Whats are some reasonable prices?

mivie

as I'm sure others are, I'm looking to save $ as much as possible but also have good service....what are some reasonable prices on catering, florist, dj, musicians, bakery, etc? Bein that I've never done this before, I have no clue where to start and what good prices are....

MarieSD

I'm no expert but here are my best guesses...

Catering: $10-20pp is a common range I think. But watch out for extra charges -- 6.25 tax, 20% service charge, automatic gratuity for waitstaff (or non-automatic gratuity), extra charge for utensils/plates/serving dishes, etc.

Florist: around $100 for a bridal bouquet, perhaps $40 for bridesmaids bouquets? On this last one I don't really know -- my BMs carried gerbera daisies that were only $16 each and I would assume that's quite a steal. The boutineers for the guys were $15 each, I think.

DJ: I think the lowest price that are recommended on the boards are $500-800. It goes up from there, especially if you add in uplighting, etc. Mine was $1200 and that's probably average (No uplighting).

Bakery: I think my cake was 3.00 per slice, and that's a very good price. The cheapest I've heard of is 2.50 a slice (Tabitha Ballard -- but maybe I'm out-of-date and her prices have gone up). It's common for the bakeries around town to be $3.50-4.50 per slice.

I know there have been threads within the last week on a LOT of these subjects -- definitely on budget-friendly DJs, cakes, and catering, so definitely look back a few pages for specific names people here recommend. Also check out our vendor sites with lists of who we've used:

http://dfwknotties.weebly.com/

http://dfwvendorlist.yolasite.com/

KendallandAlbert

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_whats-reasonable-prices?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:7aeabaca-0770-4e51-84a0-55f90df7a5dbPost:41cd62e4-9748-4470-b011-9b5bd0a110b3">Re: Whats are some reasonable prices?</a>:
[QUOTE]I know there have been threads within the last week on a LOT of these subjects -- definitely on budget-friendly DJs, cakes, and catering, so definitely look back a few pages for specific names people here recommend. Also check out our vendor sites with lists of who we've used: <a href="http://dfwknotties.weebly.com/" rel='nofollow'>http://dfwknotties.weebly.com/</a> <a href="http://dfwvendorlist.yolasite.com/" rel='nofollow'>http://dfwvendorlist.yolasite.com/</a>
Posted by MarieSD[/QUOTE]

This :)

fryer2012

I think "reasonable" price just depends on your budget a And what's important to you. To me, my venue and attire is important to me, so I splurged in my budget there, to others they may say they could care less about those two things and have other areas they spend more on. There are many different price ranges in weddings and if you dig hard enough you will find great deals. I also suggest searching through threads on certain subjects on the boards most of the time its been covered recently and it's very helpful!

fallbride1109

I agree mostly with MarieSD and with Fryer--it really depends on what you think is "reasonable."  I think MarieSD's average might be a little low for catering, although you can certainly find catering in that range.  DJ's can be $500 or $2k--it just depends on what you want to spend.  Most bakers charge by the slice with the average probably being $3.50/slice, although you can certainly spend more than that.

For florists, most budget calculators tell you to plan to spend around 10% of your overall wedding budget for flowers.  But as with most things, you can spend modestly to the sky is the limit.

The majority of your cost is going to go towards your venue, food and beverage. If you haven't done so, start by making your guest list to see how many guests you will have, and determine what you can spend on food/beverage per person.  Then you can begin by looking at venues and caterers that can accommodate both your guest size and food budget.

This board is great for recommendations and ways to save.  You'll find lots of good advice here.

MarieSD

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_whats-reasonable-prices?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:7aeabaca-0770-4e51-84a0-55f90df7a5dbPost:4556a891-f81c-4f85-bc29-ca46e0bf47f1">Re: Whats are some reasonable prices?</a>:
[QUOTE]I think MarieSD's average might be a little low for catering, although you can certainly find catering in that range. Posted by stephiehall[/QUOTE]

That's probably true. FWIW, my first catering quote was $20pp and I ended up (I think) at $38pp after my mom convinced me to add a beef entree option. This was before the 6.25% tax and the $500 automatic gratuity for servers. I think I'm in denial about how much I spent on the food, so I still like to think of it as $20pp. :)

daricelr

http://www.costofwedding.com/  helped me out when I had your same questions... also plug in your overall number into the budget and it'll % it out.