Newsday article on budget weddings

Did anyone else see this in Sunday's Newsday?

Newsday article

It was interesting (yes, of course I HAD to read it even tho I'm already married)..b/c I feel they left a lot out or gave inaccurate information...like they said the average price for a DJ is something like $5000, go budget by using an ipod..but they negelected to mention you can easily find a good DJ on LI for less than $1500. Also they say that catering halls can easily cost up to $150/pp..but they don't say..shop around, negotiate, there are many different price ranges out there.

Just curious to hear your opinions...discuss

Yeah I saw this too and don't understand where they got the $5000 DJ thing. I mean I thought I spent a lot on a DJ and it was under that. By over $1000. You can defnintely get a good DJ for $2000 or less.
You can also get a hall for way under $150pp. And they talked about costs of a cake but didn't mention that most halls will give you a cake for free with your package. I don't really know where they got these numbers from. The only thing they seemed on target about was photography.

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Posted by Autumn08

They also say that October halls charge less! My hall charges the most in Oct.

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Mine too! October is the new June. I was told by my RH that Sept and October are now one of the most expensive times to get married. I can't believe a woman wrote this article. What were her sources? One friend?


We should respond!

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Posted by MrsD06

Did anyone else see this in Sunday's Newsday?

Newsday article

It was interesting (yes, of course I HAD to read it even tho I'm already married)..b/c I feel they left a lot out or gave inaccurate information...like they said the average price for a DJ is something like $5000, go budget by using an ipod..but they negelected to mention you can easily find a good DJ on LI for less than $1500. Also they say that catering halls can easily cost up to $150/pp..but they don't say..shop around, negotiate, there are many different price ranges out there.

Just curious to hear your opinions...discuss

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Well they were just trying to show what many people are spending...Plus they will mostly talk about city prices. They said average price for DJ, also the way they worded it is properly about halls can easily cost up to 150pp, theyre not saying this is what everyone pays and its not about how to budget for your wedding...and the thing is that yes it can easily cost up to 150pp.

The thing is that weddings CAN cost that much

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Posted by Regal Beagle
We should respond!

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I am seriously considering a letter to the editor, lol
Any one of us could have easily written a better article!

Yes, I noticed that about the cake thing, too.

June was weird when we were looking..some places charged more and some charged less than for other months...again, this is why they really should have emphasized that there are many price ranges out there & that all halls are different so you need to shop around and negotiate...if your date is not set in stone, look for different dates/times..we were given a huge range of prices just at the WM depending on the month/date/time

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Posted by Espo22

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Well they were just trying to show what many people are spending...Plus they will mostly talk about city prices. They said average price for DJ, also the way they worded it is properly about halls can easily cost up to 150pp, theyre not saying this is what everyone pays and its not about how to budget for your wedding...and the thing is that yes it can easily cost up to 150pp.

If it was an article about how to save on your wedding costs then it would be different...This article is to show how much a wedding CAN cost not how much all costs or the best way to cut costs...I think the information is true

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I hear what you're saying but I think they're doing readers a disservice with incomplete information. The end of the article says 'tips from experts' so that part is specifically about how to save money and that is where most of the details were listed.
For almost every category listed, I feel that the tips were lacking in many ways.

The reception hall price they mention is specific to Long Island. Yes, reception halls CAN easily cost up to $150/pp but if they are giving tips on how to avoid that they should say that there are less expensive options available...beyond changing the month..there are so many beautiful halls on LI where you can spend MUCH less than $150/pp

For photo..yes, that is a place to spend $$..but you can easily find a great 'budget' photographer AND have beautiful pictures...all it says is to not look to skimp too much here.

I guess I am upset b/c if I saw this article when I was planning my wedding (and before I found this site)I would have been very frustrated and thinking that prices are a lot higher than they actually are. I found this site because we refused to pay over a certain amount for our wedding and I feel like this article was incomplete as far as the advice given and could have been better researched.

i wonder if you are right that many of the prices they mention are for NYC...that would explain a lot

Love this article.. but $5000 for a dj .. it better be like freakin DJ Shadow or some other famous dj if I was paying that much..lol
try $1500 for a dj..

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Posted by Regal Beagle

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Posted by Autumn08

They also say that October halls charge less! My hall charges the most in Oct.

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Mine too! October is the new June. I was told by my RH that Sept and October are now one of the most expensive times to get married. I can't believe a woman wrote this article. What were her sources? One friend?


We should respond!

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We decided on Oct. because we thought it would be cheaper and still give us beautiful pictures. After I have my heart set on it I find out I could save an extra 15pp at the same hall in Aug!

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Posted by MrsD06

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Posted by Espo22

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Well they were just trying to show what many people are spending...Plus they will mostly talk about city prices. They said average price for DJ, also the way they worded it is properly about halls can easily cost up to 150pp, theyre not saying this is what everyone pays and its not about how to budget for your wedding...and the thing is that yes it can easily cost up to 150pp.

If it was an article about how to save on your wedding costs then it would be different...This article is to show how much a wedding CAN cost not how much all costs or the best way to cut costs...I think the information is true

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I hear what you're saying but I think they're doing readers a disservice with incomplete information. The end of the article says 'tips from experts' so that part is specifically about how to save money and that is where most of the details were listed.
For almost every category listed, I feel that the tips were lacking in many ways.

The reception hall price they mention is specific to Long Island. Yes, reception halls CAN easily cost up to $150/pp but if they are giving tips on how to avoid that they should say that there are less expensive options available...beyond changing the month..there are so many beautiful halls on LI where you can spend MUCH less than $150/pp

For photo..yes, that is a place to spend $$..but you can easily find a great 'budget' photographer AND have beautiful pictures...all it says is to not look to skimp too much here.

I guess I am upset b/c if I saw this article when I was planning my wedding (and before I found this site)I would have been very frustrated and thinking that prices are a lot higher than they actually are. I found this site because we refused to pay over a certain amount for our wedding and I feel like this article was incomplete as far as the advice given and could have been better researched.

i wonder if you are right that many of the prices they mention are for NYC...that would explain a lot

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I understand what you are saying...but she did say to negotiate and shop around for prices. I think it was more an eye opener for many people to let them know how much a wedding can cost not how much it necessarily has to be. It is extremely easy for an RH to charge 150pp after tax and gratuity in NYC or Long Island, so i believe that part is correct.

The whole dj thing, well if you get many extras it can cost alot...if you get the expensive lighting package that alone can be $1000 and up, then plasmas, adding percussionists, sax, live singer or a band combo, dancers and giveaways, but many people dont get ALL they offer, plus i think its city prices bc she talked about new york city vendors when talking about music...but like everyone said you wont find many people at least not in long island who will spend that much for a dj.

She should've discussed more in depth about many places that are alot less than what she mentioned...BUT at the same time so many people before planning everything have no clue about the cost of things and end up spending more than they had wanted.

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Posted by vintagegirl

Love this article.. but $5000 for a dj .. it better be like freakin DJ Shadow or some other famous dj if I was paying that much..lol
try $1500 for a dj..

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I was thinking the same thing! Those articles are usually pretty useless! Any of us could have written a better article about how to save $$$

They do too much generalization and not much really useful info. Like how about taking polls of LI brides and see how much they paid per vendor to see the average. I mean they have this site to do so its not like they have to spend money on doing a poll.

Then the writer of the article after reading the polls should of said specifically recommended vendors that are budget friendly and using the poll to indicate that. I mean I am no editor or writer but I think that is common sense if they are doing a article (two page spread) on the subject.

Also interview wedding planners for their useful info on real money saving tips. DUH!