Wedding budget guides
The venue is only part of the plan. These guides cover what a $5,000 wedding actually buys, how courthouse ceremonies work, and how to feed your people without blowing the budget.
What Happens at a Courthouse Wedding: Step by Step, What to Bring, How Long It Takes
A courthouse wedding is two errands: get the license, then have a judge or clerk perform a short civil ceremony. Here is exactly what happens at each step, what you need to bring, who has to be there, and how long the whole thing takes.
Updated 2026-09-03
How Much Does a Small Wedding Cost? Real Numbers for 20, 30, and 50 Guests
The average cost of a small wedding depends almost entirely on the guest count and the venue. Here are worked totals for 20, 30, and 50 guests built on published venue prices from 1,000+ real listings, plus the line items that actually move the number.
Updated 2026-09-03
Elopement Packages: What They Include, What They Cost, and How to Build Your Own for Under $1,000
Elopement packages bundle a ceremony site, an officiant, and usually a photographer into one price, typically $800 to $3,500. Here is what is actually inside them, where the markup hides, and how to assemble the same thing yourself from published venue rates for a fraction of the cost.
Updated 2026-09-03
What a Civil Ceremony Is, Who Can Perform One, and What It Costs
A civil ceremony is a legal, non-religious wedding performed by a judge, clerk, or other authorized officiant. It can happen at a courthouse, a park, or your living room. Here is who can perform one in the states we cover, what it costs, and how it differs from a religious ceremony.
Updated 2026-09-03
What a $5,000 Wedding Actually Buys: The Real Cost Breakdown
A line-by-line, illustrative walkthrough of where a $5,000 wedding budget actually goes for 20 to 50 guests, from venue to the extras nobody remembers.
Updated 2026-08-05
Courthouse Weddings: How They Work and What They Cost
How courthouse weddings actually work: the marriage license fee versus the civil ceremony fee, who can attend, how to book, and how to make the day feel special.
Updated 2026-08-18
Micro Wedding vs Elopement: Which One Fits You
Clear definitions, common guest count ranges, cost dynamics, pros and cons, and a decision checklist for choosing between a micro wedding and an elopement.
Updated 2026-08-05
How to Feed 30 Wedding Guests for $1,500 or Less
Restaurant buyouts, taco bars, barbecue caterers, brunch weddings, and dessert-only receptions, with illustrative per-head arithmetic for feeding 30 guests on a tight budget.
Updated 2026-08-05
Sample Wedding Budgets: $3,000 and $5,000, Line by Line
Two full illustrative wedding budgets, one at $3,000 and one at $5,000, laid out line by line as adaptable templates for your own guest count and vendors.
Updated 2026-08-05
What a Small Wedding Venue Actually Costs, by Metro
Real published venue prices across every metro in this directory, with medians, ranges, and what the site fee does and does not include. Built from the listings themselves, not survey averages.
Updated 2026-08-11
How to Get Married in a Public Park, Permit and All
How park district and county park wedding rentals actually work: which permit you need, resident rates, hourly minimums, what the fee includes, rain policy, and the questions that decide your real cost.
Updated 2026-08-11
21 Questions to Ask a Cheap Wedding Venue Before You Book
The questions that decide whether a low published price is actually low: minimums, deposits, surcharges, what is included, alcohol rules, rain policy, and vendor restrictions.
Updated 2026-08-11
Can You Get Married the Same Day? Courthouse Waiting Periods, State by State
Whether a same-day courthouse wedding is possible depends on your state's marriage license waiting period and whether the court performs walk-in ceremonies. Here is how it works, state by state, for every metro we cover.
Updated 2026-08-18