New to the boards...

BriarRose84

Well, actually I have been lurking for a bit. This past Saturday my BF (now fiance) proposed to me in the middle of the Tampa airport! I was just flying back from a visit to Chicago, where my family lives. I get off the shuttle and he is there serenading me in front of a large crowd of people! I had no idea what was going on until he got on one knee and pulled out the ring! We are so excited and are now trying to plan a wedding for April 23, 2011! Not so much time but hopefully everything will come together. Right now our focus is on finding a venue. We had originally thought about a smaller wedding at about 100 max. However, tonight we started to add up our families and just between us we have about 100, not including any friends! It looks like we will be planning a bigger wedding than expected! Any words of advice and/or recommendations would be great since we are trying to do this at $10,000 max budget.

bananafanafofashley

i ran into the same issue my guest list is just over 100 only including family. we had a 10k budget to begin with but it just doesnt look possible at this point because we have a lot of people coming from boston and we want to give them something nice. we upped our budget 5k and are praying people will give us money haha. i know.. its not the best plan but my wedding isnt for another 16 months or so, so im not super worried about it. congrats on the engagement!!!

Bre2Be

Congrats and welcome!  That's a great proposal story!

Finding the venue can certainly be a daunting task, but a good way to save money is to have your wedding on an "off day".  Basically any other day than Saturday.  Most vendors offer discounted rates for Friday evening or Sunday weddings.  Also, you should think about having it around lunch/brunch time or just offering appetizers and desserts.  Food is one of the most expensive parts especially when you have a large guest count.  Can't wait to hear more about your big day!  GL!

KrystalsKitsch

Hey there! We have similar stories. I've been engaged for a month and we set the date for February. Our budgets are the same too. It's been overwhelming so far, but now that I have a date, a venue and (hopefully) a planner, things will be great from here on our (here's hoping!).

Jeni35

Congratulations! That sounds like an awesome proposal! We've been engaged for w hile; but made some serious changes. I received a great promotion at work, which took us from Los Angeles to Tampa area and for the past month I have planned our wedding. It is smaller than yours by choice; but it is very doable. Food is pricey! Try to opt for something maybe around mid-afternoon, when it can still be considered lunch?

TTnoles

Welcome! i agree with bre and jeni.  Try looking for off days like a friday night or sunday.  Also look into doing more cocktail type foods rather than a full sit down meal, or just do dessert and drinks.  For alcohol, i would just offer beer and wine as that will minimize the cost dramatically.  With your bdget it is totally doable but you have to know where you are willing to sacrifice and where you are not.  HTH and GL!

NicoleB331

Congrats and welcome! I have found these boards to be a great resource of information.

BriarRose84

Thanks everyone! We are meeting with a couple country clubs that we are interested in. Tomorrow we are hopefully going to East Lake Woodlands and possibly Feather Sound on Saturday....that is if the FI doesn't get called into work. When he isn't regularly schedules he is on call everyday but Sunday. it makes it hard to schedule appointments. I may need to bring a friend with me if he can't make it. Anyone know anything about these two places?

cjohnsen2010

I've been to company events and a wedding at Feather Sound.  Feather Sound is gorgeous and the service was excellent, plus the location is excellent - easy drive from Tampa airport and I-275.

Sorry I can't help you out with East Lake Woodlands.