Flowers and photos...:(

I was wondering if anyone could please help my nervous stomach. Although my FH and I haven't booked yet (although we're close), I've been talking to some friends and it seems that prices are sooooooo much more than I thought they would be for photos and flowers. My friend tells me that flowers can range from 5,000 - 8,000 dollars! Can anyone confirm or deny this!! I'm literally crying over here with worry. I could never afford that. Also, I am clueless on the cost of pictures/albums, etc...I figured between $1,500-2,000, but my friend says no way. I'm so worried that I won't be able to pull this off, being that my FH and I are paying for the entire affair ourselves. Can someone please help to ease my mind....Thanks!

Flowers and photos...:(

Reverse those numbers and you'll be fine! Just kidding! You can have beautiful flowers for well under $3,000 - it really depends on what you need and/or want! *Good* photographers can start at $2000 and up, again, it depends on what you need and/or want! Don't worry about it!! Just set your budget (a realistic one) and try to stick to it! :) Good luck!!

Flowers and photos...:(

I know, wedding stuff is so expensive on Long Island. I would spend more money on the photographer than the flowers. Every married person I've spoken to says it's the best investment. Keep floral bouquets simple (handtied roses or lilies) to keep cost down. For tables, hurricane lamps with rose petals and perhaps a floral ring around the hurricane lamp is less expensive. The funny thing is, the more wealthy people (like celebrities) have simple, tailored arrangments like floating candles and roses. You can do this!!

Flowers and photos...:(

You can spend whatever you want on both! By no means do you need to spend 5,000 on nice flowers! I found photograpers ranged from about 2500 on up, but I only went to 4 studios and only looked at certain packages. Videos from 1000. For your flowers, you can decrease the price drastically by getting smaller centerpieces. Look for a florist who will work with you. We have been very happy with Florissima so far, but the wedding is in 12 days. After that, I will know how happy I am. They were, however, willing to work within our budget without guilting us into spending more. Shop around and see for yourself. It is not as bad as your friend will lead you to believe.

Flowers and photos...:(

We did flowers for $1000 and people said they were the most beautiful bouquets they had ever seen. Photos will be more, but you will find things to fit your budget. To me, photos were way more important than flowers. Set a budget based on what things are most important to you and you will find a way to make it all work!

I understand

We're also paying for the wedding ourselves and it can be overwhelming at times. Let me tell you what we're spending for what; it might make you feel a bit better: $525 for flowers: my short cascade bouquet, 1 MOH, 5 BMs (regular round bouquets), 11 boutounierres, and 7 coursages. He added the throwaway for free, too. It really depends on what you need; if we got centerpieces and church flowers it probably would have been over $1000. But all of our bouquets have roses in them, so we're not getting cheap flowers, either. $3,000 sounds like an awful lot to me. Who did you call? $2100 for photography: 40 picture album and we keep all of the proofs. It also includes a 16 by 20 and four 8 by 10's. We went with the mid range package too, so you could go cheaper depending on your needs. I wish you the best of luck; I remember that panicky feeling. Let us know how it goes.

Suggestions

I too was scared of all the prices that I saw here. But my flowers were under $1000. Just about $700 for my bouquet, seven bridesmaids bouquets, 14 boutinierres, 12 coursages. Our centerpieces were included in the reception. We are not having flowers at the church. The church puts out fresh flowers everyday anyway. And they also have pew candles. You can also get pew bows only to decorate church, or have nothing in the church. The church is a sactuary anyway, so it has a beauty all of it's own. My florist is Sprigs and Twigs, a part of Papa's Nursery in Central Islip. IF you are interested let me know. And we are spending $3200 for photos and video. My photographer was very flexible with the packages and he comes with a second photgrapher who takes B&W pics. If pictures are not super important, check out one of the local art departments at the colleges near by to see if some students would want to take the pictures for you. There are ways to save some money. Trust me...I've looked. Good Luck!

just started myself

You can definitely pay those prices - but you DO NOT have to. There are reputable photogs and florists you can get for $2000. My flowers are under $2000, going for my photog tomorrow - but am expecting to only pay 2000-2500 I have a friend who paid 1600 and another who paid 4000, so it varies a lot. good luck.

one more thing...

Im getting married at the reception hall and they will decorate the ceremony with my centerpieces. If you are getting married at a church/temple/mosque, etc, you could get silk flowers from michaels to decorate. My cousins did that and you would never know the difference.

Jenn P ...Who are you using?

Just wondering who you are using? Thanks

Flowers and photos...:(

We spend just over $2000 on flowers, and I could have cut that by about $400 - $500 if I`d wanted to cut back on some things. That included centerpieces for 18 tables, dais flowers, alter flowers, cake flowers, my bouquet and 3 attendants, plus 3 corsages for moms and granny and 9 bouttenaires and pew bows. You can see my bouquet on my profile picture. Also, depending on the time of year, you could be creative with centerpieces. A small pumpkin and some dried leaves in the fall, or a big basket of apples with a few sprigs of flowers and some votives. For Christmas time, Poinsettas are a nice inexpensive option as are evergreen boughs. Votives on a mirror can look nice - I got some very inexpensive votives at A.C. Moore (about $1.25 for glass and candle) and used those at my cocktail hour. Our photos ran about $2000 or $2500 I think, but we got a pretty extensive package with B&W as well as color (over 400 proofs) and the upgraded album plus multiple enlargements. Our photographer had an option around $1000 that did not include the album, just the proofs and some enlargements. You could always go that route, then have an album done a few months, or longer, after your wedding, when you`ve had some time to recover from the expenses. Maybe someone in your family would give you the album as a wedding gift - you or your close family could always pass the word that you'd like that if anyone should ask.

Got my flowers for around $3000

I'm using Flowers By Brian. They were very reasonable. I told them what my budget was and they were able to make a beautiful arrangment. They make a sample for you ahead. I have approx. 10 tables - 2 arrangments for church - my bouquet, 3 bridesmaids, 2 flower girls - bathroom arrangment and coursages and boutiners. My photograper was under $5000 - don't remember the exact price, but way under. No video!

Flowers and photos...:(

First * A good florist should be able to work with any budget, provided you are flexible and realistic. Very elegant results can be achieved with a minimul amount of flowers. Second * Shop around for photographers that are flexible with their packages give you the negatives and of course most importantly have a style you love. You can always add photos to your album at a later date, but you cant recreate a picture

I love this board!!!

Everyone - thank you, thank you, thank you! You have made me feel so much better. As I stated earlier, we're not at the point of reserving florists/photographers, but it's so difficult to book a hall and create a realistic budget without knowing what things cost! I'm sure I'll be hitting you all up for ideas as it gets closer! Thanks again for EVERYTHING! :)

Bride-to-be

We're using Proline Studios in Huntington/Great Neck for Photos and Mankers in Farmingdale for Flowers. I dealt with Joe and Mitch, respectively. Good luck and if you want phone numbers, let me know.