How Much do Austin/central TX Weddings Cost? | Austin’s Best DJs

The largest cost of your wedding is going to be the venue. After deciding on a date, the next thing you should consider is your location. As you can see in the infographic, the average wedding venue cost in the downtown Austin, Texas area is about $4500 – $7500. Keep in mind, this information is what couples reported and not what wedding vendors reported.

From our experience and knowledge, the downtown wedding venues are priced higher than this, especially during peak wedding season, which is early spring and fall in Austin. These rates may be for the off-peak season. 

If you didn’t already know, Dripping Springs, Texas, is a very popular destination wedding spot! It’s often called the “wedding capital of Texas.” As you can see, above, having a wedding in Dripping Springs is as expensive as having a wedding on the lake, in Austin. Depending on the venue you choose, having your wedding here can be more expensive than having it in Austin.

The appeal of a Texas hill country wedding is very understandable and though Dripping Springs is much smaller than Austin, it’s not too far away (about a 30-minute drive) from Austin, and more and more businesses are popping up to cater to the wedding market, there! 

Since your wedding venue is a major factor in the overall cost of your wedding, we included quite a bit of info about it. How much Austin/central TX weddings cost certainly depends on your preferred location and venue. Now, let’s move onto our area of expertise, which is wedding entertainment.

The good thing about the wedding sites is that you can easily compare companies, side-by-side; however, that can also be a problem. This is because if you compare these companies, many of them sound exactly the same. Check out our name your own DJ price tool on our prices page! 

How to Book the Best Wedding Entertainment

So how do you know who is best for your event? Here’s our advice to help you book great entertainment for your Austin/central TX wedding. 

1. Determine a Budget – How much are you comfortable spending on entertainment? Will you spend it all on a DJ, or are you wanting a DJ and photo booth? Choose what’s best for you and your guests. Consider that not everyone likes to dance or is even able to dance.

2. What’s Included – Start comparing what is actually offered with the price you’re paying. This is where the true differences are. While some wedding DJs start at a great price, but it only includes a limited amount of hours, like 3 hours. They do this, knowing you’ll certainly have to purchase more time. Don’t fall for it! Do they include everything you’ll need? Some companies will not include a microphone or even “MC” services. Surprisingly, you’ll have to pay more for those things with some companies. 

3. Ceremony Music – If you need the DJ for the ceremony, find out if they will provide ceremony services, and how much it will cost. Many companies will charge several hundred more dollars for this, so find out what’s included with the ceremony addition. 

4. Custom Playlist – Find out if you’re able to choose songs for your wedding. Are you limited to what they offer you, or can you choose other songs? We’ve seen some companies limit their clients to their library and even seen others charge $1.00 for each song that the couple specifically wants to be played. That can add up, so definitely ask about a playlist. Some DJ companies even only play specific genres, so be sure to find out.

5. Lighting – Find out if the DJ company will include dance floor lighting. Surprisingly, many companies don’t include dance floor lighting. They’ll charge you more to add it. Many venues can be very dark at night, so lighting is usually a must! Up-lighting is a great addition for any venue, as it provides lighting and can usually be set to match your theme and decor.

​6. Other Options – Always ask about other options. Do they offer uplighting? A monogram? Photo booth? Projector? Games? You can often save money by getting all of your options from one vendor, as opposed to hiring several vendors. We recently did an event that hired an outside company for the sound system. For some reason, they were unclear that we already included this with our services, despite us telling them. That company charged thousands more, and honestly, their sound system was terrible in comparison to ours. 

Other Resources for Austin/central TX Weddings Cost Info

Overall, there are numerous things to consider when hiring a DJ or band for your wedding in Austin, Central Texas, or anywhere! This is a great starting point, but certainly, do your research and ask as many questions as you need to, to be sure you’re hiring the best company for your needs. Here’s a link to a great website that will allow you to find out the average cost of a wedding in your area by simply typing in your zip code! Here’s the link to the average cost of a wedding in Austin, Texas from the Wedding Report. 

Check out the average prices and compare them to determine your budget for the number of guests you expect. If you’re having a wedding in a different city/zip code, simply change the zip code. We hope this article has helped you learn more about how much Austin/central TX weddings cost. As always, feel free to email/call us with any questions and we’ll be happy to help!

p.s. Be sure to read our article about how much 2024/2025 wedding DJs charge, for more great info!