This couple’s first date was at the amazing Turner Hall Ballroom, so the choice to have their wedding there was easy.
Their goal was to have the biggest party of their lives, but not go into debt doing it. We think they did an awesome job and had their Turner Hall wedding for just under $55,000.
MIM Family Used
As always, we were excited to hear they used several of the Married In Milwaukee Family of wedding vendors, including:
- Flowers: Belle Fiori
- DJ: Milwaukee Airwaves
- Photo Booth: ShutterBooth
- Venue: Turner Hall Ballroom
Quick Facts – Turner Hall Wedding:
- Guests: 250
- Ceremony/Reception: Turner Hall Ballroom
- Total Costs: $54,639
Wedding Essentials ($10,002):
- Invitations/Stationery: $1,900
- Cake: $550
- Photographer: $3,952
- Flowers: $3,600 (includes: bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, centerpieces and ceremony aisle arrangements)
Reception and Ceremony Costs ($34,540):
- Venue: $5,740
- Food: $15,000
- Drinks: $9,250
- DJ: $995
- Rentals: $2,980
- Officiant: $0 (gifted Packer tickets)
- Photo Booth: $575
Attire, Jewelry and Beauty ($4,520):
- Dress: $1,800
- Bride’s Shoes: $35
- Rings: $2,300
- Groom’s Attire: $250
- Hair and Make-up: $135
Other Costs ($5,577):
- Rehearsal Dinner: $1,900 (Firefly in Tosa)
- Favors: $458 (vintage key/bottle openers)
- Wedding Party Gifts: $1,000 (Men: engraved letter openers, socks/ties, suspenders; Women: Coach wristlet, vintage compact mirrors, earrings/bracelets)
- Hotel Suite: $219 (Hilton Garden Inn)
- Transportation: $0 (limo was gifted)
- Other Costs: $2,000 (bride’s earrings, bracelet, hair piece;
suit cases, vases, frames, all decorations found in thrift shops)
Honeymoon ($4,200 not included in total):
- Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: $4,200
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:
When we first started planning our wedding, we only had a rough budget in mind. Our main goal was to plan the biggest party of our lives, and to have fun doing it, but also not let this party put us in debt for years to come, because it is only one day out of the rest of our lives.
Choosing Vendors:
The best part about this mind set was we were able to go into each meeting with an open mind. We didn’t necessarily look at the vendors in terms of dollars and cents, we looked at them as partners in making our day the best it could possibly be. We looked at who we needed to have be part of our day, and as we went down the list and got closer to our “rough budget,” we then sacrificed certain things.The DJ and Photographer:
In the case of our DJ (Ramsey from Milwaukee Airwaves), and our photographer (Tia from Little Giant Photography), we immediately fell in love with them and the personal connections we formed. They were tops on our list and it trickled down from there.The Flowers:
We ended up spending more money on our flowers than we initially planned. One of the aforementioned sacrifices (which ended up being one of our favorite parts of the whole wedding), was we designed all of the decorations and centerpieces ourselves. We made a few changes after our initial meeting with the florist, that were minute in our minds, but ended up almost doubling our flower cost.Emily from Belle Fiori made us feel so comfortable in our initial meeting, that when this occurred, we just moved some other things around. We felt confident in our first instincts and why we initially chose her, and our trust was well rewarded.
The Venue:
We decided what was most important for us and went with it. Our first date was at Turner Hall, and when we decided to have a hometown wedding, we knew that was our only option as a venue.The Food/Drinks:
Our families love to have a great time and drink beer, so we built a package to best suit our guests. We wanted some stability on our crazy day, so we paid a little more and went with the caterer who did a family member’s wedding.The Cake:
We decided to save some money and went with a smaller vendor for our cake, and it surpassed anything we saw from the more expensive vendors we met with.At the end of the day, it’s all about us and our memories. We spent about $10,000 more than our rough budget, but we had the best day in all the land!
– The Bride and Groom
A BIG thanks to the bride and groom for sharing their awesome Turner Hall Ballroom wedding and to Little Giant 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.
