FI and I just started the beginning stages of planning and we're talking budgets, and I think I'm already going crazy. He wants all this shizz but only gave me a budget of $7500 for 120 people. For everything. Sigh. I'm tempted to just stick in an extra $1000 in there and so I can just hire a wedding planner to do it all for me. Not to mention we decided on So Cal, while we're still living in Seattle, so planning is a pain as it is.
So the question is:
Re: F*ck Budgets.
Basically, it comes down to where you're willing to compromise. Head over to the Budgets board - those girls are great at stretching a dollar. Yes, some of this will take DIY. Sometimes a wedding planner can help you stretch that dollar, making the added splurge totally worth it.
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That being said, I'm sure you can do a lot with your current budget. You can do it!
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My mom bought a plain white dress at like a department store though, so I'm sure that is a way to save a ton of money (she really just didn't want a "wedding" dress, but she's pretty special...)
Good luck!
For me, though, I definitely plan to have a planner of some sort. I would go nuts without it.
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Thanks for the advice ladies. I showed him my spread sheet, and I think I can get him to go up to $8500.
So far we're doing a barbecue buffet wedding, which is about $22/pp including 3 choices, 4 sides, lemonade punch and sodas. ($2650)
Then booze we're doing kegs and cases of wine, which ended being like $2100 using the drink calculator and looking at BevMo.
Then we wants a live band and an iPod (it actually worked really well at another family member's wedding, and we really liked the band), so that's looking at another $1000-$1200.
Then photography was looking like $1000 for a basic package.
My dress we're getting custom (cheaply) made in Vietnam for $100. I just gotta time it for when family is visiting and coming back so I don't have to pay for shipping and customs, lol. I've actually seen a few of these in some weddings and they're not bad, so long as I don't go all fancy schmancy on it (which I don't think would fit the theme of barbecue picnic, lol)
Floral, I'm just gonna go to downtown LA to the flower market maybe 3 days out and do all that myself and get vases at the dollar store. ($215ish)
So that's $7060 without the venue or service charges and tax. The issue we're having with venues is the whole BYO catering thing. Looking at public parks, most of them have alcohol restrictions (as in NO alcohol). Some of them even close at dusk regardless of your function! Most of the venues we've been looking at have been around $900-$1500 rental for 6 hours. And these are public parks!!
I'm thinking about cutting out the photographer and finding maybe 2-3 photography students at a local college trying to build their portfolio. I mean, between the 3 of them there's bound to be a few good pictures, right?
And then there's tables, chairs, and linens, and the cake. I think we're gonna just get some Costco cakes.
Oh, and did I mention that he wants a string quartet to play Don't Stop Believin' pre-ceremony like in the Wedding Singer?
(Ugh, typed this up like an hour ago, but weather knocked out our cable)
Panda, best of luck to you!
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LoL! My sister did the same thing when it came to her Vietnamese traditional gown, she had it made in Vietnam and then brought back via my granny. Hell some of the jewelry that my family owns is made in Vietnam and brought here cause its cheaper to make custom pieces over there. The anklet that I've been wearing for the last 7 years was brought over by my granny. Hahaha like you I have a massive amount of family here in LA and Orange County but I'm not one for big parties, hence escaping to Maui where i can limit the guest list to 50 in hopes only 35 actually show up. It is definitely more expensive to have a wedding in the OC than is Seattle, but you have options down here. I'll keep an eye out for a public venue that fits what you need for a reception. I'm sure you have family looking for you as well. But if you have any questions of ideas and you need a person to bounce them off of. I'm always around.
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Can you guess why we're having it in OC? Because for some reason Viet people have to congregate there and my mom (who is contributing, thankfully), invited all the girls from the nail salon she owns. How many stereotypes is that?? Ugh. Family.
Have you been to the Newland Barn? That's what we were looking at the most.
[QUOTE]I voted for sell your body as long as its not to the UCLA medical center, they do weird things.
Posted by motoLyn[/QUOTE]
I LOL'd at this because one of my BMs is a resident at UCLA med center.
Panda, I found some vases for cheap on Amazon, too. The ones I want are $115 shipped for 36 vases (12 sets of three heights).
I'd also recommend going to the flower mart about a month in advance if you can. You can talk prices with some vendors and place an order with them. We did this with the SF flower mart for my friend's wedding.
Are you getting an ao dai? Just wondering because the place I've bought an ao dai from also makes western wedding dresses, so it could go either way.
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Back on track, I haven't been inside Newland Barn, but I go past there often when I'm going to get pizza at the Roundtable Pizza joint that's in the same plaza as it. But from I've seen its pretty nice, if your wedding is in August then I say it be a good venue, easy to find and park. Looking at the website it says you would have to hire security of you were to have alcohol served.
Motolyn's House Remodel Blog Starting anew Nov. 2012.
[QUOTE]I'm thinking about cutting out the photographer and finding maybe 2-3 photography <strong>students at a local college trying to build their portfolio</strong>. I mean, between the 3 of them there's bound to be a few good pictures, right? And then there's tables, chairs, and linens, and the cake. I think we're gonna just get some Costco cakes. Oh, and did I mention that he wants a <strong>string quartet to play Don't Stop Believin'</strong> pre-ceremony like in the Wedding Singer?
Posted by PandaBurr[/QUOTE]
IMO the college students sometimes do a better job than the professionals. Two quick experiences:
1) A friends wedding I went to this summer had the full team of professionals working on it, but one of the bridesmaids was a photography major and did the engagement pictures for her. (they were fantastic btw) The BM decided to bring her camera to the reception and actually snapped better shots than any of the three "professionals" did. Also they are just getting a album made from the professional shots and one of the pics the BM took is going up as an 11x14 on their wall. I've seen both sets and the difference is night and day, although Im sure theirs horror stories out there too.
2) I have a friend that needed some last minute shots to round out her portfolio and so she talked my BF and I to do a couples shoot. I love every single picture she took, so much in fact that BF and I were joking that we wouldn't need engagement pictures.
-If you decide to go with students three would be a safe number and pull from the junior or senior classes if possible.
As for the string quartet you might be able to hack into the college system and get them to play the ceremony for cheap. If you find out who the small ensemble coaching professor is for the string department they could actually work it in for a grade for the students, and you would know it is well rehearsed.
I was planning on getting a western style wedding dress for the ceremony, and then an ao dai for the reception, but then I decided against the ao dai to cut costs. I have a cousin working for KPMG over there right now (I think she's in Hanoi... or maybe Saigon... she travels a lot, haha) and she's gonna be getting the dress for me. She also slyly remarked that she would get the ao dai as a gift for me. So maybe I will have both?
Lyn- I totally get EVERYTHING you just said, haha. I grew up in Corona, with weekend grocery trips with my mom to Bolsa. Why she had to drive 30 minutes just to go grocery shopping, I'll never know. I get the same thing up here about the nail salons, then they get all flustered when they realize I'm Vietnamese, haha. Isn't weird that all the nail salons up here are run by Viet people too? It's crazy.
Anyway, yes, back on track, I read that too (about the security). Also read that music has to be inside the building, which would be lame if everyone is seated outside, but in their little informational video it shows a DJ and dance floor outside, so I'm not sure they're very strict about that. Especially since I plan on ending the reception at 10.
JMM- That is great advice! I think I am going to go the route of college students for the photography. We'll see if we can find a string trio/quartet too while we're at it.
Thanks everyone! I feel much better.
[QUOTE]Anyway, yes, back on track, I read that too (about the security). Also read that music has to be inside the building, which would be lame if everyone is seated outside, but in their little informational video it shows a DJ and dance floor outside, so I'm not sure they're very strict about that. Especially since I plan on ending the reception at 10. JMM- That is great advice! I think I am going to go the route of college students for the photography. We'll see if we can find a string trio/quartet too while we're at it. Thanks everyone! I feel much better.
Posted by PandaBurr[/QUOTE]
I don't know how I missed all the cues that this is outside. But a note for the music stuff, think about how sound travels, string small ensembles may carry well but make sure to note any major highways/air strips/train tracks around your venue. Also for reference, if the strings cant do it, avoid a woodwind quartet, they do not carry well outside (think about if you couldn't hear the music when you started coming down the aisle, and any bit of rain can mess up the instruments. Call me biased but in brass ensembles you don't have to worry too much about rain and the tuba is the only thing that shoots up into the sky and we know how to compensate for that.<img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif" border="0" alt="Cool" title="Cool" />
The nail salons in RI where I grew up were largely Vietnamese, also.
What about if you found a restaurant to be your venue? I know here there are a few that have separate banquet rooms, and they're quite cheap as a package with the food.
Specifically this brunch place we love, it's $35/person for the brunch normally. For the private room and a choice of a wide selection of table linens, it's only $45/person. So that's venue and food AND unlimited champagne mimosas for $45/person! And it is right ont he water and has an incredible view of the Miami skyline. Miami's not a cheap place, either, so I imagine there's got to be similar places in other parts of the country.
With the photography cut that brings me under budget, but I haven't added in the cost of the security yet. Or taxes/service fees... or tables, chairs, and linens... I should really look up how much renting that stuff costs too.
I think I'm going to abandon the live band idea, and just use an iPod. One of my cousins made an amazing mix for another cousin's wedding and everybody loved it. That cuts out another $1000, and I can use that towards paper lanterns or something, and y'know, tables and chairs, haha.
ETA: Lemme asterisk that. My FMIL is a florist/caterer and she'll be providing flowers and food that are about $2500 in total, but still, I could TOTALLY rock that $7500 budget down here.
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