Can anyone help me out with my wedding budget?

piglet25

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Piglet was rude to krustylouise I actually agree, it was a pretty rude post!

HBS x

Piglet wasn't rude, the suggestion that the bottom line for flowers (£100) would pay for a florist to provide the wedding party flowers plus then asking the florist to throw in thank you bouquets as well was rude.
I think that part of the reason that people perceive florists as expensive is because the vast majority of the population don't go into florists shops and see the quality vs the supermarket flowers. The grades, age and specification of supermarket flowers is no where near as high as a florists, and to give you an example of this - a well known super market was selling chrysanthemum bunches with five stems in over Mothers Day weekend, they were 40 cm long. My wholesaler was selling them to florists for £3.60 PLUS VAT - so £4.32 for five stems, they were 60 cm long.
So what I hear you say? Well the supermarket flowers are usually all in bloom ( or very close to it) upon purchase. Florists buy flowers in bud - fresher flowers, longer life. The shorter the stem the smaller the flower. Bulk packed flowers aren't conditioned and handled in the same way that a florist grade product is.
The roses you see in a florists aren't wedding grade - they are ordered in as required. Florists can pay up to £4 a head for wedding grade calla lily during peak season, and then they have to work to make sure its at it best for your wedding and will stay in top condition all day.
Thats why I get annoyed when I see posts suggesting that a florist can do all that for £100. I also work with artificial and even the lowest priced bouquets start at £40.
So if trying to point out that florists can't and won't work at a loss is rude so be it.

Kayalana99

piglet25 wrote: »

Thats why I get annoyed when I see posts suggesting that a florist can do all that for £100. I also work with artificial and even the lowest priced bouquets start at £40.
So if trying to point out that florists can't and won't work at a loss is rude so be it.

Whilst I don't really 'do' flowers so I can't understand the fuss (no offence)

I have been quoted £20 for med bouquets and £30 for large for the bride (this being their prices straight away not me asking for the lowest possible) and they have butterflies and gems on them or whatever you choose and really look top notch.

GwylimT

We have been married two years ago, I know our figures as being a geek they are on a spread sheet.

Suit £0 already had one.
Wedding dress £40.
Food £300 (£10 per head hot buffet, bangers and mash, lasagne and salmon).
Venue £150 (village hall with garden).
Flowers £30 (Tesco and arranged ourselves the night before and stuck in the fridge, this also included my button hole, best mans and ushers.
Photo's £0, I put my brother on camera duty and we borrowed digital cameras from families and friends to put on tables, also meant we could print them instead of paying to get a disposable developed.
Car £30, a local taxi firms car, they removed the taxi sign from the roof.
Wedding cake £30, made by a colleague and this was our pudding.
Ceremony £370.
Our favours were just a selection of flower seeds in our wedding colour, some home made fudge and some home made elderflower cordial.

We bought a few cheap table cloths as it was much cheaper than hiring them, for table decorations we bought some cheap glass vases, fairly wide ones with some gravel in the bottom (from our garden!) and a pillar candle in the middle.

heartbreak_star

It was more the way you put it than what you said, piglet.

HBS x

piglet25

Often people can read things the way they want to, I wasn't being rude and thats that. I don't have to justify myself.
Kayalana99 - There are a lot of people on facebook who make artificial flowers and there are bargains to be had, I was just stating my own starting price
One tip I always say to brides is to buy rather than hire, as if there is damage you can be charged the Earth for replacements, but if you have paid for items yourself you can sell them on afterwards to recoup some money back, worth thinking about x

Kayalana99

I hate that people want £200 to rent chair covers then they charge you if someone spills gravy (which is likey maybe more on the table cloths) if I was doing this kind of business I would work it into the price.

GwylimT wrote: »

We have been married two years ago, I know our figures as being a geek they are on a spread sheet.

Suit £0 already had one.
Wedding dress £40.
Food £300 (£10 per head hot buffet, bangers and mash, lasagne and salmon).
Venue £150 (village hall with garden).
Flowers £30 (Tesco and arranged ourselves the night before and stuck in the fridge, this also included my button hole, best mans and ushers.
Photo's £0, I put my brother on camera duty and we borrowed digital cameras from families and friends to put on tables, also meant we could print them instead of paying to get a disposable developed.
Car £30, a local taxi firms car, they removed the taxi sign from the roof.
Wedding cake £30, made by a colleague and this was our pudding.
Ceremony £370.
Our favours were just a selection of flower seeds in our wedding colour, some home made fudge and some home made elderflower cordial.

We bought a few cheap table cloths as it was much cheaper than hiring them, for table decorations we bought some cheap glass vases, fairly wide ones with some gravel in the bottom (from our garden!) and a pillar candle in the middle.

Thank you that's quite inspiring

I am waiting for a re quote of the place we want to book but it should be under £2500 this time (took of chair covers, balloons...put the evening guests number down slightly and the extra choice of pudding + bar extension )

Really gutted she quoted us at £2,700 though, I thought she would be giving us a slight discount not 'bumping up' the price that was advertised.

P.S The flower lady kind of freaked me out big time ~ I was very straight with her and just asked for some prices as I was doing my budget and she asked me what I wanted and at the time I didn't even no what a tear drop was or a possie ....so she said I will send you a few photos...great I thought...I tried to say 'thank you' and 'oh they are stunning' and 'I'm going to bed but thanks for these!!!'

.....but my facebook inbox was full with about 200+ photos of flowers when I logged back on.....seriously she must of just been bored? lol some were really personal photos that you couldn't even see the flowers on

themull1

I got my wedding dress, was £1500 for £75, bridesmaids dresses £10 were £90, cake stand £20 - my mams friend did cake, but m and s, asda and tesco all do fruit cakes, and m and s do nice sponge cakes, wedding flower centrepieces £10 each - foam roses in burgundy and ivory, bouquet foam - was £95 got for £25, jewellery was £140 got for £40, nails £25, own hair and makeup, shoes £20, tiara £30, everything second hand off ebay, suits hired, but husband 3xl so hard to buy cheaper than renting, and the beauty of that is, you can resell it afterwards.

Trixsie1989

Here's our wedding budget with quoted prices -

Registry 125
Hotel 1800
Dj 210
Photographer 410
Dress and accessories 150
Suits x4 200
Flowers 100
Cake topper 80
Bridesmaids dresses x2 50
Sweet table 100
Rings 175

And I think that's everything atm, I'm making our invites atm and they've come in at under 30 for 50 day and 80 evening. We don't need table decorations as it's included with the hotel price, just need to decide if it's worth an extra 200 for the covers and sashes for chairs xxx

Kayalana99

Trixsie1989 wrote: »

Here's our wedding budget with quoted prices -

Registry 125
Hotel 1800
Dj 210
Photographer 410
Dress and accessories 150
Suits x4 200
Flowers 100
Cake topper 80
Bridesmaids dresses x2 50
Sweet table 100
Rings 175

And I think that's everything atm, I'm making our invites atm and they've come in at under 30 for 50 day and 80 evening. We don't need table decorations as it's included with the hotel price, just need to decide if it's worth an extra 200 for the covers and sashes for chairs xxx

See for 50 day guests and 80 evening guests that's more of the price I would want.

I'm thinking of starting again, making a list of all the places that are possible and just seeing if I can see something again. I don't want to go to far out of Derby due to transport.

Trixsie1989

That 1800 is for 50 day and 100 evening. 20ph for the day and 8 for the night xxx