(Virtual) Sticker Shocked Brides: Doing Your Wedding Your Way

February 22nd, 2010 admin Posted in flowers |

By khuber79

I own a Philadelphia wedding company that offers Videography, Disc Jockey and Photography. My company serves over 200 weddings annually. Often brides come to me and one of the first things they say is they never realized everything costs so much. It really is a matter of quality. It is not that everything is so costly, it is just relative.

In the Philadelphia area, the average wedding cost is between $25,000 and $30,000. That would include 150 to 200 guests at a very luxurious reception site, with a Videographer, Photographer, and Disc Jockey. It would also include a limo, the dress, the flowers, etc. If you are able to afford more, you can upgrade the reception site a bit and perhaps get a live band. If you are on a tight budget, I would suggest a Fire Hall or VFW and cutting out “unessentials”, which would include going minimal on flowers and not getting a limo. I have heard some brides mention not having a Disc Jockey and hooking up an iPod. I feel that is a huge mistake, no one is going to dance to an iPod and set of speakers. First off the sound quality would be horrible. People at weddings don’t remember the food, they don’t remember the flowers, and they don’t remember the ceremony. What they remember is if they had a good time, and that is strictly the reason you need a superb band or Disc Jockey.

Some brides would argue that videography is not an essential service. 15 years ago I would have agreed with you, with the quality of the videos from years past. In recent years, with the introduction of HD cameras, professional quality audio equipment, and an array of Hollywood quality video equipment. Wedding videos have made large leaps and became as essential as photography. I would even argue that videography is more important than photography. Imagine watching a movie quality video of your parent’s or grandparent’s wedding. Seeing your relatives in the prime of their lives and seeing some relatives that may be deceased enjoying themselves in a wonderful occasion. The sights and sounds of the day would probably be priceless to you and future generations. Whereas, how often do you look at your parent’s wedding album? Have you ever seen it? Many of my clients that come to me on a very limited budget for Photography and Disc Jockey services and say they are not interested in videography. After showing them a couple demo videos of past weddings, I am usually able to change their minds. Every time I talk a bride into getting Videography for her wedding, she thanks me as soon as she watches the video. The most common response from these brides is, “Our wedding went by so fast, it was amazing to relive it watching our wedding video. Thank you!” If you book a Photographer that offers both Photo and Video, I am sure they would work with you on the price and perhaps help with some type of payment options to help you to be able to afford getting both services. I offer monthly payment options to help my brides afford the wedding of their dreams, after all it is a once in a lifetime event (for most).

If you are on a very limited budget and are looking to eliminate services, the first thing you should cut out is limo service. It is not a vital part of the day, you can have a relative or friend take you where you need to go. Flowers are also not extremely important. Your local supermarket can supply some extremely nice floral arrangements for your bouquet and bridesmaids, usually at a fraction of what a flower shop would charge. Invitations don’t have to cost you an arm and leg, after all, they are going in the trash soon after they are opened. There are many places online where you can get invitations real cheap. Going to a local invitation store will be much more expensive than finding a source online. Favors can be done yourself at a very inexpensive price. There are other spots where you can get away with saving a bit of money, but videography, photography and disc jockey are the most essential services for a successful wedding and the memories.

Kenneth Huber is the owner of Ken’s Entertainment Group, a Pennsylvania based wedding company, which specializes in Disc Jockey, Photography and Videography services.

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