Wedding Rip-Offs

Sizzler

So you have had your wedding or you are trying to organise it....is it a rip off? Is it accepted that you are going to get shafted and you just go along with it?!

I've had my eyes opened the last few months by checking stuff out and even though I prepared myself for surprises I've just experienced & heard some cracking tales already :eek:

Highlights include -

- We have to charge for a bar extension as we have to pay the barman for the night. (The fact that the hotel is going to make a few grand in bar sales obviously doesnt come into it?)
- We don't provide menu tasting. (So the food could be muck but thats tough luck).
- Non-refundable deposits (most places 2K)...so you put the cash down and basically have NO comeback if the hotel turns into a sh1thole / burns down or you find out they are hosting a hells angel event the same day.
- We don't allow you to use miniature drinks as wedding favors or we will charge you corkage on them. (FFS! A miniture whiskey or baileys is really going to lessen their bar sales for the day??)
- Variance in prices for the same thing...such as flowers. A friends colleague priced her wedding flowers (nothing too fancy, church bride / bridesmaids bouquets and the reception) Was quoted €3K by some place...went along with it then the penny dropped that it was a bit dear....got 2 more quotes for less than half the price! (I know it pays to shop around but people are clearly taking the p*ss!)
- Minimum numbers of 150 people ( A personal favourite of mine !) Some places wont even speak to you unless you have these numbers. Was planning to go and see a venue the other wee and the wedding co-ordinator said straight off "Have you got 150 people?" I was like no....a bit less than that! And she then says, I can let make a booking if you have it on a Tuesday or Weds and I'll drop the numbers to 130 ! Oh, how nice of you ! Like she was doing me a favour !!!!
- Restaurant menu prices significantly less than their wedding menu. (Another cracker! Was looking at a place online at the weekend and the in house restaurant looked superb and a fab menu cost €45 for 4 courses but yet their wedding menu cost nearly €70 a head for significantly lesser quality!) I know hotels have extra staff costs etc on the day but weddings are business they would have otherwise not had and should be embracing it and not taking the mick !
- Next years menu prices, add 10%. For what exactly? No reason whatsoever! At this rate we'll be looking at €100 a head for a wedding menu by 2011 ! I dont see menu prices going up by 10% every year in ANY of my local eateries but yet its fine in hotels when the word wedding is mentioned!

Bit of a rant folks but I'm sure there is countless stories that would keep Eddie Hobbs enough material to do another few shows ! Maybe he should have done a wedding show about ripping people off

Posted this more so to get a feel for what people are feeling when organising the big day and the challenges etc. Yeah I know theres ways to cut costs here and there but lets face it the big costs are simply unavoidable in Ireland!

Aquitaine

Getting married is an expensive business but like anything shop around and your going to get a better deal. deposits etc are common place - they are not just confined to wedding planning. there are costs to the hotel for a bar extension licence (although im sure they make some money out of it too)

Personally when planning our wedding we did our research and dont think we were ripped off for anything. if people are willing to pay high prices then suppliers will charge them.

Minimum numbers - i dont see a problem with this unless it is unusually high. at the end of the day the hotel needs to make a profit from the function

Das Kitty

I'm pretty happy with the prices I'm paying for things. Certain things are going to be a rip-off no matter how much shopping around you do (eg. Cake, Invites, Flowers) so we decided to do the Invites and flowers ourselves and saved a nice couple of grand. We did spend on the cake, but I don't mind too much as it's a delicious one and it'll do the after-party as well.

Got a good deal with the hotel as well and unlike your experience the food is a good €10 cheaper a head than the restaurant. We even managed to get the corkage down a bit.

heavyheart

OUr hotel isnt charging corkage but for every 2 bottles of wine i bring in i have to bring in one for the house ... this can actually work out MORE expensive depending on wine ! And i was really annoyed to find out that the chair covers werent included !! They really no how to make money out of us ...

Sizzler

Aquitaine wrote: »

Getting married is an expensive business but like anything shop around and your going to get a better deal. deposits etc are common place - they are not just confined to wedding planning. there are costs to the hotel for a bar extension licence (although im sure they make some money out of it too)

Dont agree with this. Some places try and charge it and some places don't as they know its unreasonable and will make a few quid on the bar anyway. Its sharp practice passing it onto the customer in my opinion. If enough people told them to sod off I bet the hotels that do try and charge it would soon drop it. At the end of the day the bar extension is a cost for doing business!

Aquitaine wrote: »

Personally when planning our wedding we did our research and dont think we were ripped off for anything. if people are willing to pay high prices then suppliers will charge them.

Couldnt agree more

Aquitaine wrote: »

Minimum numbers - i dont see a problem with this unless it is unusually high. at the end of the day the hotel needs to make a profit from the function

150 is pretty high ! I know weddings of 220 etc isnt unheard of but hotels with 150 + requirements are alienating themselves, no? And regardless of size they will make a profit dont you worry.

kmick

Yeah its expensive alright but there are other options. Get married abroad? Rent a marquee and a caterer? Small wedding in fancy restaurant. Demand is greater than supply as regards good venues go and when that is the case the buyer can expect to pay through the nose. I cant recommend our hotel The Dunraven Arms in Adare enough though. They explained all costs and I never felt ripped off. We go back there every year for our anniversary and before anyone asks Im not related to the owner. In fact I would prefer you didnt go so it never gets as busy as some hotels.

Grawns

Avoid getting ripped off by being sensible

IMO chair covers are a daft waste of money. They make the room look nice when it's empty but who notices when people are sitting down?

Wedding favours on table are another waste. People don't care about that stuff.

Corkage is fair enough and at least you can source some decent wine for your guest.

Marks and Spencer cake was less than €200 and was delicious ( if you like fruit cake)

Got a friend to take the photos

Got a cousin to make the video

Got a friend and an aunt to do the flowers. One did church, one did bridal party. Bought €200 worth of flowers in Smithfield flower market. They box them for you and wheel them to your car.

Got simple invites and am making the thank you cards. €9 for a box of €25 blank cards and envelopes in PC world.

There are loads of ways to save. Just remember not to economize on the food, the drink and the entertainment!

microgirl

Grawns wrote: »

IMO chair covers are a daft waste of money. They make the room look nice when it's empty but who notices when people are sitting down?

Unfortunately you then run the risk of the chairs being dirty and stained. The reason hotels and restaurants use chair covers is not purely to make things "look nice" but to prevent damage to the upholstery, which is an awful lot more difficult and expensive to clean or replace than the covers are.

heavyheart

Chair covers... im trying to see if another hotel will rent them to me externally for much cheaper rate as i have friend working in hotel business if not im gonna go without, hardly no one remembers whether you had them or not anyway ...

Grawns

microgirl wrote: »

Unfortunately you then run the risk of the chairs being dirty and stained. The reason hotels and restaurants use chair covers is not purely to make things "look nice" but to prevent damage to the upholstery, which is an awful lot more difficult and expensive to clean or replace than the covers are.

Hello? Where did you hear this. If the chairs were dirty or stained the hotel would have to provide free chair covers or buy new chairs. Otherwise their would be complaints aplenty to TAMS ( look it up) I've never heard of one. They are purely decorative and a pure waste of money. One person got them once and now everyone thinks they're necessary. What a laugh!

Grawns

Just read that back, sorry if snippy

DJ_Spider

I have noticed a huge differance in prices for weddings here in comparison to the UK. What gets me is the price the bands charge! :eek: If I do the entertainment, I usually charge a little more than usual as most of the time I have to do more work! I.E. set up the first dance, introduce the songs, wait for the bouquet to be thrown etc. Also it is usually longer than a normal birthday or pub gig.

I did do a wedding a while ago and felt really bad for the bride & groom. They called me and said there would be about 150 people, that's grand said me. Anyway they paid a deposit and then said after a couple of months that because of personal problems they weren't having a dj. Then they had a re-think and said they would scale it down to about 50/60 people.

I got to the hotel early and set up then went for something to eat in the carvery. I could see the bridal party having thier meal and made sure I was in the room before them. When they came in there was only about 20 people. I started playing the songs they wanted for the kids, then did thier first dance. At about 10pm there was only 10 people, and they said more would be coming later.

Well 11:30pm came and there was 8! I had so much free time as the bride & groom said just put on our playlist and leave it playing. No-one wants to dance we just want to talk! Who was I to complain, they were still happy, but I bet the phonelines were hot the next day! :eek:

faceman

We dont complain in enough in ireland and we dont demand enough to make suppliers work for our business.

Weddings seem to be one thing where people are willing to accept the unacceptable!

Das Kitty

Weddings seem to be one thing where people are willing to accept the unacceptable!

No they're not!

No one shops around in this country. It's mad.

Last Saturday I saw the same game in 4 different shops with prices from 30 to 75! The shops are all within a 200yard radius. Yet people will pay the higher price just because it's the first place they saw it.

I'm a big advocate of shopping around. I never buy anything in the first place I see it. I'll check other stockists and online before I part with my cash, this has transferred to my wedding as well and I really feel like I've got the best price on pretty much everything I've booked.

There's no better way of complaining than not giving someone your custom IMO.

Aquitaine

Das Kitty wrote: »

No they're not!

No one shops around in this country. It's mad.

Last Saturday I saw the same game in 4 different shops with prices from 30 to 75! The shops are all within a 200yard radius. Yet people will pay the higher price just because it's the first place they saw it.

I'm a big advocate of shopping around. I never buy anything in the first place I see it. I'll check other stockists and online before I part with my cash, this has transferred to my wedding as well and I really feel like I've got the best price on pretty much everything I've booked.

There's no better way of complaining than not giving someone your custom IMO.

Absolutely agree. unfortunately there is a certain mentality in Ireland, particularly when it comes to weddings that the more money it costs the bigger and better its going to be. its really quite shocking. We only have ourselves to blame to some extent.

Noelie

Aquitaine wrote: »

Absolutely agree. unfortunately there is a certain mentality in Ireland, particularly when it comes to weddings that the more money it costs the bigger and better its going to be. its really quite shocking. We only have ourselves to blame to some extent.

Agreed, i'm planning my wedding now and my OH wnet to look at flowers she came back saying it would be €600, I thought that didn't seem too bad untill i looked at was was included. no church flowers, I said it was a bit pricy for what we were getting and the OH said well we're going with them. Any way after an arguement I said we would be shopping around, we went to our local florwist and they were over €150 cheaper, and i still want to look around.

My point is if i had no interest in the planning of the wedding i would have just said fine with the first quote and that would have been that, my g/f had no interest in shopping around for anything cheaper and i doubt she is the only person like that.

Noelie

DJ_Spider wrote: »

I have noticed a huge differance in prices for weddings here in comparison to the UK. What gets me is the price the bands charge! :eek: If I do the entertainment, I usually charge a little more than usual as most of the time I have to do more work! I.E. set up the first dance, introduce the songs, wait for the bouquet to be thrown etc. Also it is usually longer than a normal birthday or pub gig.

Are you having a laugh, you charge extra because you have to stop working while the bouquet is thrown.

iguana

faceman wrote: »

We dont complain in enough in ireland and we dont demand enough to make suppliers work for our business.

Weddings seem to be one thing where people are willing to accept the unacceptable!

That's pretty true. At the dinner of the wedding of a friend one of our other friends took a mouthful of mashed potato and ended up with her mouth cut from a piece of broken crockery in the potato. Her husband quietly informed the management as he was worried there might be more smashed crockery in other people's food. The manager took the piece of crockery off him and went away saying nothing. My friend's were both pi$$ed off and concerned but decided to say nothing so as not to upset the couple getting married. If that happened in a normal restaurant most people would kick up a fuss, and would be offered free drinks at a minimum.

DublinWriter

DJ_Spider wrote: »

I have noticed a huge differance in prices for weddings here in comparison to the UK. What gets me is the price the bands charge! :eek: If I do the entertainment, I usually charge a little more than usual as most of the time I have to do more work! I.E. set up the first dance, introduce the songs, wait for the bouquet to be thrown etc. Also it is usually longer than a normal birthday or pub gig.

I'd have to disagree with you as someone who played in wedding bands up until very recently.

When I was gigging, usually we'd go on from say 10.00 to 12.00 and play two sets with a 20 minute break in the middle. One of the guys in the band would normally do all the MC-stuff as the first dance would be the first song of the second set.

You saying that you have to charge more because you "do more work! I.E. set up the first dance, introduce the songs, wait for the bouquet to be thrown etc." is laughable and is symbolic of the rip-off attitude that most service-providers have when it comes to doing wedding work.

I personally wouldn't get married in this country and pay €30K+ for a 'hang-sangwich' wedding.

Aquitaine

DublinWriter wrote: »

I personally wouldn't get married in this country and pay €30K+ for a 'hang-sangwich' wedding.

But thats the point - you dont need to! as someone married within the last year i know that it doesnt have to cost €30K for a great wedding. we didnt skimp on anything but we had an absolutely fantastic day. this whole idea that its too expensive to get married in ireland is a joke. normally people who go away to get married have a very very different wedding than one they would have had in Ireland. for example they dont have the big reception - its normally a dinner in a restaurant. of course its going to be cheaper but you can do this in ireland too.

Dont get me wrong getting married is a costly business but if people keep their senses about them alot of the expense can be kept down

sweetie

DublinWriter wrote: »

I'd have to disagree with you as someone who played in wedding bands up until very recently.

When I was gigging, usually we'd go on from say 10.00 to 12.00 and play two sets with a 20 minute break in the middle. One of the guys in the band would normally do all the MC-stuff as the first dance would be the first song of the second set.

You saying that you have to charge more because you "do more work! I.E. set up the first dance, introduce the songs, wait for the bouquet to be thrown etc." is laughable and is symbolic of the rip-off attitude that most service-providers have when it comes to doing wedding work.

I personally wouldn't get married in this country and pay €30K+ for a 'hang-sangwich' wedding.

That's a bit 'pot calling the kettle black.' Everyone knows how much bands cost today and if you can get a decent one for less than a grand, well done. A dj for half that price or less will play for 5 to 6 hours and can be just as much entertainement. I'm sure you're band were very good and professional and charged the same rate whether it was 40th birthday or a wedding but the fact is that a wedding is a more difficult gig, more involved (mic work, playing the bride and grooms requests that are not always the best choice) and longer than the usual dj gigs and I'm sure you'll find Dj spider's prices are very reasonable.

DublinWriter

sweetie wrote: »

That's a bit 'pot calling the kettle black.' Everyone knows how much bands cost today and if you can get a decent one for less than a grand, well done. A dj for half that price or less will play for 5 to 6 hours and can be just as much entertainement. I'm sure you're band were very good and professional and charged the same rate whether it was 40th birthday or a wedding but the fact is that a wedding is a more difficult gig, more involved (mic work, playing the bride and grooms requests that are not always the best choice) and longer than the usual dj gigs and I'm sure you'll find Dj spider's prices are very reasonable.

We only played weddings.

I'm not putting down DJs, but bands cost more because (a) there's more of us, typically there were between 4-5 guys on any given night and (b) being a musician requires a lot more skill and craftsmanship than being a DJ.

As you say, a band costs twice as much as a DJ, and the average fee is €1,000. That's €1,000 split 4-5 ways with a hell of a lot more gear and skill in-tow while a DJ will make twice as much as me individually.

You can't beat the buzz of a good live band, full stop, end of.

growler

chair covers: total waste of money, i laughed when they said what they wanted to charge for them, so they gave them to me free.

flowers: went to 7 florists and ended up savings 45% on the original price, daft.

corkage, i don't mind, you work out whether the wine they serve is acceptabtle or whether you can buy better elsewhere and pay the corkage, shopped around bought my own vino paid the corkage saved about 5 euro per bottle. and now have 27 bottles of red in the garage. :-) . A large order can make the buying it yourself option better.


As for not giving a sample menu / meal , thats just crazy, tell them to get lost.


Personally I find the photographers a bloddy rip off, wanting to charge for other prints of your wedding etc. what a liberty, after charging your a day rate even Bertie would blush at.

Abi

growler wrote: »

chair covers: total waste of money, i laughed when they said what they wanted to charge for them.

Me too, they will happily dwindle your money away if you sit there assuming anything they say is the norm.

growler wrote: »

flowers: went to 7 florists and ended up savings 45% on the original price, daft. .

The church has its own flowers, most half-decent venues have their own. Im getting myself and my sister (bridesmaid) a small bouquet and a few lapels. that is it.

growler wrote: »

corkage, i don't mind, you work out whether the wine they serve is acceptabtle or whether you can buy better elsewhere and pay the corkage, shopped around bought my own vino paid the corkage saved about 5 euro per bottle. .

We bought our own too. A friend of the family is Italian, he brought in the wine. €10 corkage per bottle of wine and €15 for sparling wine and champers p*sses me off, but it works out cheaper than their over-priced acid-in-a-bottle.

growler wrote: »

Personally I find the photographers a bloddy rip off .. after charging your a day rate even Bertie would blush at.

Agreed, and lol! Thankfully we know someone who will do the job and knock off a few quid.

I'm getting married this summer. There is going to be 30 people at mine, direct family only, no kids at the wedding either, bar my own, and have to bring them!

They aren't getting a band or a DJ, seems rediculous for such a small amount of people.

What I had mind here was, the more add-ons and fuss I put in the mix, the less we would enjoy the day. Yes, you only get married once etc., but Im not going to spend the next 5+yrs paying for it.

/rant over :pac:

warrenaldo

For our wedding we have decided to NOT go for a band. We(She) is happy enough just to get a dj - does anyone have any experience of this?
Is getting a band a MUST?

Also we have not really been majorly ripped off. hotel, dress, cars, photographer and band the main expenses.

greenkittie

Tbh i have no idea why anyone would hire a crap totally over priced wedding band. They generally play awful music and will only have a limited selection of songs they can play, generally tacky crap that no one with any taste wants to hear!

A DJ seems more practical but i dont overly see the point seeing as with technology these days you can just make a big mp3 playlist of exactly the music you love then hire a good sound system and lights and press the play button!

DJ_Spider

greenkittie wrote: »

Tbh i have no idea why anyone would hire a crap totally over priced wedding band. They generally play awful music and will only have a limited selection of songs they can play, generally tacky crap that no one with any taste wants to hear!

A DJ seems more practical but i dont overly see the point seeing as with technology these days you can just make a big mp3 playlist of exactly the music you love then hire a good sound system and lights and press the play button!

But what about doing the first dance, informing people of other events like someone's birthday etc? I have over 23,000 songs from the 40's to today, traditional Irish, country & western, and even showbands. I always ask people to supply me with a list of songs they would like, and always play them.

Also the interaction of a good DJ to get people involved in the silly songs like Amarillo, daydream believer etc makes a wedding more fun. There are always a few people who don't really get on with eachother due to family disagreements, and music is a good way for them to put aside thier differences.

Oh thanks for the support Sweetie It's nice when another DJ says you are good! I've herad good reports from your clients as well, nice to see. :cool:

growler

DJ_Spider wrote: »

But what about doing the first dance, informing people of other events like someone's birthday etc? I have over 23,000 songs from the 40's to today, traditional Irish, country & western, and even showbands. I always ask people to supply me with a list of songs they would like, and always play them.

Also the interaction of a good DJ to get people involved in the silly songs like Amarillo, daydream believer etc makes a wedding more fun. There are always a few people who don't really get on with eachother due to family disagreements, and music is a good way for them to put aside thier differences.

Oh thanks for the support Sweetie It's nice when another DJ says you are good! I've herad good reports from your clients as well, nice to see. :cool:

no offence, but i couldn't care less who's birthday it may have been if they want requests call larry gogan, nor would i have wanted anything like amarillo played at my wedding, family feuds make it interesting let booze sort it out / not :-)

DJ_Spider

Growler, no offence but what YOU want and what someone else wants is the whole point of having a consultation and playlist. Just my opinion, may differ from yours, but that's what makes us different.

Das Kitty

Can I just say, I've taken offence regardless of the "No Offence" at the start of your post.

Daydream Believer is not a silly song.

But I agree, Amarillo is.

Biro

@OP - I'd not bother with that hotel if I were you, not giving you a taste of the food is a scandal. There are plenty more hotels out there, even if you have to drive 30 more miles to find one. But make sure you do tell them that you're leaving them because of the joke of a service that they are over charging for, otherwise they'll never learn.
Also, was talking to a guy before about the bar extension. Apparently they need it by law to serve late, and need to get one signed off for each wedding. So he told them that fair enough, he'd pay for it, but only after they showed him the extension. They never showed it to him (cause most of them chance it and don't get one, cause no Guard would come in and raid a wedding), and therefore they never charged him for it! They won't stop serving drink either, as they're making too much money from the bar.
So anyone who pays for an extension, look for proof.

hot fuss

To whoever asked about not getting a band and just having a dj.. I've been to weddings where there is just a dj and they've been great fun.

Personally getting a really good band was something I wanted and we decided to save elsewhere and splash out on a band. To this day I am delighted we did because they were amazing and everyone was talking about them after it.. Live music rocks!

Saying that though I've been to weddings where the band is so awful they would have been better off sticking on a Rolf Harris CD, so it all depends on the quality of the band..

DublinWriter

Abigayle wrote: »

The church has its own flowers, most half-decent venues have their own. Im getting myself and my sister (bridesmaid) a small bouquet and a few lapels. that is it.

I wouldn't assume that at all.

My late-Mum was a florist and used to specialise in decking out churches for weddings. If you book the church, don't expect flowers to be miraciously there on the day if you haven't made prior arrangements.

greenkittie

DJ_Spider wrote: »

Also the interaction of a good DJ to get people involved in the silly songs like Amarillo, daydream believer etc makes a wedding more fun.

Thats not what makes the wedding more fun, its what makes it more tacky!

Abi

DublinWriter wrote: »

I wouldn't assume that at all.

My late-Mum was a florist and used to specialise in decking out churches for weddings. If you book the church, don't expect flowers to be miraciously there on the day if you haven't made prior arrangements.

Thanks for pointing that out, you are right. I enquired about the church and the venue, and thankfully there will be on both counts. But it is something to look into if you are on a tight budget, no harm in asking.

chigli

Having recently gotten married, I had to reply to this one.
I think the most important thing for guests is good food and good music and a couple of drinks. It is worth spending as much as you can afford on a good band and a good menu and ensuring a couple of drinks for everyone.

1) Flowers -> Church & bouquets & button-holes came to about 550. They were great quality. She was local & I heard about her through a friend. Well worth asking around anyone you know who have gotten married.
2) same for cake - beautiful cake - 2 chocolate biscuit & fruit cake layers for 320 euro

3) Chair covers & back-drops are a total waste - I nearly fell for it, but in the end, I looked at what that money could buy on the honeymoon & felt it was better spent there. No one will ever miss them.

4) I got my invitations from Lantz & it was about 360 - but took the hassle out of having to do them myself. Printed up my own wedding booklets. Anything that saves your time (and nerves) is well worth it!

5) Do shop around around for photographers - I think I paid too much for the one I got & didn't think the pictures were totally worth it.
Would get a video though - you forget the day so quickly, so it is worth having something to remember it by. Keep away from videograhers who charge for extra

6) I can't stress enough the value of having a good band. I had a great band and the floor was packed the whole time they were on. They were expensive but in hindsight, well worth the money.

Its all about shopping around - get as many quotes as you possibly can.

Sizzler

chigli wrote: »

Having recently gotten married, I had to reply to this one.
I think the most important thing for guests is good food and good music and a couple of drinks. It is worth spending as much as you can afford on a good band and a good menu and ensuring a couple of drinks for everyone.

1) Flowers -> Church & bouquets & button-holes came to about 550. They were great quality. She was local & I heard about her through a friend. Well worth asking around anyone you know who have gotten married.
2) same for cake - beautiful cake - 2 chocolate biscuit & fruit cake layers for 320 euro

3) Chair covers & back-drops are a total waste - I nearly fell for it, but in the end, I looked at what that money could buy on the honeymoon & felt it was better spent there. No one will ever miss them.

4) I got my invitations from Lantz & it was about 360 - but took the hassle out of having to do them myself. Printed up my own wedding booklets. Anything that saves your time (and nerves) is well worth it!

5) Do shop around around for photographers - I think I paid too much for the one I got & didn't think the pictures were totally worth it.
Would get a video though - you forget the day so quickly, so it is worth having something to remember it by. Keep away from videograhers who charge for extra

6) I can't stress enough the value of having a good band. I had a great band and the floor was packed the whole time they were on. They were expensive but in hindsight, well worth the money.

Its all about shopping around - get as many quotes as you possibly can.

Thats fair enough mate but the point is the ridiculous nature of some of the charges that places try and charge. Its fair enough trying to shop around for the likes of stationary and flowers but there are some things you just cant do anything on because its almost like a cartel.

Explain to me why a hotel needs to charge for a bar extension? Why their wedding menu of mass produced standard fayre is €20-€25 dearer than a head than their in house restaurant (which invariably is of a better standard!).
Just two examples!

faceman

Re photographers heres a tip when choosing one. Ask to see a full set of 1 wedding photos instead of just his/her portfolia. They obviously put a selection of their best in their portfolia.

Re invitations if you have the software id be keen to them myself.

Sizzler

faceman wrote: »

Re photographers heres a tip when choosing one. Ask to see a full set of 1 wedding photos instead of just his/her portfolia. They obviously put a selection of their best in their portfolia.

Re invitations if you have the software id be keen to them myself.

Good point on the photographers. Also find a photorapher that will give you the full suite of work from the day on CD for a reasonable price so you dont get shafted on 'extra' prints.

No reason in this day and age to go and spend hundreds of euros on wedding invites, plenty of places online that do it for fcuk all.

foxy06

I bought my invites in the 2 euro shop because to be honest i dont give a
f*ck! I am spending the money on drinks instead. 300 euro for invites is a joke!

DJ_Spider

foxy06 wrote: »

I bought my invites in the 2 euro shop because to be honest i dont give a
f*ck! I am spending the money on drinks instead. 300 euro for invites is a joke!

+1 for this! I would do the same, I mean who keeps a wedding invite after a wedding anyways?

Sizzler

Posted this in the savings sticky but thought it would also be worth dropping here Excellent podcast imo.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/rabodirect/RaboDirect-jill_kerby_wedding_day_blues.mp3

Das Kitty

DJ_Spider wrote: »

+1 for this! I would do the same, I mean who keeps a wedding invite after a wedding anyways?

me

iguana

DJ_Spider wrote: »

+1 for this! I would do the same, I mean who keeps a wedding invite after a wedding anyways?

I went one further and just told people or sent emails.

racer55

1) Flowers -> Church & bouquets & button-holes came to about 550. They were great quality. She was local & I heard about her through a friend. Well worth asking around anyone you know who have gotten married.

€550 just for church, bouquets and button holes?!! I am looking to do a wedding on as low a budget as possible.. with the credit crunch we're only looking for basic flowers and reception do. if anyone has any tips it'd be really appreciated~!!!

chauffeur

racer55 wrote: »

€550 just for church, bouquets and button holes?!! I am looking to do a wedding on as low a budget as possible.. with the credit crunch we're only looking for basic flowers and reception do. if anyone has any tips it'd be really appreciated~!!!

€550 seems like a reasonable price for wedding flowers. I do cars for weddings and have spoken to enough couples in my years to know wedding prices can vary!! but for flowers, that seems pretty cheap.

implausible

Sounds about right alright, if you consider that the bride's bouquet costs up on €100 and the altar centre piece can be €150. They do go mad when they hear the W word; an ordinary bouquet is way cheaper than the same thing with the word 'bridal' in front of it.

MJOR

Ok we aren't having a wedding car my brother is driving us in his car ad sticking a few ribbons on it.

We are skipping the band and having a DJ for the night

We are not having a traditional wedding cake.

We are getting married at christmas and are having no church or venue flowers just lapels and bouquets

The majority of our money is going on great food and wine!! The venue we are using doesn't do corkage but their wines are reasonable enough

DotOrg

growler wrote: »

Personally I find the photographers a bloddy rip off, wanting to charge for other prints of your wedding etc. what a liberty, after charging your a day rate even Bertie would blush at.

that is the old traditional way when photographers shot on medium format film and were the best people to get your prints done properly.

In these digital days, I don't think anybody should book a photographer who doesn't hand over the hi-res photos at the end of the wedding. Loads of photographers do this and you just have to look around for somebody who understands the way people view their photos today

forbairt

(got married in france)

In a chateau with a marquee tent

Got the DJ .. and it was well worth it for party games / intros / the extra songs / floating mike / requests and the cheese factor not to mention lighting and sound system.

Got 4 cakes from the local bakery ( black forest gateau... strawberry something and so on) I think my father is one of the few people I know who likes wedding cake

Caterer was pricey enough and we shopped around but went on the recommendations of others and the food was excellent

My experience with weddings in ireland is that they throw the food out to you munch munch and they are ripping the plates away from you again. That said I've not been to that many Irish weddings. In france I think the whole meal took give or take 3 - 4 hours

We decided to not go the route of getting a bar / barman ... instead we let people help themselves and it worked out nicely. (Not entirely sure how that'd work out in ireland ) Given that we had a good bit of alcohol left over afterwards I'd assume people were happy enough. Also given the price of a bottle of vodka / gin / whiskey in France vrs here ...

We couldn't have afforded to do a free bar in Ireland but 150 - 300 quid in france meant everyone was well happy

Flowers we spent a bit on (for church / tent)

Car again we looked into ... and it was kinda a bit pricey for effectively 15 minutes work (though I realize they'd have to wait around and so on) ... in the end family had a rental for the few days so we just used that (nothing special)

Neverwhere

oh god, im planning my wedding at the moment...and the prices of things are absoloutely ridiculous.

I agree that the minimum of 150 guests is insane, especially with the way they charge per head for food!

I'm cutting down on my costs by being creative. I'm getting a friend to marry me and my fiance and using a church i attend, so really cheap prices there.

I have a lot of talented friends (some are proffesionals) so i have wedding music, photographer and DJ for reception covered.

I'm doing a lot of things myself, which allows me quality time with the people I love. My gradnmother and I are going to make the wedding invites. A friend and I are going to do the flower arrangements.
My father is italian, so I'm going to see if he can do the main course and my mother and I can sort out finger food and salads. My mom is amazing at make and decorating cakes, so 'm going to see if we can design something together....

I think the personal feel to it will malke the day so much more special.