Balance - Wedding Budget Blues

Let's think about what goes into your wedding budget. Your caterer/banquet facility will get the lion's share of it. If you are having 150 guests (an average number) and the banquet facility charges $100 pp. (typical high-end facility in New England area - including gratuity, tax, hidden fees) - that works out to $15,000 right off the top. If you have it and want to spend it - great. If you are trying to stretch your wedding dollars, then you really need to step back. Many couples get so caught up in the facility that they spend all their budget on it and don't have enough left over for quality entertainment or wedding photos.

If you took that same 150 guests and found a facility that only cost $75 pp, you now have an additional $4,000 that you can spend on your photographer and disc jockey. Why? When you walk away from your reception - if the music was a disaster - the entire event is a disaster. If you don't have quality wedding photos to cherish for years to come, it will just fade in your memory. The reality is - if the view wasn't so great at the facility and the food was just ok - people will not care as long as they had a great time. Think about that before you spend your entire wedding budget on the facility and run out of money for everything else. There needs to be a balance in your wedding budget.

In the New England Area average pricing for a quality disc jockey ranges between $1000-$1500. For a quality professional photographer, you should expect to spend at least $2,500-$4,000. Believe me, you will know the difference if you hire below this range.

Rob Alberti
After Hours DJ Service
http://www.afterhoursdj.net

In The News:

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The Associated Press
Eloping to Vegas? Why Not Lower Manhattan?
New York Times, United States - Jan 7, 2009
“With these new digs, there might just be a new world wedding capital.” The city clerk’s office issued 66600 marriage licenses 2007 and performed about ...
Manhattan's new Marriage Bureau earns wows as a place to say your vows New York Daily News
NY hears wedding bells, aims to compete with Vegas The Associated Press
Wedding Bells Ring In NYC Marriage Bureau WNYC
Downtown Express - Gothamistall 254 news articles

Washington Post
‘Bride Wars’ is a failed marriage | 1 ½ stars
Kansas City Star, MO - 11 hours ago
And their mutual friends will have to decide which wedding to attend. All would be well if only one of them would cancel (or if they would agree to a double ...
Video: Ann Hathaway's Stellar Year CBS
Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are funny allies Los Angeles Times
Two Weddings and a Furor New York Times
Tampa Tribune - Washington Postall 725 news articles

New York Times
Movie review: Cliches nag 'Not Easily Broken'
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 4 hours ago
The opening wedding scene in the new Bill Duke film, "Not Easily Broken" is so overwrought and cliched, it's akin to sitting down with a promising novel, ...
Not Easily Broken ( ** ) AHN
Movie Review: ‘Not Easily Broken’ is a romantic soap opera that ... Providence Journal
» Inspirational drama anything but 'Broken' Chicago Daily Herald
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Kansas City Starall 64 news articles

FOR FAMILIES: A guide for parents to Jan. 9 and earlier releases
Chicago Tribune, United States - 9 hours ago
By Roger Moore | Tribune Newspapers What it's about: Best friends become dueling brides when they both book the wedding they've always dreamed of in the ...

Wedding war: Las Vegas versus New York
KVBC, NV - 7 hours ago
The city has renovated it marriage bureau and even built a 24000-square-foot wedding complex with the hope of becoming the most popular wedding site. ...

Wearing white and eating cake, Brides magazine turns 75
The Canadian Press, NEW YORK - 19 hours ago
"The magazine is realistic about how people's lives are today, but still the focus is how to have a successful wedding and start a healthy marriage," says ...

New York Magazine
City to Make Your Shotgun Marriage Just That Much Nicer
New York Magazine,  USA - Jan 7, 2009
Photo: Getty Images Perhaps sensing the economic downturn (and having eventually watched the Sex and the City movie), the city spruced up its civil-wedding ...

MLive.com
Bay County gets older, refrains from marriage, likes guns ...
MLive.com, MI - 17 hours ago
Luczak said economics could be partly to blame, as young couples struggling to get a foothold in life may be putting off the expense of a wedding.

MSNBC
Couple goes from divorce to 'I Do Again'
MSNBC - 11 hours ago
Cheryl and Jeff Scruggs, founders of Hope Marriage Ministries, recount the slow destruction of their relationship, which ended in divorce. ...

KHOU
Houston wedding show could help brides on a budget
KHOU, TX - Jan 7, 2009
“I refuse to go into this marriage in debt, “ says Ashley. “That's no way to start out.” -- Watch the flowers. All those arrangements can quickly add up. ...

marriage wedding - Google News

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