How Much Does a Sonoma or Napa Valley Wedding Cost? A detailed look with real budgets
Suzanne Karp Photography
First off, congratulations, you’re getting married! You picked one of the most gorgeous and desirable destinations for your wedding. The number one question I get is: How much does a Napa Valley wedding cost? Or for couples getting married in Sonoma: How much does a Sonoma wedding cost? Many variables go into the price of a wedding, so my answer is always “it depends.”
It’s like if someone asked you “How much does a car cost?” You might think, well it depends on how many miles it has, what condition it is in, was it in any accidents, etc. There are a lot of variables that go into the price of a car.
The first thing to know is that Sonoma and Napa weddings are the Whole Foods of weddings. Everything is nicer, everything is beautiful, everything is more thoughtful, and as a result, everything costs more.
If we haven’t met yet, hi! I’m Lindsey Nickel and I’m a local Sonoma and Napa wedding planner and the owner of Lovely Day Events. Since 2010, I have helped stylish, fun-loving couples (and their dogs) plan destination weddings. Our clients want the ceremony to be outside, the food to be outstanding, and the dance parties to be epic. If this sounds like you, you’re in the right place, so you might want to learn more about our wedding planning services.
Milou and Olin Photography
While there are many big wedding websites out there that answer the “How much does a wedding cost?” question, their statistics are based on national averages. The cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area is notoriously high and the Sonoma and Napa wine country is a very popular, high demand, destination market. Sadly, these articles result in couples with unrealistic initial budgets and spending more than they expected.
As I mentioned, there are a lot of factors that go into the price of a wedding. For example, how many guests, is chicken or steak being served, how many hours is the event, will you have a band or a DJ? The overall budget for a wedding depends on so many factors, so hopefully, the outline below will allow you to see if your budget is realistic.
Milou and Olin Photography
Sonoma Wedding and Napa Wedding Vendor Prices (roughly)
Sonoma Wedding And Napa Wedding Venue Prices
The wedding venue is usually one of the first pieces that a couple of books. This makes sense since it is the backdrop and sets the vibe for the whole wedding day. In Sonoma and Napa valleys, wedding venues range from private estates to wineries to luxury resorts to country clubs and private homes.
It’s hard to compare venue prices side by side because it is not apples to apples. Some venues, like a winery, might only include the gorgeous grounds. Whereas many resorts include catering, tables, chairs, linens, and glassware. For these reasons, venues are the hardest category to give a ballpark budget. Be sure when you sign on the dotted line with your venue that you know what the venue includes and what you need to include in your budget. Sonoma and Napa Wedding venues range from $12,000 - $30,000 with the majority falling around $15,000 just for the site fee (no catering, tables, chairs, etc. included).
Manali Anne Photography
Catering Wedding Prices
One of the main reasons that couples choose Sonoma or Napa for their weddings is the amazing food scene. So, of course, you want your wedding day to reflect the wonderful food in wine country.
Catering is another cost that can vary depending on many factors. For example, are you serving chicken or steak for dinner, how many bars will you need, and how many hours is the event?
A good estimate is a starting point of $175 per person for food, service, and kitchen equipment that the caterer needs. Additional costs are largely based on menu additions, beverage service, and variables such as staffing and length of the event.
If your caterer is going to handle renting your tables, chairs, glassware, linens, etc. then the price per person will be higher.
Suzanne Karp Photography
Suzanne Karp Photography
Rentals and Design Prices
In your wedding venue search, you’ll find that some venues include the essentials like tables and chairs and some do not. It is important to talk to your wedding venue and wedding caterer to find out what they include. Then you also need to consider if you like their options and how important design and a beautiful reception are to you.
For example, if a venue or caterer includes china and flatware, it’s probably a classic white plate and something similar to classic hammered silver flatware. Your personal taste and Pinterest board might have gold flatware and pretty water glasses, which would need to be rented.
Suzanne Karp Photography
Back to the Whole Foods analogy, you can think of the chairs and tables from the venue as Whole Foods 365 brand chicken. They are good and they get the job done. Then you have the chicken raised on a small, local organic farm, free range, and having tea with its chicken friends each day. As you can imagine there is a higher price for the second chicken.
Because of these variables, it’s really hard to say what to budget for rentals. If you are at a resort and use everything they include then you will not need to spend money on additional rentals. If you are at a private residence or a winery where you have a beautiful blank canvas or design is very important to you then you could spend $200 or more per person on rentals and design.
Manali Anne Photography
Sonoma And Napa Wedding Planner Prices
Your wedding planner is the person that you will work with the closest leading up to your wedding day. She or he is also the person who will oversee your wedding day to ensure that it runs smoothly so that you don’t have to worry about anything. Most wedding planners offer services ranging from Event Management to Full service with design. It’s common for wedding planners to charge their design services based on a percentage of your rental invoices.
As you can imagine the price tags range quite a bit as well. The price range for wedding planners is usually $5,500 - $25,000+ with an average price of around $15,000.
If you want to learn more about our wedding planning packages, you can hop over to the wedding planning services page.
Milou and Olin Photography
Wedding Florist Prices
A few of the main factors that go into the cost of wedding flowers is whether you are using flowers that are in season or not (for example, Peonies are in season in May, so if you want Peonies in October they are going to cost a lot more), how many guests you have (more guests mean more dinner tables, which means more centerpieces). Don’t forget about your wedding party and your parents. Typically they have smaller bouquets or boutonnieres. Many wedding florists have minimums, so be sure to inquire about that.
On average for a 100-person wedding, the florist's prices range from $10,000 - $30,000+.
Milou and Olin Photography
Photographer and Videographer Prices
These are two of the most important because the wedding day goes by so fast and in a blur of joy that the photos and videos are the tangible memories that you have for years into the future. The variables for photographers and videographers include how many hours is your wedding, and how many people are in their team (usually two so that they can capture all the details and special moments). Photographers and videographers each range from $6,500 - $20,000+.
Sabine Scherer Photography
Wedding Music Prices
The two options for music are a DJ or live, such as a band for the reception or a string quartet for the wedding ceremony and cocktail hour. A very popular option is live music (like a string quartet or guitarist) for the ceremony and cocktail hour and then a DJ for the reception to get the dance party going. Of course, if you are a big fan of live music, want to have a really memorable wedding, or have a “wow” factor then a band is the way to go. Music options range from $3,000 - $40,000+.
Milou and Olin Photography
When working on your preliminary wedding budget, don’t forget about some of the other wedding vendors like hair and makeup artists, officiants, save-the-dates, wedding invitations, transportation, wedding signage, wedding insurance, and more. These smaller, yet very important pieces can add up quickly to your overall budget.
Sabine Scherer Photography
How much does a Sonoma or Napa wedding cost?
Very generally speaking, if you have 100 guests and are getting married in Napa or Sonoma you need a starting point of $100,000 for your budget for your wedding vendors (venue, planner, caterer, florist, DJ/ band, photographer, rentals, hair and makeup, etc.). This number does not include a wedding dress, rings, honeymoon, etc.
Manali Anne Photography
Real Sonoma and Napa Wedding Costs, Overall Budget, and Guest Counts
I looked at wedding budgets from 2022 and 2023 and calculated the average costs for the venue and most common vendors.
IMPORTANT note for 2024 and 2025 couples - These numbers are lower than what you can expect due to prices going up over time and so many couples getting married in 2024 and 2025.
Manali Anne Photography
While I was at it, I also calculated the average guest count since that is a huge influence on the overall cost of the wedding.
Yes, of course, there are other wedding vendors on the wedding day such as a wedding attire concierge/seamstress, wedding cake/desserts, custom first dance lessons, live painter, photobooth, cigar bar, required wine purchase if the wedding is at a winery, gratuities for vendors, and more. For the sake of simplicity, I focused the budget on the most common vendors.
2022 and 2023 averages:
Catering average = $21,216
Florist average = $8,207
Hair and make-up average = $2,758
Music (DJ or band) average, this price varies drastically depending on band or DJ = $5,736
Officiant average for people that hired an officiant = $1,118
Photographer average = $6,392
Planner average = $11,715
Rentals average = $16,130
Signage average = $751
Transportation average = $2,365 (most couples decided to do transportation for the wedding party and two hotels, so not all guests needed transportation)
Venue average = $17,548
Videographer average = $9,433
Guest count average = 85
Average price per guest = $1,130
Average wedding budget = $95,027
2024 and 2025 couples can expect a starting point of $1,300 per person for a 100-person wedding.
Suzanne Karp Photography
Tip for your wedding budget
One of my biggest tips for newly engaged couples is to talk about the budget. Put pen to paper or start an Excel or Google document to add up rough numbers. Also, talk about what is important and what you are less interested in. For example, maybe you have to have a band and are happy with the tables and chairs that the venue includes.
Start planning your Sonoma or Napa wedding, inquiry now with the form below.
