Confessions of an Engaged Chick: Venue Search

I mentioned before here that we were trying to find a venue for our wedding. We finally found one, but during our search, there were some things we found out to cut your wedding expenses, especially for brides on a budget!

1. Parks

An intimate ceremony at a hidden little park in New York

..[photos by Max Wanger via Glamour]..

Most parks cost about $30-$100 to rent out the space with a permit. If you're in Southern California where the weather is usually pretty nice (minus these few months with all the rain), it's definitely something to consider.

If you want to hold your reception at a park, it gets a little more complicated because you do have to keep in mind that you may have to request for Liquor Liability Insurance (if you decide to have alcohol at the reception) along with a Modified Special Event Permit and if you opt for a tent for the reception, that would be another additional cost (rentals for tents range anywhere from $300 - $5,000 depending on the size) in addition to a dance floor. Tables and chairs would also need to be rented, and all the costs might add up. Another con is that you might have people taking a peek at your ceremony/reception and if you're more of a private person, I wouldn't recommend this as a venue. But if you're up for a simple ceremony with no fuss and lots of pretty greens and free floral decorations, a park is a pretty neat venue to keep in mind!

- Example:

A beautiful wedding Caroline Tran shot of a couple's wedding at Griffith Park right here.

- And some tips:

To having a park wedding right here.

2. Backyard

A simple and sweet backyard reception

..[photos by Jill Thomas]..

If you're lucky enough to have a backyard big enough to fit the number of guests you hope will attend, then why not? Like the park, the rental costs may add up and you would have to cater your own food, but I found out that catering is much cheaper than on site dinners, because of the variety of options. You can even have an In-N-Out truck (about $5 a person) or the Kogi taco truck (less than $15 a person). The biggest concern would be the restroom, but apparently one restroom seems to be enough for 100 guests (surprisingly yes!). If you want an in depth review of having a backyard wedding, head over to a wonderful blog appropriately titled 'A Backyard Wedding' right here.

3. College Campus

The Athenaeum at Caltech in Pasadena

..[photos by Evoke Photography]..

Surprisingly, most colleges have huge discounts if you attended that school and decide to use one of their rooms or outdoor spaces. It might not have an array of florals or decorations, but depending on your college, the buildings could make for a pretty cool backdrop.

4. Church

A classic church in England

..[photos by Our Labor of Love]..

If you are affiliated with a church, then some only require that you pay the officiant fee and nothing else. If you've been attending that church for awhile, then it could be greatly meaningful. It also has the classic feel and churches usually have a cafeteria like area that you could hold your reception in along with a kitchen. A lot of churches have already had weddings done so you'd be all set to go!

the engaged chick, angela

Why DIY is not for everyone

I’m sure a lot of you have visited the tons inspiration blogs that are taking over the blog world. They are all filled with awesome DIY ideas, but I do want to point out that being a DIY bride may not be worth it for some.

Yes, Martha Stewart and other savvy brides may encourage and inspire you to DIY flowers, invitations, and all your stationary, but it certainly is not for everyone. You may think, "Well.. When am I ever going to get the chance to craft and do projects like these? " Or maybe you want to save money or make the day more personal with the little details, but let me be honest with you all; I don’t recommend DIY projects for those who don’t have a lot of time on their hands and for brides who aren’t too talented at being crafty (sorry for being so blunt). You may imagine DIY projects to be fairly easy, especially with the tutorials, but sometimes after you buy all the materials and start putting things together, you quickly realize it is not as easy as you thought it would be. It might even lead to being dissapointed and discouraged by the end results. Yes, you might be saving a few bucks here and there but don't forget to calculate the time and effort you have to put in.

By no means am I writing this entry to discourage the savvy brides out there to DIY, because there are a lot of brides that blow me away by their talent and ideas. However, if you are not much of a crafty person I would definitely think twice before you run to Michaels or to the Flower Mart. Reality is doing a DIY wedding/projects is very time consuming for the bride. People/vendors are called professionals for a reason- they have the skill, knowledge and artistic ability. Plainly put, they know what they are doing; I mean that is what we are paying them for right? We might be dealing with the same materials and flowers that the professionals are using but the results can be quite different.

For example, (a true story!) one of my clients called me frustrated and disappointed a couple weeks ago about her invitations. Her friend had offered to help design the invites and at that time the bride was thinking it couldn’t be too hard to print out the invites on her own once the design was completed. Unfortunately, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. She went to two different Paper Source locations to get the right color paper and when she finally got to Kinko’s to print out the invites the printer kept jamming because the paper was too thick. After many attempts to print out the invites my bride had no choice but to go back to Paper Source to purchase a thinner paper. Who knew printing invites could give you such a headache and we didn’t even get to the part about cutting the invites correctly, taping the papers together, getting all the addresses from your guests, and sending out the invites on TIME! Whew!

I can totally understand and relate with her because I too get overly excited with just the thought of trying new things. Oftentimes I have to filter all the thoughts and ideas that go through my mind because there are just too many projects I’d like to try. :) Here’s a great example, when I was 6 months pregnant, I had this idea of gifting a handmade crocheted baby blanket to my son. I wanted to somehow ‘bond’ with my unborn child and I thought this project would be perfect. However, I would have never thought of doing it if I knew how time consuming it would be! I guess that's the whole point of crocheting? Taking it one day at a time and not getting antsy about the end results? Unfortunately, I realized that's not me. I need to see the results within 2-3 days! Anyways, so I spent $50 on just the yarn. A couple days later I realized that I didn’t get enough yarn, so I had to go out and buy another $20 worth of yarn from Michaels. After 3 days of attempting to crochet and $70 later, I got impatient, and handed the unfinished blanket over to my mom. Haha! Do I use the blanket now? Not really. Lesson I learned: Go to Target and buy a $15 fleece blanket that is super warm, soft and won’t shrink!

With that said, here are some things to keep in mind if you are considering to DIY some things for your wedding:

1) Am I savvy? Do I like to put together crafty things?

2) Is this project doable? Can I finish it in time before the wedding?

3) Do I have family and friends who can help me? Always have a back-up plan but never take them for granted. (PLEASE take some time to read this entry I wrote a while back)

4) Who is going to help me transfer and set it up? I HIGHLY recommend that you hire at least a “Day of Coordinator” even if you are trying to save money.

With that said, I have seen beautiful interpretations of weddings on a budget. You can find so much inspirations by really breaking down the parts and looking at each element as a potential project. So for those that LIKE to get their hands a little dirty, I encourage you to think outside the box and go all out with your creativity!

Q & A Church Receptions

After reading the e-mail that Joyce sent me about her concerns about her upcoming church wedding I thought a lot of brides out there are concerned about the same things. Yes accommodating 300 guests on a tight budget is hard, but it does not mean you can’t be creative. Don’t let your space discourage you, in the end your guests are there to bless your marriage, not to check and tally up how you spent on your wedding right?
Q:
My name is Joyce and boy am I glad to have found you!
Firstly, thank you for your dedication. I am learning so much!
I do have a burning desire to get your advice on church weddings. If you don't mind, can I ask you for your opinion?
I will be having my wedding at my church fellowship hall. Not my dream wedding but because of the amount of people and our budget, its pretty much our only choice. Needless to say, I still battle with the choice being that it's far from what I ever dreamed of for my wedding.

Here are the problems:
There is this horrid carpet (orange). Its a gym. Luckily it's a big enough space to host 300 people.
We are planning on covering the walls with some sort of organza draping and accentuate it with lighting. This idea in itself will cost us an arm and leg. We would love to cover the orange carpet with some sort of flooring but covering the entire space will cost $$.
Basically we're going to spend mucho amount of money to transform the space from something other than a typical church gym. I do not want a typical church reception.

So my question is.... considering the budget roughly 25K with 300 people. How much of our budget for transforming the gym be too much?
I really really really am struggling with having a church reception... as much as I can, I want to transform that space so it doesnt feel like one. I just don't know how much is too much.. or if its even worth it.
I'm trying to find the balance between nice wedding and church wedding....
Please, can you blog more about church receptions??
Thank you thank you thank you....!!!

Savvy but confused,

Joyce

A:
To all the brides and to be brides who are planning a church reception, it’s not as bad as you think it is. I wanted to take some time and touch upon some concerns and hesitations people have when planning a church wedding and reception.
The carpet, yes, it may be an ugly orange or have a hideous pattern that doesn’t match your color scheme; but don’t worry when all of your tables and chairs are set up no one will notice the carpet. To accommodate a large church wedding guest list of 300 people you are going to need at least 28-30 tables, 1 large bridal party table or a sweet heart table, and about 8-10 6ft tables for the buffet line (assuming you are going to have a buffet). These table alone will fill the entire fellowship hall, no one will even notice the color of the carpet. Trust me.

However, here are some options that you may want to consider when you are thinking about “transforming” your church’s fellowship hall/gym into your reception site.

1. Linens- I think linens make a world of a difference in setting the tone and ambiance at your reception site. Satin linens will probably be the most cost efficient, they can run anywhere from $15- $20 (depending on your local rental company). You can accent the colors of your table linens with satin napkins as well. Napkins are about $.60 to $1.00 per napkin. For example, if you are having a deep purple and silver wedding, I would recommend using an eggplant table linen with silver/champagne/grey napkins.

2. Chairs- It is rare that a church can provide enough samsonite chairs for all of you guests; and renting chair covers with organza ribbons can look a little tacky too, so here are a couple suggestions. I would contact your local rental company and ask them for their rate on chairs. Chavari chairs can be costly(**UPDATE: they're now $5 dollars!!), so I would suggest renting white folding chairs (most of the time they will come in natural wood, black, or brown. They can cost about $2-$2.50 per chair.

3. Lighting- Uplights around the wall (of course, the color of your choice) and pin spot lighting to highlight the centerpieces on your tables can make a big difference. Lighting will also help create an atmosphere that will move away from your typical church wedding reception.

4. Design (GOBO) projection- This is basically a filter that is put in a light structure to make an image or shape. You have the option of personalizing these images and/or you can cover the wall OR ceiling with a pattern.

If you add lighting to your reception, it will definitely help create an ambiance for your guests to enjoy. I do think lighting is a better option than going crazy with flowers. But lighting alone can add $1K-$2K depending on how elaborate you want. I would get an estimate from a local vendor and see how much they would charge you first. Lighting isn’t the cheapest alternate.

One helpful tip, when you are looking around for vendors, look for a rental company that is capable of covering everything! From linens, chairs, to lighting, this way you can avoid being charged twice for set up and delivery fee.

Now with that said, how much is too much?

On average you should expect to spend about 10-15% of your overall wedding budget on the flowers. This will include the bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, and any ceremony and reception decor. While this is a good estimate, you can always DIY your own centerpieces and be creative. If you were to throw in lighting & linens, this will add another 10% of your total budget so make sure you sit down and calculate the total cost before you start looking for vendors.

Cost Cutting Tips

I came across this helpful cost cutting tips written by Angela of Lulu Events from Style Me Pretty and I thought I would share them with you today. Just because you're on a tight budget doesn't mean you can't have a creative, meaningful and tastful wedding.
1. Personalize, Personalize, Personalize – by creating a theme or sticking to a cohesive look you can make a wedding or event look very sophisticated with just a few ideas that guests will always remember. Prioritize what is important and spend the money there.
2. Identify your color palette and stick to it. Remember you always need an accent color. One main color and 2 accent colors are ideal.
3. Party Rentals - by selecting a colored or textured linen you get more bang for your buck than spending money on lots of colorful flowers on a white table cloth. The linen color will transform the space immediately and set the tone for your wedding reception.
4. Choose flowers that are in season and go for a monochromatic look, buying flowers in bulk is less expensive than buying many different types of flowers and my favorite trick is to incorporate fruit in to the centerpieces!
5. Choose a live musician for the ceremony and cocktail hour but nix the band and stick to a dj for the reception. It will save thousands of dollars. Just make sure to choose a play list that reflects the mood of the event and personality of the couple.
6. By booking a wedding venue off season or on Fridays /Sundays – wedding venues and vendors will likely give you discounts so you can save your money for a honeymoon splurge!
7. Consider hiring a wedding planner – we really are experts and our tips & ideas can save you time, money and get you discounts with vendors.
8. Select one signature cocktail for the cocktail hour such as a Bellini or Kir Royale that will be passed by the waiters and offer wine and beer only the rest of the evening. You will be amazed at the cost savings!
9. Minimize the guest list- do you really need to invite that neighbor that you pass thru the hall or your second cousin Vinny that lives across the country?
10. Skip the wedding favors (do we really need to see another Godiva chocolate at the place setting?), instead spend the money on a signature cocktail or a favor the guest will use during the course of the evening like a black and white photo booth!
11. Never ever try to skimp on a photographer- a talented photographer will capture memories that will last a lifetime!