Budget Weddings Forum

New York City Wedding Help

edited October 2015 in Budget Weddings Forum
So here is my breakdown of my budget so far:

Marriage License $35
Invitations: Printing from Home
Officiant: done by a friend
Vid and Photography: Leimage $1999
Flowers: a floral shop in brooklyn where roses are $1/each

Need Work on:
Emcee/ Dj prefer Chinese speaking: not sure
Dress
Jewelry
Male Tux
Hair + Make up
Reception (maybe for less than 100 people)
Cake

Would anyone be able to help me with these items please? I want to have a wedding for less than $10,000 preferably. Thanks. 

I am not asking for people here for money. I just saw on websites there were couples that had corporate sponsorship and wanted information on that.

Re: New York City Wedding Help

  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited October 2015
    Asking people for money is against the TOS here.  I think you should delete your post.  Many people will be offended.

    You are expected to pay for your own wedding.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
  • You should probably edit your post and inquire about those things on your local wedding board. No one here is going to give you $ or sponsorship for your wedding. Recommendations and reviews, however, would be more likely on the NY board.

  • edited October 2015
    I don't think the poster is asking for money. She's asking for recommendations. As for the recommendations for sponsorship, why in the world would any business sponsor your wedding??? If you were a Kardashian maybe. But then if you were a Kardashian, you wouldn't need sponsorship for a $10,000 wedding. I doubt you're going to find a sponsor and I also doubt that you're going to be able to stick with a budget of $10,000 for a NYC wedding for 100 unless it's done at a private home or a church hall serving cake and punch only.
  • 20% of your budget in photography is a lot.  Almost too much for your size budget.   Add in NYC.  Yikes.

    Receptions are normally the biggest part of your budget.  Normally about 50%.  So you are looking at around $5K.    That pretty much leaves you will less than $3K for everything else.

    Since she brought up Chinese speaking officiant, I'm assuming one is Chinese.  I've heard sponsors are a thing in their culture..  Not that I understand, but I'm not going to criticize her if that is the case.  However, since the OP can't find sponsors she is going to have to just suck it up and figure out how to pay for this herself.

    OP  -  I suggest checking out the local boards.  They will be able to help you will vendors more than us.  We are an international board.  

    GL






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
  • No one is going to sponsor your wedding unless you're a celebrity. If you can't afford 10k, then don't spend that much. 

    Dress - go to David's Bridal. Tux - there are many tux rental spots. Men's Warehouse usually has good deals. Cut down your guest list. Contact some restaurants to see what they offer. Serve just beer and wine. Jewerly - go with an online site, like Overstock Jewelry. 
  • I feel like you're going about this backward. Reception should be the bulk of your budget and it sounds like you may be planning something more formal or evening/dinner, but you don't even have a venue yet? It's nice that you found a place for cheap flowers, but you need to nail down a venue and time before extras like flowers and jewelry.

    With that kind of budget, it seems really unlikely to have a Saturday evening wedding in NYC, and that may dictate when and what type of reception you can afford (dinner vs brunch vs mid-afternoon cake and punch). This will also help you make other decisions and possibly save money. For example, if you can't afford an evening wedding, then does your fiance already own a suit he can wear instead? Also, you seem to not be factoring in little things that can add up - like printing invitations at home is great, but still won't be free because even if you just happen to have all of the supplies you need (ink, nice paper or cardstock, envelopes), you still need to pay postage to mail them.

    I would recommend really sitting down with your fiance, find a good wedding budget tool that gives you guidance on percentages to allocate to various things, and nail down the big stuff before worrying about the extras and then figure out what's left in the budget for them.
  • I don't understand what the OP is going for here. Are you hoping that someone will read this and be inspired to pay for your DJ?
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • KatWAG said:

    I don't understand what the OP is going for here. Are you hoping that someone will read this and be inspired to pay for your DJ?

    Oh. I just reread and realized it kinda sounds like they are also asking us to jump in with our checkbooks in addition to finding them vendors who just work for free just because. I think I just translated that into "help me figure out how to budget" because expecting people and/or businesses to finance your wedding like you're a charity is just too BSC for me to comprehend.
  • A few other things to keep in mind ....

    Just because you're printing the invitations at home doesn't mean that it won't cost anything.  You'll need to factor in ink and paper (which isn't always cheap). 

    Also, that's great that you found a place in Brooklyn that has flowers for that price.  Does that price include delivery?  Also, does that price include any arranging of the flowers?  I have a feeling it's just a dollar for a single rose.  There's more that goes into this.
    image
  • i have a friend who is willing to be my officiant lol so i got that part covered . The floral place have roses for $1 each no delivery. I was going to pick it up the day before and refrigerate the flowers

  • i have just started planning and is new to this so i was hoping to get feedback and suggestions from peers
  • i have a friend who is willing to be my officiant lol so i got that part covered . The floral place have roses for $1 each no delivery. I was going to pick it up the day before and refrigerate the flowers


    How many roses are you talking here? Do you have the refrigeration space? Also, who will arrange them?
    image
  • I was going to DIY them and put them on the bottom shelf of my fridge lol
  • What are the flowers going to be used for? If it's just for your bouquet, that sounds fine, but if you're planning to store enough flowers to decorate a venue, I think you're severely underestimating the amount of flowers you need.
  • mileybangerzmileybangerz member
    5 Love Its First Comment First Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited October 2015

    I was going to DIY them and put them on the bottom shelf of my fridge lol

    DIY on the day before / day of your wedding?? I'd seriously rethink this.

    Also, have you ever refrigerated flowers in your fridge? The settings for food vs flowers are likely different. I'd research that more if I were you.
    image
  • If you read the article you posted  you will realize no businesses have signed on. Vendors like good reviews and referrals but unless someone is JUST starting out they wont't work for free and honestly, you get what you pay for.

    Make a guest list, realize that your budget is only what YOU can afford (don't count on money unless check is in hand), and then prioritize. My reception was on my husbands family property so I knew that I would be renting bathrooms, tents, tables, etc. After that my priorities were food/drinks, photography.

    Other tips: Supplement the cake you cut and then sheet cakes, have your wedding on a Sunday afternoon, get an Italian restaurant to cater pasta and apps, skip the flowers, get invites from vistaprint or the bundles from david bridal (I cannot say enough wonderful things about my DB invites)
    Do not: tier your reception, have an open bar/tip jars/ request cash on your website/invites, volunTELL friends and family to work for you for free, cook/cater for that many people by yourself, put your vision ahead of your guests comfort.


  • i have just started planning and is new to this so i was hoping to get feedback and suggestions from peers

    I am really curious about your thought process. What made you think that people would sponsor your wedding?

    And do you really want a David's bridal logo on the train of your dress?

    BabyFruit Ticker
  • So here is my breakdown of my budget so far:

    Marriage License $35
    Invitations: Printing from Home
    Officiant: done by a friend
    Vid and Photography: Leimage $1999
    Flowers: a floral shop in brooklyn where roses are $1/each

    Need Work on:
    Emcee/ Dj prefer Chinese speaking: not sure
    Dress
    Jewelry
    Male Tux
    Hair + Make up
    Reception (maybe for less than 100 people)
    Cake

    Would anyone be able to help me with these items please? I want to have a wedding for less than $10,000 preferably. Thanks. 

    I am not asking for people here for money. I just saw on websites there were couples that had corporate sponsorship and wanted information on that.
    Budget and guest list first.  Then venue, food/drink, time of day, day of week, etc.  THEN flowers and photography.  I don't know how to help you if you've already blown a fifth of your entire budget on a photographer.
  • I see that you have edited your post to clarify and include an article. In my opinion, what that article depicts is gross and tacky and tells me they care more about having a wedding than having a marriage. If that describes you, then I would maybe contact buzzfeed and have them put you in touch with the author who interviewed the couple. Otherwise, go back and re-read some of the posts that you seem to have ignored so far in favor of talking about refrigerating flowers, because many of us have already given you the budgeting advice you actually need.
  • CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited October 2015
    Have a cake and punch afternoon wedding/reception with no alcohol, no DJ, no dancing..
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
  • Besides posting this to your local boards for specific recommendations since this is a (inter)national board.  I wholeheartedly agree with the PP in that you NEED to sit down and determine your real world budget of money in the bank.  If it's not in your account, it doesn't exist, and unless you're a celebrity, good luck finding sponsors.  Businesses have to pay their staff, you don't work for free, never expect a vendor or friend to work for free either.  Typically people who are "just starting up" and offering their work for reduced or free aren't likely to stay in business long because they don't consider themselves to be a professional in that business/industry.  Then, after you have a budget, set your guest list.  You need to treat all guests equally.  If all you can afford is a Cake and Punch reception, that's entirely acceptable.  What's not acceptable is inviting some to the ceremony and reception and others to the ceremony and dance because you can't afford to feed them unless all you're having is a dance. 

    Those $1 roses are a quality of flower that "you get what you pay for" because the business has to turn a profit from something other than volume sales (they're running a business not a charity).  But really, you're going to pay for design time for them to put arrangements together for you.  It's not just "put a ribbon around it" that they're going to do, and my guess is whatever they charge extra is going to be money well spent.  Remember that the flowers are going to take up most of your refrigerator as many blooms come in in that 14-20" tall range.  Really if you check around and get some actual quotes for bouquets, consider something like ordering the flowers already done from an online source instead of entirely doing them DIY if you truly can't afford a florist.  It's messy and takes FAR more time than you think it will even for a simple arrangement.  The value of your time the weeks leading up to your wedding triples, and it's finite.  You don't want to look back on your wedding as having WORKED your wedding instead of enjoyed your wedding because you were too busy attending to all of the details yourself.

    As for the cake - work with your baker for your budget.  All of your guests NEED to be served the same portion of cake!  No serving some guests three-layers of raspberry lemon filled cake and others a single layer kiddie cake slice - it's beyond rude!!!  It's like serving some guests steak and others hotdogs - even though they're both beef!  If I was in New York, I'd book Colette Peters in a heartbeat, but that's just me and I haven't a clue what she charges (I've met her at various events across the country - she's a sweetheart and does solid work).. 

    When you're talking with vendors, interview them about recommendations for other vendors.  They work with these people daily and know who is good, who is great, who sucks, and who overcharges for what they do.. 


  • I'm across the river in NJ and paid more than that for my 75-person wedding even though our photographer cost less, I wore a non-wedding dress, we didn't do tuxes, and didn't have flowers. You're going to be hard-pressed to have a wedding and reception with that small of a budget in NYC-metro with that size guestlist.
    ~*~*~*~*~

  • Hi Knottie from NYC.  

    I did my sisters wedding, and based on 60 guests, wedid an amazing job.

    * Venue - daytime on Saturday - $70 per person - brunch is cheaper than dinner and night receptions.  She had unlimited champagne punch, wine and two courses.
    * Photo Video by My Beloved Wed & Art - $1400 including 1 DVD of days' highliights, disc and album
    * Vistaprint for Wedding Invites (I do print design, so I paid for 30 invites about $25  including envelopes and added diamonds.)
    * Florist (your's deal sounds good) but I did a floating flower arrangement and got vases at Jacks on 33rd Street, put in submersible lights, crystal diamonds and a long stem silk flower and floating candle.  With vases, they came out to $20 apiece.  For bouquets and bouts, I have a guy in Washington Heights, NYC who can work with a very reasonable rates.  Just make the flowers simple.
    * We had a friend do our cake (it's her hobby).  She did the cake for $300 and we brought in colored boxes of cookies - one for each table - about $6 per box for those who did not like cake.
    * JCPenney in NY is having a sale on men's suits.  Your guy could get a suit for under $200 and it will look better than a tux.  He may just have to pay a little more for alterations, but the shirt and tie would be included.
    * Rent the runway rents red carpet gowns.  She rented her wedding dress for $250, along with jewelry and bought a great pair of shoes from Macy's.  The store is located in Manhattan.  her designer dress retailed for $1500.  she bought a simple, lace sheath cocktail dress to change into towards the end of the night for $100 at Macy's.
    * Got a lady for $200 for make up.  Stayed after the ceremony just to do a touch up and it lasted all evening.
    * Hair at local salon the morning of the wedding.  She had an updo and added crystal hair pins.  It was not more than $150.
    * efavormart.com - heart box filled with soaps that come in all colors.  Her colors were lavender and pink.  We set up a table for them towards the end of the reception and everyone took one as they left.   Got 40% off so they cost about $1.00 each.
    email me at capicufilmarts@gmail.com.  I could send you some information.




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