Meridian House DC wedding

Meridian House DC Wedding Cost: How Much Should I Budget?

I am back with another wedding budget post, this one all about Meridian House DC 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 what goes into hosting your wedding there.

Meridian House does have variable pricing. There are discounts for off-season months, like August or November. For our purposes, I am 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 $225/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 $225/person. You can also have your caterer provide the alcohol – although you will pay a good bit more than if you provide it yourself.

Meridian House DC wedding emerald and dusty rose
Meridian House DC wedding cost sample budget
TMK McKennahe Library

I included realistically attainable budgets for your service providers: photographer, entertainment, officiant, transportation, make up and hair (MUAH,) and planner. If you opt for a band, you can expect to pay $4000-$10,000 and up. Meridian House does limit the size of your band to 8 members and they must set up in front of the tapestry.

Meridian House DC Weddings: Sample Floor Plans

The names of the rooms in Meridian House
Meridian House DC wedding floor plan
A sample floor plan from a real Meridian House wedding
Meridian House DC wedding cost sample budget
MK McKenna
Meridian House DC wedding ceremony Linden Grove winter outdoor

As you might know already, I allow for ~20% decline rate for your wedding guest list. Meridian House is very upfront about 150 being their absolute maximum headcount, but I think coming in a little under that is even better. The Library holds up to 50 guests seated in a variety of arrangements. In the Drawing Room, 100 is your max capacity in there. You can invite about 170 guests and be under 150.

Meridian House DC wedding
MK McKenna

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. Hard for me to predict for this Meridian House DC wedding cost!

Meridian House DC wedding
The Linden Grove MK McKenna

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.

Did you enjoy this information? I’ve got a lot more where that came from. Do you wonder how many guests can fit at a wedding reception table? Do you have questions about wedding room blocks? Are you curious about real wedding RSVP rates and real budgets? I’ve got you covered. You can also fill out this form and I will send you a rough budget custom to your specifications!