Buffalo, NY Wedding Off-Season

BethanyA92

Hey Knotties!

I am planning on getting married in Buffalo/Amherst in spring/summer 2014, but I am wondering when is the off season for weddings in Buffalo? I was thinking late May/June since I am a student, planning on graduating from UB spring 2014, or September 2014 if I have to take summer classes (my FH is in the same situation, and he is looking at starting med school fall 2014 if all goes as planned with that, so this time frame looks like the best time for us). 

Also, what other ways can I save money here and there (other than DIY) in Buffalo, like with the photographer, limo, venue, caterers, etc.? 

TIA!

oxj7822

Off season for western ny is November April. And the best way to save is to limit amount of guests. Smaller bridal party savings on bouquets about 150 each. Spray roses and daisies are much more affordable than calla lilies, peony and orchids. I had my bouquet done by a professional, but had DIY center pieces. Roses, hydrangeas and orchids cost me about 40 per table. Potted orchids look very elegant as centerpieces too. If you choose same place for ceremony and reception, you are going to eliminate limo all together. Venues that host more than one wedding a day are generally cheaper. The new thing is to order small cake to cut and a sheet cake to serve. A friend of mine had homemade cupcakes. They were delicious, but you could tell they didn't come from a bakery. I've been to dessert only reception do not recommend. If pictures are important to you, hire good photographer. If not, you probably have a friend with a nice camera..... Just keep one thing in mind, just about every time you pick a cheaper option you might compromise quality.

gymbugmj2k

I agree -- 'off season' is November to April.  May/June is prime time for proms and graduations, so many venues and limo companies will be booked.  We got married early/mid august --before the semester started. that worked well for us.

As far as budget - please remember that you get what you pay for.  There are several cheaper companies in the Buffalo area that provide a considerably diminished service.  Guests will typically remember the food, cake and DJ (aka if they had 'fun' or not) My suggestion would be to make a list of what's extremely important to you, and what you can do without.  An example would be our list:

Must have:
Photographer
Good Venue/Good Food, cake, etc
Appropriate attire
DJ

Less important:
Flowers
Centerpieces/decor
Invitations
Limo/transportation
Videographer
Unity Candle/extra ceremony pieces

some ideas for saving $$:
- reuse your ceremony decor at your reception if they're in different locations (we used the pew bows as cake/gift table decor)
 - DIY centerpieces and invitations (or use services like etsy, vistaprint, etc)
- book your event for Friday or Sunday. MANY venues offer a discount for this.
- research venues and guest list sizes. have your wedding in an actual venue -- don't choose a remote location that needs a separate caterer. this will drive the price up really fast.
- book vendors at bridal shows. We did this with our DJ and ended up getting an upgraded package with lights.  We did this with cake too, and got a free dinner
- keep your flowers simple.  Pick in-season blooms as they will be cheaper.  We went with Maureen's shop and she was downright perfect. I cannot say enough good things about her business.  She was extremely reasonably priced too.

Take some time researching photographers. I cannot stress this enough. We paid slightly more for ours, but he was superior to almost everyone in the area.  But, photos are important to us - we wanted to create art in our home, not just make an album we won't look at for 25 years.  Our photographer DID NOT give us prints of our photos. ( a lot of photographers will try to sell you photo packages as part of your deal). Instead, he gave us the digital rights to the photos, meaning we can print them wherever and whenever and however we want (so we can make christmas cards, canvas prints, photo books, etc).  It is SO MUCH CHEAPER than having to go through the photographer to purchase prints, or an extremely overpriced photo album.

it is a lot of work and a lot of research.  feel free to message me if you need a starting list of vendors to look at!

nadyac78

Can u list a few afforable but artist photographers that "give digital rights" to the photosgraphs. please and thanks 

oxj7822

We used Gardner Photography out of Rochester. The gave us DVDs with rights to print. It came in a very nice box : and way faster than I expected. We also looked into Light and Ink, John Shlia Photography and Sue Egan. They all have very nice pictures, but jay's prices were lower and I thought quality was the same. I also looked a numerous FB photographers, but that turned out to be waste of my time. They are extremely affordable, but even I could that they were amateurs. Hope this helps

gymbugmj2k

"Affordable but Artist" is going to be tough to find. Typically your 'artist' types are around/over 3k. I'd reccomend checking out Neal Urban, FCI (fisher creative studios) and Nickel City Studios.  Those are (in my opinon) the top 3 in Buffalo. Lovely day photo did some nice work as well.

rock1cherry

Try Chuck Alaimo for your photography. He's artistic and has been working on his wedding portfolio. Not super cheap, but definitely reasonable compared to most.

ohmarah

I am a photographer in the buffalo/niagara/rochester area and I am doing free photography for engagements. My rates for weddings are crazy low because I want to build a portfolio. Let me know if you are still looking for a photographer. I would love to do this for you. I recently got married and I understand how pricey it can be. Check out our website

laughingcityphotography.com

contact me at laughingcityphotography@yahoo.com 

themuffinman16

Lovely day is on the expensive side, but you get what you pay for.  I hired her for my wedding photographer.  She has also been my sister's photographer.  Her skill is to catch candid moments and not the phony staged pictures, that are more the traditional route.