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Please help me with my wedding budget!



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amother


 

Post Mon, Jul 21 2014, 8:47 pm
I'm recently engaged and am clueless about wedding expenses beyond a hall, as it's been a long time since I had to make a wedding!

If you got married or have made a wedding in the past year, I'd appreciate if you could post the costs associated with the event so that I can budget realistically and decide which venue best fit our price range.

I'm specifically looking for the costs of the following:

Photography (not videography)
Flowers (were they fresh, rentals, or a mixture?)
Music (how many pieces did you have?)
Dress (custom made, rental, gemach, etc)
Bridal accessories
Invitations (for how many?)
ANYTHING else I am leaving out!

Details that may be relevant in comparison:
-The wedding will be somewhere in the NYC area, and will have about 100 people.

Thanks in advance for your help!
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Chana Miriam S




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 21 2014, 9:01 pm
amother wrote:
I'm recently engaged and am clueless about wedding expenses beyond a hall, as it's been a long time since I had to make a wedding!

If you got married or have made a wedding in the past year, I'd appreciate if you could post the costs associated with the event so that I can budget realistically and decide which venue best fit our price range.

I'm specifically looking for the costs of the following:

Photography (not videography)
Flowers (were they fresh, rentals, or a mixture?)
Music (how many pieces did you have?)
Dress (custom made, rental, gemach, etc)
Bridal accessories
Invitations (for how many?)
ANYTHING else I am leaving out!

Details that may be relevant in comparison:
-The wedding will be somewhere in the NYC area, and will have about 100 people.

Thanks in advance for your help!


Speaking as a caterer, the real question is, 'what is YOUR budget?'
without that answer, you can't even start getting prices for things 'in your budget'

PHotographers range from ridiculous to sublime- my sister has had great luck using students and getting every negative so she can choose. If your budget is bigger, I have a local photographer here who I reccommend who travels around the world shooting weddings.

and so everything else is reflected in your total budget. I think my wedding dress cost under $300 to make. Other people I know spend that much getting one from a gemach and altered.

Mazal tov and don't stress! Its just a day!
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Frumdoc




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 21 2014, 9:14 pm
Ebay might be your friend for bridal accessories and a dress, I know several people who were v happy with good value bridal wear from second hand sellers.

Some websites sell beautiful invitations, which are personalisable (is that a word?). Or design something and print it yourself on pretty paper, not so hard.

Ask a few florists about seasonal flowers, makes a massive difference to the budget.

Mazal Tov, btw!
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amother


 

Post Mon, Jul 21 2014, 9:22 pm
andrea levy wrote:
Speaking as a caterer, the real question is, 'what is YOUR budget?'
without that answer, you can't even start getting prices for things 'in your budget'

PHotographers range from ridiculous to sublime- my sister has had great luck using students and getting every negative so she can choose. If your budget is bigger, I have a local photographer here who I reccommend who travels around the world shooting weddings.

and so everything else is reflected in your total budget. I think my wedding dress cost under $300 to make. Other people I know spend that much getting one from a gemach and altered.

Mazal tov and don't stress! Its just a day!


OK this makes sense. Obviously there is a range, but I was hoping to get a ballpark. Let's put it this way... my budget is on the smaller side, but not paltry, and we're trying to decide whether to go with a completely budget hall, a nicer hall that's double the price per person (yet still fairly reasonable), or do a chuppah with friends and family and a meal in a restaurant and use the rest of the money for a vacation! Our decision is largely going to be based on the cost of all the "extras" as once I have the slightest idea regarding the going rate, I can then figure out which hall option is the best fit for us.
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amother


 

Post Mon, Jul 21 2014, 9:23 pm
Frumdoc wrote:
Ebay might be your friend for bridal accessories and a dress, I know several people who were v happy with good value bridal wear from second hand sellers.

Some websites sell beautiful invitations, which are personalisable (is that a word?). Or design something and print it yourself on pretty paper, not so hard.

Ask a few florists about seasonal flowers, makes a massive difference to the budget.

Mazal Tov, btw!


Thank you!
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amother


 

Post Mon, Jul 21 2014, 10:13 pm
You can do beautifully with gemachs. My dress, shoes, mink, crown, jewelry, makeup,
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jul 22 2014, 12:42 am
amother wrote:
You can do beautifully with gemachs. My dress, shoes, mink, crown, jewelry, makeup,

whats a mink?
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jul 22 2014, 12:48 am
At my wedding a few years ago we had a guy on the piano plus a singer
like frumdoc said, buy in-season flowers from a florist
I got my wedding dress, veil, tiara, shoes from a gemach
dont forget the benchers!
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mille




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 22 2014, 11:37 am
amother wrote:
whats a mink?


I've seen some brides who have outdoor chuppahs in the colder months wear something like this: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg......2.jpg

That's my guess at least. Definitely not necessary and not my taste, but to each their own.

In my experience, OP, wedding factory halls in brooklyn are cheaper than elsewhere but not as 'nice'. If you are only having 100 people though, I'd suggest looking at shul halls that can hold that many. They can be very cheap, but most people don't consider them because they can't hold as many people. Just make sure you ask what the catering policy is (if they have certain caterers they allow, etc).

For photography, find a photographer who will do the pictures and just give you the digital images on a dvd rather than giving proofs and making an album. You can make your own album online quite easily, many sites guide you through it. This will be cheaper than if you get a whole package.

Mazal tov!
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jul 22 2014, 12:04 pm
mille wrote:
I've seen some brides who have outdoor chuppahs in the colder months wear something like this: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg......2.jpg

That's my guess at least. Definitely not necessary and not my taste, but to each their own.

In my experience, OP, wedding factory halls in brooklyn are cheaper than elsewhere but not as 'nice'. If you are only having 100 people though, I'd suggest looking at shul halls that can hold that many. They can be very cheap, but most people don't consider them because they can't hold as many people. Just make sure you ask what the catering policy is (if they have certain caterers they allow, etc).

For photography, find a photographer who will do the pictures and just give you the digital images on a dvd rather than giving proofs and making an album. You can make your own album online quite easily, many sites guide you through it. This will be cheaper than if you get a whole package.

Mazal tov!


Thank you! Our first choice is a shul actually, and it is reasonable. I'm just wondering now if we can do everything else beside for the catering for around $5000.

I like the photography idea, I just need recommendations!
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 22 2014, 12:13 pm
I'd go with a shul if you're considering it anyway. you can definitely do well with a dress off of ebay. just make sure to ask the seller lots of questions about exact measurements. as for photography, you can use a student. alternatively, I've seen groupon and living social deals on wedding photography. check out the websites and see if you like the prices.

as for flowers, the price depends on what kind/how many you want. keep in mind that bridal bouquets cost more than a bunch of flowers. you may want to just pick some pretty flowers out at the florist without calling it a bridal bouquet. you don't need a centerpiece for the head table or the guests' tables. you can get some fake floral arrangements for photos/badeken if you want. centerpieces for the tables can be cheap vases/glass bowls with glass pebbles and twigs spray-painted gold or some such.

music- one man band or a friend with a cd player Smile

food- depends. do you want something fancy? you can really do a bagels and toppings spread or some such. most people I know don't go to weddings for the food. get creative.
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jul 22 2014, 1:05 pm
[ quote="amother "]whats a mink?[/quote]

I got married in the winter and was loaned a white mink stole for under the chuppah
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suzyq




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 22 2014, 1:12 pm
I got a beautiful gown from the gemach in Passaic - it had never even been worn before! The Passaic gemach is really amazing! They charge a very reasonable deposit but refund all but $50 when you return the gown - and the $50 goes towards the cleaning of the gown.

Also, I have a friend who does photography in the NY area extremely reasonably. PM me for contact info if you are interested.
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Frumdoc




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jul 22 2014, 6:07 pm
It might be an idea to contact the local colleges and ask to put notices up for someone doing photography to use your wedding as a project, if you can tolerate the possibility that they might not be the best - still might be better than a budget act who are just cheap and nasty. Definitely ask for negatives rather than album, it is easy to make your own online.

Also, try colleges for makeup trials or a student, this time of year the students are almost done with training and keen as mustard to demonstrate their skills, especially if they are heading towards freelance. Or go get a free makeup trial from MAC, then do it yourself, very easy when you've practiced a few times.

There are usually gemachim for tablecloths, centrepieces and often fake flowers if it's your thing. Is there a local gemach list you can go through?

If you're thinking about good value but unusual, our centrepieces were curled / twisted bamboo sticks, with some exotic flowers. They were reasonably priced, and best of all is we still have the bamboo sticks over 5 years later in vases all around the house, they last years and I have them instead of potted plants or flowers. It was one of my favorite things about our chasuna (other than marrying the man I love, obviously!).
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