Carolina Wedding Confessionals: See inside this Charlotte couple's six-figure Asheville wedding

Caitlin and Mark had their first date at the OG Sycamore Brewing in 2015. Last June, the two tied the knot with a $125,000 wedding just outside Asheville.

By the numbers: Their original budget of $75,000 had nearly doubled by the end.

• Caitlin says this was mostly due to changing quotes and price increases from the time of their 2021 engagement to their wedding.

Yes, and: The two had a lot of out-of-town guests, so they made a weekend-long celebration out of their wedding, with a welcome party on Friday at Asheville's Green Man Brewery and a morning-after brunch on Sunday.

Here's a look at the cost breakdown of Caitlin and Mark's wedding for 150 guests.

Of note: Caitlin's responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

• Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar. The breakdown doesn't include every wedding expense, such as invites or the rehearsal dinner, though we've factored everything into the total cost.

Venue: $16,000

Caitlin and Mark got married at Chestnut Ridge, a wedding venue in Canton, NC, about 20 miles from Asheville.

• The cost included access to their décor closet, bridal/grooms suites and lunch for the wedding party on the wedding day.
• They paid an extra $2,200 to extend the ceremony's end time from 10pm to 11pm.

Wedding dress and veil: $6,048

• Caitlin's dress came from the now-closed Hayden Olivia Bridal in Uptown.

Rentals: $10,390

• Rentals were pricier than expected, Caitlin says. Most of the cost went toward a grill for the caterer.
• Some other rental costs included silverware, plates, linens and chairs.

Food and alcohol: $19,000

The couple's wedding food (about $12,000) included appetizers during cocktail hour, a plated dinner and a late-night French fry bar. The remaining $7,000 was spent on alcohol.

• "Food was our biggest splurge, mostly because of the seated dinner."

Cake: $1,042

• "We had a three-tier cake and a sheet cake with the same flavors to supplement."

Flowers: $10,090

• Flowers were "shockingly expensive," Caitlin says.
• The couple reused flowers from the ceremony and the bridal bouquets as center pieces at the reception.

Photography: $7,400

All of the wedding photography (which includes all images in this article) were taken by Amber Hatley Photography.

• The photography cost included 10 hours of coverage, pre-wedding bridal photos, a second photographer and wedding album.

Wedding Planner: $5,000

• "A wedding planner is a must-have — the day-of coordination especially," Caitlin says.

Transportation: $4,325

• Having a mountainside wedding meant limited access to Ubers, so Caitlin and Mark rented school buses and hired drivers to take guests to and from the venue.

• The two also had a getaway car for the end of the night, which cost $1,675.

Hair and makeup: $3,360

The cost included Caitlin's hair and makeup (and a trial run), plus hair and makeup for her nine bridesmaids and a few others in the wedding party.

A few other notable costs include a ceremony string trio for $1,950, a dog handler (to have their dog Piper attend) for $475 and a DJ for $3,300.

• The couple spent $975 on an after party from 11pm-1am at Kimpton Hotel Arras in Asheville.
• Instead of wedding favors, Caitlin and Mark made a $450 donation to the American Cancer Society in honor of family members diagnosed with cancer.

Total cost: $125,439.

Advice to soon-to-be brides: "Have your wedding the way you want it. Trends come and go. Make it fun and make it feel like you," Caitlin says.

• "Also, have a 20% contingency budget. Whatever you're planning for, there's some fee you don't realize you have to pay for."

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