The plan
One ceremony, and one question that set the budget
One ceremony, one reception, 160 guests in Chicago, and a single question that decided the whole budget: whether the venue had a kosher kitchen. It did not, so the caterer brought one, and $61,200 followed from there.
The ketubah commission, the chuppah build and a band that could carry a hora were the three lines they refused to trim. Everything else moved to protect them.
Where the money went
$61,200, by category
Split on the calculator’s Jewish weighting, where a kosher kitchen requirement is the single biggest swing factor on catering.
Figures are this couple’s total split on the calculator’s weighting for their tradition.
In hindsight
What they would do differently
What they would do differently: ask about the kosher kitchen on the first venue call rather than the third, because the answer reprices the entire catering line.
Book the rabbi and check the date against the Jewish calendar before putting a deposit anywhere, and assign the aliyot and the honors a month out instead of the week of, when half the family is already traveling.
