Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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We're trying to plan our wedding thats, uh, in like 4 weeks. It is ridiculous how much things that are reasonably priced under normal circumstances inflate like 1000% when the magical adjective "wedding" is attached.
We're having a midweek, afternoon wedding for like 30 people and we cannot seem to get it under like 8,000 dollars. Its such bullshit that companies can screw you because there are so few options.
lifeliberty
Here
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so, do you want papa johns or donatos?
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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Yeah, I wish.
So we're doing it at the Conservatory. Which is seemingly reasonable midweek. It's only 1000 dollars. We figured that would be our big expense. We're so busy with the store and being out of town two weeks ago and trying to play catch up that we just started figuring everything else out.
The real problem with The Conservatory is that they force Cameron Mitchell on you. You have no choice in the matter.
So we decided we would do afternoon so we could get away with just a champaign toast (not sure what the price is on that) and Tea Sandwiches for a "reasonable" 500 dollars. Then... on top of that you have to have servers at 20 dollars an hour, and you have to use them for set up at tear down, so that tacks another hour on each side of your 4 hour rental block. Then you have to rent your linens and dishes from them at 18 dollars per guest. Then, the conservatory charges 15 percent from the Cameron Mitchell which they add on to your bill. All of this ends up bringing tea sandwiches to around 1800 dollars.
There are a lot of other fun hidden fees as well, but that was the biggest kick in the ass.
reSourceRyan
The Wedge
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lifeliberty wrote 8000 for 30 people, damn, that's like 50 kegs of PBR per person, how drunk can you all get!!!????but seriously, are you flying them out somewheres for the gig or what?
I can set you up for half that at my pad, food included.....
so, do you want papa johns or donatos?
Yea really, what's the catch? I'm curious because my wedding is in March and my price per person seems to be about $125-$135 less.
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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Ultimately it is our fault for not researching for the myriad of hidden fees for having a wedding at the Conservatory. We just started planning our wedding like a month ago, and had a vague budget with nothing to base our assumptions on. If it wasn't so soon we would just change the venue, but the invitations are designed so its a little late for that. I guess we'll just bite the bullet and eat at waffle house on our honey moon.
desecration
Harrison West
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Well if you have already agreed to the Conservatory then I will not recommend any other ideas for location. But I am sure you were told about all of these expenses prior to signing the contract agreement, correct? I guess try to enjoy it for the event that it is... your wedding :) If there are any other aspects of the wedding not taken care of yet, that you may want some other ideas on feel free to post here.
We managed to plan our entire wedding for 50 people, at a Garden Club in FL, with catering, staff, dj-music, etc for about $5K. But we were also planning it out about a year before and had time to look at other options and such.
reSourceRyan
The Wedge
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Tigertree wrote I guess we'll just bite the bullet and eat at waffle house on our honey moon.
Nothin' wrong with that!
desecration
Harrison West
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Tigertree wrote I guess we'll just bite the bullet and eat at waffle house on our honey moon.
Go that extra mile and select IHOP :lol:
I am just kidding... honestly I do not know which of those two are worse. Granted I have only been to IHOP once :cringe: and never been to Waffle House.
Mercurius
First Avenue
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My brother did their reception in the North Market (the old diner on the second floor) He had it catered from Pastaria and the cake place in North Market did an awesome cake. He had a Mingus tribute band and North Market allows you to buy your own liquor, beer and or wine at no extra charge and you can hire anyone for servers/bartenders. It was awesome and I think they did it for around 6000- including the dress and invites, but they were married in a park (no expense). It was by far cheaper then Franklin Park, Taylor mansion or the vault and much better in my opinion.
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Sometimes you have to get a little creative to get around traditional wedding prices.
For example, when Anne & I got married we didn't want to pay around $1000 to hire a DJ to play the Chicken Dance. So instead I used a computer, downloaded some music, and made a playlist of the music that we personally picked out to listen to. Much more personal and much more fun. And much much much cheaper.
I also opted out of the whole tuxedo thing and bought a nice (but not super expensive) suit. Spent less money than I would have renting a tux, and ended up with a suit that I've worn at least a dozen times since then for other various occassions. Anne did the same and got a non-traditional (yet lovely) dress that can be worn more than once.
If you're interested, Anne blogged about a lot of our wedding things if you're still hunting for ideas. She did make a lot of our papercraft and decorations by hand, so I don't know if some of her ideas would be doable for anyone with only 4 more weeks to go. She made over 100 invitations all by hand, folded around 600 origami cranes by hand, and around 60 of these paper pompoms. Cheap to make, but very very time consuming. ;)
Good luck with the wedding! Hope all goes well! Post some photos afterwards if you can. What are you guys doing for your honeymoon? ;)
lifeliberty
Here
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Dj is included too, price varies depending if you want CD101 or the Blitz.
enzo
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Waffle House is awesome!!! It is a shame that places take advantage of the emotional attachment people have to weddings. Are there any areas where you could trim expenses or offer a trade/barter to the conservatory....maybe they would like some belts for their employees or gift shop?
lifeliberty
Here
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that won't fly
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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We already went the non-traditional cheap route on the clothes. Niki got a nice white (but not wedding) dress, and I got a black suite from Zara. Kind of with the same mentality. I don't really own a nice suite so I thought I would buy one that would work for multiple occasions. I like the computer playlist idea. I think I may use that. Too bad pandora isn't more reliable.... I will check out the North Market as well. The bring your own liquor thing seems like a good plan too. Niki's family doesn't drink and, well at least its the afternoon, so mine shouldn't drink too much. Because on top of the other food provisions you have to hire a minimum of two bartenders at 25 dollars an hour plus 5 dollars per well drink or glass of the cheapest wine, and 2 hours of set up and an hour of tear down. Its seriously ridiculous.
Mercurius
First Avenue
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http://www.flickr.com/groups/jonesgrossmanwedding/pool/page2/
May try to steal ideas from these!
enzo
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Please do not feel obligated to serve alcohol. It will not be missed. If people "need" it can drink before they come or after or whatever....just a champagne toast is lovely. It is about you and your significant other.....not about the food and beverage offerings. I have been to several "dry" weddings and people who need it as a social lubricant will find it on their own.
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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These are all great suggestions! I have already sent an email over to Mary (who I am pretty sure is a member here) at the North Market to ask for rates. That sounds like a much better option. Plus everyone is staying at the Hyatt right there, so its a convenient walk from their hotel.
I am going to get started on my playlist, and we need to finally purchase a good set of wireless speakers for the store, so thats a good excuse to grab those.
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