New Orleans on a Budget

heatherfitz · October 2011

So, I've tried searching the forums for this, but apparently a "small budget" can still go up to $10,000! When I say small, I mean it. I'm not looking to spend past $4,000 (honeymoon included). Am I crazy? Perhaps. But can it be done? Of course! But I'm from Arkansas and need some help with brides who know New Orleans.

What are some options available to me on such a small budget? My biggest concerns are on venues and food/drink. We're looking at a small wedding (maybe 30 guests). I refuse to spend $1,000 or more on a venue for 3-hours when I can go to a public park for free. See my thought process?

I've even thought about having the "reception" just be everyone exploring the French Quarter and bar hopping. When on Bourbon Street

So if anyone has any creative, budget-friendly ideas, please let a penny-pincher know

Thanks!

LOLways · October 2011

The problem with a bar-hopping reception is that unless you're paying the bar tab (at least beer/wine or a specialty drink), it's really rude to ask your guests to come to a "reception" where they have to pay...

I understand the penny-pinch thing, though. You could use "The Fly", which is behind the Zoo, alongside the river. People have picnics and crawfish boils there all the time. It's great because you have a nice view of the river. Depending on when your wedding is, you could have Plum St Snowballs come to your reception and serve snowballs. They are certainly a New Orleans staple. Also, all you'd have to do is rent a modest-sized tent and get a small amount of catering, which shouldn't be too troublesome. Timing the reception so that you're catching the lovely sunset over the river would be great, and then since your party is small, you could limo-bus over to the Quarter for bar hopping.

louisianablue · October 2011

It's a pretty tall order to ask for $30/person including tax, gratuity, bar and food. Even if you did your wedding outside New Orleans in Kenner or Metairie, it would still start at $30/person. My mother did saw that she just went to a nice wedding in Tickfaw where the catering was $12/person. Tickfaw is in the country though.

Queen Jane · October 2011

That IS a tall order. Like PP said, bar hopping is only cool if A. You pay the entire tab, and B. ALL guests are drinkers. We found what I'm pretty sure is one of the cheapest caterers and we are paying 42.50 a head, including bar. Where are you wanting to stay? I do know the Price Conti runs a good deal on a room with a double bed for $51 a night in the summer months on weekdays. LOL had a good idea with the venue, I would consider that.

heatherfitz · October 2011

Well, what if we had the reception at a restaurant? Like, a big dinner party and we covered their bill? Then afterwards anyone who wanted to join us for a post-wedding party can come barhop with us

heatherfitz · October 2011

And I would prefer to stay in the French Quarter with my wedding being in October of 2012.

louisianablue · October 2011

Even a restaurant will run you more than $30/person once you include tax, gratuity, bar and food. I think you're going to need to be a little more flexible about your budget. No matter what your budget is, food and bar are going to be the largest expense of your wedding. Some other things are going to have to give.

NolaBride2012 · October 2011

October is the biggest wedding month in Nola, FYI. The weather is BEAUTIFUL but you're going to run into trouble with trying to get vendors (photography? Music? Etc) cutting you any "deals" in primarily. Also, $4000 INCLUDING honeymoon? If you had a small dinner party with beer and wine only, you could probably do that (reception only) for that price. But are you willing to sacrifice professional photography? Maybe purchase your dress second hand? These are options you could explore to help you out. I know there are some courtyards for very cheap in the quarter for the actual ceremony, do some back searching on this board. Good luck, get creative, and check out the wedding on a budget board! I admire your thrifty ambitions!

heatherfitz · October 2011

Thank you so much! We will have a friend do photography, so there's a saved expense. And my dress purchase will be very minimal. I'm aiming for a Carnival cruise out of the New Orleans port for a honeymoon (costing $2,000 tops). I just cannot, in good conscience, spend a lot of money on a wedding. And I'll do whatever I need to to guarantee that.

alyss21mom · October 2011

You might consider a morning ceremony and do breakfast. Or if you pick a time other than Friday evening or Saturday, you will find the prices are lower. Also the least expensive time in NOLA is August, for good reason. If you can brave the heat and take a chance on storms, you will probably be able to negotiate with vendors. Like PP said, October is peak season for weddings. March is 2nd. Good luck.

Kate504 · October 2011

If you went up to $40 a head you may be in a better spot for doing something at a restaraunt. That would be about $1200, but doesn't include anything else. NOLA is a cheaper bigger city, but not as cheap as you are wanting it to be, maybe cut down your guest list?

kbsmom1 · October 2011

ive heard you can do a reception type party at the New Orleans Cooking School....not sure of the price....

Queen Jane · October 2011

Be prepared for high hotel prices in October as well. Our wedding is next Sunday and there is not a room in the Quarter for under 200. Theres a Saints game and TUlane Parents Week at the same time. There is always something going on. Your guests will have to pay high prices just to stay, and that could result in them not being able to come.

heatherfitz · October 2011

thanks for the heads up, Queen Jane

LOLways · October 2011

Have you considered eloping? I mean seriously considered it? If it is so unconscionable to spend more than $4k on your wedding, maybe you should just hedge your bets and plan a JOP ceremony and go spend all that money on your honeymoon.

heatherfitz · October 2011

it's almost to that point, LOLways. our "wedding" is more like a big party in the French Quarter, which i'm honestly stoked about. i never really wanted a traditional wedding so this is definitely starting to fit "non-traditional", haha. but we do want close family and friends to at least enjoy it with us, so that's where the budget is coming into play. at this point i'm looking for a cheap ceremoney venue, going to have the reception at a restaurant, then post-party up and down Bourbon Street. the next day we set sail on our honeymoon cruise

oh, and our friend just got ordained on his iPhone the other night to marry us, so there's that fun bit!

[Deleted User] · October 2011

I definitely agree with the dinner party in a private room at a restaurant. For 30 guests, they shouldn't charge you any type of rental fee. Give the guests a few dinner options to choose from and there you go. I think you could do it for under 1500. Try deanies. Dookie Chase is also a new orleans classic and I've been to a small wedding reception dinner there. It's not exactly in the quarter though, but not far.

RYLZ · October 2011

Acme Oyster House has a private room upstairs (nicer than the main restaurant) and they have menus starting at $27/pp, alcohol not included.

carolemb · October 2011

I've heard a lot of places offer discounts if you get married on a Sunday and I've heard that Sunday afternoon weddings are really fun in the French Quarter.
Also, you could do a cash bar. I think liquor is where a lot of the expense comes from and if people know you're on a tight budget, they'll understand. I went to one very small wedding where they just had a glass of champagne for everyone for the toast.
As far as venues go, if seem to remember Tujagues being very reasonable. For hotels, you could try some of the smaller local places like the Ursline Guest House or St. Helene. Their room rates are good.
Good Luck!!

LOLways · October 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_new-orleans-budget?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:84Discussion:ca96a2b6-9327-4b81-9bca-03aeab5d2666Post:eb46e367-9da0-4154-86c7-e7e42f0fbf94">Re: New Orleans on a Budget</a>:
[QUOTE]Also, you could do a cash bar.
Posted by carolemb[/QUOTE]

<div>I think this is rude, especially if your guests have all traveled from out of town, spending time and money to come to your wedding. The least you could do is give them wine/beer for free all night.</div>

MsAwesome · October 2011

We had a wedding shower/engagement party at Maximo's on Decatur. There is a private room upstairs that has a french doors that open up into a balcony. You guys could get married on the balcony at night while your guests watched from the inside of the room at the table. We did open bar for about 4 hours. Call and speak to Eric, he is the manager and may be able to cut you a deal. Appetizers were served and we had an open bar. However, you could always do the option of just serving wine as this restaurant is pretty famous for their wine. I think for food, it was aroun $20 a person. For Open bar it was 14$ per person for an hour. There was another option though, of just serving wine. For just wine, he quoted us around 500$ for our guests. Our open bar ended up coming out to 2900$ for 55 guests. You can also bring in your own cake and music. We had music set up from our ipon with a speaker in the corner. It was great and I highly recommend it

MsAwesome · October 2011

This is what the balcony looks like at night.. You can opt to have tables set up out there for people to eat.. and maybe even hold the ceremony out there..

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=174056515850&set=a.109822215850.123868.103017660850&type=3&theater

Here is the menu and pricing and pics of the private dining room

http://maximosgrill.com/images/PrivateDiningMenus4.pdf

Also keep in mind that this is located in the french quarter and you could walk to bourbon afterwards.

Hope this info helps!...

heatherfitz · October 2011

thank you all so much for the suggestions! time to do some research

heatherfitz · October 2011

and thank *you*, MsAwesome! that place looks amazing

katrinalisa · October 2011

I agree that you will probably have to be a little more flexibible..I went to a friend's wedding and the ceremony was "free" because it was at City Park. Unfortunately you can not reserve free spots so other park goers can be distracting. When she decided on her location it did not seem busy but on her wedding day there were alot of families and people had difficulty foucusing on the bride amid the background noise. I would suggest House of Broel on St. Charles. It is your typical Southern Venue that would probably be the most budget friendly. I think iit is 30 0r 33. but I dont know if that includes tax. it does include food, cale and a champagne toast.

Turnk342 · October 2011

About 45 minutes south of New Orleans on Hwy 1 there is a place we looked at called the Royal Villa.....VERY ELEGANT...One thing that I liked was that you could bring in an outside caterer or use their's. We thought about using this venue but our wedding was too large. But its just down the Highway from New Orleans and still has that southern cajun feel.

From what I hear, Danny, the owner/wedding planner is very sought out and people come from all over to use this place. Four of my sorority sisters have used them.

I would call and check it out. The further out from New Orleans you are willing to go the better the pricing. I would seriously consider googling them and checking out the website. I know when I asked him about out of town guests he said he would coordinate the hotel rooms and everything. The best part is that his planning services are included in the price. He even did two of my friends flowers for super cheap.

On another note I think he is willing to accomidate weekday weddings which some venues won't do but you may be able to get a super price break! As far as the honeymoon I know tons of couples that actually went to a hotel for the weekend and waited to take the actual honeymoon till a few months later or even for their annaversery so that it was more affordable.

There is always a way, sometimes we just have to give a little! Good Luck with your planning! Sorry if I misspelled anything I type fast on my phone!

heatherfitz · October 2011

thank you so much, Turnk342!

NOLAbrideinDC · October 2011

Its out of the french quarter, but Southport Hall is def. in your budget. we had our reception there and it was AWESOME!! Its definietly more of a party atmosphere though if that is what you are aiming for, its a must see!

Knottie1453167932 · August 2013

I have a similar budget in mind. What did you end up doing for your ceremony/reception? Any advice/guidance you can give me will be greatly appreciated!!

rmahler1121 · September 2013

I was looking into Joey K's in the Garden District for our rehearsal dinner but this should fit your needs too. You get the entire upstairs to yourself including the balconies overlooking Magazine street for three hours and they had great buffet packages in your price range. (For 30 guests including tax and gratuity for the food the packages ranged between $875 and $1,175). They also will sell you margaritas and sangria by the gallon which would make for a very doable cocktail option for you.

LZELLW53 · September 2013

My daughter is getting married 3/2014 and is having the wedding at the tree of life near the zoo, for a donation of 50.00; and the reception in her community garden, there is a catholic church courtyard next to it they will let her use for a donation. She found some chefs that are doing all the food and desserts on the side, so thats only like 3000 you just have to look hard to find out if you need addl info and want to contact her chef freinds let me know and I will find out the contact infor. we are diy the decorations a romantic vintage feel around the garden and a dyi photo booth. should be fun

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