What should we be paying???

hollym1025

We are getting married May 2012, made appointments with some vendors but we are totally clueless as to what we should be paying????
What should we be paying for the Dj, photographer,video and flowers
We need help!!!!!!

xxhoneybunny

That is totally upto you,make sure before you sign anything that you got down your budget on how much you wanna spend on your Wedding in TOTAL and what are the NR of Guets you are looking to invite.

Your Budget can only come from your head,what you have in funds and mind

Anabeth420

I aggree with HoneyBunny, you have to figure out what's right for you. And a lot of that will come from the amount of people you're inviting.

KarenArnoldMaine

it varies for every wedding and every vendor...smaller events on a lower budget will generate a lower cost for certain vendors. usually the ones that stay the same are photography and video since they are by the hour for the most part. best of luck to you.

XxKrazy4u

we are getting married in may 2012 too. what helped was establishing a budget first. my fiance and i are paying for the entire wedding ourselves and also trying to get a house....so we set our budget at 30K and wont go above that. it helps you really negotiate what you want to spend what amount of money on....how big or small you want to go etc.
we are having 150 guests with a price of $89 a head but my venue included everything but the photographer/videographer, DJ, and limo. even included our centerpieces. we wound up going with a florist instead for the centerpieces because we had extra in our budget to use toward it. the thing is...everything adds up slowly but surely. you have to just figure out what is good for your lifestyle...what you can afford and save before the wedding. you have plenty of time to save but even though you have over a year to go...it goes fast. we already paid half the wedding off which has eleviated some of our stress.  Be practical with your planning and budget and do your research. this is a great place for advice on vendors and who to go with and who to avoid also.

Good Luck!

KarenArnoldMaine

get 2011 prices in 2012...that is a smart idea too...lock in your price. I am getting married in 2012 too.

danixbanani

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-york-long-island_should-paying?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:120Discussion:895b48d5-9f04-45b3-919c-bb34968beb96Post:20bb135d-8a2f-44c6-910b-88a0428fd1c8">Re: What should we be paying???</a>:
[QUOTE]get 2011 prices in 2012...that is a smart idea too...lock in your price. I am getting married in 2012 too.
Posted by KarenArnoldMaine[/QUOTE]

TOTALLY a good idea.  I booked my 2011 wedding in 2010 to make sure I got good prices.  Everything goes up up up so I'd book everything you can ASAP. 

I also agree with the other posters that you should really set a budget and try to work within that.  Like say, I'm only comfortable paying x amount for the hall, for the dj, etc etc.  And NEGOTIATE NEGOTIATE NEGOTIATE...you'd be surprised what catering halls, djs, etc are willing to do if you just ask!  For example, we negotiated no ceremony fee for our wedding venue and they decorate the ceremony area with flowers and such! 

Be aware that Friday and Sunday weddings are ultimately cheaper, also the fall/winter months are cheaper as well. 

SoonToBeGenao

My fiance and I are also paying for our wedding by ourselves, so we have been keeping budget in the front of our minds. A few pointers. Some photography companies will offer you 2 photographers, however it is completely unncessary to have 2 people taking pictures if you have less than 200 guests, and if you have a videographer as well. Taking only one photographer will lower the cost. I think photo is the easiest place to negotiate and save money. We also chose a Saturday afternoon wedding which is SO much more affordable than a Satuday night wedding.
Good luck and God Bless!

jeja234

I am also cluless about this planning stuff. We are planning on a May 2012 wedding and I was shocked at how much this is going to cost. Our budget started at 20k but it is REALLY obvious that we will have to raise that.

XxKrazy4u Where did you book for $89 per person! That is a great price!

hulamulagrl

People were sort of vague in this post and I certainly need the help as well. I will tell you so far that I have a Saturday night wedding for 160 people will likely cost $13,000 for the venue. I looked HIGH and low for a more affordable venue and I decided a buffet made the wedding less choppy and more affordable. My flowers for 16 tables, my bouquet, and other little BM and GM flowers were $2400. My DJ is $1600. My flight to New York from Hawaii is $2000 (oh did I mention I moved to hawaii!) my photographer is $3500. My dress was $1200. The list goes on and on.  The whole day is going to be gorgeous and I thought I was getting decent prices. When you add everything up you feel like passing out with how expensive NY is. Long Island and NYC are the MOST expensive places in the US to get married. Best of luck-- I would recommend having a budget of AT LEAST $20,000. Oh yes, and my good friend did a backyard tent wedding and it STILL cost her over $15,000. Tent rentals can be about 3-5,000 dollars. OYE!

hollym1025

Thank you Hulamulagirl, Our wedding is Satuday night as well, we are inviting 200, with the hope that 175 will show up.  I am very fortunate my parents are giving us a significant amount of money that will cover the venue and hopefully there  will be some money left over, we sat down a couple of days ago and came up with what we will be spending, and we came up with about 20,000.  My parents are also paying for my dress as well so again that helps sooo much.  We  know its going to take alot of saving and less date nights but we are really looking foward to our wedding.  We are only doing ths once and I have been waiting a long time for this, I will be 39 when we get married so I finally found my perfect man, and I want my perfect wedding:)
Thanks again