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Any DC metro area BUDGET brides? (Let's chat!)

AngelLynAngelLyn member
First Comment

Hi Ladies!  I'm an implant from the DC board and as we all know planning a wedding in this city, or it's surrounding areas, can get a little out of hand.  What are some venues/vendors you all are using to help stay within your budgets?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

"if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous" - Carrie Bradshaw
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Re: Any DC metro area BUDGET brides? (Let's chat!)

  • AngelLynAngelLyn member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Hi Ladies!  I'm an implant from the DC board and as we all know planning a wedding in this city, or it's surrounding areas, can get a little out of hand.  What are some venues/vendors you all are using to help stay within your budgets?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

    "if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous" - Carrie Bradshaw
    image

    My Blog!
  • edited December 2011
    I'm a $10K Budget Bride in the DC Area - here are my vendors!


    Photographer: Ashley Barnett Photography - Newport News, VA
    http://www.jarnettphotography.com

    Videographer: Making Memories Videography - Hagerstown, MD
    http://www.makingmemoriesvideography.com

    DJ: Sound Decision DJ - Culpeper, VA
    http://www.yourdecisiondj.com

    Catering: The Farmer's Wife Catering - Remington, VA
    http://www.thefarmerswifemarket.com

    Cake: Cake Party - Warrenton, VA
    http://www.cakeparty.net

    Table/Chair Rental: Warrenton Tent Rentals - Warrenton, VA
    http://www.tenteventsofwarrenton.com

    Flowers: Generations Flowers - Bealeton, VA


    Hope this helps! :)




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  • razdazzlerazdazzle member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I got married 8/8 at the Carnegie Institution for Science.  Although it isn't a budget venue - they do allow you to bring in any vendor so that can really help.  I tried to look for vendors outside of DC so that we could get better rates.

    Here are a few of the vendors I used that I found had really competitive prices -  all were less than $1k.  I'm waiting on getting the video back but will post a full vendor review soon with all of our vendors.

    -DJ David Orlando - based in Baltimore but didn't charge a travel fee for my DC wedding.  I found his prices to be around $300-$400 less than DC based DJ's.  He was really awesome too, in this case we got way more than we payed for.
    http://www.weddingwire.com/reviews/orlando-entertainment-parkville/4fc68941da46fb37.html

    -Harp music for ceremony/cocktail hour - Melissa Tardiff Dvorak.  Very reasonably priced compared to other area musicians.  She does harp solo, duo with violin, flute, or trio.  But we went with the least expensive but still beautiful option of having her play solo. 
    http://www.capitolharpist.com/

    -Videographer - Always & Forever Video, Dean Dykema.  He has a few packages at different rates - but if you just want basic editing and a video capturing the day than he is great.  We got to watch several samples before choosing someone and felt that his video was great.  I'm excited to see ours and should get in back very soon.
    http://www.alwaysandforevervideo.com/

    - Etsy for paper products.  We used P.S. Papergoods - she uses a high-end quality paper but has pretty good rates.  The best part was custom designing our invitation so that we could get exactly what we wanted.
    http://www.etsy.com/shop/pspapergoods?section_id=5555740
  • edited December 2011
    Yes ma'am I am a DC area budget bride. Although I am not 100% as of yet whether or not we are settled on a location here in the area or Las Vegas I am right along with you in the trying to maintain a strict budget of less than $10,000.00.

    My advice to you also would be to try www.partypop.com they have alot of host services on there website ranging from: photogs, videogs, to bachelorette party stuff etc...

    Any time you want to brain storm hit me up.
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  • AngelLynAngelLyn member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks so much ladies for you input and reviews!  I'm having the hardest time trying to find a decent, yet afordable venue.  Everything is so much  JUST to rent the facility.
    "if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous" - Carrie Bradshaw
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    My Blog!
  • edited December 2011
    I was mostly looking at outdoor venue's in northen Virginia, but in case you're interested- we're getting married in two weeks at Cabell's Mill in Centreville Virginia.  It has the outdoor rustic feel I wanted without taking over our budget. Try the area parks authority, I found those to be much more affordable. If you're willing to go to PG County they had the cheapest site rentals of anywhere I looked. I think they have about 6 different venues. My friend got married at Billingsley Manor and loved it. Here's their site: http://www.pgparks.com/Rentals___Permits/Historic_Site_Rental.htm
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  • edited December 2011
    Thanks so much for the advice ladies. Any thoughts on other affordable caterers? DJs? Make-up and Hair artists? Thanks in advance!

    AngelLyn - you can also try out http://www.montgomeryparks.org/ . i saw some great locations they had listed, but ended going up with something else for the venue. best of luck!
  • VickyFlorVickyFlor member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I second the makeup and hair artists!   Trial costs + day of cost = wow!
  • AngelLynAngelLyn member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hi Ladies I have to say that I am definitely leaning towards maybe a park venue.  Has anyone visited the Brookside Gardens?
    "if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous" - Carrie Bradshaw
    image

    My Blog!
  • smw332smw332 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Milton Ridge in Clarksburg, MD - I find them to be really reasonable especially for non-peak times.  Beautiful country setting.  Also, I was able to negotiate some prices down from what they are listed as on the website!
  • edited December 2011
    I too am a budget bride. We are looking at venue locations closer to DC or Alexandria. I found one location but it is about 25 minutes from DC. I am afraid that if people start driving and someone gets lost it might get a bit messy.

    When does this get easier?

    M
  • whome_notyouwhome_notyou member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am a budget bride as well and I'm having a terrible time finding an affordable venue/caterer. I haven't gotten past this to even think about the other vendor costs. I've seen a lot of beautiful venues between DC, MD and VA but between the rental fees, catering costs, and service charges  everything is coming up unaffordable.

    For those of you that have a budget of $10-15K, can you detail how you are making it happen? There's been some helpful info in the earlier posts but I need details-- no. of guests, type of reception (lunch, dessert only, full meal with cocktail hour etc.), types of decor, flowers (real or artificial), favors or not I need to know how you are pulling of the weeding of your dreams with a small budget. It seems next to impossible so I'm looking for a new way of approaching this.

    Thank you!
  • edited December 2011
    I'm a DC budget bride. $10K is the goal, $15K is the ABSOLUTE MAX. I found the only way to go is keep guest list small if you still want it to look nice. I wasn't willing to compromise on quality of venue and food. We're keeping our list at 50 guests. I've looked around and found that really the best option is a hotel package. I know the $110-$120/guest sounds like a lot at first. But, when you consider that takes care of 75% of what you need its very reasonable. We are doing our own centerpieces by going to a local wholesale warehouse. It will likely be Conklyn's in Alexandria, VA. 
  • aliciamandaaliciamanda member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Any suggestions for affordable caterers in the area?

  • MaggieOMMaggieOM member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I've been looking at caterers. I still need to do a lot of comparing, but when I do, I'll have a better sense of which caterers are more budget-friendly.  We are also trying to keep our costs down.
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