January 14, 2020

Meridian House Wedding Cost: How Much Should I Budget? – Updated 2024

I am back with another wedding budget post, this one all about Meridian House wedding costs. My first post in this (apparent) series was about DAR wedding costs. Meridian House is another DC wedding venue that I love to work at, and I want to help couples understand the investment that goes into hosting your wedding there.

Meridian House wedding cost - a sample wedding budget

First, please note that the wedding budget below does not include any costs for wedding attire, accessories, or alterations. There is simply no way for me to predict what you will spend on those items.

Second, this wedding budget is based on 150 guests, which is the max capacity at Meridian House. You don’t have to max out the space, but most of my clients have. The Library holds up to 50 guests seated in a variety of arrangements. In the Drawing Room, 100 is your max capacity in there. If you want to be at 150 guests, I recommend you invite no more than 175 guests. If you want to read more about RSVP response rates, check out my recent post on real wedding statistics.

Meridian House Wedding Budget Breakdown

Meridian House does have variable rental pricing. There are lower fees for off-season months, like August or November. For our purposes, I am, in the budget, assuming a Saturday night in a premium month, like May, June, September, or October.

Meridian House has a list of required caterers that you will have to select from. They are all great; you can’t go wrong with any of them. I estimated $250/person for catering. Certainly, you could come in a little less there, but once you add in #allthethings, this is probably a minimum spend. Everything from that pre-ceremony lemonade to the late-night sliders and fries all adds up.

I’ve separated out dessert, but often times you can get it from your caterer, maybe even within the $250/person. You can also have your caterer provide the alcohol – although you will pay a good bit more than if you provide it yourself.

I included median costs for your wedding pros: photographer, officiant, make up and hair (MUAH) and planner. If you opt for a band, you can expect to pay $8000-$15,000 and up. Meridian House does limit the size of your band to 8 members and they must set up in front of the tapestry. A DJ will be around $4000.

Flowers and stationery are areas that are harder for me to predict for your Meridian House DC wedding cost, so consider these numbers a baseline. Wedding stationery costs are variable based on the printing type, the paper type, and the number of colors – just to name a few. And for flower costs – maybe you have 2 bridesmaids, maybe you have 10. That is a difference of about $1600 right there.

Meridian House does limit the size of buses that can come on Crescent Drive to 32-passengers or smaller. And sometimes they have to stage on 16th Street. Check with the venue about all the regulations. You could also do valet for about the same cost as the buses. You should consider how your guests will get to and from your Meridian House wedding. Is your guest list mostly young local folks who will take a Lyft? Or older locals who will drive themselves in from the suburbs? Do you have a large contingent at a hotel room block who would appreciate a shuttle bus? All things to consider.

Lighting is definitely optional, but it is a great thing to do if it fits in your wedding budget. And certainly a cool bar and a lounge set are fun to have, but not actually necessary to your getting married.

Meridian House DC wedding emerald and dusty rose

Procopio Photography

A Mini Ultimate Guide to Meridian House Weddings

Meridian House DC Weddings: Sample Floor Plans

Above is a blank Meridian House floor plan with the names of the rooms.

Below is a Meridian House wedding floor plan where the ceremony was in the Linden Grove, but everything else was inside the mansion, including a DJ for dancing.

Above is a Meridian House floor plan with a Linden Grove ceremony, cocktail hour in the Garden and the dinner and dancing with a DJ was inside the Mansion.

Below, a Linden Grove wedding ceremony, a combination indoor/outdoor cocktail hour and a reception in the Mansion with a band.

I included the Meridian House floor plan below so you could see the indoor ceremony set up with the wedding happening in the Loggia. For this couple, the weather was great and we had the ceremony in the Linden Grove.

Meridian House Wedding Ceremonies

There are two main options for your Meridian House wedding ceremony: The Garden and the Linden Grove. Both are beautiful. The Linden Grove is super interesting and unique, but is restrictive to your photo and video team. The Garden is classic, but offers unencumbered views for your guests and documentarians.

The back up plan is the Loggia, or renting the adjacent White-Meyer House. See above floor plan!