Weddingbee
Here is a peek into how the bees budgeted for live entertainment for their weddings! Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in our Real Bee Budgets series!
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Mrs. Quiche’s Live Entertainment
Band: Steel Drum Band
Price: $400/hr x 2 hr = $800
Ceremony music (Calypso Trio (included for ceremony) & hired for an additional hour): $100
Speaker/Microphone/iPod hookup (for after) - $225
“Our resort offered a number of options for live entertainment, but initially, we didn’t want to spend the money on it. For example, the reggae band was $3,000!
In the end, we wanted to have authentic Jamaican flair & hired a steel drum band. What a great decision! They were awesome. We changed our minds about having them at the reception & decided we’d rather have them at the rehearsal dinner. It was awesome!”
Read more…
Today in our Real Bee Budgets series, check out the bees’ favors!
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Mrs. Flamingo’s Favors
Favors: Imported Italian Sparkling Water + Donation to Quebec Breast Cancer Association
# of Favors: 96
Total Price: $192
Price per favor: $2
“When it came time to choose our favors, we decided to make a donation to the Quebec Breast Cancer Association. We felt as though our guests might like to leave the wedding with something in their hands, so we purchased Italian imported water. We created little cards and DIY pink ribbons with the mention of the donation in memory of my grandmother and in honor of my mother, who is a survivor.
The guests loved our favors and still talk about them today… some even shed some tears!”
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So many brides debate whether or not to hire a wedding planner/DOC. Hopefully, the bees’ experiences can help you with your decision! Be sure to check out the rest of the Real Bee Budgets series!
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Miss Beagle’s DOC
DOC: Pam Donaldson w/ Celebrations Event Planning, Austin TX
Price: $795 for Day of Coordination (includes Rehearsal Dinner the night before); 2008 pricing
Prior To Wedding:
Week Before Wedding:
Day of Wedding
“I hired Pam in November of 2008. Originally, our venue did not have an on-site coordinator, so I decided to hire a DOC primarily because we needed help with set-up and clean-up. Pam has been a dream to work with thus far and I only expect great things from her on our wedding day! She’s done so much more than I ever expected I would need and has always been my go-to person for wedding related questions.”
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Today in our Real Bee Budgets series, the bees share their expenses for getting pretty-fied!
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Mrs. Canary’s Hair & Makeup
Hair: Stacy Pitt
Price: $1,300 (Includes: total of 10 heads)
Three styles:
Tea Ceremony: Down-do, finger curls, vintage look
Photos/Ceremony/Cocktail Hour/First Dance: Updo, veil placement for both birdcage and cathedral veil:
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Catering always eats up a huge portion of any wedding’s budget! See how the bees fed their guests within their budgets. Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in this Real Bee Budgets series!
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Mrs. Avocado’s Caterer
Caterer: Hotel 1000, Seattle WA, 2008
Cost: $86.70/person, 76 guests and 4 vendor meals, for a total of $6936 (including taxes and gratuities).
Included: Tray passed appetizers (average of $44.75/dozen), onion soup (a custom item made with my dad’s organic onions at no extra cost!), an absolutely amazing cucumber melon sorbet intermezzo, pasta/beef/halibut entrees (average of $39/plate), sparkling cider ($12/bottle), strawberry lemonade ($45/gallon), coffee and tea service at the end of the meal (no charge), and vendor meals ($27/average).
Today in our Real Bee Budget series, the bees are sharing their rental costs. How do these rental costs stack up to rental pricing in your area?
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Miss Cherry Pie’s Rentals
Rentals: Celebrate Rentals
Total Cost: $4,400
Cost Breakdown:
Today the bees are sharing their cake costs! Check out all the rest of the bees’ budgets featured in our Real Bee Budget series!
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Mrs. Cookie’s Cake
Cake: Chocolate cake with raspberry preserves, white fondant, and blue royal icing
Cost: $500
Served: 65 (hardly any left over)
Bakery: Blue Moon Bakery
Location: Silverthorne, Colorado
Topper: $5 at Target
“After our initial baker backed-out on us a month before our wedding, I was just happy to have cake at all. But Chief Ben Reil at Blue Moon Bakery stepped in and saved the day. He made us a chocolate cake with raspberry preserves covered in white fondant and decorated with blue royal icing. Unfortunately, with four other weddings that weekend, he couldn’t deliver the cake to our venue. The cake was modified from our original design so that my parents could pick it up and also so it would survive the trek up the mountain on a windy gravel road. The cake toppers were salt and pepper shakers that I found at Target.”
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Mrs. Penguin here! Flower costs were, by far, the biggest mystery to me. We hope that by seeing the bees’ flowers and their costs, you can get a better idea for floral pricing for your own wedding! A big thank you to all the bees that continue to contribute to our Real Bee Budget series… you guys are the best!
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Mrs. Hot Cocoas’ Flowers
Florist: Kate Baker Florals, Southern California
Total floral cost: $6750
Included:
Today in our Bee Budget Series, the bees are sharing their photography costs. Packages and rates vary from year to year, but we hope this gives you a good idea of photography rates across the country!
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Mrs. Tulip’s Photographer
Photographer: Punam Bean Photography
Package Price: $2000
“When I was looking at photographers, there was nothing that made me as sad as finding someone I loved and then discovering that her/his rates were 2-3 (and even up to 5!) times my maximum. But Punam’s 2008 rates started at $2,000. And that price included an engagement session. And you got a DVD of your images. She’s willing to travel and is reasonable about travel expenses, which is how this DC bride ended up with an NYC photographer…”
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Today’s budget comes from a reader who got married yesterday! She’s graciously shared her planning budget with the hive. Congratulations Sarah and Brad!
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Date: 6/20/09
City, State: Long Beach, CA
Budget: $55k (not including honeymoon, rehearsal dinner, brunch or rings)
# of Guests: 220
Original budget did not include rings, honeymoon or rehearsal dinner & brunch. My parents paid for the wedding, his parents paid for the rehearsal dinner, brunch & bar bill at wedding. We paid for wedding
bands and our hotel room.
Wedding Day Costs
Ceremony Site Fees/Type of Venue: $1611 - At Sunset Deck at the Reef on the Water. The total includes ceremony set up and chairs as well as the rehearsal coordinator.
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