Okay ladies, I've still got a year and a half before my wedding but I'm a big planner. We went and checked out our first venue today. I liked it, it was very nice, the people were sweet and really assured us we would have nothing to worry about on our special day. However, we do have a budget, one that's probably on the low side ($10,000) and when our meeting came to an end we were told the cost would be around $8,000 to quote on the higher side. The quote includes the following:
$3-4k for set-up, clean-up, tent, linens, florals, glassware, cake, chairs, pa system....pretty much everything besides what I will tell you in a second
Then another $3-4k to pay herself and employees
What this does not include is our DJ, caterer, bartender, my dress, accessories, my fiances suit, our childrens outits, limo, photographer, bass player for ceremony, invitations, thank yous, save the dates, gifts.
Adding everything in my head, if we were to choose this venue I can see it totalling somewhere around $15,000 and thats just not what we want to spend. So, here is where I need your advice. I want to find a place where we can have our ceremony and reception with an outdoor ceremony and possibility of outdoor reception as well. Do you ladies have any suggestions? It's a must that we stay within budget but I still want us to have the wedding we ae dreaming about.
If you read this far thank you so much!
~*Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away*~
Re: Venue Dilemas
Southern Maine Community College in South Portland controls the area around Spring Point Light House and has a number of different options for weddings.
http://smccme.edu/business-community/conferences-special-events/
They partner with Black Tie Company for catering if you want to have the reception outside but you can also work with the college to reserve the dining hall and bring in your own caterer.
I have no idea what they charge (beyond $500 for the ceremony on the bunker) but when I inquired back in October, the guy in charge got back to me very quickly with information.
~*Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away*~
~*Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away*~
I think it's very possible to have a nice wedding for under 10K...I'm only working on an 8K budget and I'm thrilled with how things are turning out. I originally had my heart set on having our reception somewhere on the "water" side of Portland. Unfortunately, I quickly realized that places over here (I live on the East End) with water views were going to be way beyond my budget. My reception is going to be costing me somewhere around $4000 for approximately 110 people (that includes room rental, food, cocktail hour, service, set up, clean up, etc.). I sacrificed location, but it will still have the same elegant feel that I wanted. We are getting married at Fort Williams, so we still have the outside water view location that FI was really wanting.
I'm not really famliar with places where you can have an outdoor ceremony and reception in the same place, and I'm really only familiar with the areas between Portland and Brunswick. I remember seeing some country clubs that offered outdoor weddings, but I'm guessing they will be expensive too. Possibly Sable Oaks in South Portland...if my memory is working properly. Peaks Island? DiMillos? I know they all have outdoor/indoor options in the same place, but I know the price is up there.
Seeing as how you have quite a bit of time, I would honestly suggest removing some of your "must haves" and see what else is out there. I think you will find that you can have a really nice wedding for 10K if you are a little more flexible with your criteria. FI and I made a list of our must haves, what would be nice, and what we would be okay without. After a long talk, we really narrowed down our must haves to two things - he wanted to be married outside and I wanted to have our reception at a hotel to accommodate a few of our eldery guests or guests with children (who are bringing baby sitters). We also decided which vendors were the most important to us (I already had prices from my two priority vendors - DJ and Photographer) to make sure that we were incorporating their fees into what we could spend on the reception. From my experience with watching a few friends plan their weddings, they more rigid they were, the more frustrated they became when things didn't line up like they wanted.
There are so many other ways to save money too so that you can put more money towards your reception. I got my STDs free with shipping from VistaPrint. My invitation kits cost me $40 total. I'm doing my own flowers and saving a few hundred dollars over the cheapest florist I could find. I also found that places that actually caterered the wedding themselves were cheaper than having to rent everything and hire a caterer, which became the final deciding factor for our reception venue choice.
The truth behind a well laced dress
~*Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away*~
~*Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away*~
~*Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away*~
We searched for months before we found our venue and it's perfect! Just keep looking! I am not very familiar with that area of Maine, but we are getting married at a lakeside restaurant, you could look to see if there are any ocean view restaurants that do events.
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~*Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away*~
I was going to look at Highlanders Garden too, but I'm glad you saved me the time by posting their prices. I'd e-mailed her and her vague reply made me think it'd be a little out of our price range (trying for $5-6K) and now I know it definitely is! The pictures of their gardens are really pretty, but im surprised she's charging so much for her staff on top of the rentals. Good luck with your search!!
I have hired greg powers agency for my DJ. He does great work (Ihave friends who used to go to his studio to record their music)
~*Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away*~