The Cost of an Atlantic City Wedding

by Tara Bard, Contributing Writer

New Jersey is notoriously expensive when it comes to wedding venue pricing. From band to cake to catering, New Jersey is a bit costly because of certain taxes. Shoreline locations such as Atlantic City are also associated with higher costs, as they are anywhere.

If you're wondering whether you can afford a wedding in Atlantic City, the answer is not simple. With legal gambling venues in Philadelphia, Atlantic City casinos are faced with even further declining revenues as they try to recover from the recession. If you're comfortable with bargaining, this could make your AC wedding a bit more affordable. Comparably, the 'Las Vegas of the East' is more affordable for local couples and their guests than a destination wedding to the real Las Vegas due to the costs of travel.

Most American couples spend between $15,000 and $25,000 on their wedding, not including the cost of the ring or honeymoon. According to CostOfWedding, the Atlantic City wedding budget is very close to those average prices.

To lower the cost of your Atlantic City wedding, consider the following before speaking to vendors:

• Friday wedding - it's more of an inconvenience for most guests, but it will be less expensive.
• Flexible wedding date - tell the venue that cost is a concern and you're willing to be flexible with dates.
• Available seafood menu option - if you're going for seafood or surf and turf, skip the lobster and go with fish in-stock.
• Aim for an off season wedding - off-season events are almost always less expensive to host in the shore region.
• Shop around - especially if you're looking to have a casino wedding. Don't lock anything in until you've checked them all. If you don't get the right price from the right casino, call back and tell their scheduler what price the other casinos have offered for comparable services. Note that three of the top casinos are all Trump casinos; they'll be aware of the pricing plans at the other Trump casinos.

If you have an indoor alternate for weather (at a house, for example), a boardwalk wedding is something special. To obtain permission and permits, you'll have to go through the local government.

At nearly six miles, Atlantic City's boardwalk is the world's longest. An Atlantic City wedding would not be complete without photos of the boardwalk and ocean.