(Closed) Complete REDO — HELP!

• jehnelly
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: December 2014

Our original wedding date was in December 2012, but life usually happens and plans fell through. We realized our first planning run was not as we envisioned it and this was mainly due to many mistakes on our part. This is our second try at this, and we most certainly want it to work out this time. Or I will not be a happy unofficial Bee. (;

My Fiance and I are both from SC (Charlestonians born and bred) and I work in the wedding industry, so I know how expensive this little peninsula has gotten in the last few years; even more so when that “#2 wedding destination” came up. In our first planning session, we were cringing at the prices. We wanted a super-small wedding: we only had 20 guests max and the prices were still crazy for catering, rentals, photography, etc.

For our second try at planning, we have decided to have a larger wedding, with at least 100 people minimum, 150 maximum. We need to re-establish our budget for this, so we don’t have a figure as of now, but I would like for us to spend under $6000. That’s such a ridiculously low number, but I’m putting all my good vibes into this working out and we get the wedding we want. We want it to look like a $50000 wedding for way less than it really is.

We are gunning for a December wedding, no year yet. Right now, we’re just thoroughly educating ourselves on everything possible so this won’t fall through again. I figured this would be the best place to get advice and great places and vendors to consider that offer stellar services for cheap. Please let me know anything you can! It will be much appreciated! (=

(For reference, our wedding colors are black and white with an accent of black and whtie stripes here and there. We want a fancy event, with simple yet chic touches.)

• jehnelly
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: December 2014

@JenniferMm: $6000 for everything. Granted, that’s not an official number as of now; it’s just an idea. This could increase, or even decrease. We just don’t want it to hit the $10000 mark.

• jehnelly
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: December 2014

@whitarens: We were thinking of doing a seated dinner, but we realized that it probably wouldn’t be worthwhile. I felt like the guests would rather have a buffet instead, so the plus is that we would save money and the guests would get what they want. We aren’t having alcohol either because FI’s parents are religious. This, too, is great with me since we’re saving on that. I do plan on DIYing as much as I can to save costs. Since it is in December, we’re hoping for a great deal on many vendors. We want a December 8th wedding, and in 2014 this date lands on a Monday. I love weekday weddings and the venues I’ve seen are only charging around $500 for weekdays.

• jehnelly
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: December 2014

Also, I just want to say that ANY help from ANY bride-to-be, groom-to-be, whatever-to-be is appreciated. It doesn’t matter where you’re from; if you have great tips on how to have a beautiful, Style Me Pretty-worthy wedding for cheap, your input is more than welcome!

• jehnelly
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: December 2014

@JenniferMm: Wow, thanks so much for the breakdown for your wedding! That’s incredibly helpful. With our first go at planning, we never really established what was important to us. As I was doing some research last night, I realized that my top three important wedding aspects were photography, decor, and food in that order. Wedding photography is a lifetime investment and I have found a photographer whose photographs and style I have fallen in love with. We met with him before and we had such a great connection with him. He just “got” us. Alas, he is way too expensive because of his expertise and popularity. Despite this, I still really, really want him to do it. I just don’t know how, but hopefully we’ll get lucky!

Decor was another area that was important to me because I feel that when weddings are perfectly decorated, they look like a million bucks. Decor is the first thing guests notice, and as I’ve said before, I work in the wedding industry so it’s easy for me to tell when decor is skimped on or when the space seems so sparse. Even if the couple spent $500 of DIY decor ONLY, if it looks awesome and just right, it makes a huge difference for the entire aesthetic and vibe. This is something I truly want to achieve.

Lastly, food was my number three. Guests will have memories of decor, but they will only eat the food. If it was good, they’ll rave about it. Also, I love to cook and I love feeding others delicious food. They came to our wedding, so our thank you to them is by feeding them great-tasting food.

Venue-wise, we’re not really fond of plantation weddings. We want something different from the southern antebellum house, the rustic/vintage decor, and the neutral palette; which is why we’re going classy black and white and looking for a venue that’s different. These are some places we’ve looked at this time around:

-Sewee Preserve

-Rebekah Jacob Gallery

-Heirloom Book Co. (This is if we decide to have a smaller wedding after all.)

-The Confederate House

-Ella Walton Richardson Gallery

In regards to the dress, I do have one, but it is made for a small wedding since it is short. I will probably have to get another one, but I wouldn’t mind using the first one as a reception dress. Also, we won’t be having a wedding party, so those costs are effectively eliminated in terms of dresses, tuxes, hair, makeup, gifts, etc.

Music is an area we’re trying to get creative with. We don’t feel it is quite necessary to have a DJ, especially when we’re trying to have a classy feel (meaning no line dancing of any kind, haha). We want dancing and good tunes, so we’re actually looking into buying a great record player and picking six or seven records to play the whole night. It’s unique, and that’s what we’re aiming for.

Thanks so much again for your information! I read in another thread you had a similar situation where you had to postpone your wedding for a bit. I’m so glad you’re back on track and your event sounds beautiful!

• jehnelly
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: December 2014

@whitarens: Thank you for your budget breakdown! I’m glad we share the same sentiment on weekday weddings. Do you have a recommendation for programs to create the paper products you’re DIYing? I would love to try my hand at making my own wedding paper goods, but I want them to come off looking professional.

• jehnelly
• 6 years ago

• Wedding: December 2014

@JenniferMm: I’ve tons of wonderful things about Hamby Catering. Do you know how much they charge since your friend used them? I would love for us to get a great caterer. Even though it’s a buffet-style reception (most likely), I still want it to be very clean and presentable.