What's the Most Expensive Wedding?

Nuptials on the beach. Golf for the guys. Brunch for the girls. An extravagant reception for 200 people two months later. 

Price tag?

According to Randi Martin, Trilogy Event Design chief event planner, the two-part wedding which started in Cape May, N.J., with a pared-down guest list of 20 and finished in Southampton with 200 guests, cost the couple a cool $70,000. 

But, Martin, of Abington, said she has seen weddings cost much less–$7,000–and still be "nice."

"That was a lot of do-it-yourself projects," Martin shared of what would be the least expensive wedding she's helped to coordinate in her seven years as an event planner. "It wasn't fabulous, or over-the-top."

A featured speaker at The Bridal Event by Bouche Productions since 2009, Martin lives and breathes weddings. The average wedding in the greater Philadelphia region costs $27,000, she said and is slightly higher in Bucks and Montgomery counties. 

Of that, Martin said half of the expense covers the reception venue and food and beverages. 

She stresses that early on, couples should "know how much you're spending per person."

"Figure out a budget," Martin advises. "Choose a venue before you shop for anything else."