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Bloomington vendors

Indiana

Bloomington vendors

Hey Indiana brides and grooms. Chat here about the best tips, Knottie GTGs, and wedding planning in your area.

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Indiana

Bloomington vendors

Hey Indiana brides and grooms. Chat here about the best tips, Knottie GTGs, and wedding planning in your area.

Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:97

Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:97Discussion:deb0160d-e9bd-4028-8510-67d55f2bafb5

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Forums > Local Wedding Boards > Indiana > Bloomington vendors

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Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/9/2012 1:45 AM EST on theknot.com

justicestjohn

Joined on
06-03-2011
INDIANA

5099427144403511

Posts: 8

First: 1/9/2012

Last: 2/14/2012

My fiance and I will be getting married in Bloomington, IN in about a year or so. The ceremony site will be our church, but we haven't decided on a reception site yet. Most of the services will be provided by our family or close family friends, but we will be looking for a few vendors. Things we are interested in (in addition to the reception site) are a cake decorator, a photo booth, a DJ, a cake service, and somewhere that sells or rents ceremony decorations or supplies. We are on a limited budget, so if anyone knows of any reasonably priced vendors that provide these services, that would be great!

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Re: Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/15/2012 11:12 PM EST on theknot.com

audriegarrison

Joined on
05-19-2011
INDIANA

6728414106776058

Posts: 10

First: 10/9/2011

Last: 3/5/2012

I am getting married in Bloomington and I went to get a quote from the only party rental in town, Perfect Parties. She quoted me at over $900 (which seemed very high for what I was getting). So I shopped around in Indianapolis. Everyone there quoted me at just over $300 for the same list. I am going with A-Classic Rentals in Northern Indianapolis. The catch is that either myself or my mother (who lives in Indianapolis) will be picking up the rentals (we're not getting anything big). The delivery fee would have been $350 to Bloomington, although that's still cheaper than if I had done it in town. The are allowing me to pick up the items as early as Thursday morning, which helps, and bring them back on Monday. Even if you can't go get the stuff from Indianapolis yourself which I know not everyone can do I would still cross-price check there because like I said even with that long delivery it would have still been cheaper.

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Re: Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/15/2012 11:22 PM EST on theknot.com

audriegarrison

Joined on
05-19-2011
INDIANA

6728414106776058

Posts: 10

First: 10/9/2011

Last: 3/5/2012

Oh and for venue a lot of it depends on how many people you are having, are you having a full dinner, etc. We are going with the Fields because we needed a place to hold 200+ guests for a full dinner, and they allowed us to bring in outside catering and alcohol which was imporant to me because I work at a restuarant and therefore get a nice deal on those things. But it's a lot of work in that they literally do nothing but provide the space and the tables and chairs so it's a lot of coordination. If you provide more details I can give you info though; I feel like I called every single reception venue in Bloomington!

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Re: Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/18/2012 5:01 PM EST on theknot.com

justicestjohn

Joined on
06-03-2011
INDIANA

5099427144403511

Posts: 8

First: 1/9/2012

Last: 2/14/2012

Thank you for your response and for the advice about party rentals! We plan on having around 200 people. Our reception dinner will not be catered, but we still want room for everyone to sit down and eat as we are bringing in appetizer-style food and will be having a candy bar. There isn't much information online for receptions venues. The only place I've really checked into so far is Deer Park Manor, and it's $2500 to rent for the day (which is out of my budget). I looked at The Fields website but couldn't find any pricing information. I know that most places in my budget will require us to do most of the set up, but I'm just wondering what they give you to work with at The Fields. Do you know what the chairs look like and if they provide any type of linens? I'm finding that table and chair covers can be rather expensive. There's so much informaiton about anything you need in Indy, but it's so hard to find information about anything in Bloomington, so I really appreciate your help! I'm realizing that talking to others who planned/are planning a wedding around Bloomington is really the best way to get (the most honest) informaiton.
Thanks again!

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Re: Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/18/2012 10:47 PM EST on theknot.com

audriegarrison

Joined on
05-19-2011
INDIANA

6728414106776058

Posts: 10

First: 10/9/2011

Last: 3/5/2012

The Fields has 18 round tables (probably about 8 people) plus some long tables (i think we're fitting about 20 people at our head table but we'll sit on both sides). So you maybe would even need to rent some extra round tables for 200 people so that would be something to think about with them. For chairs, they have 200 of one type and 165 of another. The ones they have the most of (200) I think are really cute. Just google-image "the fields" "wedding" "bloomington." Those are the white chairs. The ones they have 165 of, I don't really like. They don't provide any linens at all, though.

Below are some notes I sent another friend about Bloomington venues. It encompasses all the research I did on venues. All the info on catering I provide is on full dinner, so just hors d'oeuvres would most likely be lower. You mentioned Deer Park Manor; that is one of the most expensive places I've seen in town in terms of rentals however they do let you use your own catering, etc, which can help if you find a good deal there. Hope it helps!

-Eagle Pointe golf course (they have an indoor reception site) -- $2,200 (also he mentioned in the e-mail a $1,100 nonrefundable deposit so I'm not sure if the total is actually $3,300 ... I didn't bother to ask because I wasn't really interested after getting the details). I also was never clear on whether you are required to use their catering (for that price I wouldn't think so but it's unusual for a place that does do food, which they do, to not require it). I do know the indoor facility can seat 200 guests.
-The IMU has a bunch of rooms (Alumni Hall, Tudor Room, etc.) and can really hold any number of guests because if all the rooms. I know we got estimates for the Tudor Room ($700) and the Frangipani Room ($300) but you do have to use their catering which we found to be really expensive (the lowest cost is $26/person ... for example KRC catering can go as lost $13 per person for a full meal and the IMU's alcohol is extremely expensive).
-Wonderlab can accomodate 75 guests for dinner and 300 for a cocktail-style reception (not as many tables) and is $800. They don't do catering so you should be able to choose your own catering.
-Mathers Museum can fit 75 people for dinner and is $500 and $55/hr for security. I'm not sure about catering, etc., because he didn't mention and it was too small for us.
-KRC can fit about 150 for dinner and you do have to use their catering and alcohol. Their space is $1000 (I went there and the space is OKish ... it could be dressed up). I did find their catering/alcohol prices to be some of the most reasonable but obviously not as cheap as buying alcohol at the store (which the Fields is allowing us to do).
-The IU Auditorium has two rooms, one for $2,000 and one for $2,700 (The less expensive one according to what they sent me fits up to 350 and the more expensive one can go up to 250 but for some reason the less expensive one says it can't accommodate dancing ... I don't really get it). They have a list of "preferred caterers" so I'm not sure if that means you HAVE to choose one of theirs.
-The Convention Center has a bunch of rooms. I looked at one that fit 150 people, one that fit 175 people and one that fit significantly more. The smaller two were $700 and the larger one was $1800. The smallest one and the largest one were a lot prettier than the 175-person one. You are required to use their catering ... I think you could go as low as $15/person for food. Their alcohol seemed more expensive than some places.
-Henke Hall of Champions is $3000 and you have to use their in-house catering. I never bothered to get the catering menu so I don't know the prices.
-Fourwinds Resort and Marina's indoor location is $1000 and fits 150 people. You have to use their in-house catering ... I want to say the dinners were about $16/person.
-Hilton Garden Inn is $900 and you have to use their catering ... I was told the average dinner price is $27.95 per person. Now that I think about it they may have different sized rooms for different prices; I asked them to price a room for 200 people.
-The Country Club is $150 and can fit I think 225 ... you have to use their catering and I glanced at the menu and it seemed like you'd need to expect to spend $25/person. They have a $4000 food/beverage minimum. It's pretty! Just wasn't going to make sense for our budget.
-I know the art museum can host receptions but they did not return my e-mail and I didn't worry about it because I assumed it would be too expensive for us.
-Fountain Square Ballroom is $800 and you can do your own catering. They say it holds 150 guests ... I went and peeked into the window and that seemed like it would be crowded based on comparing to other sites that said they'd hold 150.
-The Fields is $1800 if you have over 125 guests and $1300 if you have 125 or under. It can fit up to 150. You can cater with whoever you want and the best part to us is they don't require you to cater beer and wine (some places make you) ... just if you decide to have liquor. Because caterers here charge for example $170-$250 for a domestic keg of beer which would cost $80 at Big Red. We also may still have Big Red cater the alcohol because they don't charge a markup and they'll deliver and you can hire a bartender from them for a fairly reasonable price. Also we're getting married at the Fields and they don't charge extra for that (they have an indoor and outdoor location).

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Re: Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/19/2012 9:50 AM EST on theknot.com

justicestjohn

Joined on
06-03-2011
INDIANA

5099427144403511

Posts: 8

First: 1/9/2012

Last: 2/14/2012

Wow! Thank you so much for all of that information! It's all very helpful! I remember you mentioning renting supplies from Indy- did that include linens? That's the next big thing on my list that I'm looking into! I will definitely be giving A-Class Rentals a call! Perhaps I should look in Indy for a DJ, because I'm not having much luck looking for one in Bloomington. Most of the wedding websites don't even list vendors in Bloomington or the list is very limited and you have to refer to Indy anyway. I'm going to the bridal show in Bloomington this weekend, so I'm hoping there are local reasonably-priced vendors there. Again, thanks for your help!

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Re: Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/19/2012 10:02 AM EST on theknot.com

audriegarrison

Joined on
05-19-2011
INDIANA

6728414106776058

Posts: 10

First: 10/9/2011

Last: 3/5/2012

Yes, I rented linens from A-Classic. Best Rentals is another place in Indy you might try. My aunt was a caterer in Indy so she gave me both those places. Their prices were basically the same; it's just A-Classic had like one thing I wanted that Best Rentals didn't have so I went with them instead. Yeah sorrry I can't be more help with a DJ; I opted to rent a sound system and do an iPod playlist and have my uncle do all the announcements, etc., to save money. I did do some research on DJs in Bloomington; they were all about $500-$700 but I couldn't find any reviews on anyone so it stressed me out because I couldn't tell who was any good. Yeah I will be at the bridal show too! Haha I actually have pretty much all my vendors but bridal shows are fun so I'm going anyway! Good luck with your vendors!

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Re: Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/19/2012 10:28 AM EST on theknot.com

justicestjohn

Joined on
06-03-2011
INDIANA

5099427144403511

Posts: 8

First: 1/9/2012

Last: 2/14/2012

Thank you for all of your help! Good luck on your big day!

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Re: Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/24/2012 11:15 PM EST on theknot.com

alavable

Joined on
12-30-2011
INDIANA

5538608748156702

Posts: 18

First: 1/3/2012

Last: 4/20/2012

We are going with simple to elegant out of Terre Haute. They are actually cheaper in price then any of the places in indy that we found. They beat everyone in quality and price. Thats where I would check. www.simpletoelegant.com
I know that they are on here as well under indiana party rentals.

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Re: Bloomington vendors

posted at 1/26/2012 2:20 PM EST on theknot.com

justicestjohn

Joined on
06-03-2011
INDIANA

5099427144403511

Posts: 8

First: 1/9/2012

Last: 2/14/2012

The person I had in mind for photography is unavailable. I've been pricing local photographers and have requested several information from others but was wondering if you have any advice to offer in this area as well.

Thank you again for all of your help on reception venues. My fiance and I recenlty decided to look into catering, and I was able to refer back to your post for guidance!

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