Budgeting for a wedding in Greece

Good afternoon to all,

After my trip over to London which I thoroughly enjoyed and a few days in Athens, I am back in the office and ready to get into my blogging mode again!

Although the topic I have chosen today may seem tedious and boring to some it is actually the most critical question when planning a wedding abroad, Can you afford it?

The answer to this is extremely complex, I get asked this question by almost every bride that contacts me, they give me a brief idea of what they want and then ask how much it will cost!

For example, I would like a wedding on a beach for 80 guests followed by a cocktail reception, sit down meal, dinner and dancing until the early hours and I want lots of candles, flowers, fairy lights and a gorgeous cake. Then they ask me what will that cost?

When I was starting in wedding planning, I used to answer that question, I would sit down with a calculator, add all the average prices together, think of some options and give a price that I thought would cover the wedding that the bride was looking for. However in most cases this would get me into more trouble than it was worth, for instance further down the line, the bride would tell me that the cocktail hour she wanted had free flowing Moet champagne cocktails and not one fruit punch per person that I had calcutaled, what does this equal? Friction.

Then I would find out that the bride wanted imported peonies throughout all the centrepieces and bouquets, when my florist had quoted on locally sourced roses or lillies, again, friction.

Unfortunately it takes a lot more talking, emailing and thinking that some might think to give an idea on the price of a wedding!

So in order to provide a helpful guide on the approximate prices one might expect when planning a wedding in Greece:

FLOWERS
Bridal bouquet: 40-200 Euros
Centrepiece:     30-150 Euros

ENTERTAINMENT
Live Greek Band 800-1500 Euros
DJ                       300-700  Euros


MEAL/CATERING COSTS
(There is a huge variable here depending on the type and location of the venue that you choose)

Taverna meal                       20-50 Euros
Upmarket taverna on beach 35-80 Euros
3-4 Star Hotel reception      35-80 Euros
5 Star Hotel reception        50-150 Euros
Catering to private venue    40-200 Euros


PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY

Local photographer, no learned skills     350-500 Euros
Photo journalist photographer            1000-3000 Euros
Videographer (includes montage)           500-800 Euros
Photojournalism videographer            1000-5000 Euros

FIREWORKS


2 minute display                               800-1000 Euros
5 minute display                              1500-3000 Euros

I hope this is a helpful guide of prices in Greece!!!