BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

MamanDaddyof2 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 11:49 AM

BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

I am just starting out and I kind of have a tight budget but I do not want a cheesy reception. Can you girls tell me what kind of budget you are working with and where the best reception hall is? I am 25 and have 2 children 7 and 2 and a house so I can't spend 40,000 on a wedding ya know I am thinking about 15,000-20,000 at most. I believe we have 100 gusets any suggestions??
Also has anyone bought their wedding dress online. They are a quarter of the price from the bridal shops and sooo beautiful.(you have to get fitted anyway right?)

luvsun27 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 12:34 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

You can totally plan a very beautiful wedding for 15K. That was our budget...and we did just fine. Look at dates in the off-season, you do not have to have everything you see. Shop around...you will be fine.

AJsMommy122 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 12:35 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

Welcome to the boards! There are MANY halls on LI that you can afford! My budget is only 25k and we have 150 people. Right now I am actually a little under budget

butterfly20 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 12:41 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

our wedding(without honeymoon) is 20,000. for a 100 guest wedding..... its definately doable....

jfabbride Posted: Jun 27, 2004 12:41 PM

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Try Manor East...they gave us a great rate for a Saturday night and threw in a lot of extras at no cost. FM me if you want more info!!!!

Good luck

nan&dave Posted: Jun 27, 2004 12:44 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

You can try the Coral House in Baldwin, or the Huntington Town House. Good luck.

julz33 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 12:45 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

The Brentwood Counrty Club and Holbrook Country club have great all-inclusive wedding packages... I thinkit would be about $15000 or less for a 100 person wedding, that includes EVERYTHING (limos, flowers, DJ, food, photo, video, etc). I was going to have my wedding at one of these places but I am having over 200 guests and they can't fit that many people.

janwinterbridejoy Posted: Jun 27, 2004 01:18 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

you can have a great wedding for your budget. you can save money by booking a date that is in the off season or a daytime or sunday wedding always saves a little. there are place that have all inclusive packages that include almost everything. my friend bought her dress off line and got a great deal on a maggie sottero its especially great if you know a seamstrss that will do the alterations for free or at a discount. i think you just have to be creative and you will be fine.

september2004 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 01:28 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

we are having a saturday eveningish wedding on season (~100 people) and are cutting costs by getting creative. we picked one or two main items we 'invested in' (the food and music) and everything else attempted to cut back. my mom is very creative which helps, but given your budget and # of people i think you can definitely create something beautiful!

Stavia Posted: Jun 27, 2004 01:36 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

You can have a wonderful wedding w/ that budget! I bought my dress online(netbride ), which itself was wonderful & I saved a lot of money. However make sure you use a reliable seamstress for your fittings. I thought mine was & she caused me a lot of extra aggravation right before my wedding!

sophie78 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 01:37 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

Get married around Christmas. It is so beautiful and you usually don't need that many decorations because the hall has theirs up already.

daisy122 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 03:17 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

my budget is $12,000 and that is pushing it. (still don't know where this money is coming from)

I wanted a simple garden type wedding. I booked at the Holbrook Country Club. A Sat night in July for $56 per person which includes centerpieces which are a dozen roses in a vase. My dress I got @ Bridal Suite in Patchogue for under $700. The county club offer's a discount package which includes limo's, dj, video and photo for about $5500.

It is possible to have an elegant wedding on a smaller budget

TracyInQueens Posted: Jun 27, 2004 03:58 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

I am getting married on a Friday night (8 pm). That saved us about $22 per head. If people can't make the ceremony (5 pm) I'm not going to be offended. My hall (G Wash Manor) was very reasonably priced.

One of the ladies here, NSGraham, has done a fabulous job of compiling all the budget vendors. That would be good to look at also.

ETA- my hall also included centerpieces. That saved us some $$ also.

Boop2704 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 05:41 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

Check out Stuart Thomas Manor. They have an all inclusive package that includes flowers, limo, photo and DJ. Their package is $9995 for 100 guests. The food is amazing and the place is beautiful. I had the wedding of my dreams. They are located in Farmingdale! FM me if you want any more info!!

jessnyc711 Posted: Jun 27, 2004 06:04 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

Budget of $15,000 is possible, but you really have to stick to it and also prioritize what is worth the money, you may not be able to get everything you want. First check out reception halls that are inexpensive and possibly includes a few extra items, yes -consider an off season - christmas, sunday wedding-the reception hall is going to be the bulk of the cost so try to keep the PP charge less than 75 a head and do not expect to invite more than 125 guests, the more people the cost rises. Then really research each vendor to get inexpensive DJ, photo, video, flowers, etc. keep all your extra costs low, such as invites, no programs, do you really need limos? get your dress off the rack-look in department stores for white gowns that can be used as a wedding dress or go online, stick to simple basic inexpensive flowers and bouquets, such as all roses - are inexpensive. the officiant should be inexpensive under $500. I'm trying to keep my costs down so I am trying to do all of the above and weighing what I want to spend more for and where can I cut back to make up for other costs.

cluelessbride Posted: Jun 27, 2004 06:28 PM

Re: BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

Posted by MamanDaddyof2

I am just starting out and I kind of have a tight budget but I do not want a cheesy reception. Can you girls tell me what kind of budget you are working with and where the best reception hall is? I am 25 and have 2 children 7 and 2 and a house so I can't spend 40,000 on a wedding ya know I am thinking about 15,000-20,000 at most. I believe we have 100 gusets any suggestions??
Also has anyone bought their wedding dress online. They are a quarter of the price from the bridal shops and sooo beautiful.(you have to get fitted anyway right?)

I'm almost in the same budget as you - I went a little over but here is what I did:

90 person 'cocktail reception' passed and tabled hors d'oeuvres and open bar for 4 hours, no assigned seating, small tables, at Danford's in Port Jeff on a Saturday afternoon in October.

Bought my dress ($300) at bridesave.com - alterations will probably come to $200

Shoes, hair comb, veil - about $400 total, all web vendors. FM me if you want details.

Paper stuff - I went over budget here, but love everything. SonicStef designs. You can save money by printing everything yourself but I don't have the time or talent.

Keep the wedding party small - this was my mistake. More people equals more flowers, gifts, and headaches.

Flowers - keep them simple, in season. I'm having galvanized lanterns b/c the 'hall' has a nautical theme, so if you can do something in addition to flowers it will look nice but lower the cost.

Band: I used gigmasters.com and this was the best thing ever! NSGraham recommended the site. I found a great 3-piece jazz band with vocalist for $1400 (to play for 4 hours). Dj's that specialize in weddings were asking the same amount, so I feel like this was a good price.

Photographer - we hired a pricey photog (Mark Kaufman) but are not getting albums. That cut down the price a lot and we can make albums later.

Video - again we went with a good company (Wild Rose) but got their lowest-priced package.

Honeymoon - my aunt is giving us her vacation home in east hampton for week. Its not the most exotic location but it wil fit the bill for what we want - relaxation, peace, and alone time