How Much Does a Wedding at the New York Public Library Cost?
The New York Public Library is one of New York City’s most iconic wedding venues. It’s an iconic Manhattan location and a beautiful old structure full of history — who wouldn’t want to have their wedding there?
This venue is also one of New York’s most expensive wedding venues. With the rental fee alone being $75,000, weddings at this venue often easily cost $1 million or above. The below guide is a good starting point for a general 250-person cost breakdown, but keep in mind that this is a very luxury wedding venue that necessitates very experienced vendors, so the cost can and usually does exceed this budget. Makes it hard to believe Big didn’t even show up to the wedding, huh?
Venue & Rentals: $150,000
Venue: The rental fee for the New York Public Library for a 5-hour event during peak season on a Saturday is about $75,000. This just includes access to the space, so all rentals (tables, chairs, linens, dance floor, etc.) must be brought in separately.
Rentals: To fill the entire space for ~250 guests (the Library can accomodate a higher guest count if desired), expect to spend about $300pp ($75,000 total). Lots of rentals need to be brought in, and you’re required to use NYPL’s vendor list which are mostly high-end vendors.
Catering & Alcohol: $113,000
Catering: A luxury caterer in NYC will average between $300-400pp. For 250 guests, this comes out to about $95,000.
Alcohol: The venue will provide the alcohol for your wedding, so expect another $75pp for a premium bar package, coming out to about an additional $18,000.
Florals & Planner: $185,000+
Florist: A full-service florist will provide florals and design for the ceremony, centerpieces, aisle arrangements, cocktail arrangements, bar pieces, personals, escort card table, cake flowers, etc. Expect to spend about $85,000 for lush and beautiful florals for all parts of your wedding day.
Wedding Planner: A luxury planner will charge about 20% of your overall spend for their planning fee. Most weddings at the NYPL end up in the $600k to $1m range, so expect to spend at least $100,000 on your full-service planner.
Photo & Video: $32,000
Photography: For a luxury photographer for 8-10 hours, expect to spend at least $20,000.
Videography: Expect to spend about $12,000 or more for 8-10 hours of videography.
Dessert & Music: $42,500
Dessert: For an elaborate and artful cake for 250 guests, expect to spend about $30pp, so $7,500 total.
Music: The Library has multiple different rooms for different parts of your wedding day, so you’ll need a few different groups for music for ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. A 12+ piece band to cover all three parts will cost about $35,000.
Stationery & Beauty: $23,000
Stationery: For a full custom suite, including invitations, save the dates, signage, place cards, and menus, plan to spend about $15,000 for a high-end stationer.
Hair & Makeup: For the bride + 7 others, expect to spend about $8,000 on luxury hair and makeup.
Transportation & Production: $50,000+
Transportation: To provide the easiest and most comfortable experience for your guests, consider providing transportation to and from the venue from your hotel blocks. This will cost about $20,000 for 250 guests.
Lighting & Production: This venue requires lots of additional lighting, sound, and production to be brought in. This cost would start at about $25,000, but could easily be much more.
Photos by Raquel Reis, Jessica Bellinger Photography, and Allan Zepeda Photography.
