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My advice based on what I've done so far. callandor1000 Send a noteboard - 22/12/2011 01:27:29 PM
First of all, unless there is a date thats really important to you, pick a venue before setting a date. What we had was a few month time span (which slowly narrowed as people told us about events planned). We didn't have a particular day in mind. We did know we wanted a Friday or Saturday wedding. But the more days you're willing to do it, the cheaper it will be. Saturdays are the Holy Grail of weddings. It's in many instances significantly more to get married on a Saturdays. Fridays almost always (a few exceptions) have a great discount. Ours was to the tune of , $5000.

Many of the places we looked at have minimum spending requirements through them. They all either had in-house catering or several outside vendors to choose from, with the same going for amenities. A lot of places don't have spending minimums on other days, some don't have them on Sundays. Most didn't have a rental fee, you just had to meet that minimum. We further saw dinners averaging just for food $25-50 per person. Bar packages were from $4 to $35 per person, but most top shelves stopped at $20.

Whats really nice is that when you do this, they take care of everything for you. They have tableware for you, tables, service, set up and cleanup. You just show up. Also, many offer someone to help keep everything organized for you. You go in in advance, plan the itinerary with them and they keep everything on point. You save significantly on stress especially the week leading up to the wedding.

Now we had a very large lists of places that we called. We actually went and saw like 5 or 6. I'm just talking reception, btw. Churches on average weren't too expensive, between $500 and $1000.

Further, we found that we didn't find outdoors all that cost effective. When calling around, many of the venues available here were in the $2000 range. Thats just to rent the space for 5 hours. Further, that 5 hours included set up time. It didn't include anything else. So you would still have to pay for tables, tableware and catering as well as setting it up and doing all the leg work. We had it coming out to be slightly less than many of the plain reception halls.

Now this isn't to say that it will be the same as where you are. Further, you may not have problems doing the extra work of set up and clean up (you and your family :P ). This is what I've found. We find a nice location with a beautiful view of the skyline for ours. In the end, the best is to call a lot of places and find out what they offer in your location. Oh, and if you're looking for photos on a budget, I would hit up some local colleges. Photographers are dreadfully expensive. I haven't seen any of them with decent work for less than $1500 with them averaging $2150.

Your mom. That's right. The cat is out of the bag. Your mom.

My mind isn't always in the gutter, it just has VIP access
This message last edited by callandor1000 on 22/12/2011 at 01:28:48 PM
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So it turns out that weddings are expensive... - 12/12/2011 04:24:17 PM 1696 Views
I am looking to drop about a grand on my son's rehearsal dinner *NM* - 12/12/2011 04:42:53 PM 432 Views
It is avoidable, but people will treat you like you're a nutcase if you don't do most of the things - 12/12/2011 05:02:14 PM 742 Views
my first wedding was in church with a pretty dress and a preacher - 12/12/2011 06:12:02 PM 692 Views
We had a pretty dress and a notary public in the courtyard of the B&B. - 12/12/2011 09:36:52 PM 738 Views
If I had it to all over again I would have formed a Rock Band and dated supermodels *NM* - 13/12/2011 04:20:28 PM 399 Views
*NM* - 22/12/2011 10:15:04 PM 399 Views
Heh. - 12/12/2011 05:29:19 PM 799 Views
Re: Heh. - 12/12/2011 06:02:44 PM 713 Views
Re: Heh. - 12/12/2011 06:44:30 PM 871 Views
Re: Heh. - 12/12/2011 07:27:16 PM 808 Views
We kept it to about $5000 also (including cost of rings). - 12/12/2011 06:06:54 PM 774 Views
I would say our wedding was about that. - 12/12/2011 06:45:46 PM 931 Views
I feel like they only have to be expensive if you let them be. - 12/12/2011 07:07:59 PM 796 Views
I got married two weeks ago for less than that. - 12/12/2011 09:56:43 PM 847 Views
Congrats - 12/12/2011 10:03:35 PM 698 Views
Thanks! - 13/12/2011 02:53:11 PM 707 Views
You've been holding out on us. Congratulations. *NM* - 13/12/2011 12:02:39 AM 447 Views
Honestly, I didn't think anyone would care. - 13/12/2011 03:08:44 PM 680 Views
Congratulations, my friend. - 13/12/2011 03:21:22 PM 633 Views
Thanks. - 13/12/2011 06:38:59 PM 750 Views
Acceptable... - 13/12/2011 06:40:29 PM 692 Views
OMG! Congratulations! - 14/12/2011 10:43:05 PM 687 Views
Thanks Danu. *NM* - 15/12/2011 11:08:51 PM 404 Views
i had 500 people at my wedding....... - 13/12/2011 12:05:38 AM 862 Views
Yes they are. We're planning ours and... - 13/12/2011 02:19:42 AM 746 Views
Some people just don't seem to think outside of the box - 13/12/2011 09:15:49 AM 830 Views
And several items on that chart are soo unnecessary *NM* - 13/12/2011 09:41:10 AM 425 Views
They're only as expensive as you make them. - 14/12/2011 10:38:37 AM 669 Views
I'm so glad we went simple. - 14/12/2011 03:08:45 PM 810 Views
As someone who had a smaller wedding than was expected by certain people... - 14/12/2011 10:36:57 PM 784 Views
These seem kind of extreme. - 15/12/2011 06:03:15 AM 805 Views
because of your history you might find a cash bar lame... - 15/12/2011 12:59:39 PM 843 Views
Not my personal history, but culture. - 15/12/2011 03:53:12 PM 802 Views
I agree that there are better cuts to make than refreshments - 15/12/2011 04:35:13 PM 788 Views
Re: because of your history you might find a cash bar lame... - 22/12/2011 01:08:00 PM 811 Views
It is lame to expect the father of the bride to shell out tens of thousands for a party - 15/12/2011 02:00:54 PM 800 Views
seriously. who cares if people think you're "cheap". - 15/12/2011 04:41:33 PM 702 Views
Apparently it's becoming more common over here to do weddings on a weekday. - 15/12/2011 02:13:57 PM 706 Views
I can't imagine someone in America announcing their wedding was on a weekday. - 15/12/2011 10:07:55 PM 935 Views
People not in America have way more vacation days... *NM* - 15/12/2011 11:56:22 PM 397 Views
That was part of the logic in my thinking, yes. *NM* - 16/12/2011 12:46:53 AM 380 Views
Fridays are actually becoming more common. - 16/12/2011 04:51:41 PM 635 Views
Why does the band get more than the photographer? - 16/12/2011 04:30:29 PM 610 Views
well they do have to split it 4 or 5 ways - 16/12/2011 04:38:36 PM 699 Views
The thing is... it's NOT a night's work. - 16/12/2011 09:27:30 PM 990 Views
My advice based on what I've done so far. - 22/12/2011 01:27:29 PM 661 Views

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