In my neck of the woods–San Jose, California–the average cost of a wedding today is between $28,914 and $48,190. That’s not including honeymoon and engagement ring, by the way. In San Francisco, it’s between $33,963 and $56,604…yipes…and in El Paso, Texas it’s $11,780 to $19,633.
Here in the Golden state–where our average wedding cost, like our taxes, is sky-high–entertainment costs for San Jose average between $924 and $1,540 to hire a DJ at the reception to between $1,596 and $2,660 for a band.
Knowing the average cost of a wedding in your area, down to the individual categories and vendors, is helpful when setting up your budget. I devote the entire fifth chapter of e-Plan Your Wedding to setting up a smart budget and payment system because it’s the cornerstone of your planning! These days, budgeting is even more important and you really need to be careful of the potential debt quagmire. It helps to know what the current local averages are, so you can create your own budget realistically and see where you stand relative to others in your area. And if you’re just starting out in the planning adventure, you can get an idea of what to expect. Not to say you must match your budget with everyone else’s, of course: local averages are not gospel…but they can be helpful.
I recently came across a great online tool to easily find local costs in your area just by entering in your zip code; it’s what I used to get the stats at the top of the post. And if you want a more tailored report, entering in some of your wedding stats (guest count and so forth) gives you more personalized specifics. The tool is available to use, free, at costofwedding.com, and if you’re working on your budget or will be soon, make sure you check it out.
Looking up the average cost of wedding entertainment in San Jose, CA with the Wedding Cost Search
Cost of Wedding says that they get their stats from other couples, not vendors, and there is a survey accessible on their website with which you can add your own stats when your big day is over. Just as an aside, I’d be interested to know how much of the data this site depends on was collected before the economic fiasco in 2008, and how much numbers have changed between then and now.
The Wedding Cost Search tool is a great starting point: after entering in your zip code, you can click the various categories to see the breakdown of various wedding elements and how much of a bite you can expect each one to take out of your wallet.
Wedding Cost Estimator will allow you to enter in variables related to your wedding, like the number of guests and so forth, to tailor a report just for you. You’ll be able to select specific aspects of each category, such as whether or not you’ll be hiring a videographer, and whether you’d like limo service, an antique car (my personal favorite!), or even a horse-drawn buggy.
There are also checklists, marriage license details for your area, a green wedding certification, and other goodies. Overall just a really helpful tool to have in your online planning arsenal.
Have a great weekend, and good luck in your big day budgeting efforts!
Photo Credits: Screenshot from costofwedding.com by The Wedding Report, Inc.
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