10k Budget!!!

farahoofy

My fiance and I are trying to plan our wedding, and our budget is 10k.  We haven't set a date, we're thinking February or March, depending on venue availability and prices.  Anyone knows of an affordable venue for a reception? We're having 150-200 guests.  Location would be Tampa or Clearwater.  Indoor venue.

jennifer80808

There are a lot of places in the area - do you have anything else specific in mind for what you want?

Beware - February and March are expensive months here and book early because of spring break.  We originally wanted March, and ended up with May.  It's even more of a factor if you have a lot of OOT guests - due to the flight and hotel costs!

farahoofy

Some website said January-March are the cheapest months to get married =( I just need an indoor banquet hall, I would prefer a place that gives us the venue free of charge if we purchase food through them.  I checked out Hyatt Regency, downtown Tampa, it seems reasonable enough, it's $50 per person, but I'm still trying to find something cheaper.

wendyjoy182

just an fyi "off" night wedding stend to give you discounts on loads of things i.e. friday night, sunday night or even a day during the week if you have enough time to let people know so they can have the time off.  I'm a second time bride, but my first was on a friday at safety harbor resort and spa and there was no charge for the huge ballroom as long as we had at least 50 guests (the room fee was usually 10,000 big ones) so it tends to garner a few perks.  GL!!!

farahoofy

Thank you!

g8rbride2010

dont forgot the hotels add 22%!

Kristin789

>>Some website said January-March are the cheapest months to get married...

Sure.  Because it's winter from January to March in most states, and everything is cold and snowy and gray.

But in the warm weather states, that's our Tourist Time because everyone wants to get OUT of the snow.  So our prices are WAY up.

And I agree with the pp who suggested an "off day."  The best wedding I've been to in five years was on the Sunday night of MLK weekend in early January.  WAY cheaper than a Saturday night...

farahoofy

That makes sense... I'll look into that, thank you for the suggestion

cmeyer3946

Yup, as pp said above, watch out for the 22% service charge and the 7% tax.  My $89 per person dinner came to $114.81 with all the fees.  It's such a racket but hey, what can ya do?  Hotels charge more for the convenience but with a 99.5% OOT guests, it would be more trouble to organize something else.

What will also save you money is having it during the day and having a brunch/ hor's doeuvres reception rather than a dinner reception.

farahoofy

We're trying to have a traditional reception, and that usually entails an evening dinner, I'm going crazy trying to budget things out! I've looked into Doubletree Hotel, and so far they have the best affordable options.  Hyatt seems affordable as well but the lady is impossible to get a hold of!

tammyhector77

Consider having a wedding on a weekday, Prices are usually cheaper and discounted on week days than Friday's and Saturday's.

Good Luck and Congrats!!

lissaust

You can easily do a wedding on that budget in the Tampa/Clearwater area.   If you want to do it on a Saturday or Friday - go for it!  Its your wedding and you will only do it once, so do what you want!

Try some nontraditional locations and maybe go for appetizers only and skip out on the cash bar if the room rental fee is higher, some places waive the fee if you purchase enough food/drinks.   Try some of the restaurants in the area, for example Shepards in Clearwater has rooms that easily holds 150/200 and in February before Spring Break starts might have cheaper deals.  Right now my biggest thing is too many choices!!!  And my budget is less than yours.

Good luck!

M1ssJ

I agree with everything said above also consider having a brunch instead of dinner or picking on non- resort/hotel venue. Many of the country clubs or rec centers allow you to bring outside catering which cuts the cost way down. Additionally consider places such as restaraunts or boats that do weddings be cause they often do not charge that ridiculous fee.

syoung12

I got married in August and every where I went said that August was the cheapest month in Florida for weddings- so we literally got deal everywhere! I got married @ the Alfano Center in Tampa (across from USF) we had one hall for the ceremony and another hall for the reception. We had 185 people and paid a flat fee of $5,000 for food and did not pay for the building. The food was awesome and we got to choose 2 main courses, 2 sides, 2 starches. We even had a carving station for meat Its not the most breathtaking of venues, but the price was perfect and candlelight goes a long way  Alcohol was separate, but they only charge you for people over 21, which I found very rare! The cost for open bar for our party was around $3,500. but we had top shelf and a 5 hour bar. They even had a specialty drink "Moody Mojito" that was served during cocktail hour.
I was very pleased and so happy to stick to our budget! The best thing I learned is to just get out there and ask, and if your uncomfortable doing negotiating (as I was) have someone do it for you (my Mom!). If you have any questions email me: syoung12@mail.usf.edu I rarely get on here anymore