Vendors

etkacz

I am just starting to look around at different vendors and venues and am on a certain budget. I was wondering how all you ladies decided how much was the max. you could pay for pp at a venue. Did you use a certain percentage of you budget or some other method? Also, if anyone wouldn't mind telling me which vendors and venues you used, what your opinion was of them and how much you paid for them. TIA!

Bride_to_be_2011

So you want to know every detail on my wedding?  Maybe you would be able to help us out and tell us what kind of budget YOU are looking at. I could have a $100k wedding, and all of my information would really be of no use to you...

Stacylynn702

Check out the Philly Knottie vendor list in the Philly blog.  The link is in B2Bs siggy.

Yes, more details of what you're looking for would help greatly.  Typically, I think the venue is the biggest chunk of change from the budget.  It was for me anyway.

miguelhilary2010

Whatever the per person price is, add 20% gratuity and 7% tax on top of that to find out what the total per person will be (unless they state that tax and grat are included in that price).  A lot of venues tell you the "price" but it's actually much more.  I started with a total $ amount, and broke it down by how many people we had.  For example, if we had $10,000 and 100 guests, that was obviously $100 per person (with tax and grat included in that).  Some venues will include additional services on top of just food and beverage, like the wedding cake, alcohol, linens, centerpieces, etc.  Just find out what their "package" includes in the pricing.  You can definitely negotiate with venues, but more likely they will add additional services rather than come down in price.  So if they seem unwilling to negotiate price, see if you can get extra food or something thrown in.

I recommend DJ's Available for DJ and lighting services.  I also recommend my florist, Belak's Flowers in Wilmington, DE.

jessica0602

In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_vendors-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:105Discussion:36c8c545-74e7-4823-addb-dc24c842b70ePost:4d065563-21a9-441f-9bc9-ed1133323fb4">Re: Vendors</a>:
[QUOTE]So you want to know every detail on my wedding?  Maybe you would be able to help us out and tell us what kind of budget YOU are looking at. I could have a $100k wedding, and all of my information would really be of no use to you...
Posted by Bride_to_be_2011[/QUOTE]

That was unneccessarily douchey.

bballgirl8789

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_vendors-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:105Discussion:36c8c545-74e7-4823-addb-dc24c842b70ePost:69da5a45-44a5-4b2d-8136-2916ab789bb8">Re: Vendors</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Vendors : That was unneccessarily douchey.
Posted by jessica0602[/QUOTE]

agreed, that was a little much.  But yes, we kinda need more information so that we can help you more. 

etkacz

My budget is $25,000, want to do it hopefully in late March or April of 2012, obviously depending on openings at places and will not have more than 150 guests. I am want to have it in Philly or not too far out in the suburbs. As of right now I've just been researching different vendors online trying to get a feel for different places and any knowledgeable information that would help me in my research. Is there any other information that I could try to give that would help with any guidance in any way?

Stacylynn702

Tax in Philadelphia is 8%.

What kind of venue are you interested in?  Hotel, country club, museum...outdoor space?  I'm not sure how easy a city wedding will be to work with your budget but I'm sure it's possible.  Would you be open to a Friday? 
My vendors were all fair in price IMO.  My wedding was this past November.
Photography:  Erin Keough Photography
Video:  Dave Pfafman
DJ:  Silver Sound-Scott Pomante, we love him!

etkacz

I find myself to be leaning more towards the ballroom type venue and definetly want an indoor space. Also, I need to have a place where I can have both the ceremony and reception, since neither of us are very religious. For example, I like Cescaphe, although I know it will probably be way too high in price and Pen Ryn Mansion.

Stacylynn702

I think once you figure out how much of your budget you're willing to put toward the venue, we can start naming different venues in your price range.  Meaning, if you can give us price/person youre okay with, then we can tell you what we know

LaRositaMonita

I will be my usual self and plug my own venue, Normandy Farm in Blue Bell.  It definitely fits all your criteria and i found it to be a terrific bang for my buck.

To be honest, what I found most useful in budgeting was figuring out what I wanted in a venue, visitng/contacting places, and then setting aside what I needed to in order to get what I wanted.  Asking around and getting pricing directly from some venues I liked helped me to establish a range of pricing and get an idea of what I could get for my money.  I also agree with figuring out the absolute max you woud be willing to spend on your cermeony/receptin total and then dividing by the number people you think you'll have to get an approximate per person cost. 

PS - Rather than asking us to recommend everything< I agree with checking out the Knottie "blog" for some names of vendors that others have used.  It's just as overhwleming for us to talk to you about every single vendor we used as it is for you to tackle starting to plan....I can send you my multi-page spreadsheet from two years ago detailing every dollar I spent if you want :P

Bride_to_be_2011

Douchey, what a great word Jess.

sorry if I was 'douchey'. That is HARDLY how I meant it.

Bride_to_be_2011

I am getting married at the end of March, and my venue considers that the off season, but if I was to get married just one week later the price went up 20 bucks per person, so I would say if you wanted to get more bang for your buck, do the off seasaon. You might be able to get a venue you love for a better price in the off season. 

CaitC21

Oh my...
You are asking a broad question...

What is your budget or at least price per person budget for a venue?

Are you willing to do a Friday night?
What month are you looking at ?

I will however plug my own venue, its hardly mentioned here.  I think one other bride way back when used it.

The Manor House at Commonwealth.
http://www.commonwealthmanor.com/weddings.html

I am paying about $125/person
Friday night in November

The list of photographers these girls and myself will totally depend on budget and what style you are looking for.  I have also not picked a videographer.

I am using EBE's Rio for my band
http://www.ebetalent.com/rio-dance-band

I am also using EBE for my uplighting
http://www.ebetalent.com/event-production

I am using Darlene from Precious Petals for my flowers
http://www.preciouspetals.net/

I can also reccomend a DJ, this is who I would use if I was using a DJ
http://acedjphilly.com/


Does this help at all?

Give us some more details and we will be more than happy to help you!

CaitC21

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_vendors-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:105Discussion:36c8c545-74e7-4823-addb-dc24c842b70ePost:6c4d2bf4-3fe8-4591-b5f6-e673dbe03337">Re: Vendors</a>:
[QUOTE]My budget is $25,000, want to do it hopefully in late March or April of 2012, obviously depending on openings at places and will not have more than 150 guests. I am want to have it in Philly or not too far out in the suburbs. As of right now I've just been researching different vendors online trying to get a feel for different places and any knowledgeable information that would help me in my research. Is there any other information that I could try to give that would help with any guidance in any way?
Posted by etkacz[/QUOTE]

I think March is still off season most places, however April I think turns to peak season.

LadybugBride3

I'm getting married the last week in March instead of April b/c March is off season at NF and it goes way up in price the next week.  I have a friend getting married in April at Pen Ryn and April is still off season there.