Guest count, logistics, customization, and many more factors go into the cost of various components of wedding design. Here, our experts break down the tab for eye-catching design elements requested by recent clients. Prices will vary based on the details of your own big day.
Colorful Dance-Floor Wrap
Dance-floor wraps, which usually are made of vinyl, typically cost between $1,500 and $5,000, according to planner Kawania Wooten of Howerton+Wooten Events. Size is a primary price factor (this one, by the LightSource Company, was 20 by 20 feet), but another consideration is the amount of color (ink) used. “While most dance-floor wraps are white with a monogram in the center, this one was blush with a burgundy monogram and burgundy flowers,” Wooten says. Total cost: $3,800.
Custom Statement Bar And Bar Back
Well-wishers will be visiting the bar all night, says planner Sara Bauleke of Bella Notte: “So why not make it a statement piece?” This bar was a showstopper for a moody purple wedding at the International Spy Museum. The setup, says Bauleke, required contributions from a stationer/graphic designer (Emily Baird Designs) who designed the panels; a design/build company (BD3 Designs) that reproduced the artwork and constructed the frame and bar-back shelves; a florist (Flowers at 38) for flowers and candles; and a caterer (Design Cuisine) for glassware. A typical budget for a custom bar, says Bauleke, is $7,000 to $9,000. Total cost: $7,400.
Luxe Place Setting
This garden-party place setting was inspired by the floral base plate and sourced from four vendors (Capital Rentals, White Glove Rentals, Lindale Studios, and Pretty Mail Calligraphy), says Anne Kelley of Anne Kelley Events: “We loved coming up with the layers”—including the napkins, glassware, and flatware, plus the hand-painted place cards with calligraphy—“to make it colorful and interesting.” Total cost: $27 per guest.
Champagne Escort Wall
“Champagne escort walls are very popular,” says Tabitha Roberts of Roberts & Co. Events. For this one, her clients chose a two-part faux hedge wall and two étagère shelves, plus a die-cut sign (all from Event Revolution) enhanced with greenery from the floral team at Floral and Bloom; 165 flutes of Champagne from the venue (Willard Inter-Continental); and name tags from Flourishing Penguin for each glass. “The hidden costs are the labor and delivery of the rental furniture,” such as the wall itself, says Roberts, who suggests getting more bang for your delivery-fee buck by renting additional pieces from the same vendor. Total cost: $4,000.
This article appears in the January 2022 issue of Washingtonian.
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
