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Help finding vendors!

hniharthnihart member
First Comment
in New York

Hello Ladies,
This is my first post on the CNY board so let me introduce myself before getting to my problem. I'm getting married next June in the finger lakes (south of rochester, canandaigua area). Both ceremony and reception are outside (tent). I'm the first of my friends/family to get married and I'm really stressed out about the planning!
My biggest problem right now is finding vendors so if anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it! Budget is a concern, we are trying to do everything for as little as possible but still have an elegant wedding. What I really need help with is the following:
Florist - I was thinking of doing the flowers myself but I'm worried that I'm going to be really stressed trying to do this. I don’t want anything fancy, just roses for the bouquets/boutonnieres. I’m doing candle centerpieces.

 
Cake - I've looked at some places in Rochester but they all seem really pricey. 


Band - we really want a band that will get everyone dancing but not something that is going to be cheesy. 


Hair/makeup - I am at a total loss about this, I've never had a formal up-do or my makeup done professionally. I’m thinking since the weeding is outdoors I want to do airbrush makeup because it is supposed to hold up better, thoughts?

Thank you in advance for any help!

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Re: Help finding vendors!

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    kevinandmonica2011kevinandmonica2011 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi and welcome to the board!  Thanks for the (almost complete) intro!  Name and location would be great ("Finger Lakes" still covers a pretty widespread area), but we'll take what we can get around here.

    I will only be about 1/2 help, but I can say for the cake... without a doubt, check out Club 86 Bagels and Cakes in Geneva.  She is unbelievably priced and her cakes are amazing!!!!  Several of the girls on this board have gone with Lori.

    I DIY'd my flowers and, while it was a complete PITA, I was able to save hundreds of dollars.  If you are looking to really cut costs, this is defintiely the way to do it.... just try to find a crafty friend or family who can help because it does get very stressful if you are doing it all by yourself, trust me. 

    I purchased my flowers in bulk from Sams Club (yes, really) online.  I got 200 gorgeous white roses for like $180 (I was quoted $500-ish or more for just bouquets... re-freaking-diculous), delivered right to my door.  I suggest having them delivered at least 3 if not 4 days before the wedding.  Keep them in water somewhere cool (my basement with an extra fan running) and they will be in perfect shape for the day of.

    As for the makeup, I don't know anyone in that area, but I can say that airbrush makeup (whether indoors or out) is definitely the way to go.  It is lightweight and gives a flawless finish.

    Hope this helps!
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    hniharthnihart member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Thanks for the suggestions! The ceremony is going to be in Canandaigua and then the reception is at my parents which is 1/2 hour away.
    I looked at the bagels and cakes website and it looks like they do nice stuff, I will have to check them out.
    My biggest concern with the DIY flowers is that since the reception is happening at the house there is going to be tons going on there so even if I have help, getting the flowers done might be a challenge! However, for budget reasons I may not have a choice. How many roses did you use in your bouquet/BM bouquet?

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    Mandies83Mandies83
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi!  I got married this September in CA.  Everything was at Sonnenberg and we loved every minute ot it.  We did DIY for alot of stuff - STDs, invites, centerpieces, place cards, card box, and the rehersal dinner was catered at our house. 

    Rockcastle did our flowers - we spent about $1500 for everything which is kind of pricy but we had orchids, purple hydrangeas and lillys.  Jim is very nice and knowledgeable and willing to work you to get what you want. I still have the mirrors we used for part of our centerpieces if you are thinking of using mirrors.  And Monica provided another part of the center pieces which fit in perfectly! 





     



    Our cake came from Sweet Times in Farmington/Victor in Phoenix Mills Plaza.  Kim is AMAZING.  I train with her so I know her from outside of her bakery but I know lots and lots of people who will tell you one hundred times over she is great.  And for $450 bucks for a three tier square (with filling) plus cookie tray....

    My hair was done by Brandy from Just your Style(I think - I only went there once and she traveled to the Inn on the Main to do our hair day of) in Canandaigua.  She charged me $30 bucks for my up-do and $30 for each of the girls.   For my make-up I had my Mary Kay girl Heather do it - she charged $20  and I finished it off with the finishing spray by Urban Decay.  My makeup was done by 1230 and it lasted all night. 

    We had a DJ and not a band - we used Rochester DJ/Encore DJ out of Webster.  Kind of pricy but we wanted to spend the money to make sure we had two DJs who were going to keep our guests up and moving all night.  And they did. 







    HTH!  Anything else you would like to know please don't hesitate to let me know.  For some silly reason I'm bored now that I'm not wedding planning.  As if work doesn't keep me busy enough!!



    image 182 Made the cut!
    image 129 Are ready to party! image 53 Are missing out! image 0 Are making me crazy!
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    LarissaBLarissaB
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We just got married in July in Penn Yan in a very laid back/small wedding so the only vendors I had besides officiant, were hair and flowers.  For flowers if you choose not to DIY, I would talk to Yvonne of Garden of Life (link) flowers in Penn Yan.  She did some great and really went out of the way to help me (I was planning the wedding from Nebraska so my friend did the original consult and then there were lots of emails) and her price wasn't bad.  We paid around $100 for the bouquet (gerbers) and a bout (a rose) and she threw in a toss bouquet.  She even gave my friend some suggestions for our DIY centerpieces even though we weren't doing them through her.   We ended up using fake gerbers for the centerpieces as I felt they'd be easier to deal with and do before rather than dealing with it day of.  But we only had 4 centerpieces and each only used 3 flowers.


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    kks4471kks4471 member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Welcome to the board!  I'd like to recommend Sara Lovell for hair and makeup.  Emie recommended her a few months ago on this board.  Sara is based in Rochester, but is willing to travel.  She does hair, and does airbrush makeup, which I'm so excited to have.  Good luck!
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    emieroseemierose
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi there and welcome!
    I got married in CA just a month ago, and here are my recommendations:
    Ditto to Lori at Bagels and Cakes. I've known her my entire life, she is fantastic, and the price is outta this world.
    Ditto to Sara Lovell (find her on facebook or she has a website) for airbrush and she does hair too. She did 3/4 of my wedding party. it's going to cost you a little for that with travel, but she is very professional, and it's 100% worth the cost.
    I actually would recommend Bouquets by Bonnie for the flowers, she's out of Fairport, and is great. I went with roses as well, it included 7 bouquets, many bouts and corsages, cake flowers, and 2 very very large alter pieces, and I spent under $900. I couldn't find anything in that range anywhere, and she stuck exactly to my vision.
    Here are a few pictures of all:










    (airbrush makeup by Sara - and the girl on the right's hair by Sara)
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    image 169 Made the cut!
    image 137 Are ready to party! image29 Are missing out! image 3 Are making me crazy!
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    hniharthnihart member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Wow, thank you so much! I was doing Sunday chores all day and just saw everyone’s suggestions. The pictures of the flowers are amazing, (my colors are purple and green!). Looks like I’ll be setting up a bunch of appointments this week!

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    vibolemilyvibolemily
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Welcome to the boards!  I got married in Geneva, NY in August.  I didn't really want to spend a lot on flowers and I found a lady in Rochester who was even cheaper than Wegmans!  The flowers were awesome and only cost $243 for 3 bouquets, 3 corsages and 4 bouttonnieres.  http://www.floralfxofrochester.com/

    Costco also does wedding flower packages on their website. 

    My cake baker was also really reasonably priced and tasted really good, but she is still a little new at it.  She let us have 4 different flavors at no extra charge!  Her 3-tier cakes are only $150 and then you can buy a sheet cake if you need more. 
    http://www.sweetecstasybakery.com

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    sbolger17sbolger17 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I would also suggest looking for a florist at a local farmer's market.  I got my florist through the Ithaca Farmer's Market and she was fantastic and very reasonably priced.
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    ChelseaB425ChelseaB425
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Emily's bouquet and cake pictures make me so glad that I went with Bouquets by Bonnie!

    I would also recommend Club 86 for your cake. I can't imagine finding a better price and Lori's strawberry is one of the best things I have ever eaten. No exaggeration. I've read some so-so reviews onlin about her sevice, but all the girls on here have had great luck with her so I'm hoping for the best.
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    hemam1114hemam1114
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    DId you book your most important vendor yet?
    Did you find a photographer?
    Officiant?



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    rsfan23rsfan23 member
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_central-new-york_finding-vendors?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:621Discussion:8189147f-cd22-4e50-a467-d98ae2b1585dPost:e228bb8c-4744-4afe-898d-d391747979f0">Re: Help finding vendors!</a>:
    [QUOTE]DId you book your most important vendor yet? Did you find a photographer? Officiant?
    Posted by hemam1114[/QUOTE]
    What's the most important vendor? Is it the DJ? You're posting on the CNY board, we are about 5 hours from NYC, maybe that board would be of more help.
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    hniharthnihart member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I have my photographer and my officiant is a friend. Looking into all of the above suggestsion, it looks like I should be able to find someone for cake and flowers!
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