A couple questions about planning a 10k wedding and finding a vintage dress.

imsolidmatter

my boyfriend proposed about two weeks ago, and we are planning a wedding for the end of august or early september. we don't have much time, or much money (trying to keep it under 10k) for planning, and since we want it outside we are looking into having it either at a family memeber's house in waterford, with the backyward on the lake, or at what used to be my grandparents house on 7 acres in new boston. there are new homeowners now, but they know my family and most likely would accomodate. but there are a few concerns i have about either of these locations such as : 

we're obviously going to have a tent just in case it rains the day of, but could people still have a good time in a tent at a wedding if it's raining? also, are there tents with sides to them so i can make sure nobodys getting rained on? another thing.. a floor. if it's raining, anybody in a long dress,sandals, or barefoot is going to be uncomfortable walking on wet grass, can you order some kind of floor to go along with it? i really don't want rain to ruin my day what so ever, i really want to not care that much if it rains. so any advice with that is appreciated. 

second, food. if it's the end of august, at an outside wedding, what kinds of food would you suggest? i'm not sure if we're hiring a caterer, but i'm assuming we'll have to. any suggestions or alternatives are welcome. we're looking at a wedding for 100-120 people. 

any suggestions on outside venues that would allow alcohol, a late nite (til 2am is ideal), and is as inexpensive as possible would be very much appreciated. i'm stumped! any unique place in detroit, even if it's not outside. we love the city and love anything a little odd so we're open to a bunch of ideas, but we just have no idea where to start looking for venues other than the normal halls/golf courses which we feel have no personality. DIA, greenfield village, etc would be amazing but are too expensive, and probably booked. and also, i've heard alot of horror stories about belle isle, which is a bummer, so that's a no go as well. we are having a professor both of us had in college marry us, so the less religious, the better we think.

FINALLY THE IMPORTANT PART. 

my dress.

i have looked endlessly since i was proposed to, for a wedding dress. i like nothing in any store whatsoever. the one dress i've seen online that i love is by a designer who's bridal gowns can only be found at bella donna's in wyandotte. i've called so many times about ordering this dress, and they have never gotten back to me. i'm assuming they can't get it. 

this is the dress: 

i love the vintage look to it, and i can't find that in any bridal salon. i've been to Paris in royal oak, but other than that i really have no idea where to find a selection of vintage bridal dresses worth driving to.

sorry for the mouthful/rambling. thanks alot in advance.

vk2204

Congratulations on your engagement!

I went to a wedding a few years ago in September at a state park in Shelby Township and they had a full tent with a faux wooden floor. I am not sure what they charge but you could look into that. Oh it was POURING the few days before the wedding and the morning of. Thankfully by the time the ceremony started the sun was out; but the park was not flooded or muddy at all. The only thing I did not like was that the ceremony was about 2 football fields away from the tent and it was very hard to walk in heels on the grass and woodchips. They actually marked up my shoes pretty badly.

For food you can have anything you want, the time of year doesn't really matter. But because of the large number of guests that you are inviting it might be easier to have it catered.

For other venue locations, check out the sticky at the top of all the threads with Vendor Reviews - that helped me out A LOT.

Sue-n-Kevin

Congrats on your engagement and welcome to the board!

I think the park mentioned above in Shelby Township is Stoney Creek. They used to have one caterer they worked exclusively with, not sure now. Google Michigan Metro Parks.
There is another park in Beverly Hills called Beverly Park. It's on 13 1/2 mile rd just west of Southfield Rd. They may be large enough, they have picnic tables, a large permanent pavilion, but I doubt they allow parties until 2 am.

For tents, look into www.specialeventsrental.com. They are located in Warren, but their items can be delivered anywhere in the metro area (not sure of cost). They have a wide variety

For caterers, look into gourmet grocery stores like Holiday Market in Royal Oak and Joe's Produce in Livonia. We went this route for a caterer to bring in for our wedding because their prices are more reasonable than standard caterers. They buy & sell specialty gourmet products as a grocery store, so they don't just make a profit on catering. We had tastings at both, and both were excellent. They also have bakeries for your cake if you want one.

If you want to supply your own alcohol, with a tight budget, look into just beer & wine, and maybe a specialty drink. That's what we did for our wedding in August 2011, and had no complaints. We got our wine from Champane Wine Cellars in Warren on 13 mile just west of Van Dyke, 24 bottles of various excellent wines for $220. You WILL have to have a licensed and bonded bartender for any venue involved with government. I'd highly recommend it even if you are using open outdoor areas through friends or family; the last thing in the world you want is a lawsuit because someone had too much to drink and they are injured, or injure someone else. It's the wise thing to do.

Good luck. Also, check the post at the top for "Vendors" with the push pin; many brides over the years have posted reviews and prices for their vendors.

Look forward to seeing all your plans come together.

For a dress, if you don't mind ordering online, check www.unique-vintage.com. Don't just look at dresses marked "vintage", look at them all. They are reasonably priced, and many brides who wanted something "different" were very pleased with their results there.

Good luck.

MMRoberts11

Beyond what everyone else said, here's another tent company to try:  S+R event rental.  (sreventrental.com - clickable)  We used them for our tent for our outdoor ceremony.  The tent was nice (what you'd expect with a tent like that), all the staff I encountered were very friendly and helpful, and they were significantly cheaper than any other company I could find.  They also give you a discount if you pay for everything in advance.

elkay

Late reply here, but just popped in to TK for a visit. 

That Jovani dress is beautiful! Here are suggestions for getting one with that look. 

1. Search eBay - I know, I know - just remember to check out the vendor, you don't want one of the "we copy anything" vendors, because often they aren't reliable quality. But a NWT from a shop clearance or a used dress can be great. Remember that a dress of the right basic style/fabric could have sleeves and embellishments added or removed. Important - go by your body measurements, not street size number.

2.  Consider having it made! It may or may not be more expensive than buying a dress - you have to count alteration costs of a store dress. But it looks to me like you could buy a white strapless short cocktail/BM dress for the underlayer, then have the embroidered/appliqued net overdress made. Print the photo of the Jovani dress, go to Haberman's Fabrics in Royal Oak. Be sure to look at curtain fabric as well as the gorgeous but pricey bridal fabrics. They may be able to suggest seamstresses too. (Look at upscale quilt shops/craft stores for fabric too.)