| |
|
Wedding Budget |
|
According to
WeddingChannel.com, here a simple break
down of what a wedding budget should look
like. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
The national average for a 4 hour
wedding reception DJ is $1200 |
|
|
54% - Food, Beverages & location fees |
|
8% - Photographer |
|
8% - Reception Music |
|
7% - Flowers |
|
5% - Stationery |
|
4% - Ceremony |
|
14% - Other (ex. transportation & gifts) |
| |
Wedding costs are a major concern for most,
as well they should be. How much to spend
for food, gown and tux's, location,
photographer and, of course, entertainment.
All of these expenses can be reduced, but
which ones should be and why?
If you get your food from McDonalds, you'll
never hear the end of it, but if you provide
steak and lobster, how many will remember?
Quite a few, for no other reason than it's
out of the ordinary. But if your having
chicken, roast beef or fish (standard
dinners) how many people will remember what
they ate 6 months later?
If you buy the fanciest dress and the best
Tuxedo's, you will look FABULOUS in all your
pictures, but many people now rent not only
the Tuxedo's, but also the gowns! It saves
them money and, lets face it, it's unlikely
that you will ever wear that gown again.
When it comes to photographers, you will
want to spend a large portion of your budget
on getting one of the best! After all, those
pictures will last a lifetime. If you don't
have a great photographer, you're not going
to get great pictures. So you don't really
want to skimp too much there. That wedding
album is something you will keep out on your
coffee table for a long time and guests from
your wedding will want to see those pictures
of you and them.
As far as videographers go, most couples
watch their wedding video an average of 5-6
times with family and friends, so this can
be an expensive cost for 5-6 viewings.
Locations can have a wide variety of costs,
ranging from free into the thousands. You
need to balance this out also because saving
money by having it outdoors at a park could
also mean losing guests early on because of
the weather and temperature. You don't want
them to leave early do you?
Finally, we come to entertainment. It's
almost always the last thing thought about
and to many it's the place where couples try
to find a bargain. There is just one problem
with that theory: 80% of the success of your
event will depend on the entertainment!
That's right. Think about it! If you don't
have any entertainment, then most of your
guests will leave right after they eat.
Conversely, if you didn't have any food, but
still had entertainment, most would probably
stay for a while. You need both, but what
kind of balance? Can your guests be happy
with hors d'oeuvres and/or veggie platters?
Actually most can! They will also be happy
with just about any decent meal, which is
why so much chicken is served at weddings.
They won't care that much what the meal is
as long as it tastes good and is filling.
You and your guests are there to CELEBRATE
your marriage. To participate in it, to
share that special day for you. Which is
where entertainment plays a MAJOR role in
providing you and your guests a happy,
festive and fun time!
I have been to (and performed at) many
weddings, and believe me, some have had some
awful food, but with good entertainment they
turned what could have been a bad meal into
a fun time!
So why do so many couples want to spend such
a small amount on entertainment? After all,
that is what will ultimately make or break
your event, right? We think nothing of
spending $20-30 per person for food, but
then we want to 'shop around' for the
cheapest entertainment we can find, often
spending less than 5% of the events costs.
Don't you think it's worth spending 10-20%
on Entertainment if it makes up 80% of the
time and, more importantly, the SUCCESS of
your event? Of course it is.
Entertainment usually comes in two forms:
Live bands or Disc Jockeys
Which should you choose? Well, that depends
on you, some people like the 'live' sound,
others prefer the sound of original artists
(DJ music). There are advantages and
disadvantages to both, and although I am a
DJ/MC myself, I won't address those issues
here.
In either case, it's important to keep in
mind that there are good bands and bad
bands, and there are good DJ's and bad DJ's.
We have all heard the horror stories of
having a bad DJ/Band and nobody wants bad
entertainment. But like food, the quality
often depends on the price! You can spend
lots of money (10-20%) to hire DJ 'Filet',
or skimp (1-5%) and get DJ 'MickeyD'. But
remember, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event
for most, and so you only get once chance.
So when trying to decide how much you can
afford for entertainment, think about how
much you can LOSE if your entertainment is
poor or mediocre. Look for professionals and
pay them what they are worth. After all, if
you want the best, it will (and should) cost
more, in the long run, they will provide
more than a mediocre entertainer would.
Remember: "They'll forget the food, but not
the fun!"
Source:
ultimatewedding.com |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
Copyright © 2006 Official Entertainment
| All Rights Reserved | Site Design
by Phillip Tucker |
Privacy
|
|
|
Where in Virginia will we travel: Abingdon,
Alexandria, Amelia Court House, Amherst, Annandale,
Appomattox, Arlington, Ashburn, Ashland, Bassett,
Bedford, Berryville, Big Stone Gap, Big Island,
Blacksburg, Blackstone, Bluefield, Bridgewater,
Bristol, Bristow, Buena Vista, Burke, Cedar
Bluff, Centreville, Chantilly, Charlottesville,
Chatham, Chesapeake, Chesterfield, Chester,
Chilhowie, Christiansburg, Clifton Forge, Clifton,
Clintwood, Coeburn, Collinsville, Colonial Beach,
Colonial Heights, Covington, Culpeper, Danville,
Dillwyn, Dublin, Dumfries, Elkton, Emporia,
Evington, Fairfax Station, Fairfax, Falls Church,
Farmville, Forest, Fort Belvoir, Fort Lee, Fort
Royal, Franklin, Fredericksburg, Front Royal,
Galax, Gate City, Glen Allen, Gloucester, Gordonsville,
Great Falls, Gretna, Grundy, Hampton, Hayes,
Herndon, Hillsville, Hopewell, King George,
Lawrenceville, Lebanon, Leesburg, Lexington,
Locust Grove, Lorton, Louisa, Luray, Lynchburg,
Madison Heights, Manassas, Marion, Martinsville,
Mc Lean, Mechanicsville, Midlothian, Mineral,
Moneta, Newport News, Norfolk, Oakton, Orange,
Palmyra, Petersburg, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Powhatan,
Prince George, Pulaski, Purcellville, Quantico,
Radford, Reston, Richlands, Richmond, Ridgeway,
Roanoke, Rocky Mount, Ruckersville, Rustburg,
Ruther Glen, Salem, Sandston, Smith Mountain
Lake, Smithfield, South Boston, South Hill,
Spotsylvania, Springfield, Stafford, Staunton,
Stephens City, Sterling, Strasburg, Stuarts
Draft, Stuart, Suffolk, Troutville, Vienna,
Vinton, Virginia Beach, Warrenton, Warsaw, Waynesboro,
Williamsburg, Winchester, Wise, Woodbridge,
Woodstock, Wytheville, Yorktown and if you don't
see you town or city... please contact us. |
|
|
| |
| These
our partner links:
Google,
MSN,
Yahoo,
EBay,
Passport.net,
MySpace,
Amazon,
Microsoft,
WeDJ,
OneWed,
Wedding DJ For You,
All Wedding,
The
Knot,
David's Bridal,
Ask Jeeves,
Party
POP,
Top Wedding Links,
HOTBOT,
Wedding Channel,
ultimatewedding, Go,
Wedding Solutions,
Excite,
LYCOS,
GIG Masters,
AOL,
AltaVista,
Adam Barnes Photos,
Stone Blue Productions,
West Manor,
Celebration Bridal,
Lynchburg Dinning,
LynchburgNights |
|
|
