Where the hell did they get these numbers (a little long)?
CNN published an article on wedding costs and here's part of it. Keep in mind FH e-mailed it to me and we're 53 days from our wedding. He was flipping thinking we're paying way too much:
On the other end of the spectrum: New York City. This year, a typical ceremony in the Big Apple averages $33,424. As a result, many urban brides and grooms are finding clever methods to trim costs.
Consider Alicia Barnes, 31, whose Manhattan wedding will be held this June. After her fiancé, Olivier Saba, 33, popped the question, Barnes began to network, asking friends for suggestions of wedding locations and references for caterers, dress makers and other vendors who wouldn't charge a bundle.
Half joking, she adds in a Virginia accent that hasn't fully lost its lilt, 'I was tempted to elope, but I'm from the South. My mother would have died if I didn't have a wedding.'
So Barnes employed a multi-pronged strategy to keep bills in check. Still, she acknowledges, she knew her wedding would run 'somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000.'
Instead of a small army of bridal attendants, she's chosen just two bridesmaids. (Average cost of bridesmaids dresses -- assumes five of them -- according to the Conde Nast Infobank: $735.)
A dressmaker is creating a wedding gown for far less than what she would have paid at an upscale Madison Avenue bridal boutique. (Average cost of a wedding dress: $799.)
To find out how much flowers cost, she went to New York's flower district, where the wholesalers ply their buds. That information helped her bargain down her florist. (Average cost of flowers: $967.)
Instead of a sit-down dinner with lots of waiters, she's serving from a single buffet station. (Average cost of reception: $7,360.)
She won't scrimp on the cake, though. She'll have a gorgeous four-tiered one from Cheryl Kleinman bakery in Brooklyn that's adorned with white rolled fondant and Gerbera daisies.
WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHERE I COULD HAVE HAD A MANHATTAN RECEPTION FOR UNDER $7500? MAYBE IF I ONLY HAD 30 PEOPLE THERE. AND, FLOWERS FOR UNDER $1000? PLEASE.
On the other end of the spectrum: New York City. This year, a typical ceremony in the Big Apple averages $33,424. As a result, many urban brides and grooms are finding clever methods to trim costs.
Consider Alicia Barnes, 31, whose Manhattan wedding will be held this June. After her fiancé, Olivier Saba, 33, popped the question, Barnes began to network, asking friends for suggestions of wedding locations and references for caterers, dress makers and other vendors who wouldn't charge a bundle.
Half joking, she adds in a Virginia accent that hasn't fully lost its lilt, 'I was tempted to elope, but I'm from the South. My mother would have died if I didn't have a wedding.'
So Barnes employed a multi-pronged strategy to keep bills in check. Still, she acknowledges, she knew her wedding would run 'somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000.'
Instead of a small army of bridal attendants, she's chosen just two bridesmaids. (Average cost of bridesmaids dresses -- assumes five of them -- according to the Conde Nast Infobank: $735.)
A dressmaker is creating a wedding gown for far less than what she would have paid at an upscale Madison Avenue bridal boutique. (Average cost of a wedding dress: $799.)
To find out how much flowers cost, she went to New York's flower district, where the wholesalers ply their buds. That information helped her bargain down her florist. (Average cost of flowers: $967.)
Instead of a sit-down dinner with lots of waiters, she's serving from a single buffet station. (Average cost of reception: $7,360.)
She won't scrimp on the cake, though. She'll have a gorgeous four-tiered one from Cheryl Kleinman bakery in Brooklyn that's adorned with white rolled fondant and Gerbera daisies.
WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHERE I COULD HAVE HAD A MANHATTAN RECEPTION FOR UNDER $7500? MAYBE IF I ONLY HAD 30 PEOPLE THERE. AND, FLOWERS FOR UNDER $1000? PLEASE.
