<p>Hello, parents. I’m posting this question to help out a dear cousin who found out he was laid off right as he was getting ready to pay for his only daughter’s wedding. Given a limited budget, it’s probably counter-intuitive to wonder about hiring a wedding planner, but the experienced CC parent in me wonders if a good planner may be adept at avoiding a lot of costly mistakes and have access to certain discounts that this family would not on their own. And so I come to you for your collective wisdom.</p>
<p>Also, the immediate family is spread all over FL, but the wedding will be in the Orlando area. Are the prices at catering halls in that area (especially the “automatic” gratuities) set in stone, or is there room for some negotiation there? I could see it going either way in such a huge travel destination, but I have no firsthand knowledge.</p>
<p>The couple is interested in a place called Historic Dubsdread if anyone has any firsthand knowledge or can suggest suitable alternatives.</p>
<p>Looks like from their website that events at that venue include the wedding planner. They probably have different packages.
A friend of ours had a wedding at a similar type place. They met with the planner who had an approved list of vendors that they work with on a regular basis. Included photographers, cake, music, flowers–everything. You just picked out who and what you wanted dependent on budget/desire and the planner set it up The planner had examples of photographers work–look through and pick one… Like one-stop shopping. Very easy and stress-free especially since the venue was OOS… But I have no idea of the actual cost. </p>
<p>If they aren’t sold on Orlando, the Powell-Crosley Estate in Sarasota is a gorgeous venue. Inside and out. Beautiful mansion on the water. Don’t know where most of your guests are coming from.
We went to a wedding there not too long ago. The wedding was outside near the water around sunset. Don’t know the price (they had their wedding on a Friday to keep the cost down). Able to have it catered and had their own DJ. No real need for many flowers etc because the place is already beautiful.</p>
<p>If the budget is small–tell them upfront that it is what it is and hopefully they’ll be able to accommodate you and give you options. Decide what is most important to you. Stick with the budget. Don’t go over what is affordable. Ask about varying days/time periods for the wedding and if that makes a cost difference.</p>
<p>It depends on the budget, and what kind of wedding, and how much work you are willing to do yourself or have friends/family do. There was no way a wedding planner could have reduced my costs, I can tell you that It would have been an additional cost.</p>
<p>Not sure how much this family can do on their own. They’re scattered all over Florida, have an elderly grandparent (Mom’s mom) in poor health, and Dad is looking for a job! Most of the family is from the Northeast.</p>
<p>The answer to “can a wedding planner save you money?” in my opinion is no. But they can save you time and trouble depending on the size of your wedding, what’s involved and your expectations.
Some venues have “event planners” as part of the venue package who do the same type work but for their specific venue only with approved vendors which I think is the case here. It will depend on the venue as to what you can actually do for yourself.</p>
<p>Gouf, a wedding planner CAN save some people money. Not my low budget wedding where my MOH and I scrimped and searched for the lowest cost we could find. I doubt a wedding planner or anyone could have cut the cost without sacrificing what I wanted in the wedding. </p>
<p>But my friend started planning her daughter’s wedding and got a planner some time into the process, and the planner paid for herself with the cost cuts she was able to make on things that my friend already had lined up. She just knew where to get things less expensively. So my friend used the same planner for the next child’s wedding. But this was a rather high end wedding and those in the know had a lot of flex to cut the costs. I was already down to the wire in costs. Big difference.</p>
<p>@dmd77, as with most things, it’s easy to take stand in the theoretical. I think it really depends on one’s financial situation and how much there is in savings, etc. And that part is none of my business!</p>
<p>has the young couple considered eloping?
I know very, very few people who used a wedding planner, it’s not a field set up to save money, only time, which if he isn’t working, he probably has plenty of!</p>
<p>What are the parents other financial obligations?
Do they have other children at home or a mortgage?
Those seem to take priority over a big wedding especially if they have no idea when their income will rebound.</p>
<p>The place they are looking at looks lovely. However it also looks expensive. How soon is the wedding? Have they set a date? Perhaps the father will have a job by then? </p>
<p>I looked at the place online. It looks like an upper 5 figure place for 100~200 guests, if you hire a planner, you are going to pay a lot more. The planner can only resolve external stuff like photographers, valet parking, music and table placements. Everything else is still on the family, such as flower arrangements, seating, food selection, clothing and everything that is personal and wedding is a personal thing.</p>
<p>Good questions, all! I believe the wedding date selected was for sometime in May of 2015. </p>
<p>Thanks for that estimate, @artloversplus. That’s helpful. I can’t imagine they have budgeted for anything in that range, but I don’t know how large a wedding we’re talking about. </p>
<p>Yes, elopement would be my preference, too, but he didn’t ask for advice about that! He contacted me with the question about whether or not it’s okay to try to negotiate the gratuities, etc. I’m the one who was wondering about whether or not a wedding planner might be able to negotiate them a better overall deal.</p>
<p>Does this family have a place of worship? It seems to me that they should look at having the wedding and the reception there. It’s not necessary to have it at a catering location.</p>
<p>@Hunt, I don’t know about that. I’m assuming that isn’t an option, but it’s a good question to ask. The daughter and her fiance live in Orlando, but she grew up in Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee. The parents moved to Jacksonville after the daughter graduated from college, so there may be some places of worship in the mix, but certainly not a “family” one. </p>
<p>Yes, I’d be flipped out if my dad got laid off and still wanted to pay for my wedding. I would insist no way. Most of my friends (40s & 50s) paid for 80% or more of their weddings, but the trend seems to be reversing.</p>
<p>It is possible to get a payment plan perhaps, with the special circumstances. I would not want to deprive a place let alone their wait staff of gratuities. There are also ways to get a better deal, like some places will let the bride bring in a cake instead of use their baker. </p>
<p>More footwork will be necessary, but something nice can be done for a reasonable amount of money. I went to a fancy dinner at a Days Inn convention center a few weeks back, off the highway so nothing fancy from the outside, but they really do it up nice and it was lovely. Everyone was in fancy dress including some tuxedos.</p>