Budget Wedding in Cincinnati area

kpauley124

Hey everyone! My fiance and myself our currently looking for some wedding reception ideas in the Cincinnati area...we want somehting unique but unfortunantly we are on a budget as well...we have a total of $10,500 to spend total on the wedding and we need something affordable but fun for our guests. We are anticipating 200 guests - no more than that. The budget does not include what we will spend on the bridal gown, groom's tux, wedding bands and honeymoon, so those items do not need to be accounted for in the $10,500 budget. The only place we've found so far that is definitely within our budget is The Grove at Springfield Township, which we've already visited - does anyone have any experience with that site?  If you have any ideas on reception sites, dj's, flowers, cakes, invitations and how to fit all of this within our budget, we would appreciate it! Thanks in advance!

belle19dV

Here's a great article that was published on The Knot awhile back ($10K or less weddings).  Great information:

http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-budget/articles/cheap-wedding-in-cincinnati-ohio.aspx 

langende

I am working on a 15K budget for Cincinnait so I understand the deal shopping!  This board was really helpful in finding vendors.  I went with The Redmoor for my venue, we opted to put more money there instead of other places.
As for invitations I ordered mine online- they have not come in yet.
The big thing is going to be the food/drink to feed 200 ppl.  The best way to keep your budget down is the guest list because it cuts down on invites, food, drink, centerpieces, favors etc.
I would also search possibly the Dayton Area- I know the Masonic Temple by DAI is a great deal and it holds up to 400 I think.  If I remember correctly the rental is only 1000 for a Saturday. 
Good Luck!

caseyandlizzie

Our budget and guest count is similar to yours and its definitely doable. We're having our wedding and reception at the Nathanael Greene Lodge which is on the west side. We're getting a discount because our wedding is still off-season and my dad lives in green township so we get a discount on the rental.

I'm going with really good vendors in my budget too. For cake, we're using Flying Buttercream, our photographer just started out a little over a year ago, and she is fantastic! Her name is Lisa Rice. She does great work and doesn't charge a lot. For DJ, I'm using DJ Toad, but going with one of his junior DJ's to save a bit.

For invites and a lot of other details, I'm DIY'ing it. If you are crafty at all, it really helps to keep the costs down. Yes, its time consuming, but in my opinion, its well worth it.

clearheavens

Agree with pp, your budget is very doable, but the biggest item that will make a difference is the guest list size and reception venue.  Focus on that.

I also agree with caseyandlizzie, check out the vendors she's using.  I recommend Lisa Rice, too.

http://lisaricephotography.com/blog/

kpauley124

All,

Thank you for the responses.  I agree that the guest list has the biggest impact on the overall budget and while there's no chance we'll go over 200, it will be very difficult to eliminate too many people, as my fiance has a large family and friends are very important to both of us.

belle19dV, I read that article...good information and I have some possible ideas from it, thank you.

langende, ironically, one of our first choices was the Redmoor, but unfortunately, it's already booked on the day we'd really like to have it (5/5/2012).   We will also likely be ordering the invitations online or making our own.  We really want it to be in Cincinnati, as that's become both of our homes, even though I'm originally from Dayton (my fiance is from Cincinnati).

We're looking at the ceremony at my fiance's church (St. James of the Valley in Wyoming) so the closer the reception place is to there, the better, though we're looking all over the place unless it's completely on the other side of tow from the service.  It doesn't have to be "right up the street" but we have out of town people coming in and wouldn't want them to drive 30 or 45 minutes away in a city they're unfamiliar with.

Thanks again for all the advice - particularly the vendor recommendations.  We had Son Ton (www.i2istudios.com) in mind for photography, as he's done a very nice job at two of my friends' weddings and is affordable (the package we're looking at is the silver package for $1,400).  Some reception places we've found that fit the budget at 200 people are: The Grove at Springfield Township, Mariner's Inn North and The Elements.  If anyone has any experience with any of those places, your input would be appreciated.  Thanks again everyone.

cincy32011

I'm not exactly sure of the pricing, but did you look at the Glendale Lyceum?  My cousin had her wedding there, and it's a very charming space.  You can bring in your own caterer which may save on costs.  I think it would be a great location for you.

kpauley124

We actually did look at Glendale Lyceum but unfortunately, it was ~$5,000 for the rental, so that's out.

On a sidenote, we are able to put an extra $500 towards our budget, so it's now $11,000.  Every little bit helps, I guess. :)

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-cincinnati_budget-wedding-cincinnati-area?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:108Discussion:c6232993-a652-4af3-a7cc-9427f70fba35Post:4a128795-b59b-426d-a58c-88585438a57e">Re: Budget Wedding in Cincinnati area</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm not exactly sure of the pricing, but did you look at the Glendale Lyceum?  My cousin had her wedding there, and it's a very charming space.  You can bring in your own caterer which may save on costs.  I think it would be a great location for you.
Posted by cincy32011[/QUOTE]

hccpsu

I'm not sure if they have a location near the church you're using, but have you checked out Receptions?  We had our reception at the one in Erlanger and were able to go with the top package they offer because their pricing was so reasonable (they have several options).  They usually run specials on the bar, too--our open bar was thrown in for free!

hccpsu

Another nice thing about Receptions is that chair covers are included in the price, and they have centerpieces you can use.

We used Brian Childs as a DJ--very reasonable and gets great reviews here.

I ordered my invitations online from Ann's Bridal Bargains.  There are a lot of good vendors online that you can request catalogs from--Rexcraft, Jean M., Dawn, etc.  Check out a bridal magazine for ideas of other online invitation vendors--I know I'm missing some of them!

jarmstrong23

Ohhh girl, I got you on this

DH and I had the exact same specs as you (200 guest count and $10,000 budget).  I have a lot of prices listed in my bio (LIS) and I absolutely love ALL of my vendors. 

If you want to follow up with me about anything that's on my bio, email me at jenniferarmstrong23@hotmail.com.  I'm not on TK as much anymore, so that's the best way to reach me.

GL with the planning-- I'm a bargain hunter by nature, so I loved every minute of it

kpauley124

All,

An update: the budget was upgraded to a final number of $13,000 and the extra money has definitely helped.  We checked out The Gardens of Park Hills in Northern Kentucky over the weekend and for the reception, it's down to there (in the downstairs area - The Arbor Room) or The Elements in Sharonville.  We're likely to go with The Arbor Room - just waiting to hear back from some of the local hotels in Covington to receive confirmation on number of rooms required in order to receive a free shuttle.

As far as number of guests, we're working off 180 right now; if we're able to save money in other areas, we may be able to invite 200.  As mentioned above, we already have a photographer and we will be contacting our first choice for the ceremony after deciding on the reception.  Thanks again for all the input...it's been helpful so far.