^^ Yeah 27k for a wedding is absolutely ridiculous. I can think of a lot better things to spend that kind of money on

1/27/2010 8:57:00 PM

anyone know of anyone trying to break into wedding photography/videography or cakes that's actually good? looking for a friend's wedding

1/27/2010 9:49:08 PM

Quote :

"was this in bald head island around the first weekend in october? if so, i was in that wedding"

nah, it was spring or late fall a couple of years ago

1/27/2010 9:52:59 PM

Just serve homemade cakes if you're on a tight budget. That's what we're doing and they're going to be delicious

For wedding photography what is their budget? I know some people depending on what they're looking to spend.

1/27/2010 9:54:03 PM

i found my dress

1/27/2010 9:54:07 PM

honestly they're not looking to spend more than a couple hundred on pictures. most of the wedding party is made of photographers but they dont' want them to worry about pictures that day. they know they'll get some good shots from them anyway but want someone not involved as well.

1/27/2010 9:56:56 PM

oh wow

looks like she painted it on herself, which reminds me of a REALLY awesome dress I saw on offbeatbride once...lemme find it

ok so it wasn't painted, but AGGGH!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3







[Edited on January 27, 2010 at 10:01 PM. Reason : ]

1/27/2010 9:57:11 PM

you know....i normally do not like the black and white dresses....


but i can make an exception for that one

1/27/2010 10:02:55 PM

To be honest you get what you pay for when it comes to photography. Spending less than a $1000 is very likely to get you something like this:















Anyway, I think you get the point These are all from photographers that works in NC too.

If they're looking to spend less than $1000, they should just pick up some kid from a photography school or have a neighbor come and take pictures or something. They can do just as good a job as any professional working in that price range.

1/27/2010 10:08:51 PM

$1000, huh?


women are dumb

1/27/2010 11:00:07 PM

^ Naw, we're not dumb, good photography costs more than $rhode island. I was really surprised at the difference between a guy that charges $600 and one that charges $1600 when I first started shopping around.

1/28/2010 3:18:11 AM

^ That is one thing I won't have to worry about as far as my budget and what my mom and I will be paying for.. Eric's family is obsessed with pictures and pay $Texas for super nice photographers. His sister's wedding pictures (engagement, bridal, and ceremony/reception) had to have cost AT LEAST $5K!

1/28/2010 9:19:52 AM

Quote :

"*sigh* ... did any of you have to deal with disappointing/hurting someone's feelings/pissing someone off with your wedding plans?"

And how. We eloped, so I might not be any help, but we pissed off quite a few people, so when it comes to dealing with the fallout... my mother is still lording it over me and still reminding me what a bad daughter I am

1/28/2010 9:53:03 AM

^^ Wow lucky!

1/28/2010 8:12:05 PM

Speaking of green and tangerine, just saw this in a blog:

1/29/2010 5:24:03 AM

ahhhhhhh!!!!! thank you for that picture... those are the EXACT hues that I would want!!

now I might have to rethink this green and yellow bit

oh, I just had a thought.... WHAT IF I did Granny Smith apple green, the tangerine seen above, and a lemon yellow? Do yall think it would be too much?

I mainly want to do this because then I can use fruit in hurricane candle holders as centerpieces (CHEAP!!) and then serve apple cider, lemonade, and orange juice (along with the open bar of course)

[Edited on January 29, 2010 at 8:32 AM. Reason : .]

1/29/2010 8:21:16 AM

Depending on your venue it could be too much or just right. I used a red palate with yellow and orange compliments. I kept worrying it was going to be too much, so I was drowning everything with copious amounts of white. Luckily, I set up a sample white tablecloth in the barn before the day of! Because the walls were painted off white, it just washed the whole barn out and made it look dirty. Ended up using bright red 12" reveal tablecloths and red/burgundy taffeta with a red embroidery that matched the tablecloths for accent pieces. It was PERFECT!!!

I used lemons and oranges in a huge Ball jar near our drink station (tea, lemonade,etc). I wish someone had taken a picture of it! It was perfect for the space. There are lots of great ideas for using fruit on the knot

As for the photographer situation... I cannot stress enough how crappy a start out person can be. We hired a family friend who was the photography teacher of my husband's little sister. WORST PICTURES EVER!!!!! We got ZERO family pics, ZERO pics of food, setup, etc. There are no pictures of our kiss or good angles on the rings, and all of our "together" shots are so dark you can't see them. I had an elaborate train that I LOVED and there isn't a single picture of it in her stuff. She also didnt take pics of ppl there. Ugh, it just goes on and on, and yes we went through an entire of list of wanted pictures beforehand.

We used fun savers on the tables, so they gave us a decent selection of attendee pictures. However, the biggest hit in pictures was 100% free. We set up a "photo booth" in one of the old horse stalls. Hung a sheer backdrop (random fabric I already had), set our personal camera on a tripod, and borrowed a bunch of silly props from the drama dept @ their church. BEST IDEA EVER!!! they turned out better than I ever would have imagined- absolutely priceless pictures.

Anyway- long story short, we ordered WAY TOO MUCH ALCOHOL, food was a hit, decor was spot on, live appalachian mountain music band MADE IT!!! pictures sucked, cake was made wrong, but we had a great day, and it was a very "us" wedding.

If anyone is getting married near Charlotte, I know a great photographer there! Her personal pics were 10000% better than our actual photographer and I plan to frame every single one of them. She is an NCSU design grad, too.

Hope my random post-wedding musings will be of some help to someone!

1/29/2010 12:05:59 PM

^^ Granny Smiths used as pew markers:



Fruit as centerpieces:

1/29/2010 10:29:37 PM

^^ That's too bad about your pictures At least you got some good photos from your friend though!

Quote :

"We set up a "photo booth" in one of the old horse stalls. Hung a sheer backdrop (random fabric I already had), set our personal camera on a tripod, and borrowed a bunch of silly props from the drama dept @ their church. BEST IDEA EVER!!! they turned out better than I ever would have imagined- absolutely priceless pictures."

Oh please tell me more about this! I really want a photo booth but can't afford to rent a real one. Did you buy a remote for the camera? How exactly did you set it up?

1/29/2010 10:32:54 PM

Got engaged this weekend. Looks like I have 24 pages of stuff to sift through. We want to get married far away from our hometown and then leave for our honeymoon with our best friends in tow. Any positives or negatives about a cruise ship wedding from someone who has done this?

1/31/2010 6:10:17 PM

Congrats!

1/31/2010 6:40:28 PM

CONGRATS!!!!


yayayaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy!

more people to help plan stuff!

1/31/2010 7:14:28 PM

yay congrats!!!



alright yall... I talked to Eric and he basically doesn't care about the wedding colors as long as I'm happy (WOOT) so I have officially decided apple green, tangerine, and lemon

I think now I'm going to go on wedding planning hiatus until I find out where I'm going to school......

maybe, just maaaaaybe, if I go in state the wedding could be sooner but for now - I have over 2 years :\ and looking at all this stuff is making me all because I can't do stuff now!

1/31/2010 7:21:11 PM

congrats!!

I know you'll be able to make your own cake toppers

1/31/2010 7:51:32 PM

^haha, did he like them? I have been dying to know!

^^Thanks Good news about the colors for you.

^^^Thanks Joie! Guess what - We have a friend in common - Do you know Jeremy Stultz? He's my booooy.

^^^^Thanks Kiwi.

1/31/2010 9:21:51 PM

Quote :

"Any positives or negatives about a cruise ship wedding from someone who has done this?"

From my friend who did this two years ago:

Positives
- very little planning on your part
- everything taken care of by the cruise company
- sometimes cheaper than a small, local wedding

Negatives
- everyone needs a passport
- very little room for customization (cookie cutter wedding packages)
- slave to the weather
- hurt feelings from friends and family not invited

She said that last one was the hardest. She didn't realize how butthurt people would get about not being able to come to the wedding, include people she cares for very much. So they ended up doing a casual "reception" once they returned (a luau BBQ in the backyard) to make up for that.

1/31/2010 9:30:02 PM

^Cool - thank you for the insight. I went to one last year in Seattle and we didn't need a passport to "embark" and "disembark"...we didn't have to go on the cruise to attend the wedding. I am also taking a cruise in 2 weeks and I don't need a passport for it either...just a birth certificate....but I guess that depends on the location.

We just want to get married and have our best friends go on our honeymoon with us...like a big celebration When we want to be alone, we can be...and when we want our friends there, they will be there.

1/31/2010 9:37:52 PM

Quote :

"we didn't have to go on the cruise to attend the wedding."

Then it wasn't a cruise wedding in the usual sense of the idea. Where was the ceremony? The reception? Are you just talking about having a ceremony on the docks and then saying, "Peace out!"

Generally when people talk about a cruise wedding, the boat leaves and your ceremony and reception take place either on the boat or on some beach somewhere the boat stops.

1/31/2010 9:45:09 PM

We were offered the opportunity to cruise but it was to Alaska and like 2K per person....So we flew to Seattle and hung out a few days then the day of the wedding we boarded the ship, watched the ceremony, had the reception on the 17th floor of the boat and then those of us who were not cruising disembarked and they went off on their honeymoon with their families (which is NOT my idea of a good honeymoon...but hey, different strokes)

I consider getting married on a cruise ship a cruise ship wedding, at sea or at dock. But at any rate, the advice was helpful. I'm just saying that one particular negative can be avoided if you get married while the ship is docked.

1/31/2010 9:51:34 PM

Quote :

"Do you know Jeremy Stultz? He's my booooy."

heheheheh YES!!!
we are in pharmacy school together.
he is awesome!!



(and congrats again btw )

1/31/2010 10:28:56 PM

Just got married this past Saturday (yes amidst the huge snowstorm) and it was the greatest time I have ever had. We were out at the Fearrington House and they were absolutely incredible. All the staff were out shoveling snow the whole time, they spent the weekend at the hotel so they wouldn't get stuck in the snow, and they did everything with a smile. I really can't imagine having a more perfect wedding given the conditions and we still had over 100 people show up.

For our band we had The Brothership (http://www.thebrothership.net/) and they were fantastic. The dance floor was packed the entire time and everyone really seemed to love them.

Our photographers were Cheyenne and Geoff Schultz (http://cheyenneschultzphotography.blogspot.com/) and I cannot praise them enough. Just take a look at some of there pictures and you will know what I mean. I can't wait to see what our wedding pictures looked like especially considering there was snow all over the ground.

2/1/2010 2:28:00 PM

I still gotta get my wedding crap together soon

2/1/2010 2:42:22 PM

^2 that is one of the places I thought would be perfect... did you have it inside or on the garden terrace? (they can cover that part, can't they?)

are they pricey?

2/1/2010 4:16:22 PM

Garden Terrace closed in...not sure about the price, that was my wife's families thing

2/1/2010 4:17:36 PM

forget about the photographer, who the fuck did their hair?!

it looks like that one girl on the floor got Shelly Biggs'd like whoa

2/1/2010 4:39:24 PM

Quote :

"are they pricey?"

Saying that place is pricey is an understatement

2/1/2010 11:02:53 PM

^ for real? about how much?

2/2/2010 8:53:30 AM

So those of you that eloped, were you pretty much forced into having a reception type thing when you told the relatives?

2/2/2010 8:56:49 AM

I'm sure Fearrington House is well over 10k for ceremony and reception and they probably have limitations on what you can use outside of their facility, if anything at all. So you may be stuck with their caterer and their florist...which could be a good or bad thing depending on what you want in the long run. If you want the ease of just having one place handle it--good! If you want to be able to do XYZ, but they won't let you--bummer.

PM sent

[Edited on February 2, 2010 at 10:12 AM. Reason : ]

2/2/2010 10:11:24 AM

$10K is like my entire budget but when I showed my mom she said it looked like it would be an all-in-one place.. and yeah I definitely don't think I would have to room to bring my own stuff or have outside catering and that stuff.

another place I saw was Highgrove... anyone heard any good places about it?


basically all I want is a pretty place where I can get married outside then have the reception under one of those nice, big white tents!

2/2/2010 10:20:50 AM

Has anyone looked here? http://www.barnatvalhalla.com/

2/2/2010 10:24:07 AM

Highgrove is also all inclusive, one stop shop, and probably around the same price.

There's some new place that just started having weddings that I think is a bit cheaper...I saw a few fb photos last year that had people using it...outside wedding & tent. Lemme see if I can get the name.

[Edited on February 2, 2010 at 10:27 AM. Reason : ]

2/2/2010 10:26:55 AM

Fuck

You're right, I need to stay away from this stuff right now... Too stressful Lord help me when I'm in school trying to do this

2/2/2010 10:31:56 AM

cody and i went to a wedding at highgrove.

fun and nice.


however when we went it was raining. apparently there's no "back up plan" for if it rains. during a 5-10 min pause in the rain all of the guests ran outside to do the ceremony. there wasnt a tent so we had to stand. (which is no big deal, but some people may not like it)
but the reception was in a tent and everything else was a ok

so yeah....you might want to talk to the coordinator about the plans in case it rains

[Edited on February 2, 2010 at 10:35 AM. Reason : ]

2/2/2010 10:34:05 AM

BAM! Crenshaw Hall...that's it.

http://www.historic-crenshawhall.com/

I think it's a little more reasonable than other places and I know they've done outdoor receptions in a tent.

But there's so many things to ask a venue when you're choosing other than "what's this gonna cost me?"--rain back up plans, vendor restrictions (anyone or do they have a select few or do they just "recommend" XYZ people), decoration restrictions (we couldn't use candles or secure anything to the walls), "send off" restrictions (no sparklers where we got married), bar restrictions (do they allow liquor? do you need to get your own license or does the facility have one?)

you may find that a one stop shop has what you need, and it may be easier to plan...could be the opposite. hell, you could not like the wedding director AT the venue that you would have to work through and that could be a deal breaker.

Quote :

"Too stressful Lord help me when I'm in school trying to do this"

something tells me about you that you can balance the pressure no worries.

[Edited on February 2, 2010 at 10:45 AM. Reason : ]

2/2/2010 10:44:16 AM

^ that place is gorgeous... I like that old Southern style so it's pretty much right up my alley

I'll bookmark it for now thanks!!

2/2/2010 10:49:55 AM

We also booked with Cheyenne Schultz! (although just recently rebranded as The Schultzes) They're amazing.

Really excited about having them capture our day.

And I'm going with Navy and Fuchsia for our colors; it's the right balance of traditional and modern for my taste. Plus it's girly without being overwhelmingly so. Our date is September 18, 2010 and it will be in Uptown Charlotte.



I wish I could post our website but with TWW, there's always danger in that...





[Edited on February 2, 2010 at 11:45 AM. Reason : ]

2/2/2010 11:26:58 AM

for the person/people who were looking into green & orange, here are a couple of pics from my wedding last june. there's more green than anything just because of the fact that we were outside.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2308136&id=11805098&l=1367d99b06

i keep trying to load pics to my gallery here but it keeps failing. i'll post them in here when i can get them to work.

we went for cheap but not crappy. i don't believe in spending shit tons of money on crap for one day, regardless of that day. my dress was $200 from j crew. the wedding was at my parents' house, which we would have picked regardless of money. we bought cotton suits from josabank, b/c (1) i hate tuxes, and (2) if you're going to spend that much money, get something they can use again. they were $130 a piece.

we're not in raleigh and we used all local vendors b/c i believe in supporting my community/small businesses. we didn't do a giant portrait, mom got a 11x14 or something like that. i didn't want a book buy mom did. we had specific prints made for grandparents and that was it. no package deals. my ONE stipulation with the photographer was that i had to have ALL of the raw images, unlocked, not protected, just plain old jpgs.

my wedding planner was also my florist. she did an awesome job on both ends. i consider her a friend now and we still keep in touch. we got the tent and chairs and all that rental stuff from a friend of my parents' from high school who has a business here in town. the dj was a friend of the florist/wedding planner who was a former cop and now djs. the caterer was a down home southern cooking type lady, friend of the planner and the dj.

where my parents did spend considerable money was on something they wanted to do anyway. they bought the house 1.5 years before the wedding and had always planned on hauling in dirt, planting grass, thinning the woods, etc...so this was perfect timing and an excuse for them to go ahead and do it.

[Edited on February 2, 2010 at 12:01 PM. Reason : <3]

2/2/2010 11:48:54 AM

alright guys. i'm having food issues

should i do sit down or buffet style?
what did you do and what are the pros and cons you can think of for either one?

my mom is leaning towards sit down, it doesnt really matter that much to me.
i'm somewhat leaning toward buffet, but not enough to make the decision....

if i do buffet style it'll be more of heavy hors d'oeuvres, sit down would be a meal of course.

hell, i dont even know what i want to serve.



sighhhhh.....

2/2/2010 12:08:11 PM

the weddings that I've been to have been mostly buffet. it's easier, and usually less expensive. plus it gets guests to mingle.

the one wedding i went to that was sit down, you didn't interact with other guests as much.

BUT

with a sit down it would make you that you get to eat.

2/2/2010 12:18:40 PM