Setup at Budleigh

rglasgow

I'm sure this has been asked a million times but I can't find it!  For the ladies that have been married already at Budleigh did you find it difficult to setup and get ready for your wedding the day of? Did your florist or caterer set up anything for you or did you hire a planner for the day of to set up?  I though about hiring a coordinator day of but it seems like a lot of money for one day and some don't include setup and breakdown fees in there already pricey  cost for day of help. 

OBX2011

Set-up was really easy for us!  We got to Budleigh at about 7:30am and had the bridal party, 10 of us including hubby & I, my mom, and a few friends help us out.  We had the guys place the tables and chairs for us, then put 1 person in charge of ivory tablecloths and then another person to follow with the overlays.  While that was being done, we had someone filling the glass cylinders with sand and a pillar candle and they would pass off to my mom who placed all of the shells inside....that way mom could sit down the whole time and take it easy. If you are using flowers that are pre-arranged, that will go even faster. 

We also had a few of the guys hang strands of clear lights on the trellis area outside.  We had chair ties and my mom showed everyone how to wrap them around the chair and then tie in a windsor knot on the back, then someone came behind and tied the starfish to the knot....starfish was my theme throughout.  I didn't want to do bows on the backs of the chairs and the windsor knot looked so pretty!  This part was kinda funny b/c I have pics of the guys tying the knots and they were concentrating so hard, lol.  We also placed a lot of starfish, conch shells and other assorted shells throughout Budleigh with candles.  We were finished with everything around 10am and that allowed plenty of time to get hair & make-up done without feeling rushed. 

I don't think any of the caterers actually help with set-up....unless it is something you have pre-arranged with them.  We did a plated dinner, so I'm not sure how the set-up would go if you are doing a buffet styled dinner.  We also did our own flowers through Maggi @ Harris Teeter.  My MIL made the BM bouquets b/c she used to do floral arrangements, so that came in handy, but I had Maggi make my wedding bouquet for me. 

We chose not to hire a coordinator b/c it was a lot of money to pay someone to do something that we could handle ourselves.  As long as you have a plan of attack, I think you will be fine.  I wasn't stressed about anything the day of and having so many people to help with set-up is probably the biggest reason why.  It was so nice to have everyone chip in and get it done.  At the end of the night, breakdown was super-fast.  H and I had left at this point, but from what I was told, it was a pretty quick process.  All of the boxes and containers we used for supplies, were tucked away upstairs in the hallyway by the back staircase.  They were out of the way and no one really went through that hallyway anyways. 

We walked through Budleigh with our DJ (John Harper) as he has done a lot of weddings there and that was THE most helpful thing to us!!  He gave us a lot of ideas for the set-up, especially where and how to place the tables, to make sure that everyone had plenty of room to move around and most importantly....for the dancefloor   I would recommend doing a walk through with your DJ or even caterer, so you can get a feel for how you want your set-up to be.

Here are some pics of our set-up:


(A little blurry, but you get the idea)
 


 


 


 



BTW....are you on our FB group??  It's easier to chat on there sometimes....let me know if you would like to join!

If you have any questions or concerns about anything, just let me know!

OBX2011

P.S.  I got married on Sept 16th this year....you picked a great time of year! 

rglasgow

Hi! Thank you soooo much for all your info first off!  I was really hoping you'd say that it wasn't that bad lol bc I really don't want to dish out all that money for something we really can do by ourselves.  In total our wedding party is 12 ppl and then my mom and MIL could help as well.  I am very glad to know that there was plenty of time without feeling rushed bc that is my biggest concern.  I am already booking Budleigh without ever physically being in the building bc I love the way it looks so much!  I will not have time to do a walk thru with anyone until the morning of unless Bonnie allows us in the nite prior.  Since its a tuesday I am hoping not many people will be gettting married on Monday so hopefully it will be open to take a look at without cost.  I am looking into Ortegaz and RedSkY for catering today to see how rates match up and i'm sure soemone from either will be able to give some advice on setup.
 From looking at your pics the setup looks really good that you had,  I would have a buffet that I may set up in the corner opposite the staircase so it's most out of the way of traffic.  Also where did your DJ set up?  I'm pretty sure the DJ I'm planning on using has done weddings there before so maybe he'll have a good idea.
 Well all in all everyone is just going to have to help out and that's that! i"ll crack the whip on the guys! 
  I am on the facebook page but unfortunately with nursing school I am crazy busy and tend to miss all the convos so by the time I get on there and read them all it's days later.      I will be on there more though because I have to get everything planned before the end of this year with bookings at least to keep the 2011 rates!
  Thanks again for all your advice and I"m sure i"ll have a ton more questions!

OBX2011

I am here for anything you need! 

Go to the group and click on photos and you will see a 108 Budleigh album.  The 7th picture....my mom & DJ in the background...he set-up to the right of where my mom is standing, that way he is kind of in the middle of both "rooms" and can see everyone and keep the party rolling.  

Bonnie will gladly give you the code to the back entrance so you can go in ahead of time and take a look at things, she is really great about that

Sounds like you have the perfect sized crew to get this done!  A few of the other girls on the board are also using Budleigh and going with Ortegaz....which I think they include all of the plates, silverware and napkins if you rent Budleigh.  Kind of like a packaged deal.  Even if you can't get to the group that often, feel free to ask any questions you need to there so everyone can pipe in and then you can just come back when you need too. 

Happy Planning

jendem8

Yay!  Another Budleigh bride.  My fiance and I will have our reception there on June 22, 2012.  We're having our moms and aunts set up the reception while our dads and uncles set up the beach ceremony.  We're also getting all of the ladies (and my one male friend whose brother-in-law is a florist) together for a "working lunch" the day before the wedding to arrange all of the flowers.  I refuse to shell out another $1,000 or whatever for a day-of-planner.  My only concern was how to get the candles lit - my DJ said that he would help light candles, but I'm not counting on it.  I think that if I just have one of my aunts stop by on their way to the ceremony, that the 8-hour candles will be fine.

Also, as far as catering goes, I recommend looking into Kelly's too.  We looked at both Red Sky and Ortegaz.  We met with Ortegaz and they were extremely friendly.  However, Southwestern food is not my style, and even though we had a more "traditional" food tasting, the flavors of the Southwest still came through.  Kelly's is very comparable in terms of pricing (which surprised me), plus they include all white linens, silverware, plates, and all glassware - which was a huge relief to me (Ortegaz does all of that except glassware, which I think would be the most challenging to rent seeing as there are so many different kinds of glases that you need). 

Also, be careful because some places "nickle and dime" you.  Ortegaz and Kelly's don't though.  With Kelly's, you see a flat rate and will never charge extra for cake cuttings, champagne toasts, etc. (some places charge an "event fee" whatever that means).  Mary Ann was the first person I met with who I felt was extremely professional and pleasant at the same time.  Red Sky just came in way over my budget and didn't seem to offer any way to bring down the costs (Ortegaz showed me many different options, which was nice).  Good luck!

keb2482

We are also at the Budleigh and are using Ortega'z for the catering.  We happen to LOVE SW food, we are even having a made to order fajita bar   So Ortega'z was perfect for us and they are super nice and easy to work with.  We are renting our linens through Shindigz rentals - also owned by the Fearings.  They will set up the tables for like $2.50 a table.  I think this means they will place them and put the linens on but I need to confirm exactly what that means.  I want to do the place settings "myself" (meaning with help!) because I am really picky.  Another advantage to doing linens through Shindigz (unless you are using Kelly's who provides them - that is AWESOME Jen!) at the end of the night you can just toss the linens in the corner for the cleaning crew to deal with - according to Bonnie and Allison at least.  Ortega'z also offers set up for like $175 - which might be worth it!  I think we are going to get a quote from  them for break down.  We just want to be able to remove our own decorations and thats it!  I will post a thread on it when I get around to getting that quote.  LOL.

We are also having a friend of the family do the day of coordination - meet all the vendors for the drop off/set up.  We will enlist her help and maybe a few others to light all of our candles.  Good luck with the rest of your planning!