Congratulations!
You’re engaged and entering the world of wedding planning. You know you want to get married here in Manitoba and trying to get started, but you may be seeing different examples online of what weddings really cost and you’re wondering how much of that is accurate for us here. If I’m being honest? Probably not much.
What Weddings Cost in Manitoba
Every city, province, country is different. Flowers may be grown locally – for example – where those stats are from, so their cost is very different. The stats might be from a place where food and liquor costs are a lot different (here we have a lot more liquor tax; for example) so you’re not getting a true feel for what you should expect to spend on that. Or the stats might be done with a push toward a “budget wedding” but has no real connection or comparison to the type of wedding you have in mind.
We’ve put together a guide for you, a couple getting married here in Manitoba, trying to wrap your head around what weddings cost in Manitoba, and what your wedding might actually cost you.
A Few Local Stats on What Weddings Cost in Manitoba
The average wedding budget here in Manitoba is $35,000.
You may know couples that spent $100,000 on their wedding and couples that spent $10,000. Everyone has a different idea of what a wedding should be, who should be there, and how much they are willing to spend. Every couple has a different dream for their wedding and that’s wonderful; you should have the wedding that you want.
Some couples want a simple wedding of 30 guests with the focus on amazing food, flowers, and drink. Some couples want 300 guests and want nothing but a great party and a lot of sparkles.
As you develop your budget you’ll start to see what your type of wedding will cost and how you need to spend your money to get what you want. (If you’re not even too sure where all the money will come from and how much money you have to work with we highly suggest reading this blog post first.)
50% of wedding budgets go toward the reception/venue
That’s your rental cost of the venue/s, your catering bill, and your liquor tab. So when you’re starting your budget, know that about 50% of it will go to these areas.
You should hire priority vendors at least a year ahead of time to get your top pick:
Florists, Photographers, Wedding Planners, Videographers, and of course your wedding venue (you should book this before you do anything else!).
Tip: Some high in demand venues book 2+ years ahead to keep that in mind (no shame; some couples book their location before they’re engaged just to “lock it down”. Pun intended)
Manitoba Is Not Manhattan
Our wedding market is relatively small. There are a lot of things you’re going to see on Pinterest that you “have to have!!” but there’s a chance they don’t exist in our Manitoba wedding market (or not yet at least). Make sure you do your research before getting set on something you see online or in a wedding magazine.
Disclaimer:
We Recommend Professionals
The guide below is referencing the advice and pricing of Professional Wedding Vendors. You may have a family friend that’s going to do your photos or flowers or some other part of your wedding, and that’s totally okay. However, there are a few things to be cautious about when working with family or friends for your big day. If they’re going to be there for you and take care of you well, then all the power to you! But, our experienced, perspective is that only a professional vendor can be 100% committed to you. The only reason they are at your wedding is to provide you with the service you hired them for, and to the best of their ability.
We always recommend hiring a pro. We’ve had enough couples with issues using family and friends to make us recommend professionals as the first choice for all our clients’ weddings. And, in the end, wouldn’t you rather have your family and friends just be guests and enjoy the festivities on wedding day?
Planner’s Perspective: Our goal is to always bring our couples amazing vendors. Your connection or family friend might be great, but we only recommend vendors we’ve worked with before and know offer great 1) value for money 2) a wonderful service 3) a great product and 4) are all around lovely to work with.
Cynthia Bettencourt Photography
The Size of Your Wedding Matters
Some wedding costs won’t change no matter how big or small your wedding is but for the sake of this blog post we’re basing our info/numbers off of a wedding of 150 guests.
There’s More to Your Budget Then Just the Vendors
In this blog post, we’re highlighting what we would call your “big-ticket items” – those areas where you’re going to spend more money. There’s a lot more to consider as well and those small items add up – like your veil, cake cutting set, guest signing book, or the gifts for your wedding party. Don’t forget about those items when you’re doing up your detailed wedding budget.
Now let’s get to our guide for What Weddings Cost in Manitoba!
Kassandra Donaldson Photography
Venues
We have a lot of really great venues to pick from here in Manitoba. We have a lot of barns, tent venues, golf courses, and grand hotels. We are currently lacking warehouse or industrial type buildings but, hopefully, something will pop up soon (if you’re having an intimate wedding there are some great restaurants with this vibe).
When to Book: Your venues should be the very first thing you book. It doesn’t matter when you get engaged and start planning – book your venue ASAP. A lot of venues – like Cielo’s Garden or Starlit Point – are commonly booked 2 years out so if you have a certain venue on your radar be sure to check their availability right away.
Average Cost: $3,500 – $5,500 for locations that rent you just the space itself (tent/barn, tables, chairs, basic kitchen), $20,000 – $30,000 for venues who handle all food and drink in-house.
Wedding Planners & Coordination
There is only a small handful of Professional Wedding Planners in Manitoba. If you’re wanting a Wedding Planner (through Full Wedding Planning) or Wedding Coordinator/Wedding Management (something you might hear called “day of”) book this at the beginning of your planning. You’ll be happy you did!
Average Cost: $1,900* – $10,000+ depending on the scope of service
*Most Planners also offer Hourly Consultation which likely is at a lower rate/starting point.
When to Book: 12 – 18 months before your wedding.
If you’re planning on a short timeframe, don’t be afraid to reach out to a Planner. You might be in luck and they may not be booked. It never hurts to reach out!
“At Amanda Douglas Events we work with a wide range of couples, budgets, and themes. We love the challenge of helping couples make their money go further and spending their money wisely. However, our Full Planning clients have an average budget of $45,000 or higher.
“We also work with a variety of time frames. We’ve had couples plan with us from 18 months before their wedding to 1 month before. We’re happy to jump on board at any point in the planning process. All of our services are customizable to fit our client’s needs.
“It might sound strange but it’s our passion to get in there and take any stress off that we can and make your wedding day, and the wedding planning process, as fun and carefree as it can be. We want you to be fully in the moment from beginning to end”
Want more info? Let’s Chat!
Photographers
Winnipeg has photographers in every style and price point that you could hope for. We have a lot of really great film photographers as well so you really have no shortage of options. If you’ve followed a certain photographer for a while chances are a lot of others have as well, so be sure to get on booking them as soon as that wedding date is set. You don’t have to have your venue or any other choices before booking your photographer so make this a priority right after booking your Wedding Planner and venue.
When to Book: 10 – 12 months before your wedding
Average Cost: $2,500 – $6,000*
*Depending on the package you get, if it includes extra hours, albums, prints etc. Every photographer prices and structures their offerings differently so be sure to read through everything so you understand what you are all getting and that you’re getting the amount of coverage you want on your wedding day.
Florists
A lot of couples don’t realize that florists are one of the top 5 vendors to book first when planning your wedding. This is even more relevant if you’re wanting a home-based studio or a boutique design company. Lauren of Stone House Creative has the following suggestions for you:
When to Book: “12- 18 months in advance of the wedding date. But don’t worry! You don’t have to everything decided that early – we just need to have an idea of what you’re looking for, your budget, and your style to book your date and can always continue to work on the details”
Average Cost: “$2000+ Everything is customizable, within reason and within the couple’s flexibility. Where a lot of brides blow their budget is having large bridal parties, and not realizing that 8 bridesmaids bouquets add up SUPER quickly.” – Lauren, Stone House Creative
A few great reads:
Videographers
Hands down one of the top things we suggest couples book. Next to photos it’s the only tangible thing you have left after the wedding and there’s just some things you can’t capture with photos.
You’re going to find a large range of talent here in Winnipeg and a few different price points and packages. The most common video is the highlight video which we recommend as the “bare minimum” of what you get from a videographer.
Be sure to watch through a few highlight videos from different videographers to get a feel for their style.
When to Book: 12-18 months before your wedding
Average Cost: $2,000 – $6,000 (depending on the package you go with)
Linen Companies
We only have a few full-service event linen companies here in Winnipeg so when it comes to picking out a certain linen, if you know you love it (if you have your heart set on that one colour or texture for example) book it right away.
When to Book: 6 – 12 months before your wedding
Average Cost: $15 – $25 per linen depending on the type, fabric, size, etc.
There are just SO many options and don’t even get us started on draping, swagging, and chair ties!
Furniture Rentals
There’s a wide range of furniture you might need or you didn’t even know you’d need. For example – tent weddings require a whole lot of rentals.
The furniture choices are growing here in Winnipeg and we’re getting some really fun options for lounge furniture, chairs, and head table thrones.
When to Book: 6 – 12 months before your wedding
If you’re having a tent wedding and you need 200 chairs, book that as soon as the tent/location is booked (at the beginning of your planning). Things like that are high in demand and if you have your heart set on those gold Chiavari Chair book them right away!
Average Cost: $2 – $15 per chair depending on style. $50 – $150 per lounge furniture piece depending on style, size, and delivery requirements
Delivery fees can be anywhere from $50 – $150 depending on your venue and its load-in logistics. “Late Night Tear Down” is an additional fee that applies when everything needs to be out of the space immediately after the wedding.
DJs & Entertainment
Every wedding should be a party, but in whatever fashion you want it in. You might opt for a full band or just a DJ. Or you might have a harpist at the ceremony or cocktail hour. You might hire a professional Entertainment Director and MC or have a friend MC your wedding. There are a lot of great options and Manitoba is full of so much talent!
When to Book: 8- 12 months before your wedding
Average Cost: DJs $850-$1,200/Bands $2,000 – $3,000+, Musicians – $800+
Simply Rosie PhotographyCaterers
If your venue doesn’t come with a caterer then you’ll want to go on the hunt for the right company as soon as that venue is booked. Manitoba has so many great catering options from BBQ, to sushi, food trucks, and fully served 5-course meals. You have a lot of wonderful caterers to pick from.
When to Book: 10 – 12 months before your wedding (or ASAP after you’ve booked your venue)
Average Cost: $50 – $100 per guest depending on the menu, service style, and bar details.
Note: PLEASE make sure when you book your caterer you understand if servers and dinnerware are included. If not, make sure you get on booking all of that ASAP as you don’t want to miss out on the few options we have for serving teams.
Cake Designer
The wedding cake can be the finishing touch to your theme, colours, and wedding. It’s a great tradition to keep in place and our province is full of ultra skilled Cake Designers. We have Gluten Free bakeshops like Cocoa Bean and Nut-Free bakeshops like Sweet Impressions so there really is an option for everyone.
When to Book: 6 – 12 months ahead
Average Cost: $200 – $1,200. It all depends on the size and design of your cake. It could be anywhere from $200 for a simple buttercream cake to $3,000 for a large cake that’s more like a piece of art.
Photo Locations
You may not know this but a lot of photo locations have a charge. Be sure to check into this ahead of time. Your Photographer or Wedding Planner will have a list of options and can help you with this.
Average Cost: Free – $150/hour
When to Book: 4-8 months before your wedding
Dress Shops
There are a handful of great bridal boutiques here in Winnipeg. Only a few let you try on dresses without an appointment so be sure to plan ahead and schedule a consult.
Average Cost: $1,500*
*If you’re willing to spend time searching you can find something amazing on sale for $500. Or spend as much as $3,000+ on your dress to get “the one”. You’ll find a lot of amazing designer dresses at Bliss Bridal Boutique (they carry our personal favourite; Hailey Paige)
When to order: 6-9 months before the wedding (depending on your designer). We always suggest the 9-month timeline; the more time the better.
Marriage Commissioners
There are a lot of really great Commissioners to pick from within Manitoba. There are a handful of professional ones we recommend to our clients but you can also find a list of all registered commissioners on vital stats.
Average Cost: $300-$400
When to book: 8 – 12 months before the wedding. We have fewer professional male Commissioners so if that’s what you’re looking for book who you love ASAP.
Don’t Forget – Your Wedding Budget Is Up To You
At the end of the day, what you spend on your wedding is 100% up to you and your choices. Don’t worry about having it bigger or better or any of those things; have the wedding you want at the budget you’re comfortable with. Start with a really good budget spreadsheet, educating yourself on what weddings cost in Manitoba, a rough number (based on reality), and make sure you’ve factored in the small stuff too.
Happy Planning!
Still, looking for more info about wedding planning? Check out our Q & A With Amanda Blog Series and leave us a comment with your questions.
