The secret's out, girls like to go to the bathroom in a pack. I don't know what dangers we hope to avert by travelling in a pack but it's worked for me so far! In keeping with our pack habits, we seem to get married in groups as well.
I'm sure at this point you're thinking, and this affects me how? Weeeeellll, if you have friends getting married, they'll have fabric, tulle, disposable or Polaroid cameras, cake stands, votive candles, vases, hurricanes, sand for centerpieces, etc, advise and a lot more to offer.
So if you're getting within months of each other, why not share the costs of items you'll both use? I don't mean recycling ideas, just components. Just because you're on a budget does not mean you want a re-play wedding.
Thursday 26 February 2009
Thursday 23 August 2007
Wedding dresses reprised
There are a lot of brides who do not feel the need to haul around a big white marshmallow on their wedding day. Having been a 2 dress bride, I see their point. The reason I re-visit this topic is, the choice to not have that monster cloud of fabric may save you several thousand dollars.
Bridesmaids' dresses are trending more and more toward a full blown bridal gown, because, you know, they have to match the bride on her special daaaaaaaaay. Their gowns however average the $150 - $200 mark. They all come in white and ivory if that's the route you choose to go, but they also come in a broad spectrum of colors for the indie bride who has no problem strolling down the aisle in a royal blue creation.
Another idea is to look at the bridal sections of regular stores, like Nordstrom and see what they have to offer. Otherwise, find a dress that you love and more likely as not, the store has it in white.
Bridesmaids' dresses are trending more and more toward a full blown bridal gown, because, you know, they have to match the bride on her special daaaaaaaaay. Their gowns however average the $150 - $200 mark. They all come in white and ivory if that's the route you choose to go, but they also come in a broad spectrum of colors for the indie bride who has no problem strolling down the aisle in a royal blue creation.
Another idea is to look at the bridal sections of regular stores, like Nordstrom and see what they have to offer. Otherwise, find a dress that you love and more likely as not, the store has it in white.
Friday 27 July 2007
You really need that?
In no particular order, are items I find inflate wedding budgets yet serve little to no purpose! Also included is my commentary on how utterly ridiculous I find said items!
"Just Married" flip flops $10 (total $20 for you and delightful husband)
Are you serious? Even if we ignore the fact that you walk forward and will therefore not have the chance to enjoy these little imprints in the sand, who else cares? People in the bahamas, or whatever sandy tropical location they have landed in, are sort of pre-occupied with their own vacation and will therefore not be reading messages left in the sand.
"Wedding Planning Organizer" $29.95
Really? Because the $2.99 binder with dividers from Office Depot just won't suffice?
"The Name Change Kit" $29.95
You know what they do when you go to apply for your marriage license? They let you know what to do in order to change your name. If they don't, I can assure, you there are married women that will willingly share their knowledge on this apparently murky subject! When all else fails...................Google it!!
"Toasting Flutes" $14.95 - $39.95
You can either get them free (for instance if you register at Crate & Barrel), you can use your own, I promise the champagne tastes the same, or you can buy a set of 6 - 8 at Ross/Marshalls/Target/Wal-Mart for less than you buy a pair for.
"Personalized Wedding Stamps" $18.99 for a set of 20
Really? In recent memory, have you held onto a "simply divine" stamp?
"Bride-to-be Tote" $9.95
Ladies, I believe we have too many purses/totes etc that we can use in lieu of a personalized piece of canvas.
"Bridal Emergency Kit" (found for as much as $65)
That apparently goes into the "bride-to-be" tote. How about we just get the items we have lying around the house and use those? Hmmm?
The list goes on, but if you add up just a few of the items above, you'll be surprised by how fast nonsense items add up.
"Just Married" flip flops $10 (total $20 for you and delightful husband)
Are you serious? Even if we ignore the fact that you walk forward and will therefore not have the chance to enjoy these little imprints in the sand, who else cares? People in the bahamas, or whatever sandy tropical location they have landed in, are sort of pre-occupied with their own vacation and will therefore not be reading messages left in the sand.
"Wedding Planning Organizer" $29.95
Really? Because the $2.99 binder with dividers from Office Depot just won't suffice?
"The Name Change Kit" $29.95
You know what they do when you go to apply for your marriage license? They let you know what to do in order to change your name. If they don't, I can assure, you there are married women that will willingly share their knowledge on this apparently murky subject! When all else fails...................Google it!!
"Toasting Flutes" $14.95 - $39.95
You can either get them free (for instance if you register at Crate & Barrel), you can use your own, I promise the champagne tastes the same, or you can buy a set of 6 - 8 at Ross/Marshalls/Target/Wal-Mart for less than you buy a pair for.
"Personalized Wedding Stamps" $18.99 for a set of 20
Really? In recent memory, have you held onto a "simply divine" stamp?
"Bride-to-be Tote" $9.95
Ladies, I believe we have too many purses/totes etc that we can use in lieu of a personalized piece of canvas.
"Bridal Emergency Kit" (found for as much as $65)
That apparently goes into the "bride-to-be" tote. How about we just get the items we have lying around the house and use those? Hmmm?
The list goes on, but if you add up just a few of the items above, you'll be surprised by how fast nonsense items add up.
Monday 23 July 2007
Favors
AKA dustcatchers! Favors, are supposed to be a thank you gift to your guests for having attended your wedding. Are they necessary? I think not! Will you give them anyway, you bet!
That said, there is no need to break the bank getting favors, make it something useful (they're your group of friends after all, what do you all have in common? Whatever that is, find a way to tie your favors into it.)
No one, to my knowledge, likes jordan almonds. Especially not the pastel ones (which pretty much eliminates ALL of them). Lets stay away from almonds. Any other kind of candy - thumbs up. Do a candy buffet (yes, you can even do it in your wedding colors) and have little bags or chinese take out boxes for people to make their own favor bags.
People like to give CD's of their favorite music. I've always wondered how that is supposed to be of any use to me. Its your favorite music, not mine! If a majority of your guests are club/concert goers, how about a mixed CD of fave bands? Or a best of CD? Limiting your guests to your favorite music is not a brilliant idea, those CD's will see the dark recesses of a bin before you're back from your honeymoon.
Ebay is great for favors. Specifically wedding related favors. Type in wedding favors and a huge assortment of items comes up, at very very decent prices.
That said, there is no need to break the bank getting favors, make it something useful (they're your group of friends after all, what do you all have in common? Whatever that is, find a way to tie your favors into it.)
No one, to my knowledge, likes jordan almonds. Especially not the pastel ones (which pretty much eliminates ALL of them). Lets stay away from almonds. Any other kind of candy - thumbs up. Do a candy buffet (yes, you can even do it in your wedding colors) and have little bags or chinese take out boxes for people to make their own favor bags.
People like to give CD's of their favorite music. I've always wondered how that is supposed to be of any use to me. Its your favorite music, not mine! If a majority of your guests are club/concert goers, how about a mixed CD of fave bands? Or a best of CD? Limiting your guests to your favorite music is not a brilliant idea, those CD's will see the dark recesses of a bin before you're back from your honeymoon.
Ebay is great for favors. Specifically wedding related favors. Type in wedding favors and a huge assortment of items comes up, at very very decent prices.
Monday 11 June 2007
Centerpieces and all things decor
A wedding must have (if the Wedding Industry Hype is to be believed), centerpieces. These could have either
a) handily fallen into the floral category in which case all you need to angst about is what kind of flowers to get and in what colors, are they in season, will they wilt if someone looks at them cross eyed?
or
b)be causing you huge amounts of stress because you don't know whether to use candles, shells, luminaries, fruit, crystals, sand, fish and the list goes on.
Either way, doing them yourself is going to save you more money than having someone do them for you.
First, if you have an idea of what you want, type it into google followed by the word centerpiece, toggle over to images and voila! pages and pages of ideas! For free :)
So you've picked a centerpiece and now you need the components, I'd highly recommend checking ebay first (just as a by the way - for those of us that neither reside at nor visit incessantly, Ebay has buy it now options! No auction, no hassle, no waiting for 6 days for auction end, its like going to the store and paying less, oh joy!) Another underused tool is www.froogle.com, also run by the highly popular google.com. Froogle will find you lovely obscure websites that have just what you need at the price you didn't think you'd find it for! You may also want to check craigslist because there are obviously brides out there who really won't need thirty eiffel tower vases, 4 bags of river rocks, ostrich feathers and light up ice cubes laying about their homes after their wedding receptions.
Once your day has come and gone, resell the things you don't need. Or donate them and get the tax write off.
a) handily fallen into the floral category in which case all you need to angst about is what kind of flowers to get and in what colors, are they in season, will they wilt if someone looks at them cross eyed?
or
b)be causing you huge amounts of stress because you don't know whether to use candles, shells, luminaries, fruit, crystals, sand, fish and the list goes on.
Either way, doing them yourself is going to save you more money than having someone do them for you.
First, if you have an idea of what you want, type it into google followed by the word centerpiece, toggle over to images and voila! pages and pages of ideas! For free :)
So you've picked a centerpiece and now you need the components, I'd highly recommend checking ebay first (just as a by the way - for those of us that neither reside at nor visit incessantly, Ebay has buy it now options! No auction, no hassle, no waiting for 6 days for auction end, its like going to the store and paying less, oh joy!) Another underused tool is www.froogle.com, also run by the highly popular google.com. Froogle will find you lovely obscure websites that have just what you need at the price you didn't think you'd find it for! You may also want to check craigslist because there are obviously brides out there who really won't need thirty eiffel tower vases, 4 bags of river rocks, ostrich feathers and light up ice cubes laying about their homes after their wedding receptions.
Once your day has come and gone, resell the things you don't need. Or donate them and get the tax write off.
Tuesday 17 April 2007
And now a short list of cost saving web sites
For your favors:
www.ebay.com
www.orientaltrading.com
www.wrapwithus.com
For centerpiece components/decor etc
www.ebay.com
www.wrapwithus.com
www.ikea.com
www.crafta.com
www.save-on-crafts.com
For paper, envelopments etc
www.paperandmore.com
www.paper-source.com
www.mygatsby.com
www.remoteassistance.com
Freefonts for invitations/place cards/newsletters etc
www.dafont.com
Los Angeles Vendor reviews
This site has huge master lists of vendors in the LA/Orange country area. Sometime a review is as good as saving a few hundred dollars. Think vendors who would take your money and run.
www.labridezilla.com
For out of town guest welcome bags
www.minimus.biz
More to come...........
www.ebay.com
www.orientaltrading.com
www.wrapwithus.com
For centerpiece components/decor etc
www.ebay.com
www.wrapwithus.com
www.ikea.com
www.crafta.com
www.save-on-crafts.com
For paper, envelopments etc
www.paperandmore.com
www.paper-source.com
www.mygatsby.com
www.remoteassistance.com
Freefonts for invitations/place cards/newsletters etc
www.dafont.com
Los Angeles Vendor reviews
This site has huge master lists of vendors in the LA/Orange country area. Sometime a review is as good as saving a few hundred dollars. Think vendors who would take your money and run.
www.labridezilla.com
For out of town guest welcome bags
www.minimus.biz
More to come...........
To coordinate or not to coordinate?
A day-of wedding coordinator is sometimes a God-send. She will be your point person, she will deal with every little thing that goes wrong and you'll never even have to hear about it. A day-of coordinator also need not be just for the day. Some come in a week ahead of time or a month ahead of time. Some will save you enough money in their short reign to pay for themselves and leave you some extra. So you basically, pay some money to make some money!
Meet your potential coordinator and ensure your personalities mesh and that she is on the same page as you in terms of what is expected of her. The last thing you want to hear months after the happy day is how rude she was to your guests.
Meet your potential coordinator and ensure your personalities mesh and that she is on the same page as you in terms of what is expected of her. The last thing you want to hear months after the happy day is how rude she was to your guests.
Sunday 8 April 2007
Photographs are windows to the soul......oh wait is that eyes are......ack, on to photography!
You will be wearing a huge, poofy, slinky, white/ivory dress for the first and possibly last time in your life. Your fiance, is going to consent to voluntarily wear a tuxedo and neck noose for the day. So you want all this captured for posterity right?
A good photographer is key! They will capture for you memories of moments you will not remember two minutes after they happen (trust me, as much as you think you'll remember every minute of this glorious occasion, there will moments when you'll look back at pictures and say when did that happen?)
Photographers will not come cheap, but you also don't need to pay $10,000 for one. Get other brides recommendations. Word of mouth is better than profuse advertisement online. Check the BBB to see if there are reports in the photographer you're thinking of.
Cost saving idea number 1: Get a photography student who is working on their portfolio. They will not be expensive and they have a vested interest in the pictures looking good.
Cost saving idea number 2: Among your group of friends, do you have anyone that is a photographer or that does photography as a hobby but is exceptionally good at this hobby? Ask them to do your wedding day photography. They'll be happy to do it for you and that'll personalize your wedding as far as getting your friends involved goes.
That said, cost saving idea number 3: Photographer that is highly recommended by brides all over Southern California - Amanda Copeland found at http://www.classicstoriesphoto.com/
Lastly, keep in mind that some photographers will charge you an arm, a leg and part of your left eyebrow for "parent albums" or whatever they call whatever books you end up wanting made up. Check out the Mac book, pictage.com, kodak gallery, and mypublisher.com where you have the option of setting up your own books, in whatever format you like, at a fraction of what some photographers will charge you......which I have heard go over the $2000 mark.
A good photographer is key! They will capture for you memories of moments you will not remember two minutes after they happen (trust me, as much as you think you'll remember every minute of this glorious occasion, there will moments when you'll look back at pictures and say when did that happen?)
Photographers will not come cheap, but you also don't need to pay $10,000 for one. Get other brides recommendations. Word of mouth is better than profuse advertisement online. Check the BBB to see if there are reports in the photographer you're thinking of.
Cost saving idea number 1: Get a photography student who is working on their portfolio. They will not be expensive and they have a vested interest in the pictures looking good.
Cost saving idea number 2: Among your group of friends, do you have anyone that is a photographer or that does photography as a hobby but is exceptionally good at this hobby? Ask them to do your wedding day photography. They'll be happy to do it for you and that'll personalize your wedding as far as getting your friends involved goes.
That said, cost saving idea number 3: Photographer that is highly recommended by brides all over Southern California - Amanda Copeland found at http://www.classicstoriesphoto.com/
Lastly, keep in mind that some photographers will charge you an arm, a leg and part of your left eyebrow for "parent albums" or whatever they call whatever books you end up wanting made up. Check out the Mac book, pictage.com, kodak gallery, and mypublisher.com where you have the option of setting up your own books, in whatever format you like, at a fraction of what some photographers will charge you......which I have heard go over the $2000 mark.
Thursday 5 April 2007
Let them come......
You have the basics nailed down, man, place, dress, food. Now you need to let the masses know where this grand event is happening and when. This is the thing with weddings, apparently e-mail and e-vite won't hack it! So off you go to the stationer's for invitations.
This is when you learn that you don't just need to let people know when and where, they must RSVP and/or choose a meal! They need a map and directions to the place and if you have out-of-towners you want to include an accommodations card as well. The more you have in your invite, the more it costs. Oh, and that'll up the postage too :) Isn't this fun?
My solution for this is to DIY. Or find someone with a home business that will DIY for you. If you take the 2nd route, you will find people on www.theknot.com, www.weddingchannel.com, and www.ebay.com. There are other sources out there I'm sure but none that I've used nor are willing to endorse.
If you are going to make them yourself, start........say it with me........with online research. This will accomplish 2 things, you can find a design and come up with wording. Do you want a gate fold, a z-fold, do you want envelopments, plain and simple invite? Next, do you want to list the parents? Which set of parents? Are they divorced, re-married. It gets complicated pretty fast. So do your research. Invites are subjective, so I'll leave that up to you in terms of design, where to find amazing paper at dirt cheap prices? I've got you covered.
www.paperandmore.com (my absolute favorite paper supplier)
www.paper-source.com
www.remoteassistance.com (they seem to have relatively well prices envelopments if you're not inspired to make your own)
Now for the wording: www.verseit.com
www.crane.com will give you great etiquette tips as well as answer those ever pesky questions on how to address envelopes to 2 professional adults, living together but not married :)
Making your invites is a built in excuse to have a girls night. Martinis, wine, each girl mans a station and come the end of the evening, you have fully assembled invites. This is also your chance to involve your fiance - who had until this point been under the misguided impression that all he'd have to do was show up, ha! Give him cutting or stuffing duty since these can be done before or after the girls party. This will help him feel involved and know he's needed. Awwww.
Invites need to be addressed and this is where it gets touchy. There are those of the school of "handwritten or calligraphed only" and then there are those who believe printing on the envelope is an acceptable alternative to calligraphy (because lets face it, you don't want to fork over $300 for calligraphy when your trusty HP works just fine!), but then there are those that will stick an address label on it and call it a day. Even I can't quite bring myself to agree with that last one. However, I see nothing wrong with printing the address directly on the envelope, you fancy up the font and its better than the guests and the post office trying to decipher my scrawly little chicken scratch!!
This is when you learn that you don't just need to let people know when and where, they must RSVP and/or choose a meal! They need a map and directions to the place and if you have out-of-towners you want to include an accommodations card as well. The more you have in your invite, the more it costs. Oh, and that'll up the postage too :) Isn't this fun?
My solution for this is to DIY. Or find someone with a home business that will DIY for you. If you take the 2nd route, you will find people on www.theknot.com, www.weddingchannel.com, and www.ebay.com. There are other sources out there I'm sure but none that I've used nor are willing to endorse.
If you are going to make them yourself, start........say it with me........with online research. This will accomplish 2 things, you can find a design and come up with wording. Do you want a gate fold, a z-fold, do you want envelopments, plain and simple invite? Next, do you want to list the parents? Which set of parents? Are they divorced, re-married. It gets complicated pretty fast. So do your research. Invites are subjective, so I'll leave that up to you in terms of design, where to find amazing paper at dirt cheap prices? I've got you covered.
www.paperandmore.com (my absolute favorite paper supplier)
www.paper-source.com
www.remoteassistance.com (they seem to have relatively well prices envelopments if you're not inspired to make your own)
Now for the wording: www.verseit.com
www.crane.com will give you great etiquette tips as well as answer those ever pesky questions on how to address envelopes to 2 professional adults, living together but not married :)
Making your invites is a built in excuse to have a girls night. Martinis, wine, each girl mans a station and come the end of the evening, you have fully assembled invites. This is also your chance to involve your fiance - who had until this point been under the misguided impression that all he'd have to do was show up, ha! Give him cutting or stuffing duty since these can be done before or after the girls party. This will help him feel involved and know he's needed. Awwww.
Invites need to be addressed and this is where it gets touchy. There are those of the school of "handwritten or calligraphed only" and then there are those who believe printing on the envelope is an acceptable alternative to calligraphy (because lets face it, you don't want to fork over $300 for calligraphy when your trusty HP works just fine!), but then there are those that will stick an address label on it and call it a day. Even I can't quite bring myself to agree with that last one. However, I see nothing wrong with printing the address directly on the envelope, you fancy up the font and its better than the guests and the post office trying to decipher my scrawly little chicken scratch!!
Mmmmm Flowers
I love flowers. I had to have live flowers for my wedding (comparable silk flowers would actually have cost me more!). I called around and got what seemed to be the best deal. $500 for my bouquet, centerpieces, my bridal party bouquets, and boutonnieres. Sounds reasonable right? Well, not for me. I didn't have $500 for flowers in the budget. When we set our budget, food and alcohol were our priorities. (you can have an astoundingly successful party in a hideous location if you have excellent food and wine)
Then, my friend, who I'd tapped to help me with the flowers, asked me "why don't we go to the flower market for all your flowers?" Ha, who'd have thought, go to the source! The flower market is where your florist gets their flowers so why should you pay the premium for them picking them up for you? Did you know that a dozen roses at the flower market can cost as little as $5. So for $10 I had my bouquet (21 jade roses). I needed 6 boutonnieres and 3 bridal party bouquets so that was another 2 dozen roses. That put me at $25 total!! I picked up some greenery for $2.50 and was done. I had no interest in floral centerpieces but if I had, as you can see from these prices, it wouldn't have run up to $500.
Los Angeles Flower Market: 766 Wall Street, 90014 $1 admission
Go to your local flower market and take your most decor conscious friend with you. Have her help you conceptualise a look for your floral needs and buy what you need at cost! Then set an afternoon date the day before the wedding (or morning - up to you) and create your bouquets/centerpieces etc.
Online flower markets are also gaining popularity. The flowers arrive a few days before the wedding (so they have time to open up), they're usually in prime condition, and still cost less than a florist. Check out www.freshroses.com and www.overstock.com for bulk flowers.
Then, my friend, who I'd tapped to help me with the flowers, asked me "why don't we go to the flower market for all your flowers?" Ha, who'd have thought, go to the source! The flower market is where your florist gets their flowers so why should you pay the premium for them picking them up for you? Did you know that a dozen roses at the flower market can cost as little as $5. So for $10 I had my bouquet (21 jade roses). I needed 6 boutonnieres and 3 bridal party bouquets so that was another 2 dozen roses. That put me at $25 total!! I picked up some greenery for $2.50 and was done. I had no interest in floral centerpieces but if I had, as you can see from these prices, it wouldn't have run up to $500.
Los Angeles Flower Market: 766 Wall Street, 90014 $1 admission
Go to your local flower market and take your most decor conscious friend with you. Have her help you conceptualise a look for your floral needs and buy what you need at cost! Then set an afternoon date the day before the wedding (or morning - up to you) and create your bouquets/centerpieces etc.
Online flower markets are also gaining popularity. The flowers arrive a few days before the wedding (so they have time to open up), they're usually in prime condition, and still cost less than a florist. Check out www.freshroses.com and www.overstock.com for bulk flowers.
Let them eat cake!
Wedding dress - check
Location - check
Now you're getting into the swing of wedding planning next on your list is a caterer, while you have food on the brain, throw in the cake vendor search into the mix.
Caterers are tricky. Not in and of themselves, but as a collective, they're a hard bunch to figure out. They'll quote you $25 per plate of food, sounds great right? Well, that's because they haven't mentioned the $15 per hour charge for the wait staff, $20/hour for the bartender, $200/hour for the chef, $150/hr for the assistant chef$, 0.50 per person for flatware, $1.25 per place setting and napkins and table linens to be determined by fabric choice, and let us not forget the 17% gratuity. Huh? How about you add it all up and give it to me as one nice round number? Like $75 per plate out the door?
If you can find a mom and pop restaurant where they own their restaurant outright (if they don't have overhead they won't pass that cost on to you will they?), you're liable to get a much better deal than a "wedding caterer" will give you. Their cost to you may be as little as buying out their restaurant for the evening since they have to shut down for your event. If we approximate this at $2000, at 100 guests, its $20 pp. They will have place settings/flatware/napkins/linens/waiters etc all included. All you have to do is tip them. I hunted one up in Los Angeles for $16 pp all inclusive. People still tall me how great the food at my wedding was.
Any place that terms itself as specializing in wedding "insert item here" will invariably be more expensive than its every day counterpart. Go to a regular bakery, they bake cake too, and I even bet they have white or ivory icing for the cake. The concept of a specialized wedding cake bakery frightens me. Only because this is where you'll suddenly find yourself paying $700 for cake.
Find your favorite bakery, or your best friends favorite bakery, or everyone's favorite bakery on www.yelp.com. Price them out, visit them and taste a few cakes, then get into the little details. The kind of icing, the design, the tiers etc. If you live in Los Angeles, you've heard of Porto's Bakery ( www.partosbakery.com. They are so ridiculously cheap you wonder how they profit, until you walk into the shop and wait half an hour in line, then you realise, its quantity not cost. Another great hidden gem is King's Hawaiian Bakery in Torrance, CA. This bakery does a mean wedding cake, for more than a reasonable price. I've seen pictures of their cakes.......trust me you want some :)
King's Hawaiian Bakery 2808 Sepulveda Blvd Torrance, CA 90505
Reasonable bakeries are everywhere. Just do your research.
Some of you (and I say you because I cannot bake my way out of a bag) are gifted enough to be able to bake. You bake quite well actually, if I do say so myself, so why not bake your own wedding cake? Get your best girlfriends together and have a fun cake bake one saturday afternoon. Buy a book on how to ice a cake and have fun with it.
Thanks to France for the King's Hawaiian heads up!
Location - check
Now you're getting into the swing of wedding planning next on your list is a caterer, while you have food on the brain, throw in the cake vendor search into the mix.
Caterers are tricky. Not in and of themselves, but as a collective, they're a hard bunch to figure out. They'll quote you $25 per plate of food, sounds great right? Well, that's because they haven't mentioned the $15 per hour charge for the wait staff, $20/hour for the bartender, $200/hour for the chef, $150/hr for the assistant chef$, 0.50 per person for flatware, $1.25 per place setting and napkins and table linens to be determined by fabric choice, and let us not forget the 17% gratuity. Huh? How about you add it all up and give it to me as one nice round number? Like $75 per plate out the door?
If you can find a mom and pop restaurant where they own their restaurant outright (if they don't have overhead they won't pass that cost on to you will they?), you're liable to get a much better deal than a "wedding caterer" will give you. Their cost to you may be as little as buying out their restaurant for the evening since they have to shut down for your event. If we approximate this at $2000, at 100 guests, its $20 pp. They will have place settings/flatware/napkins/linens/waiters etc all included. All you have to do is tip them. I hunted one up in Los Angeles for $16 pp all inclusive. People still tall me how great the food at my wedding was.
Any place that terms itself as specializing in wedding "insert item here" will invariably be more expensive than its every day counterpart. Go to a regular bakery, they bake cake too, and I even bet they have white or ivory icing for the cake. The concept of a specialized wedding cake bakery frightens me. Only because this is where you'll suddenly find yourself paying $700 for cake.
Find your favorite bakery, or your best friends favorite bakery, or everyone's favorite bakery on www.yelp.com. Price them out, visit them and taste a few cakes, then get into the little details. The kind of icing, the design, the tiers etc. If you live in Los Angeles, you've heard of Porto's Bakery ( www.partosbakery.com. They are so ridiculously cheap you wonder how they profit, until you walk into the shop and wait half an hour in line, then you realise, its quantity not cost. Another great hidden gem is King's Hawaiian Bakery in Torrance, CA. This bakery does a mean wedding cake, for more than a reasonable price. I've seen pictures of their cakes.......trust me you want some :)
King's Hawaiian Bakery 2808 Sepulveda Blvd Torrance, CA 90505
Reasonable bakeries are everywhere. Just do your research.
Some of you (and I say you because I cannot bake my way out of a bag) are gifted enough to be able to bake. You bake quite well actually, if I do say so myself, so why not bake your own wedding cake? Get your best girlfriends together and have a fun cake bake one saturday afternoon. Buy a book on how to ice a cake and have fun with it.
Thanks to France for the King's Hawaiian heads up!
Wednesday 4 April 2007
Location, Location, Location!
Besides your dress, your location is one of the most important choices you'll make. You have to consider how many guests the location can hold, how much decor you have to bring in, what's included with your location, how well suited it is to the all important wedding pictures, and last but not least, how much it all costs :)
The setting for your wedding can run from the simple garden wedding to the all out glam mansion extravaganza. There are numerous sources for locations. The Internet is your best resource by far. Going to www.google.com and entering a search string "wedding location, New York" will give you a lot of options. The question is are they affordable.
Most cities owns parks, zoos, aquariums, and auditoriums. These facilities oftentimes are available for use as wedding and reception locations. The fees are usually nominal for city parks and fairly reasonable for the rest.
A good resource for city owned locations in Los Angeles is www.laconservancy.org/preservation/resources_sites.php4.
A great resource is your neighborhood church. Most churches have a hall attached, its a built in ceremony and reception location rolled into one. The beauty of going this route is the fact that churches do not charge you a rental fee, rather, you give a donation. Think ahead to April 15th the next year.............you guessed it, you can write off charitable donations up to a certain amount.
Your city may also have in place a program where you get a price break if you are a resident. All you have to do is ask. This is one time where being cheeky works in your favor. Ask...........you may be surprised!!
Be savvy in negotiating with locations. Can they provide you with tables and chairs? Do they have decor from past events you can look through and use for your own event? Do they have an on site events coordinator you can use instead of hiring a day-of coordinator? Is the price of set-up and break down included? Do they provide any staff with the site? Milk them for everything they've got. If you're paying $1000 for a location, use it to the last dollar.
Restaurants - an underused resource. Most restaurants have enough space to comfortably host a wedding reception and some will even let you buy a menu and location is included! Even at $50 per plate, you can't beat zero for location cost. Always do the math, just because its higher priced does not put it outside your budget, it may be higher but if you lose a different cost, it evens out :)
You know those friends you have that have that house you adore with the back yard you'd give your left pinkie for? Ask them to use it. Forego wedding presents and offer to ensure its restored to all its glory post reception (because there will be an unholy mess by evening's end) if you can use their home. Free, is always the way to go.
You're a grad student, your fiance works part time and is also in grad school, you live together and have for a long time so you're paying for your own wedding. Your parents, however, belong to a country club. Put their membership to good use. They'll likely get a discount if not an outright free location. Voila......country club wedding at budget price.
The key is to think outside the box, don't be limited to the ball room at the Hyatt - nice as it may be, it won't come cheap. Get creative, make it fun, most off all, keep it reasonable.
Location recommendation in LA : Culver Events Center - www.culverevents.com.
On the East Coast try www.CTWeddingReports.com for locations and other vendors.
Thanks to CityStar my East Coast contributor.
The setting for your wedding can run from the simple garden wedding to the all out glam mansion extravaganza. There are numerous sources for locations. The Internet is your best resource by far. Going to www.google.com and entering a search string "wedding location, New York" will give you a lot of options. The question is are they affordable.
Most cities owns parks, zoos, aquariums, and auditoriums. These facilities oftentimes are available for use as wedding and reception locations. The fees are usually nominal for city parks and fairly reasonable for the rest.
A good resource for city owned locations in Los Angeles is www.laconservancy.org/preservation/resources_sites.php4.
A great resource is your neighborhood church. Most churches have a hall attached, its a built in ceremony and reception location rolled into one. The beauty of going this route is the fact that churches do not charge you a rental fee, rather, you give a donation. Think ahead to April 15th the next year.............you guessed it, you can write off charitable donations up to a certain amount.
Your city may also have in place a program where you get a price break if you are a resident. All you have to do is ask. This is one time where being cheeky works in your favor. Ask...........you may be surprised!!
Be savvy in negotiating with locations. Can they provide you with tables and chairs? Do they have decor from past events you can look through and use for your own event? Do they have an on site events coordinator you can use instead of hiring a day-of coordinator? Is the price of set-up and break down included? Do they provide any staff with the site? Milk them for everything they've got. If you're paying $1000 for a location, use it to the last dollar.
Restaurants - an underused resource. Most restaurants have enough space to comfortably host a wedding reception and some will even let you buy a menu and location is included! Even at $50 per plate, you can't beat zero for location cost. Always do the math, just because its higher priced does not put it outside your budget, it may be higher but if you lose a different cost, it evens out :)
You know those friends you have that have that house you adore with the back yard you'd give your left pinkie for? Ask them to use it. Forego wedding presents and offer to ensure its restored to all its glory post reception (because there will be an unholy mess by evening's end) if you can use their home. Free, is always the way to go.
You're a grad student, your fiance works part time and is also in grad school, you live together and have for a long time so you're paying for your own wedding. Your parents, however, belong to a country club. Put their membership to good use. They'll likely get a discount if not an outright free location. Voila......country club wedding at budget price.
The key is to think outside the box, don't be limited to the ball room at the Hyatt - nice as it may be, it won't come cheap. Get creative, make it fun, most off all, keep it reasonable.
Location recommendation in LA : Culver Events Center - www.culverevents.com.
On the East Coast try www.CTWeddingReports.com for locations and other vendors.
Thanks to CityStar my East Coast contributor.
The dress of your dreams.
First things first. The dress. You can have the best location and out-of-this-world caterers, but if you have no dress, there will be no wedding!!
The very first thing I realized while planning my own wedding was, dresses ain't cheap. Who knew that duchess satin with a mountain of tulle underneath it and all that pretty little beading would set me back $3000. Not me that's for sure.
So I did what any normal shopaholic would do..............I went on Ebay. Didn't see that one coming did you? Ebay became my go to place while planning. Need a veil? Ebay. Shoes? Ebay. Favors? Ebay. The thing with Ebay is, you have to be smart about it. Do your research, go with proven sellers. If their feedback is 99.8% and they have 10,000 sales, chances are, you'll get what you bid on.
Ebay has a multitude of wedding dress sellers, from actual bridal stores branching out into Internet sales, to brides that are done with their dresses and now selling them at a fraction of their purchase cost.
The most common variety of seller however, is the China dress maker. Vendors located in China that will custom design a gown for you. The price is usually very very low, however the shipping charges can be meteoric. Watch out for that! You will also have to get your measurements to send in for the custom gown. It is advisable to go to a local seamstress for this, have them do your measurements in both inches and centimeters. You want to avoid all confusion with the dress making company making an error while doing the conversion!
The best company (and one I have dealt with directly) is Gianinarbridal on Ebay. They're fast and their work is exquisite. I paid $24.99 for a wedding dress and $109 for shipping. The same dress at a bridal salon would have set me back $700. Since I had saved so much by purchasing my dress this way, and being that I have a weakness for clothes (and shoes, but that's another topic for another time) I decided to get a second dress. This one was a little more expensive at $86 but it shipped for $26. I ended up with a ceremony dress and a reception dress for $245.99.
Another company that is known for their impressive customer service and willingness to work with the bride, is Julius Bridal (http://www.juliusbridal.com/). Their prices are a little higher, however you get the comfort of having a quality control location stateside. They are based in New York but have factories in China. They are perfectly willing to take the top from one dress, the skirt from another, and design an all new dress, if you so desire.
If this seems too risky for you, consider buying a dress that a bride bought and will no longer use. They call themselves the "two dress brides". They bought the first one, then found "the one" months later. Now they need to recoup their loss and sell the original dress, usually cheaper than they purchased it for. You'll find them on Ebay, but you will also find them on http://www.craigslist.org/ and on http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/.
On these same sites, you will also find a host of dresses "worn once" for sale! You will find a Monique Lhuillier gown for half-off retail if not more.
The very first thing I realized while planning my own wedding was, dresses ain't cheap. Who knew that duchess satin with a mountain of tulle underneath it and all that pretty little beading would set me back $3000. Not me that's for sure.
So I did what any normal shopaholic would do..............I went on Ebay. Didn't see that one coming did you? Ebay became my go to place while planning. Need a veil? Ebay. Shoes? Ebay. Favors? Ebay. The thing with Ebay is, you have to be smart about it. Do your research, go with proven sellers. If their feedback is 99.8% and they have 10,000 sales, chances are, you'll get what you bid on.
Ebay has a multitude of wedding dress sellers, from actual bridal stores branching out into Internet sales, to brides that are done with their dresses and now selling them at a fraction of their purchase cost.
The most common variety of seller however, is the China dress maker. Vendors located in China that will custom design a gown for you. The price is usually very very low, however the shipping charges can be meteoric. Watch out for that! You will also have to get your measurements to send in for the custom gown. It is advisable to go to a local seamstress for this, have them do your measurements in both inches and centimeters. You want to avoid all confusion with the dress making company making an error while doing the conversion!
The best company (and one I have dealt with directly) is Gianinarbridal on Ebay. They're fast and their work is exquisite. I paid $24.99 for a wedding dress and $109 for shipping. The same dress at a bridal salon would have set me back $700. Since I had saved so much by purchasing my dress this way, and being that I have a weakness for clothes (and shoes, but that's another topic for another time) I decided to get a second dress. This one was a little more expensive at $86 but it shipped for $26. I ended up with a ceremony dress and a reception dress for $245.99.
Another company that is known for their impressive customer service and willingness to work with the bride, is Julius Bridal (http://www.juliusbridal.com/). Their prices are a little higher, however you get the comfort of having a quality control location stateside. They are based in New York but have factories in China. They are perfectly willing to take the top from one dress, the skirt from another, and design an all new dress, if you so desire.
If this seems too risky for you, consider buying a dress that a bride bought and will no longer use. They call themselves the "two dress brides". They bought the first one, then found "the one" months later. Now they need to recoup their loss and sell the original dress, usually cheaper than they purchased it for. You'll find them on Ebay, but you will also find them on http://www.craigslist.org/ and on http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/.
On these same sites, you will also find a host of dresses "worn once" for sale! You will find a Monique Lhuillier gown for half-off retail if not more.
It is also prudent to shop at bridal salons while they have sample sales on.
Moral of the story? You can have your dress be "the one" but not pay through the nose for it :)
It Costs How Much?
In recent times, the cost of a wedding has sky rocketed. The national average for a wedding is a $27,690. Essentially, for the priviledge of having a one-time wear dress, rubber chicken, fights with your fiance(e), and endless angst, you pay the equivalent of a brand new car and if you're lucky, at the end of it you have pretty pictures and a new husband or wife to show for it!
Can you do the same for $5000? The wedding industry would like you to think you can't! Well guess what? You can, and with less labor than the endeavour brings to mind. The key is use the resources you have at hand and use them ruthlessly. Under no circumstances should the flowers for "your day" cost $6000! Nor should it cost $100 per plate of food. Restaurants would be hard pressed to sell that concept!
Why is it that when the word wedding is tacked onto anything.........the price quadruples? The common concensus is that you get better service for a wedding. I hate to think that if I had a birthday dinner at a banquet hall, I'd receive less service as its not a wedding. The waiters work just as hard, the bar tenders serve the same drinks and the event co-ordinators interface the same way. So why the extra costs? Because brides have dreamt of a certain wedding since childhood. The big poofy dress, massive amounts of flowers, just-so invitations etc. Knowing this, the wedding industry feels no compunction in taking the bride, her family and any other financially liable person for everything they can.
People complain about it, nothing's done about it. So here we go............I'm doing something about it. By hopefully providing the DIY, indie bride with tools to keep her wedding financially sane!!
Can you do the same for $5000? The wedding industry would like you to think you can't! Well guess what? You can, and with less labor than the endeavour brings to mind. The key is use the resources you have at hand and use them ruthlessly. Under no circumstances should the flowers for "your day" cost $6000! Nor should it cost $100 per plate of food. Restaurants would be hard pressed to sell that concept!
Why is it that when the word wedding is tacked onto anything.........the price quadruples? The common concensus is that you get better service for a wedding. I hate to think that if I had a birthday dinner at a banquet hall, I'd receive less service as its not a wedding. The waiters work just as hard, the bar tenders serve the same drinks and the event co-ordinators interface the same way. So why the extra costs? Because brides have dreamt of a certain wedding since childhood. The big poofy dress, massive amounts of flowers, just-so invitations etc. Knowing this, the wedding industry feels no compunction in taking the bride, her family and any other financially liable person for everything they can.
People complain about it, nothing's done about it. So here we go............I'm doing something about it. By hopefully providing the DIY, indie bride with tools to keep her wedding financially sane!!
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