Another quote from a vendor that's left me in need of a large glass of wine. Last week, it was $200+ per guest for a barbecue welcome dinner (not including bar, staff, table rentals, dishes, linens, etc). A barbecue.
Today, it's $7k for lighting. Oh, the ballroom up-lighting and lanterns for a garden path are reasonable enough. But they want a ridiculous amount as a 'design consulting fee', and also for us to pay for travel fees and a hotel room (the company is based 20 minutes away, and the owner lives closer than that). Pretty sure I can buy the lights, and hire an electrician for a fraction of that.