Pricing is all subjective, and honestly, a touchy subject. What’s expensive for some is under budget for others. Sometimes we hear that we’re too expensive. But that’s okay! We are not going to fit everyone’s budget, however that does not mean we’re overpriced. We know what we bring to the table with our venue and our services, and our past couples (and our very full calendar with a date waiting list) can attest to that.

It helps to see the cost differences between a micro-wedding vs. a traditional, larger wedding. Ultimately, whether a smaller wedding is better depends on the preferences and priorities of the couple. If the couple has always dreamed of inviting 250 guests and putting on a huge party, by all means, go for it! And invite me! Speaking strictly for us and our services, we focus on small and intimate – quality over quantity.

Google says for a larger wedding, you’re looking at spending over $200 PER GUEST. The average wedding cost in 2022 was $30,000. Now in 2024 and with inflation, you’re probably looking at $40,000+. Ouch. Doesn’t a micro-wedding sound much more appealing?

Lets go through all the services we personally offer: Venue, coordination, florals, photography, videography, decor, styling, lighting, china rental and a getting ready/honeymoon option with our cottage.

Venue

Right off the bat, you need a location! One thing that sets our greenhouse apart from other venues is that it’s completely turnkey. It’s stunning just in it’s natural state. Additional decor is not necessary for a beautiful ceremony. See the above image.

Our main packages range from $2500 – $5000. We also offer a package at $7500, which includes the greenhouse and our cottage (essentially two wedding venues), overnight stays and a longer on-site time. We include on-site coordination, tables and chairs.

Traditional venues: On the lower end, the average is $6000. The mid-range average is $10,500. The higher end is $20,000. And that is for the site rental only. Don’t forget their food and beverage minimums as well, but we’ll get to that.

Coordinator

Us: We include on-site coordination. We feel it’s extremely important to have staff on-site to make sure the day is running smoothly and everything the couple wants to happen, happens. Not to brag (nah, we’re going to brag) our Fairy Team excels in running our wedding days.

Outside cost: Depending on their duties, coordinators can range from $1500 – $8000.

Florals

Flowers can be pricey no matter where you go. With a bigger venue comes more space to cover. The higher your guest count, the more tables you need florals for. Got a wedding party? Average is 8 per side. They’ll need bouquets and boutonnieres. Oh, and don’t forget ceremony florals, reception florals, florals for your special family members as well. It all adds up!

Us: We offer multiple floral packages based on the couple’s needs and our unique space. They range from $500 – $3000, with the ability to chose multiple packages. Our most popular package is $3000, which includes florals for the couple, a doorway installation on the greenhouse and floral arrangements for each guest table.

Outside cost: Google says that average floral spend is between $5000-$8000, but it would be very easy to spend much more than that.

Photography & Videography

Before we were venue owners, we were a photo/video wedding team! We have over 500 weddings under our belt, so we’re well versed in wedding photography and videography. We believe the crew in charge of your memories is one of those wedding items you don’t skimp on.

Us: Our photo and video packages begin at $2500, with the option to add more time on if desired.

Outside: Expect to spend between $4000 – $8000 for wedding photography, and the same for a videographer.

Decor & Styling

The beauty of a micro-wedding is that you’re able to really tailor the vision you’re going for. We pride ourselves in offering custom decor and styling packages. All the styling you’ve seen from us was what that couple specifically wanted. We are not cookie cutter. Each wedding is 100% unique to that specific couple.

Us: Our decor and styling packages are between $1500-$2500, with the ability to add multiple on depending on preferences and budget. The best part – it’s fully customizable to your specific vision. You want pastel colors? Done. You want dark and moody? Done. You want ACOTAR or LOTR? Done.

Outside: Keep in mind with larger weddings, you have more ground to cover. Larger ceremony space and more reception tables. If a venue offers decor, you have to chose from their options. There’s no room for customization, and if you are able to customize, you’ll spend hours and hours and hours finding the decor, ordering enough of it, storing it, bringing it to the venue, hours of set up time, hours of clean up time. After all that, you’re left with a ton of decor you’re trying to sell on the Facebook Marketplace to get a fraction of what you paid for it. For all your effort, expect to spend between $2000 and $10,000, depending on the size of your wedding. Oh and don’t forget! That’s just for the decor. You’ll have to pay someone or designate a trusted family member to set it all up for you, and pray they get your vision.

Lighting

Our lighting packages are completely unique to our space. They range between $750 -$2500, with the ability to add multiple options.

For a larger wedding venue, it depends on many aspects, but on average, it’ll run you about $3500 – $5500.

China Rental

We offer a china rental option for those with fancier tastes. Our rental is $1500, which includes glassware, cutlery, dishware, delivery, setup and clean up. With a larger wedding, expect to spend roughly $15-$30 per guest, and don’t forget the delivery fees. Pricing will vary depending on what settings you’re requesting. Oh, and does that rental come with setup and clean up on the wedding day? Or do you need to designate someone to do that?

Music

With us, our included coordinators act as the DJs! We request that our couples create a Spotify playlist and share it with us. We will connect to our sound system and go from there. They will play whatever you want, whenever you want. For a larger wedding, expect to spend roughly $1200 – $3500 for a DJ and on average $4500 for a live band.

Enchanted Cottage, Virginia AirBnb, Microweddings, Elopements, Small Wedding Venue

The Enchanted Cottage

Ahhh, the Enchanted Cottage. We’re excited to be able to offer this incredible space for 2024 and beyond. This is perhaps the one area where we are not the cheaper option compared to a hotel room. Our cottage rents for $1000 a night.

You’re paying for 3 separate major factors:

1.) You’re paying for the experience of staying within that space. You have never seen and will never step foot in another place like it. It’s truly like stepping into a fairytale, and that’s kind of our whole thing here.

2.) You’re also paying for the convenience of being on-site. Many of our greenhouse couples are adding 2 nights of stay to their package. This offers the ability to arrive the day before the ceremony. Check in is at 2:00pm. The couple has the day to rest, relax and simply enjoy the space together. Then, you wake up for the morning of the wedding on-site in the cottage. Your hair/makeup/vendor team can come to you and you have the entire day to get ready. Our Fairy Team is at the greenhouse, setting up the wedding of your dreams. When it’s greenhouse time, our coordinators will come down to the cottage to retrieve you, and being your wedding day. After the ‘greenhouse’ portion is over, the couple goes back down to the cottage for their honeymoon night. Check out is at 10:00am the next day.

3.) It also opens up another level of photo/video opportunities. Not only do you have the greenhouse location for photo/video, but you now have the cottage as well.

Now, the services we don’t offer in-house, but are needed for a wedding: Food, alcohol, officiant. (We also provide an extensive local wedding vendor list, complete with recommendations of vendors we don’t offer in-house.)

Food: We offer recommendations for many options and do not require food/drink minimums or a specific food vendor like most larger wedding venues do. With us, we’ve seen 50 people fed for $600 on a Mexican buffet, BBQ or a pizza truck. You can cater in your favorite restaurant or hire a caterer. Or do a big pot luck! With a larger wedding and a guest list of 100, expect to spend up to $10,000 for food.

Alcohol: We recommend hiring our favorite bar truck called the Go Bar. Legally, you have to supply the alcohol, and their pricing ranges from $1400-$1800. On a larger wedding, expect to designate 10%-20% of your budget for alcohol alone.

Officiant: While there’s nothing we can do for officiant pricing, we’ve seen an average of $200-$800 for the officiant, depending on the service they’re offering. And since they’re the one in charge of legally marrying you, I’d say this cost is very important.

Larger Weddings: Shooting for the LOW end of a larger wedding (150 guests) with all the vendors I listed above, the average cost came out to around $51,000. This DOES NOT include food, alcohol or overnight stay. With food and alcohol, you’re looking at around $63,000. And remember, this is the LOW end. If I were to average a 150 guest wedding on the HIGH end, you’re easily looking at $100,000.

Us: The average cost of weddings with us is about $15,000. This would include ceremony, reception, florals, photography, decor/styling and cottage overnights. Shooting on the HIGH end for a wedding with us that includes ceremony, reception, coordination, florals, photography, videography, decor/styling, lighting, china rental and overnight stays at the cottage (and NOT including food/alcohol), the average is about $20,000 – $25,000. This would be adding multiple floral packages, overall photo/video coverage and multiple decor/styling packages.

The hard truth? Having a wedding is a luxury. If you want to get married, go to the courthouse and get that piece of paper. BOOM, you’re married! You want to invite guests, have photos, the florals, the perfect decorations, the perfect venue, the entire wedding experience? You’ll have to pay for it and the entire wedding experience is a ‘you get what you pay for’ situation. The typical wedding experience is a want, not a need. We believe that a wedding day is one of those things in this life that is truly a special milestone and monumental occurrence. You had a 1 and 8 billion chance you’d find that one person. And you did! Shouldn’t the union of two souls be celebrated? And shouldn’t you celebrate that with the people you treasure most in this world?

We think so.

Micro-Wedding Costs vs. Larger Wedding Costs | Virginia Wedding Venue