For this couple, they just fell in love with everything about the Milwaukee Athletic Club! The downtown location was perfect and the MAC’s rooftop worked awesome for cocktail hour. They were excited to find out it fit in their budget!
For $38,000 their wedding turned out fantastic! These high school sweethearts incorporated some fun photos from where they met – The Good Times Summer Day Camp, which is also when and where they met their photographer.
Video wasn’t a top budget priority; however, this couple still wanted to have something to remember their day so they leveraged some super talented college students to film their wedding. Check out their video:
Also super important to them was the entertainment on their wedding, which is why they hired MIM Family Member Sound By Design to ensure the party stayed hype with their DJ skills, uplighting and photobooth.
Wedding Quick Facts:
- Guests: 200
- Ceremony: St.William Catholic Church
- Reception: Milwaukee Athletic Club
- Total Costs: $38,243
Wedding Essentials ($7,040):
- Invitations: $1,000
- Desserts: $640
- Photographer: $3,000
- Videographer: $300 (hired college students)
- Flowers: $2,100 (8 bridesmaids bouquets, bride bouquet, centerpieces, corsages & 10+ boutonnieres )
Reception and Ceremony Costs ($25,500):
- Ceremony: $400
- Reception: $2,300
- Food: $12,000 (dinner, appetizers, late night pizza)
- Drinks: $7,500 (open bar 3 hours; 2 hours open beer / wine)
- Officiant: $0 (via church)
- DJ & Uplighting: $2,400
- Photobooth: $900
- Rentals: $0 (included in venue rental)
Attire, Jewelry and Beauty ($2,005):
- Dress: $850
- Bride’s Shoes: $30
- Groom’s Attire: $0 (included with groomsmen rental)
- Rings: $960
- Hair and Make-up: $165
Other Costs ($3,698):
- Transportation: $1,288
- Wedding Party Gifts: $2,000
- Wedding Favors: $200 (sunglasses)
- Hotel Suite: $210
- Rehearsal Dinner: none
A Note from the Bride and Groom
We asked the bride and groom to tell us about their planning and budgeting process, and this is what they had to say:
The Venue:
We absolutely LOVED the Milwaukee Athletic Club! The location, the beautiful chandeliers in the ballroom, and the rooftop bar was what sold it for us. To be honest, we were shocked to find out that it fit into our budget! They ask for one flat fee to rent the space which includes access to the roof for cocktail hour, ballroom, the bridal suite, table/chairs/etc, and even a day of wedding planner! Their staff was very professional and flexible throughout the entire process. A year later and we are still getting compliments on our venue!The Photographer:
We went with Haley Kraus Photography because we felt that she would be the best to tell our story. David and I met in high school working at Good Times Summer Day Camp in Waukesha, and Haley was also working there at the time! After we got engaged, we started seeing her name pop up on Facebook and loved her work! She was VERY flexible and easy to work with, brought a 2nd photographer, returned our pictures in less than a month, and allowed us to print them ourselves!The DJ:
This was the vendor we decided was most worth the extra money. Sound by Design came highly referred by many, and they did not disappoint! Meeting with Sound by Design was something we looked forward to while we were planning. They were just as excited for our wedding as we were and made the process fun and seamless! They helped things run smoothly the day of and were amazing MC’s! We also loved that they were a one-stop-shop; we used them for our photobooth and uplighting too!The Videographer:
This was something we didn’t think we could afford when we were initially making our budget, but looking back it was the best money we spent! We ended up meeting a college student through a mutual friend who was interested in starting a wedding videographer business. We had seen a few of his projects and he was clearly very talented! Carter met with us a few times before our wedding day to learn exactly what we wanted to be featured. He and his business partner, JJ, filmed for over 10 hours on our wedding day and captured everything we asked for and so much more! We loved working with both of them and can’t wait to see their business take off!– The Bride and Groom
A BIG thanks to the bride and groom for sharing their awesome Milwaukee Athletic Club wedding and to Haley Kraus Photography for the photos!
If you’re currently working on your wedding budget, make sure to read through our previous articles featuring real Milwaukee wedding cost breakdowns.
