Vendor questions..

bout2break69

These questions dont really go together so i apologize in advance if this is all over the place lol. First question is does anyone have any recommendations for limos or videographers?? Id like to stay under 500 for a limo for 8 people, and under 1000 for a videographer if thats even possible. Does anyone know any good places/ people for these? Question 2 is has anyone used Floral Gardens? I already signed a contract with them and kinda was stupid and rushed into it because they offered a discount if we signed up that day. After we left I realized i made a mistake because we ended up paying double what we were trying to stay at!!!I know, stupid. But if anyone has used them, how did you like them, and do you know if they would be willing to cut some of the things out that we originally agreed on?? I'm hoping so .Ok, last question, lol, is anyone using a wedding planner? Is it worth it? How much do they actually help, and how expensive are they usually?? If anyone can help me with any of this id appreciate it!!

emierose

I'm sorry, I can't answer your questions, basically because I don't know where you are getting married, or any other details. What limo company, or videographer package you might want would depend on where (syracuse, rochester, buffalo, ithaca, etc) you are getting married at, as well as your day-of time frame, and what you need. Use the internet, and this site to do some searches, and start a notebook to keep track of quotes, pricing.
Which leads me to - a wedding planner can help you with all of this. You can hire someone to help you organize your budget, what your timeline is, what your needs/wants are, and help you negotiate with vendors. You can look on this site, or weddingwire, or the internet, or go to a bridal show/expo to network with a wedding planner and find someone who might offer a la carte pricing. (you can pay them to help with some details, or a certain amount of hours). It could cost you as a little as a few hundred dollars, upwards to several thousand, depending on what you want.  HTH.

FutureDondada

Floral Gardens in Cicero? I met with the woman and chose not to go with her. When I got there she asked me my budget and although I didnt plan on telling her, I slipped and did. We discussed my ideas and she walked away to calculate it out and when she came back she told me I was $80 over my budget...but heeeeeey if I booked then she'd take $100 off and I'd be just within my budget. Until I asked her if she included tax....then it was over budget again.

Also, while I was parents came in to get their daughters flowers and she was so short with them. Just kinda tossed the flowers on the counter, took the money, and walked away. When they started asking questions she got a little huffy. I get that she had me there meeting with her...but she knew they were coming and why would u make yourself look bad in front of a potential customer??

I told her no and she gave me a week to decide and keep the discount. I told her no again and she gave me 2 weeks. Again I told her I was uninterested (and quite frankly irritated that she seemed so desperate). She called me after 3 weeks to see if I changed my mind.

I dont want to tell you that you made a bad decision...maybe her flowers are great!  Just sharing my experience.

bout2break69

sorry i forgot too say im in syracuse. my ceremony is in skaneatles and reception in dewitt.Thanks for the wedding planner info though.

bout2break69

Wow, Ive been kind of regretting my decision with going with them, but now I really think I made a bad choice! I may cancel them and just take the loss of the deposit. Any suggestions of where to go for flowers if I do?

FutureDondada

I am going to a woman in the Vally, just outside Jamesville. Her name is Debbie Mulhurn. Shes a tad absent minded...in a sweet kinda way. But Im spending (after taxes) $750.

My bouquet is white roses and  green callas, 6BMs have white roses and orange lilies, FI has a lily bout, 9 white rose corsages, 14 white rose bouts, petals for my FG and she orders a bulk of my main flower (roses obviously) and whats not used will be put into my centerpieces. She did my FSILs wedding and it was beautiful! Give me a few min and Ill see if I can find pics to post. She delivers all her flowers and hands them out herself. All reception pieces are done by her as well.

If youre interested I can give you her number. Ive also heard great things about Price Chopper flowers. I jumped with Debbie and didnt do much other research other than floral gardens so I dont know about many others, but I could give you a list of names and numbers tomorrow. I got all my FSILs lists.

I booked my reception hall and quickly regretted it. I suggest looking around and making sure that losing the deposit is worth it. Book a 2nd florist before canceling the 1st...just in case you dont find better.

Where is you reception and when is your wedding? Just out of curiosity

FutureDondada

Those were my FSILs head table flowers and bouquets. Her bouquet had little fake diamonds in random flowers. It was beautiful. It was also pretty simple, so if thats not your style I totally understand

bout2break69

Thats really pretty That sounds like an amazing price for what your getting! This is gonna sound crazy but we ended up booking floral gardens for $1600!!!Thats double our budget. Id love your florists number Im sure with this obvious price difference, canceling and losing my deposit would still save me money. Ill definately look at a couple places first though like you suggested. I've also heard great things about price chopper. My brother happens to be getting married the month before me and they booked them:) Oh and My reception is going to be at Justins Grill Oct 1, 2011. Thanks so much for youre advise and help

FutureDondada

I love Justins Grill!

Her name is Debbie Mulhauser, Ph: 315-299-5391.

Like I said before, shes a tad spacy. When I called to make an appt with her, she didnt take my name or number, just set a time and that was that. But she was there on time! She also doesnt have a normal floral shop. She sells pre-ordered flowers, so dont expect to see a shop full of flowers. She does have books tho. Haha. I was a little taken a-back when I first met her, but she turned out to be wonderful, so I figured Id throw a forewarning your way. Oh! And if you show up for an appt and shes not there, give her a min. She's on her way. I got there and was so pissed that the store was closed. Turns out she had left early that day b/c she had nothing to make but came back for the appt.

Good Luck! Let me know what you think Oh and I agree, you could probably lose the deposit and still save money! $1600 is a lot!

bangel

We went with Floral Gardens and she seemed very nice with us, we only ended up about $32 over our budget but we were able to get EXACTLY what we wanted... she is sneaky though we went in for a meeting and left with a signed contract as well haha..