Yep. Photography/videography can be a huge % of the budget.
The reception hall’s gratuity was a big % as well. We paid 21% as well as an additional 4% to the head chef and the head person (I forget the term).
def good luck with everything! its nice once you get everything booked! all we have left are tuxes!
Holy freaking coincidence. We definitely have no financial commitment but that may cause some problems… we have all 120 guests traveling (mostly from NY) and we’ll need a good 40-50 rooms. However each hotel would only give us up to 20 rooms with out a financial commitment.
and people are nuts, you’re absolutely right about picking a budget and sticking to it. My fiancee’s parents are pretty much footing the whole bill but they gave us a number to work within. Whenever I put my foot down and say: we don’t want that, we don’t need that, we can’t afford that, they say oh that’s a gift its not part of the budget. That’s incredibly nice and all, but as two kids fresh out of college I’d rather have a small manageable wedding as opposed to spending spree.
A spending spree isn’t too bad when I’m not paying for it, but now I’m told I have to foot the bill for the honeymoon… it makes no sense. :banghead
At least I made it clear no videographer. I don’t want to see my drunken family on tape. Ever.
It sounds like we are dealing with the same issues. First of all, find out the hotels in the area with the largest # of rooms. They will be more willing to give you more rooms. I got such as good deal that I only dealt with one but perhaps you might want to give a variety for whatever reason (location, price, etc.). Regardless, you deal with the same way. If you need more rooms, ask if you can change the cut-off date from 30 days to 45 or 60 if they would be willing to give you more. As you fill your block (ie. 14 out of 20), ask that you are refilled to another 20 as you already filled 14. Try to work a combination of that and the cut-off date. Obviously your family/wedding party will be using some rooms right? Tell them you will book X number of rooms right away but that shouldn’t affect your block. For us, we did 15 on Saturday and 15 on Sunday but that didn’t go towards our block. It didn’t matter because Crystal is an excellent negotiater but the goal is to get as many rooms. It’s a shame to use up 50-75% on your wedding party and then need more and deal with it.
So, ask for the wedding party right up front. If that’s 10, then the 20 they give you is 30. You are about 10-20 away from what they already give you. Ask if you can get another 10-20 (or whatever you need) when you reach X. Talk to OTHER family/friends and get them to fill that real quick if you can.
We have no help except Crystal’s mom is paying for the dress. Very generous. You are lucky to have that help and respectful given you don’t want to run up the tab.
It’s tough when someone else is paying because you need to consult them. The only thing I can say is that it is YOUR wedding and that you need to make sure you don’t get pushed into anything you don’t want regardless of who’s paying for it. Sure, listen to their input given they are putting up the dough but ultimately you don’t want regrets.
Look for all-inclusive. Also, be careful of these exotic places where you have to exchange. The dollar sucks. Tahiti is is popular but uses XPF currency which is like 40% more than the USD. So, you just lost 40%.
At least I made it clear no videographer. I don’t want to see my drunken family on tape. Ever.[/quote]
They can clean that up. 
At the very least, get someone to video tape the ceremony.
Holy crap that’s insane, but if it’s what both of you really want then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. Congrats to both of you!
When my wife and I got married we both wanted and agreed apon having a nice but simple wedding. We had our wedding outdoors at the Yado gardens in Sratoga(absolute beautiful day) and had the reception at a local itialian restaurant that catered to wedding parties. Still had some ~120 people attend and with everything paid for in cash we were out the door for under $1500(price of rings and honeymoon not included there) and that included a $200 donation to the gardens. Extremely cheap, but again what we wanted and were looking for with our wedding. I know people that have spent close to 100K on theirs, but again it’s what they wanted so one can’t look down upon it when all is considered.
Best wishes to both of you!
-Adam Hennessy
So I take it all shift members are invited?
Thank you.
Laugh. It’s 99% family. I only inviting a few close friends. But, one is on this forum.
Stopped by the limo place and they brought the Hummer over for me to see:
we reserved the 16 person 2010 escalade for ours… how are prices there? how many ppl does the hummer fit?
That seats 20-24. Honestly, the “seats” is complete BS. It probably does 16-18 people tightly. It’s 200-220" long. I forget which. We have the double axle hummer here as well and it’s unreal. JayZ, Beyonce, and Busta were in the one we looked at.
Prices are widely ranging from $100-$200 an hour depending on the limo you get. Most SUV limos are like $800-$1K for 4-5 hours. It’s ridiculous. That’s before tip/tax.
I got that Hummer for 5 hours, 2 14PPL vans for 1 hour before/after, and a town car to JFK for $1100. About $1K or so cheaper than the next place. I negotiate well. 
yeah thats a damn good price!
Congrats… and the top hat and the cane can get worked in, if you do it right and it’ll look hot. 
Yea, it was the hardest negotiating I had to do. Those companies are a pain in the ass to deal with.
I think I will suffer serious backlash if I do it.
Aww!!! 
No fun.
so… results?
LoL Right… we heard all about this wedding in the making, now we want pictures!!
Of mine? Another year.
Ironically, she just got filmed in Manhattan for some wedding thing. I dunno much details nor do I want to.
Most of major details are done.
99% sure of Italy for 2-3 weeks for honeymoon.
2-3 weeks??? thats sweeeet
Yea, given the cost and time to get overseas, 1 week is just not worth it at all. I am taking off 4-5 weeks for the wedding actually.
Going to AC with the boys to catch a fight. Yankee Stadium for a game. A lot of relaxation before/after. I am going to enjoy it.