Weddingbee boards

Hi New York brides-to-be and Mrs.:

We are getting married next Fall and we need some help in finding out average wedding vendor prices in NYC.  We are really trying hard to be conservative in our estimates but w/o having anything to compare it to...it's really hard esp. in this economy!  You never know if you are getting a deal when they tell you you are :) 

It would be tremendous if you can provide a "ball park" or an exact amount you paid for the following items for your wedding in NYC:

- Music: Band or dj? How much?

- Photographer?

- Flowers/ vendor hired decor for ceremony and reception?

I think this info would be very helpful for all of us NYC brides :)

Thanks! 

I'm not married just yet, but I've been doing a ton of research in the NYC area and this is what I have found:

• Venue with catering onsite:  $125/pp+  (This was Battery Gardens rate past May2008)  Of course, this does not include the 8.75% tax and 22% gratuity, so whatever number they give you multiply by guests then multiply 1.3 and you get a realistic figure.
• Venues with no catering i.e lofts etc.:  $2500+ just for venue fee, but you can find a cheap caterer, say like crave in brooklyn and keep costs somewhat low and rent from classic party rentals since they rent out to individuals.
• Music:  If you look outside the box, say a 4 person jazz band, you can get one for around $2000 for 4 hours.  If you're looking for full on band with like 10 members, you're looking at $4000 and up.
• Photographers:  You can always find a cheaper photographer, but if you're going to splurge on anything in a wedding, it should be a photographer, bc photos are the only things to remain.  With that said, you can find a photographer who will shoot 6-8 hours for as low as $2000, but again, it's all at your discretion.  I feel like any of the top photographers in NYC will cost you $4500+
• Flowers:  Depends on what you want really, but ceremony and reception can be done pretty lavishly for $5000 and under using a reputable NYC florist, or you can go outside to NJ/Queens and find a florist and do it for $2500/less. 
• STATIONERY:  I feel like ppl forget that stationery can cost thousands too!  DAMN me for discovering letterpress, but this can also be done relatively cheap, if you know where to look

If you want to know specific rates for certain venues, bands, photographers, florists...etc, you can just email me at clee1128@gmail.com and I can give you specifics, bc to type this all out on this can get pretty long and it's much easier to help you if you let me know exactly waht it is you're looking for.  Hope I've been somewhat helpful.

So far:

Photographer: Bella Photographers - we got a really great deal of about 8 hours for $2200? My fiance found them on The Knot.  The reason we got it really cheap was because there was this deal back in October where you get 8 hours for the price of 6 I believe and since his dad is a professional photographer, we don't need prints or photo albums so we just got the basic package with the DVD of all the images that we keep. 

DJ:  Hmm about another $2500 - we need a Greek DJ because my side of the family is Greek so we need that music as well as the other stuff. We went with DJ Savas who is based in Astoria and is really nice and good to work with. He is even getting a brand-new DJ booth. If I remember corectly, we get 2 DJs? Not sure.

Venue: We are having at at The Yale Club which is about $180-195pp..yes it's a bit pricey but there is a ton of food and the site is amazing and there is a (relatively) cheap site fee, which is $500 (compared to other places we checked out that was nothing!). We are not having the ceremony there so it was a bargain; there are also some pretty neat perks like cake included (and we can work with the baker to have some sort of customized design or alter one of their own) and a bridal suite for the wedding night. They also include a coordinator for the whole day (Jaime is ours, I have heard alot of really good things about her which takes the need for a DOC out of the equation. 

Flowers: that's tricky - because we signed with The Yale Club we have to use one of their "preferred florists" and only one out of 8 was nice enough to talk to my fiance at an event The Yale Club had for prospective and current event holders (it wasn't until Jaime introduced my fiance - I couldn't go because I am in Philly - to the florists as anevent holder that some finally paid attention to him). We are going to see how it goes with that one florist - some things we definitely don't need (like flowergirl baskets and toss bouquet - DIY -  and my mom's corsage, she refuses one) and she said she was accomodating to all budgets.

 Invites - damn me for being a stationery snob. That is a work in progress. 

There are still reasonably priced photographers in the New York area, it may just take a little more research. Ask your friends and faimly, and their friends and famiily... and go with someone you trust, whose photos AND personality you like!

Please contact me if you have any photography related questions, it can get confusing!

Cindy

NYMag just published a NY loft wedding budget - found it very helpful

http://nymag.com/weddings/reception/2009/summer/slideshows/rawspace/index8.html

We started off with one budget, and then pretty much said screw the budget. 

Music -- We chose to have a 2 piece band (accoustic guitar and soloist) for the ceremony and cocktail hour, which was about 1200 and DJ for reception, which was another 1200.

Photographer -- We wanted photo and video, so that ran us approx 6500

Flowers -- we went with the house florist @ Tavern on the green which came out to be approximately 4k.

Hope this helps!

We had a tiny ceremony followed by a somewhat larger reception with about 60 people.  We got gushing raves the entire day about the band and the food (PM me for specifics), so don't be fooled by the prices--the wedding was fabulous.

Ceremony venue: Free (Central Park)

Reception venue: Free--it was at a restaurant, and we only paid for food and booze

Food and booze: $4K for food, unlimited brunch drinks, and a cake

Band: $1K for 2 hours of music by a local jazz quartet

Photographer: $250 (ceremony only)

Flowers: $50 (bouquet for me, and pin-ons for our moms)

I did my own makeup and nails, and my best friend did my hair.  No centerpieces, favors, or anything like that. 

 Ours was a destination wedding but we used alot of NYC vendors and shops. 

Our photographer was Patricia Kantzos.  She was amazing.  Her work is incredible.  Ours was a destination wedding so we paid extra for plane, hotel etc.  I think her prices start at $3800 not including album. Photography was one thing we refused to skimp on.  Heck, flowers don't last but the photos will!

We spent very little on flowers and opted for lots of candles instead.  It was a great way to save

I bought my dress on ebay.  it was pure luck that the dress fit perfect.  A Narciso Rodriguez dress reportedly worn once at a runway show and missing a belt.  $350 + $150 alterations.  It was not a "Bridal Gown" but an off white, simple long dress that is just gorgeous. I had it shortened after the wedding and have worn it a few times. I would have spent more.  My mother was buying it as a gift.  But when I saw the dress on ebay - I bought it taking a chance and it fit perfect. It was meant to be.

My shoes $350 - I still wear them. what the heck, the dress was affordable.

My sister was married in NYC 3 years ago and all inclusive except the honeymoon, they spent about $42,000 I think.  

 Good luck.