you’ve lived here your whole life, moved here yesterday, or visit every year, New York City (NYC) is captivating. To host your wedding in the greatest city in the world (as some say….) is a dream for many, but is it attainable? LLG is here to educate how much a wedding in NYC actually costs based on our years of experience. Of course, many aspects can fluctuate based on the number of guests, time of year, the vendors you want to invest in and what’s been on everyone’s mind; inflation.

VENUE

You may have narrowed down the city, but that does not mean you’ve narrowed down the venue options. There are countless venues in NYC with their own individual charm, not to mention most are historical with a famous backstory or are legendary for being the site of your favorite film. Due to the captivating charm of NYC venues, they tend to book out - fast. Many of our clients looking forward to 2023 weddings in NYC had to set their sights on 2024 since the top venues were already fully booked (unless you want the last Wednesday in February). Below is the average cost for a top tier wedding venue in New York City.

Numbers are based on Saturdays for 200 Guests

Low/Off Season (December-April) - $75,000.00+ 24% admin fee + site fees + taxes

High/Peak Season (May-October) - $100,000.00+ 24% admin fee + site fees + taxes

VENdor tiers

At LLG Events, we put our preferred vendor list into a 6 star rating system that allows us to provide the best referrals based on the client’s overall wedding budget. We rate our vendors based on the following criteria:

Years/experience level within in the industry
Price
Services offered
Capabilities of their team
Size of their team
Quality of service
Consistency
Professionalism

This allows our clients to determine which vendors they want to spend more on and which vendors they prioritize. Perhaps they want to move forward with a 5 or 6 star florist and spend less on stationery. Or they want to spend on a 5 star band and spend less on videography by hiring a 3 star videography team. Our rating system provides a point of comparison between vendors and allows our clients to evaluate our vendors while determining which vendors to prioritize.

While wedding budgets are driven by the client, wedding spend is driven by your vendors and their costs. If you do not know how much to allocate per vendor then ultimately you will not know what a realistic budget is for the vendors you desire to work with. That’s where a planner comes in!

Below we’ve outlined different price points for the major vendors your wedding requires however there is so much more that goes into budget management that we cover within our full service planning. Contact us today to learn more.

CATERING

Some venues offer catering services or are serviced exclusively by a catering company while others allow you to bring in outside catering vendors. Either option can be more costly than the other and allows for varying amounts of customization to their menu. Additionally these costs per guest will vary based on if they are offering beverage service along with their food. If you can have a catering company, you should do a tasting beforehand and it will cost anywhere from $150.00-$250.00 per person. The cost will be taken out of your overall event cost if you end up booking that caterer. We suggest tasting at most 3 catering companies (though, after the first tasting we only do another if the taste and style really do not match as most often the first tasting says it all!).

Based on 200 Guests

Pricing ranges:

Low - mid tier caterer - $175.00 - $225.00 per person

Mid - upper tier caterer - $225.00 - $375.00 per person

Top tier caterer - $375.00+

*Caveat - cake is typically not included in a caterer’s menu. Outside cake vendors range from $3,000.00-$10,000.00++ depending on vendor tier, style, number of guests, and cost per slice.

FLORAL Design

Bright lights, big city, even larger floral budgets. In NYC we like to be cutting edge, extravagant, and OVER THE TOP. The floral budget and lighting vendor becomes some of the larger line items for the wedding since you have to make a statement fit for an iconic venue. Most indoor venues are historical ballroom types and require you to use their in-house lighting vendor. Additionally these venues can use some embellishment to jolt them into more contemporary event spaces. Do not forget to factor in the cost for labor, delivery, installation, insurance, setup, breakdown, overtime rates and TAXES. This typically adds anywhere from 20%-35% on top of the cost of the actual products.

Based on 200 Guests (Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, and Reception)

Low Tier - $60,000.00++

Mid Tier - $85,000.00++

Upper Tier - $100,000.00++

Lighting + Production

Based on 200 Guests (Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, and Reception)

Low Tier - $10,000.00++

Mid Tier - $20,000.00++

Upper Tier - $35,000.00++

Event RENTALS

For some venues in NYC, you only pay for the venue itself and you have to bring in everything else. This includes rentals for the ceremony, dinner reception, cocktail hour, and can even include rentals for the kitchen. And, of course, you can always opt to rent chairs for the ceremony or dinner reception in the case that you do not like those that come with the venue. Most people want to include lounge vignettes for the cocktail hour and after party as well, so furniture rentals are another line item of the overall rental bill. There are a handful of rental companies to choose from and we recommend keeping it to 1-2 rental vendors as each will have their own delivery, staff and trucking fees.

Regardless of venue, most clients opt to rent linens. This includes napkins as well as the table cloths used for cocktail hour and the dinner reception. Venues typically only have restaurant style white linens for tables or on occasion black. But to stay cohesive with the design of your event, we rent linens which adds to the overall rental bill.

Tabletop

Chargers - anywhere from $10.00 - $20.00 per guest
Flatware - $2.50 - $4.50 per guest depending on style and rental company
Stemware - $2.50 - $4.50 per guest depending on style and rental compan
Total for tabletop - $4,000.00+

Linens - Depending on size and style - $85.00 - $125.00 per table

Lounge Furniture

Sofas - $550.00 - $850.00
Love Seats - $350.00 - $500.00
Ottomans - $150.00 - $250.00
Coffee Tables - $350.00 - $550.00

Chairs - $14.00 - $30.00 per person

TRANSPORTATION

You may be wondering why transportation is important for a NYC wedding. Yes, most everything is within walking distance, but if you’re hosting a black-tie wedding it is not only polite to offer transportation but thoughtful for those in heels!

Based on Saturday Pricing

Just Couple & Wedding Party - $2,500.00+ based on 3-4 hour minimums. Includes end of the night transportation.

Wedding Party, Immediate Family and Hotel Guests - $7,000.00+ based on 3-4 hour minimums. Includes end of the night transportation.

STARTING WEDDING Budget IN NYC FOR 200 GUESTS

Approximately $275,000.00. That is taking the peak season cost for the venue, top tier floral budget, mid tier lighting budget, some furniture rental upgrades, cake vendor and the higher end for transportation. Keep in mind this is the base price and does not include photography, videography, entertainment, stationery, or rehearsal dinner and/or brunch. Subscribe to our newsletter to see an outline of additional vendor costs!

A New York City Wedding; What Does it Really Cost?