Post # 1
Member
297 posts
Helper bee
Hey ladies…I’m not sure if this is the right place to post, if not correct me and I’ll move it 🙂 I have begun the search for a venue for our summer 2015 wedding. I was so excited to get planning, but after seeing the cost of things I’m discouraged. My fiance and are are very laid back people and we want our wedding to have the same feel. Our dream wedding would be a weekend wedding in Maine or NH with our family and our closest friends, hanging out, eating good food, listening to good music, and just having fun! A lot of the venues I have been looking at (farms, private estates) are gorgeous, and everything we are looking for location/dream wedding vision, but the majority don’t include much: ie: tables, chairs, etc. Have any bees who have had DIY weddings or who are planning a DIY wedding found that the cost to rent all of these things ends up being more than just going with an all inclusive venue like a hotel or country club? Should I give up my vision ladies? I would LOVE to stay around (or better yet) under 10,000. I have a feeling my parents are going to offer to put some money towards the wedding, and if so that will increase our budget by a little bit. Advice please 🙂
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This topic was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by LeeBee88.
Post # 2
Member
1214 posts
Bumble bee
LeeBee88: The cost of rentals adds up insanely quick. My rentals (basically everything) are costing more than my food. And the problems with rentals is that the majority of things are not “nice-to-haves”. You can’t have dinner without plates, or drinks without glasses. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room or ability to cut things out.
That said, the cost of my venue plus rentals/catering is around the same price per person as the hotels in the area.
Another thing to consider is that when you bring everything in, you add another layer of complexity to the planning. You definitely need an assigned person the day-of to help coordinate the deliveries, etc.
Post # 3
Member
59 posts
Worker bee
If you are going for a more laid-back feel, you might want to look around a little futher… We are going for the same vibe and found a bunch of really great places that left us broke when we looked into rentals. I looked around a little more and ended up finding a very cool stone shelterhouse in a park that we love that comes with picnic tables. For us, this was perfect, and about 1/10 the price of the other places.
There is a place out there for you. I wouldn’t give up on your overall vision. Maybe there are other compromises you can make… like using disposable plates/glasses or you could even get some mismatched vintage ones from thrift stores/garage sales, or maybe you can find some money by doing simple bulk flowers in vases vs hiring a florist. I would spend some time brainstorming some ideas that would allow you to create your vision. I completely understand your furstration though, I was there a few months ago, arg, so expensive!
If you need any advice, I’m almost done planning my DIY, laid back, fun wedding (way under 10,000) and I’d be happy to share my ideas. Good luck!
Post # 4
Member
2699 posts
Sugar bee
LeeBee88: I can’t speak to the difference in cost, but I used an all-inclusive venue and I loved it. I’m not the type to want to micromanage every aspect (or any aspect really) so I loved that I didn’t have to pick a photographer, bakery, DJ, florist…I used the vendors provided and it made life very very easy.
Post # 5
Member
1101 posts
Bumble bee
LeeBee88: If you can find a place with the basics–tables & chairs, then the rentals are very managable. I found that just not having to pay retail for the bar (alcohol) was more than worth it. At an “all inclusive” the cheapest open bar we found was $40 per person for 5 hours, which did not include taxes, fees, or tips. That would have been just over $7000. Our diy open bar is $2500 (which includes 3 bartenders + tip + the alcohol permit + insurance) for 7 hours (and I know we will have lots left over). Our total cost in rentals is just under $1000, but we did not need tables and chairs (well, we did rent bistro tables).
Also, it gave us the choice of open catering, so we were able to shop around and get great food at a great price.
But you do need to be organized, have lists of everything you need, etc. If you hire a caterer than specializes in weddings, they usually can be a big help in providing what you need, or at least a detailed list.
That being said, I just had the appointment at the rental company, got what I needed in about an hour. And then headed over to the dollar store for everything else (about $100 in trays, serving utensils, etc.). We have a day of coordinator and I’ve hired two students to help set up the day before. So that added another $500 to the cost.
Really, it will come down to if you want to be this detailed in planning your wedding. It is very do-able, and I enjoy the details. But, if you would rather just have someone else take care of it either go with an all inclusive (and get the prices for everything, including the fees, bar charges, tips, etc.), or go with a diy venue and hire a wedding planner to do the details.
Post # 6
Hostess
8584 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
We went the DIY route, our total budget is around $14,000 – which I understand is more than your budget, BUT we are having alot of things that aren’t “needed”. Like an 8 tier cake, candy buffet, cigar bar, dj, photo booth, outside seating area, ect. $10k would have been very easy for us to make if we didn’t want all of the “extras”.
I would start by searching for a place that provides tables & chairs, and has restrooms facilities… this will save you ALOT of money.
We purchased all of our linens and plates/cups/forks ect. We went with [nice quality] disposable because there isn’t a rental place within a 2 hour drive. And, the recepton space has a VERY small kitchen area, we’d never be able to wash place settings for 100 guests.
Just know that while DIY can save ALOT of money, it may need more decoration [if you are wanting decoration]. We’ve spent quite a bit on twinkle lights, organza draping, curtain draping & uplighting, but it would still be cheaper than going to other venues around here for us.
Post # 7
Member
297 posts
Helper bee
LindyLu: Thanks for the tip! I really want to be able to enjoy my day and not have to worry, so a day of coordinator sounds like something we will most definitely add into our budget plan! BikerBride: Thank you for your optimism, and your offer to help with ideas…I am sure as time goes on I will be taking you up on that! Last night I started to look at private properties (homes) for rent in our desired location and actually found that since they aren’t just for weddings, the prices are much, much lower! I was contacted this morning by my #1 pick and it sounds perfect…almost too good to be true! It fits our budget, and has a few extras 🙂 I showed my fiance and he said BOOK IT! (guys…always jumping the gun) but I of course want to know more and see the property in person before we make any big decisions 🙂 wabanzi: Hopefully this doesn’t make me sound like a lush, but alcohol was one of our top reasons for wanting a DIY/BYOB venue! Ha 🙂 I was pricing bar prices at inclusive venues, and OH MY! I definitely don’t think all weddings need an open bar, but for us it is important since we are asking our guests to travel roughly 2.5 hours/rent a hotel room for a night or 2, we want all of their needs met. Yes, I know the dollar store will be my second home for the next 16 months 🙂 I, like you, absolutely love all of the details, so I know I will have a lot of fun with this! With that being said, I want to be as worry free as possible the day of, so I will be looking into hiring a day of coordinator. I’m sure each one is different, but just to get an idea, what will yours be doing the day of? Are they in charge of setting up tables, chairs, place settings, etc? jenilynevette: Your wedding sounds like it’s going to be a blast! A photobooth is something I would love to have, so photography is definitely going to be my top priority after we have the venue set! Did you get your photobooth through your photographer, or through a seperate company? Thanks for the tips/advice/opinions ladies!
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This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by LeeBee88.
Post # 8
Hostess
8584 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
LeeBee88: We are DIYing our photobooth, because we wanted one but didn’t want to drop $600+ on it. [Those were the quotes we got for 4 hours!]. To purchase everything including props, camera, film, backdrops, & a table/basket to keep everything in, it’s costing us around $300, but we’ll be able to use it as long as we like.
Post # 9
Member
1101 posts
Bumble bee
LeeBee88: Doesn’t sound “lushish” at all. I don’t even drink and I wanted a DIY bar. Those retail prices are insane.
