Venues: Overview & Costs

HOW MUCH WILL MY ISRAELI WEDDING COST? HOW MUCH DOES AN ISRAELI WEDDING VENUE COST?

The venue is the single biggest cost in your Israeli wedding budget, so this is your starting point.

The cost of your Israeli wedding depends on a few elements:

• Day of the week
• Season of the year
• Number of guests
• Your negotiation skills 🙂

YOUR SUMMER, THURSDAY NIGHT WEDDING – PREMIUM PRICING

In Israel, weddings are not held on Friday nights because of Shabbat (although there are Friday daytime weddings.) Due to post-Shabbat practicalities, weddings are also not held on Saturday night (Motzei Shabbat.) The result? Thursday is the hottest option for a wedding in Israel and venues charge accordingly.

Similarly, Friday daytime weddings are also highly sought after and prices reflect that. You can expect Thursday night and Friday daytime weddings to cost 10-15% more than Sunday – Wednesday weddings. It’s classic supply and demand.

Winter weddings will always cost less than summer weddings. Many venues, especially those with extensive outdoor areas, offer a significant winter wedding discount.

PRICE-PER-MEAL: HOW VENUES DETERMINE PRICES

The closest thing to a standard in pricing for Israeli weddings is price-per-meal (you can also think of this as price-per-guest.) What does this mean? When you call an Israeli wedding venue, one of the first questions you’ll be asked is how many guests you expect to attend.

The Israeli wedding venue will charge a fee per meal and are happy to reduce the amount based on the number of guests. Please note that many venues will not discuss price-per-meal over the phone, and you can save the negotiating for when you visit in person.

For example, a venue may charge 280 shekels per meal for a 150 person wedding, but will agree to charge 240 shekels per meal for a 250 person wedding, and significantly less than that for a 350 person wedding.

Venues incur major costs from running a kitchen, paying the wait staff, security, business license, kosher certificate etc. so essentially they need to know that your wedding will net them enough to make it worth their while.

Every venue has a minimum number of guests they’re willing to work with – for more on small weddings in Israel, please see here.

But price-per-meal is not the end of the story and what it actually includes can mean something very different from venue to venue. When I visited potential venues for my wedding, I found each venue had its own quirks when it came to price-per-meal.

Venue A had a relatively low price-per-meal, but charged an additional 12000 shekel fee for renting the venue itself. This is unusual, but you will find this at some venues.

Venue B’s price-per-meal did not include alcohol or waiters – both were an additional, significant fee. The venue explained to us that for every 12 of guests, they required one waiter, and each waiter cost 200 shekels for the night. The bar was an extra 25 shekels per guest.

Venue C’s price-per-meal included a full bar and waiters, but didn’t include sound or lighting. They charge a considerable fee separately for that – and to my surprise, that’s considered totally standard in Israel.

It’s critical to ask your contact at each venue what exactly is included in the price per meal. Ask if waiters, the cost of renting the venue itself, and if the bar are factored into the price per meal.

Price-per-meal will almost never include sound and lighting, which you will have to “rent” from the venue for an additional fee. However, one of the most beautiful things about having your wedding in Israel is that almost everything is up for negotiation and no prices are set in stone. Develop your shuk mentality well enough and you can bargain down the sound and lighting fee.

HOW MUCH DOES THE AVERAGE ISRAELI WEDDING VENUE COST?

DISCLAIMER:

Prices are incredibly relative. If you get married in a luxury venue in Tel Aviv, the price per meal may be 600-700 shekels. If you get married in a venue in the periphery, the price per meal could be 180 shekels.

The price ranges I’ve provided below are based on my personal experiences and those of my friends. I’d call this a good estimate if you are getting married in the center of the country (Tel Aviv or Jerusalem areas) at a middle-tier venue.

Typical Venue Costs

Price per meal – This is a huge range (as covered above, depends on number of guests, day of the week, season). A good starting point would be 200 – 400 shekels.

Bar – usually not included in price-per-meal. You can expect between 20 to 35 shekels per guest – and this may not include all the drinks you want. Venues often charge a lower price for only beer and wine, and the higher-end of this range may include imported spirits. More information here.

Sound and lighting – this is a standard fee you will encounter in nearly every venue. Typically ranges from 4000 to 8000 shekels. More information here.

Waiters – this is sometimes included in price-per-meal. 1 waiter for approximately every 15 guests – 180 to 250 shekels per waiter for the night.

Decor and design – Most venues work with an external design company who offers discounts and special packages to couples getting married at the venue. This is a huge range depending on your personal tastes and budget – as an average, I’d say 2000 – 10000 shekels for decoration and design. (More information here.)

These are the costs associated with the venue itself. Full budgets for real Israeli weddings, with explanations, can be found here.