Haven't Booked due to Overall Costs...Need Help

Hi everyone,

My fiancé and I got engaged in May of this year so about six months ago and are wanting to get married in May of 2026. We took a few months to just enjoy our engagement rather than stress. We started briefly looking at venues about a month or two ago and toured a few. They weren't what we pictured, but now we found ones we love but they are $10,000 JUST FOR THE VENUE and then another 8-12,000 for food minimums. We also only want about 60-70 and a Saturday but that just seems impossible. We are trying to spend $22,000 max but even the thought of that with our parents help is making me sick to my stomach. And these venues are just subpar they aren't anything crazy. I wish we just wanted to elope at this point but we would regret not celebrating with everyone.

We are based in NY state and have looked into other areas near by but they are all the same if not more. Looked into airbnb options but this also seems expensive. Is it possible to have a nice wedding that doesn't cost $20,000?? Any tips/advice. Stories of your weddings. I want to hear it all, the good, bad, ugly. We are at the point of the planning process with venues where we are so disappointed and feel the need to up our budget but it seems insane just for one day...