We are super excited about this Cost Breakdown!! We know the bride via her employer, Tall Guy and a Grill, one of our MIM Family members since the beginning. On top of that, as soon as we opened their photos, we saw this amazingly cool and in-love couple having the time of their lives!
This is one of the more unique weddings we’ve featured and we LOVE that they incorporated live music into their reception. As always, we were excited to hear they used two Married In Milwaukee Family Members: The Plaza Hotel and Milwaukee Flower Company. Read on to learn all about their unique wedding, their vendors and their budgeting process.
Quick Facts – Plaza Hotel / Club Garibaldi Wedding:
- Guests: 44 at the ceremony / 150 at the reception
- Ceremony: The Plaza Hotel
- Reception: Club Garibaldi
- Total Costs: $9,420
Wedding Essentials ($2,300):
- Invitations: $250
- Cake: $0 (made by bride’s sister)
- Photographer: $1,700 (includes significant friends and family discount)
- Flowers: $350 (Bouquet, Flower Crown, Dog Collar, 2 Corsages, 3 Boutonnieres)
Reception and Ceremony Costs ($5,260):
- Food: $4,360 (Plaza dinner/ Garibaldi chicken wings/ late night pizza from Transfer )
- Drinks: $0 (Club Garibaldi bar tab a gift from groom’s family)
- Officiant: $0 (friend)
- Local Bands: $900 (Bands included: The Old Prospectors, Conundrum and Shickey)
Attire, Jewelry and Beauty ($1,860):
- Dress and Alterations: $640 (gift from bride’s family)
- Shoes: $0 (already owned)
- Groom’s Attire: $240
- Rings: $660
- Hair and Make-up: $320
Other Costs ($0):
- Rehearsal Dinner: $0 (BBQ at bride’s parents)
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:
Food, Booze and Live Bands
I’ve worked in the wedding industry as a catering manager for two years so I knew what I wanted and didn’t want. Vince and I are both super casual people, we don’t like being the center of attention, and we love live music. We knew we wanted to spend the most money on food, booze, and live bands.Working in the catering business, I know how much money goes into feeding ~150 people, that’s how we decided to do dinner for only the ceremony guests. I also knew I didn’t want to deal with table rentals, linen rentals, dish rentals etc. which lead to our choice to get married at a restaurant.
The Ceremony
We used the Married In Milwaukee Rehearsal Dinner Section and also googled “best Milwaukee dog-friendly patios” and that’s when we found The Plaza Hotel. We knew their brunch was phenomenal, the court yard is beautiful, and they’re dog friendly, so that was a no-brainer! We had a cocktail hour in the court yard, then sort of just clinked some glasses, stood up on the stairs, and got married with our closest loved ones standing around us.The Rock n’ Roll Reception
Club Garibaldi for the after-party was an easy choice. They have a semi-private room with a stage, plus we live down the road and are obsessed with their chicken wings. They also had a sound guy for the bands, and let us order pizza for everyone later in the night.Our relationship is essentially built off of live music, so we wanted the rest of our wedding to be just like a local Milwaukee show. We had three bands on the bill (The Old Prospectors, Conundrum and Shickey), and danced all night. It was everything we wanted for our special day. No hoopla, just food, drinks, live music, and love!
– The Bride and Groom
A BIG thanks to the bride and groom for sharing their beautiful Plaza Hotel and Club Garibaldi wedding and to Adjomi Photography for the amazing photos!
If you’re currently working on your wedding budget, make sure to read through our previous articles featuring real Milwaukee wedding cost breakdowns.
