Do it yourself Programs and Placecards

ABostonBride’s been a busy lady. I had a wonderful engagement photo session this past week (more on that in the future) and I’ve been wrapping up details on the gift bags/hair stylist/music/you-name-it.  I’ve also been having the most fun making programs and placecards believe it or not. I really wanted to keep with the theme set in our invitations / favors (read about that here). So here’s what I did:

1. I took the sheer enclosure from the invitation, opened it up, and scanned that into an image with a red paper behind it. What that did for me is create a graphic pattern I could use with the programs and placecards that matched the invites, yet started to break into the fun red color I have for the bridesmaids. The header on my blog is made from the pattern.

2. With that, I created a layout in Photoshop that is 4″ by 10″, the program length and height I wanted. I added the pattern, created a red band that matched the David’s Bridal Apple Red (copying the color swatch on their website), and then took the same “ALS Script” font we got from 1001 Free Fonts (which we also used in the invitations) to build the image for the front of the program.  Once we had a front we liked, I doubled the width of the canvas in Photoshop to 8″ and basically copied the front to the backside, removing the names and changing the Church/Place/Date to a thank you message.  After that, I exported it to a jpg and mailed it to Kendall Press who printed them on cardstock for a really reasonable price (less than print yourself at Staples).

3. We’re working on the text and information for the inside of the programs, but we’re basically creating a 2 column layout in Word and using the fonts we used in the invite (ALS Script as mentioned above and another more standard font called Candara).  We’re making the layout printable at home in black ink so we don’t need to have that professionally done.

4. For placecards, I thought about doing calligraphy work again like I did for the envelopes, but I like the consistency of the printed font for the smaller space that a placecard has. To tie it into the theme, I once again took my pattern in Photoshop and replaced the color with the darker red.  I also took the scrolling border from an image on our wedding website (thanks to the Knot) and matched it to the color of the pattern. I then added the names and table numbers in our script. As an added fun touch, since these are foldover, I printed a cow, chicken, or kid cartoon icon on the back folded part so the servers know what to serve.  They run about 4″ x 3.5″ folded, 4″ x 7″ flat each, so we can fit 6 on a standard 8.5″ x 11″ sheet. Once all the seating is figured out, we’ll send these over to the professionals to get printed as well.

In total, we’ll probably have spent no more than $50 on this project, which is a real steal for 80 – 100 people!

Save big money by DJing yourself

After hearing someone tell me $2,000 was a reasonable amount to pay for a good DJ, I decided we were going to DJ this wedding ourselves. First of all, we’re music junkies and have tons of digital music. Second, I used to occasionally DJ in a bar. Third, I’ve been to tons of weddings where I don’t remember the DJ saying much more than the wedding party intros and some general events through the night. So our plan of attack is to use the piped in stereo system our reception center has to offer. It sounds easy at first, but there are many considerations to this approach:

• Developing a dinner playlist and a dancing playlist. This is the fun part – getting to choose all your songs! We really can’t predict the exact moment our dancing will begin, so the playlists we are creating are large enough to cover the time. I suppose we could also loop a playlist as well.
• MCing reception activities. We’re recruiting an outgoing friend to announce our entrance to the reception. We’re hoping he won’t mind performing other MC duties, like “And now ladies and gentlemen, the cutting of the cake…” kinds of stuff.
• Switching music. We do plan to have an entrance song, a first dance, and then mother/son, father/daughter dances. In order to do this, we’re creating a 3rd special songs playlist which our MC will switch to when we’re ready.
• Test run. We will listen to our playlists in full before the wedding to ensure the music is issue-free. We will also get into our reception site beforehand to test our iPod docking and playing skills.
• Backup. What to do if the iPod croaks night of? Luckily the reception site also has a 5 disc changer which means we’ll be prepping those in advance as well!

So, it is a lot of work, but in the end it saves us $2000 and that is fabulous. Plus, we plan to use the music to make CD favors for our guests with personalized messages! Well worth it I think!

This Michigan Bridge is Super-Budget-Saavy

While the Boston Bride may have her city wedding plans, she can surely appreciate the amazing do-it-yourselfer attitude of this country bride! She pulled off a 300 person wedding for only $10K (including honeymoon!).

Rock on Jenny!

Her wedding & photos

More details

Negotiating contracts with your vendors

It doesn’t seem fair that after going through a tough decision to call off a wedding 8 months in advance, vendors are unwilling to give back their deposits.

• Our photographer, Merrill Shea, happily took our $300 desposit and will not return it. Update: Our photographer sent us an unexpected check for $300, as he found a replacement! I did sign a contract that said deposits are non-refundable, but with over 8 months notice and a hot wedding day date (7/7/07) I have little doubt Merrill will find a replacement. Lesson: not everyone’s nice like Merrill, so make sure your contract has terms you are comfortable with!! Thanks Merrill!
• The Harvard Club has been very reasonable about their deposit. They said they will refund it if another party takes the date. That is a very good policy.

So, moral of the story? When working with vendors (especially small businesses or individually-run entities), be aware that contracts can be modified to win your business. Justbecause someone says “it’s in the contract this way” doesn’t mean they can’t change the terms contract, especially for something that is important to you. Sadly, when we plan our weddings, the thought of calling it off is usually at the back of our minds and not something we think of adding clauses to handle. Don’t make my mistake! Tell Mr. Photographer that you would be happy to have him be your photographer if he is willing to refund the deposit if-you-give-him-8-months-notice/if-he-finds-another-event-to-shoot/etc. It’s not unreasonable and protects both you in the long run!

To Open Bar or Not to Open Bar

We've been discussing the pros and cons of the open bar question. Let's start by doing the numbers. Basically, taking a look at all the wedding reception sites we've been to, I think it's safe to say an open bar will run about $30 per person on average in Boston. I came up with this number using this formula:

1 top shelf Martini ($10) + 1 top shelf drink ($8) + 2 glasses of wine ($6 each) = one good time ($30)

Now, if some people have this combo of drinks, they will be plastered. Others will probably have 4 Martinis and still be ready for more. I use this number as a guide more than anything else.

So, figure that 180 people will run a tab of $5400. Add in gratuity ($1080) and now we're up to $6480. Add in bartender fees and we're now at a grand total of $6705.

The fiance and I are in agreement that some sort of open bar is in order, though $6700 in drinks alone seems a bit outrageous. So we ran through the numbers based on a beer/wine open bar and a cocktail hour drink:

1 cocktail hour drink ($8) + 3 glasses wine ($6 each) = $26, or $5841 with gratuity and bartender fees.

So, we're talking an $1100 savings, which in the scope of matters doesn't seem that much. 80% of our guests are coming in from out of town, so we decided to go for the full open bar at minimum to say thanks for making the effort. We hope guests are respectful enough not to double fist Grey Goose Martini's all night. Not every place does a standard open bar figure; many places (almost all we looked at) base the bar on consumption. Just to be safe, we may end up putting a $5500 cap on the bar.

Boston Bride’s (no longer top) Pick for Large Weddings: The Back Bay Harvard Club

UPDATE (3 years after initial post): Their prices have gone up DRAMATICALLY since this original post. They are now about $199 + tax per person, all-inclusive. It doesn’t mention if this includes gratuity. This is among the highest prices I have seen in the Boston area. I don’t think this would be our top choice for a large wedding anymore, given this ridiculous price increase!

Verdict: You need a large venue to hold all your aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and family. You want an elegant venue, but you don’t want to take out a second mortgage or loan. The Back Bay Harvard Club was our #1 venue – we even put a deposit down – until we decided to postpone our wedding and do a smaller event. It is a beautiful place, but is much too large for a smaller wedding.

After walking into the Back Bay Harvard Club’s ballroom, we fell in love with it.   The BBHC has about 30 guest rooms, a beautiful foyer with a lovely staircase, a great bar/lounge, and one of the prettiest ballrooms I have ever been in. Not to mention the prices were very reasonable (it comes out to about $120 per person, all-inclusive).

We found a florist!

I have to admit, flowers are not my biggest priority in this wedding. I like so many flowers, so I am not choosy about what is in my bouquet. In fact, the simpler to me, the better. I looked at a florist recommended by a friend, Madison Floral, in Arlington. My friend said they were pretty reasonable. I also looked for florists online, and I found one, Holmes-Shusas in Worcester, that actually posted their package prices online. I was really happy to see that information so I could get a sense of what I would be spending.

From what I understand about wedding flowers, these are the things I should have:

1. A bouquet for me
2. A boutonniere for Mr. BostonBride
3. A bouquet for each of the 7 bridesmaids
4. A boutonniere for each of the 3 groomsmen
5. Corsages for my mom, my godmother, his mom, his godmother, his grandmother
6. Boutonnieres for my dad, my godfather, his dad, his godfather
7. Corsage/boutonniere for each reader
8. Flower girl basket
9. 2 vases of flowers on the altar at the ceremony
10. A ribbon on the ends of the first 3 rows to ‘reserve’ them for immediate family
11. Centerpieces on the tables in the reception site (really want raised ones)
12. Cake topper

So, since the church doesn’t allow a runner or for flowers to stay there, we can re-use the altar vases at the cocktail hour. Nice!
Madison Floral pointed me to a worksheet on their website that gave ranges for flowers. When I ran through their spreadsheet on the low end of the range, it ran me close to $4000. Albeit I have not gone to their store in person, I am afraid that this figure on the low end is still pretty high.

So my fiance and I trekked out to Worcester to meet with Paul from Holmes Shusas. He was really nice to start, and when I told him costs were a high priority and flowers were a low priority he didn’t cringe and throw me out. In fact, he suggested lesser expensive flowers and told me how to “beef” them up a bit by using filler flowers. He made me a small sample of a bouquet using hydrangeas and roses, and I LOVED it. It was perfect – not too much yet pretty and elegant. He even let me take it home! His estimate included my list from above and ran just under $3000. Yay Holmes-Shusas! We gave them our deposit and now have out first vendor lined up.

Finding a reasonably priced Boston reception site

There are so many places to look. We really had to focus on what was important to us. So that begged the question: what is important to us?

Here is what is important to us in choosing a reception site:

• Since so many guests are coming from out of town (over 80%) we need a place that has accommodations or is very close to accommodations. We don’t want our guests to have fork over a lot per night either, so we are going to try to get reasonable group rates.
• We like the old Boston feel. The architecture is great, the antiques are charming. We don’t want to be in a stuffy, conference-y looking ballroom with boring white walls and ugly carpets.
• We would like to be somewhere that makes us and our guests feel like they are in an elegant and charming setting.
• We really don’t want to hear another wedding going on at the same time.
• Open bar for all!

That left us with some reception sites to look at:

• The Algonquin Club ($)
  • Price: Very reasonable. This place runs about $110 per person all inclusive, though the menu is a la carte so you have to build-it-yourself to figure it out. Their opening and rental fees jacked up the price a lot, and I think they were a bit over the top ($4500).
  • Setting: Beautiful! Very old Back Bay building with lovely interiors. The reception room is rather unremarkable, though I think it is nicer than the stale conference room look. The cocktail hour room is awesome though. The problem with the reception room is that the dance floor ends up in the foyer, which makes it separate from the guests and just seems awkward to me.
  • Staff: We met with Carol, who was sweet and not at all pushy.
  • Verdict: This is a potential location, though it has only a handful of guest rooms. We would have to strike a deal with neighboring hotels.

• The Lenox Hotel. ($$)
  • Price: When we started looking, our guest list was about 120 people (includes lots of kids), and our reception budget was $17,500. We managed to work withLenox to get to that figure, all inclusive. This still comes out to about $140 per person. This included open bar, cocktail hour food, a cake, appetizer, entrees, etc.
  • Setting: GORGEOUS. The Dome Room is so elegant and you get the entire floor when you book there! I loved the gold detail in the dome and the soft lighting that made the dome seem to glow. Also, they only do one wedding at a time.
  • Staff: We worked with a woman in sales, KrisTina, who is awesome. She is super friendly and very willing to help out. She even had the room laid out for me to see before I went to work one day so that I could see how well the group would fit.
  • Verdict: Our guest list grew beyond the Lenox’s room capacity 😦 So sad, cause I really loved this place!

• The Boston Sheraton ($$)
  • Price: I really thought the Sheraton was going to be my lowest price point site. I was absolutely wrong. The packages, though all inclusive, were priced starting at $140 per person. No different than theLenox, and so less charming.
  • Setting: Boring conference rooms. There was one room I looked at, the Constitution Room, which had potential, but I felt like it was better suited for business meetings. This makes sense since the Sheraton caters to a corporate clientele. The windows helped, but it lacked the old Boston charm we were looking for.
  • Staff: Awesome. I met with Austin for about an hour and a half. He never rushed me and went through every detail; he even showed me the linens for the tables! His director came and introduced himself as well and sat down to answer questions. Nice touch! Looking at the bridal suite room was my favorite part. I wish I could live in it!
  • Verdict:It’s big enough but it feels too conferency.

• Marriott Copley Place ($$)
  • Price: $140 start per person, including tax, gratuity, and top shelf open bar.
  • Setting: Outside of the rooms, I think the hotel is pretty. Lots of windows, lights, and pretty chandeliers. The room itself is OK. Similar to the Sheraton in that it feels like a stale conference room. New chandelier is gorgeous and adds some sparkle, but the rest of the room is dull.
  • Staff: I met with someone who was in such a rush it really turned me off. After having spent over a hour at the Sheraton, I felt like the 10 minutes the Marriott gave me looked poorly on them.
  • Verdict: Not the setting we were looking for!

• The Colonnade ($$$)
  • Price: All inclusive packages start at $165 per person, including open bar, tax, and gratuity. Rooms ran over $200 a night, which was stretching the guests budgets
  • Setting: Very elegant, not over-done, and overall just lovely. I liked the fact that there was only one wedding at a time. This ballroom had a nice old Boston hotel feel and was certainly large enough to accomodate the crowd we had.
  • Staff: Ask for Pippa, she rocks. She came out super early to meet with us and is overall a very nice person to deal with. She follows up quickly and even had cute little Colonnade duckys for us (nice touch)!
  • Verdict: I just wish the price could come down a little bit!!!!

• The Fairmont Copley. ($$$)
  • Price: Ok, I admit, I knew this was going to be pricey, but I had to find out for sure. The entree and package prices are not much more than most of the hotels I went to, but the minimums were ridiculous. The Oval Room has a $27,000 minimum on food and beverage, not including tax and gratuity, to host a wedding there. I didn’t even ask about the Grand Ballroom. Complete packages, including open bar, tax, and gratuity, started at $175.
  • Setting: It’s beautiful, but it just isn’t us. Even if I had an unlimited budget, I think it is too ornate for our liking. Plus, it would be very expensive for our guests to stay there.
  • Staff: We met with Christina from catering who was really nice. She showed us the rooms and walked us through the menu. Even the head of catering introduced himself, which was a nice touch. We never felt rushed or pressured.
  • Verdict: Too expensive for us and our guests!

• The Hampshire House ($$$)

  • Price: $185 starting point, including tax, gratuity, 5 hour open bar. Yikes!
  • Setting: It felt like I was in someone’s living room. I didn’t like the fact that guests have to move upstairs for dessert while the room gets broken down for dancing. Also, the room only seats 150 people, including a side bar room that holds a few tables.
  • Staff: We didn’t meet with anyone from catering, as the time we went was on a weekend, but the gentleman who toured us was nice.
  • Verdict: Too small and too expensive.

How much per person?

Having a Boston wedding seems ridiculously expensive. Since I am not an heiress to a Back Bay mansion or the princess to daddy CEO, I have to worry about money. My fiance, my parents, and I are all footing the bill for this shindig and I don’t want anyone to go bankrupt over it. I considered having the wedding outside of Boston, but this is such a special place for us that I don’t think either of us would be happy doing it elsewhere.

Everywhere I go in this city, prices start at about $140 per person. While that figure includes the works – champagne toasts, cocktail hour food, open bar, etc. – at 200 guests we’re talking major money – $28,000 – just on the reception!! I’ve seen figures like “the average wedding in Massachusetts costs $24,000”; they must consider Boston it’s own territory so as not to skew the figures. Who makes this stuff up?