Budgeting Tips For Your Chicago Micro Wedding
By now, you’ve probably already figured out that planning a micro wedding saves you money. But if you’re still in the process of planning your micro wedding, you may be wondering just how much - and how to do it, exactly - especially in and around an expensive city like Chicago. We’re here to help!
Below, we’ve broken down the average costs of micro weddings in Chicago by vendor so that you can spend your precious time and energy making wedding-related decisions that support your relationship and vision!
The Savings for Your Chicago Micro Wedding Day Broken Down by Vendor
The average cost of a regular-sized wedding in Chicago is right in line with other large cities, about $65,000++. Because of this, many Chicago couples choose to celebrate their marriage with a micro wedding or elopement.
In addition to being more affordable, micro weddings also allow for more unique celebrations. You may not have had the money for 150 of your guests to eat at a Michelin restaurant, but with a guest list of 30, it’s much more doable to host a tiny Chicago wedding!
Below is the average cost of the major vendors most couples choose to hire for their wedding. (This is also a list of vendors that is already included in our base package.) Almost every vendor is going to have a minimum amount they need to make for a couple to book them on a Saturday during high season in Chicago. Those are the amounts you’ll see below:
Day of Coordinator | $3000Photographer | $4,500Florist | $6,000Officiant | $500Wedding Cake | $700
TOTAL = $14,700
Compared to the cost of our all-inclusive micro wedding package, our couples save $9,710.
Now of course, a lot of our couples will choose to add on additional time with our coordinator and photographer to cover more of their day but even then, at $750/hour, if the couple added an additional 3 hours that would still only be an additional $2,250 with a savings of $12,450.
By bundling all of these vendors together, you avoid the steep minimums of hiring vendors separately, even when deciding to add on additional time.
BUT WHAT ABOUT ADDITIONAL FLORALS?
Our base package includes two personal floral designs, which we define as bouquets or boutonnieres. And in order to keep things equitable for our LGBTQ+ couples, we don’t charge more for choosing two bouquets!
For our Chicago micro wedding couples wishing to add on additional floral designs, we have a list of a la carte items like archway installations, ground arrangements for ceremonies, corsages, etc. Here’s a rough estimate of an additional floral order for a 30-person micro wedding:
3 Table Centerpieces | $7502 Corsages | $1302 Additional boutonnieres for wedding party | $502 Additional bouquets for wedding party | $500Custom Floral Arch | $3000Child Posey for Flower Girl | $90
TOTAL = $4,520 (PLUS TAX + SERVICE)
Even with the additional florals, it’s still cheaper than most floral designers’ minimums, which are typically upwards of $6,000.
Tips for Saving Money On Your Chicago Micro Wedding
1. Hire a planner or a coordinator who specializes in Chicago micro weddings. Just because you’re having a smaller guest count doesn’t mean you won’t need additional support. Without booking an all-inclusive package, it’ll be difficult to bypass vendors’ minimums we mentioned above without having a coordinator or planner with those connections.
2. Bundle your vendors.
Tiny Wedding Collective offers a base package tiny wedding package that includes a day-of coordinator, photographer, florist, officiant, and wedding cake from local Chicago wedding vendors.
By booking all of your vendors under one umbrella, you’re able to save money by bypassing those pesky minimums. (We also offer add-ons like Partial and Full Service Planning for those couples who want to be more hands-off on their wedding day!)
3. Hire vendors that actually LIKE micro weddings!
Just because we’re saving you money doesn’t mean you’re getting unseasoned vendors. Our Chicago vendors are super talented, experienced artists who have a passion for micro weddings and elopements.
They would rather spend their weekend with couples and other vendors that inspire them; one that is unique and allows them to exercise their creativity than the traditions they’ve seen a million times. Don’t believe us? Check out our team’s work here!
4. Use your tiny wedding coordinator’s connections!
All of our micro wedding booked couples receive access to our exclusive list of recommended Chicago venues and vendors.
The vendors on this list are folks we’ve worked with in the past who enjoy micro weddings and/or have special offerings for micro wedding couples. Included on this list are hair and makeup artists, entertainment like live music and DJs, hotels to get ready in, rental companies, and so much more!
5. Decide on what aspect of your micro wedding is most important to you and spend your money there.
It can be really challenging to let go of all of the noise around wedding planning. Between Pinterest and past brides on Instagram and family and friends’ opinions, it can feel like you have a lot of expectations to meet. We recommend focusing on what means the most to you so that you’re not needlessly spending on things you don’t care about.
Outline your values and expectations for the day with your partner ahead of time and use that conversation as a guiding light throughout the decision-making process.
You want the most beautiful micro wedding day here in Chicago, but you don’t want to have to compromise on certain aspects. We get it. We’ll make sure you have access to our preferred vendors for your small, intimate wedding day. We love our Chicago couples and want this to be a day to remember — contact us today to start planning your micro wedding.
The Tiny Wedding Collective offers all-inclusive elopement and intimate wedding planning services for Chicago, Washington DC, Northern Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland. A Tiny Wedding is for couples who want to celebrate their commitment in a thoughtful, stylish way but don’t want the stress and fanfare of a big, expensive wedding. Not all couples fit inside the same traditional box and it’s time that we make space for inclusivity, diversity, and creativity. To find out more about what it’s like to work with us, please fill out our contact form here.