Posts Tagged ‘Caterer’

Sorry I gotta ask again….I had 3 very helpful answers but I was hoping for a couple more maybe even a few guys opinions…..
I’m in the process of becoming a wedding planner. I just started and already I have 2 weddings however I am doing both of them for free because I don’t have experience yet and I need it, and they are my bfs friends. I think I have a really good shot at this being as I live in Victoria B.C which is pretty busy with weddings. But since I haven’t charged anyone yet I’m not sure if a lot of people would be willing to pay for one? And if so, what would you be willing to pay?
I’m thinking of charging about $1500-$2000 for a full year of planning and being on site that day. Does that sound like to much or not enough? It takes up A LOT of time and gas so I think that’s a reasonable price.

I forgot to add….I am taking courses to become a certified wedding planner.

i’ve got to be honest, we didn’t hire a wedding planner and we didn’t have any problems planning our wedding. my friend had one and i guess she was helpful but a lot of the stuff she did was stuff that could easily be handled by the bride herself. and on the wedding day, she spent more time being in the way than actually helping out. weddings are already really expensive….i don’t really see the need to spend a few extra thousand dollars for someone to do what i could do with a little extra organization, you know?
i don’t want to be a downer or burst your bubble. WE didn’t use one because our vendors were already pretty good about coordination on the big day. we had a church lady to guide us through the entrance…our caterer set up the reception all, served dinner, AND packaged up remaining food and drink AND our gifts before the reception was over, and our dj handled the bouquet and other activities. we paid a pretty penny for their services so it we felt justified in asking them to handle those details. but my husband says that had our wedding been more detailed or more extravagant then a wedding coordinator probably would have been helpful. try to cater to the venues around you for recommendations. and up your price…$1500-$2000 is a bit low i;d think!

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Hey everyone thanks for taking the time to read this! my fiance and I plan on getting married in August of 2011, which gives us a little over a year to save…our budget is between 6,000&8,000(not including honeymoon bc its taken care of) I have family members, who Dj, Cater, can make the flowers, and Im having the wedding party pay for their own dresses&tuxes! Our guest list is right around 150…Im also not picky about how much my wedding dress costs, has anyone else pulled off a wedding with this budget? Any tips?

You already have so many resources, congratulations! Here a few more ideas:
* Ask friends to photograph your wedding. We had friends who owned great cameras because it was their hobby, and they took pictures for free. Since I love to scrapbook, I made a beautiful album and honestly it was fun to make!
* Make your own invitations. I’ve actually seen elegant, inexpensive invitations you can print out yourself at craft stores (Michaels, Joanne’s), walmart, office depot and target. In the invitations, ask people to rsvp by email or to call you or the person you put in charge of rsvp’s. Don’t forget to ask them to include specific information that you’ll need, such as their names, food choices or diet restrictions (if you need that info for your caterer), and how many people will be attending.
* Buy a smaller, but pretty wedding cake for pictures and the cake cutting, but have sheet cakes in the back to serve to your guests. Inexpensive and pretty cakes are usually found in Chinese bakeries…they’re hidden treasures. I bought a basic three tiered wedding cake that served 150 people for $100. I had over 300 guests, so after we cut the cake, it was rolled into the kitchen where the other sheet cakes were and voila! cake for everyone!!! Once they delivered the cake ($45 to deliver outside their city), my friends decorated it with fresh flowers and it was gorgeous. If you have a chinatown nearby, it’s worth it to check out their bakeries. My brother-in-law pronounced it was the best cake he’d ever had. If the chinese bakeries didn’t work, I would have checked out the Mexican bakeries next.
* Ebay and Craig’s List have great deals on wedding dresses. I found 3 wedding dresses in thrift stores in affluent neighborhoods and had my pick of what to wear. But I ended up finding a new dress in a bridal gown outlet store, which is what I eventually chose to wear. I even bought my bridal attendants their new Jessica McClintock dresses for $10 each at the outlet store. My grandmother’s friend altered my dress for free. I borrowed a friend’s veil.
* My friend did my make-up and hair.
* I researched community centers and found one in an affluent neighborhood, with a beautifully maintained garden beside it, so I had a garden wedding at city government prices. They even had chairs included in the rental… it was a great find. You should check out your county’s parks and rec.
* Are you involved in a church? Maybe talk to the pastor and see if any groups in the church that could help you put together your favors or decorate your reception area. My church greatly helped in this area.

Have I ever regretted cutting corners as I did? No. Our wedding is paid for, and we did not get in debt. It was totally worth it! It was more important to us to share our day with others with joy, and to enjoy our wedding day – which we did! It truly is just one day that goes by in a whirl. Better to concentrate more energy and investment in your marriage, rather than the wedding.

I hope you have a wonderful wedding! Many blessings to you!

Technorati Tags: Bakeries, Budget Ideas, Caterer, Chinatown, Craft Stores, Diet Restrictions, Dress Costs, Fiance, Food Choices, Fresh Flowers, Hey Everyone, Hidden Treasures, Office Depot, Sheet Cakes, Target, Tiered Wedding Cake, Walmart, wedding dress, Wedding On A Budget, Wedding Party

Picking the Perfect Venue for your Wedding.

When looking for space there are many related factors that affect the overall bottom line of your budget. There are several different types of venues and each one has overlapping and related parts that will factor in to the price and how much if any additional labor is needed. So, before you sign any contracts or put down a deposit make sure you know the ins and outs of all your options. There are four main types of wedding and reception location: Event Facilities/Reception Halls, Restaurants/Country Clubs, Hotels, and unique non-traditional locations.

Event Facilities/ Reception Halls: These locations typically charge for space rental by the hour with a minimum requirement or in time blocks. Because these venues are usually independently owned the pricing is self determined and there isn’t necessarily a standard format. Be sure to ask if the rental fee includes the tables, chairs and linens. If so, what is the maximum number. Some locations have an in-house or required caterer, others do not. If the caterer is not in-house ask for a list of preferred caterers and if there are any specific requirements for bring in food or alcohol. Another important question to ask is if the space is staffed during the event, who will be your point of contact for the wedding day and how to reach them.

Restaurants/ Country Clubs: Most of these venues require the use of their in-house caterer. In some cases there is no rental fee required for the use of the space, simply a food and beverage minimum that they require in conjunction with booking the space. Typically there is no additional charge for the use of table and chairs or linens. Always ask about staffing or services charges, you can expect anywhere between 18-22% added to the bill (much like a gratuity for a large party at a restaurant).

Hotels- Because most hotels are corporately owned they have more flexibility in pricing and you may be able to negotiate lower rates when you guarantee a certain number of hotel rooms that your guests will book or if you meet a food and beverage minimum. Hotels have more bargaining power, if you have many out of town guests this may be the right venue type for you. Generally, hotels provide in-house catering but will allow outside food to be brought in if requested. Like the other venues mentioned be sure to ask about staffing and set-up fees that will be added to your overall cost.

At home weddings/ unique non-traditional locations: These types of weddings are usually the most memorable and also the most expensive. The reason for this is that you are transforming a space. Traditional venues are stocked, staffed and equipped for special events on a regular basis. Bringing in all the rental furniture, décor, sound systems, food, and staffing can be a time consuming and costly process. In addition to the previously mentioned costs you could may need additional restrooms, power sources, parking spaces and permits. If you are having a small, informal ceremony and reception these factors may not apply. On the upside these locations are often unique and individualized, but make sure you are aware of unforeseen costs when planning your wedding budget.

So before you make any official decisions about where you want to have your reception be sure to find out about everything that will or will not be included in your rental fee. After evaluating how everything will work together you will be able to make a better informed decision when looking at your overall budget without any surprises or hidden costs..

Amber Cleveland
http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/picking-the-perfect-venue-for-your-wedding-113692.html

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How can i plan my wedding within this budget? Please advise
What would suggest to me in order to organise my wedding?

You CAN do this trust me. Our budget was 10,000 with a guest list of 300 and 250 showed up. So believe me you can do it and my wedding was very elegant. Here are some great tips. Can you do your own flowers? My mom made all of our flowers we just picked them out and she arranged them. My sister-in-law made our cake. The only decoration in the church was bows for the reserved seating, three large flower arrangements, and ivy hung at the back of the church around candles (we didn’t light them) We were members of the church. We had friends do the directing, organ, and video so that saved some money. We had a buffet not a sit down meal. We knew our DJ.

The best tip: get people you know to help out. For 75 people that won’t be too hard. Our caterer was 11.00 / plate. So that is about 825 plus tax and anything else you need to add. If you get your caterer to do the cake that cuts down so you don’t have the delivery cost on the cake. I could go on and on for hours at a time on the wedding planning and tips. If you need any more information or have more questions or just want to boast about your wedding shoot me an email at glitter3317@yahoo.com

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i need your advice and suggestions on how to plan a wedding on a budget of less than 50thou. What are the essential and most important things to prepare? persons to be present? things to be organised? We’re really cutting down the cost .

if it’s goign to be less than 50k, you may opt to do a civil rights and invite only those who are closest to you. however, some churches would normally charge you 10k-25k, church alone. let me list down the things you need to consider when planning a wedding:
- church (make sure the church you choose doesnt charge as much)
- caterer/restaurant
- florist (you can go to dangwa)
- photographer (you may ask a photographer to do only labor, meaning, he will just take pictures and not have the photos printed, instead he will just give you a softcopy of your wedding pics and it’s up to you to have them printed)
- invitation (you may opt an DIY [do-it-yourself] invites)
- souvenir (give-aways) can also be DIY
- entourage (and their gowns) go for gowns for rent
- wedding gown and barong and accessories (rent them as well)
- guestlist (invite only the closest family, relatives and friends) at most 80 guests

actually, it’s going to be really hard planning a wedding with a very tight budget. my brother got married last december on a tight budget of 90k with 100 guests. most of the things were DIY like the invites and souvenirs. but in their case, they had a civil rights and didnt have to book a church.

if you have any other questions or referrals, let me know ‘coz we do plan weddings. last year alone, we planned 3 weddings and this year we’re currently planning 2 weddings. dont worry, i wont charge you for anything. im just not sure of what you really need as of the moment.

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