Can anyone please help me out here. I have not actually gone out and spoke with vendors to get quotes. I want to know the detailed cost breakdown of décor.
is there a cost difference from Desi vendor or American vendor? who charges more?
Anyone have a wedding that was fairly modern and paid outside vendors please help me out here. I want a good idea of how much this stuff will cost me.
Stage Decoration (draping, chandelier, sofa to sit on, pillars, etc…)
Cost of a custom theme stage?(mehnid = morrocan, Indian? Pakistani styles)
Draping of hall or venue? what is the criteria?
Cost of linens for tables?
Cost of charger plates?
Cost of flower decoration?
Cost of candle or non-floral decorations? (the bling stringy thing)
Cost of chivari chairs? I’ve read $5.00 per chair? is that the best price?
Cost of cake?
Cost of Food?
Cost of extra fancy desserts?
What is hotel cost vs banquest cost? what does it include?
Cost of DJ?
Cost of custom dance floor (white)?
Cost of rings?
Cost of clothes (bride and groom)
Gifts for families?
Party favor gifts?
Cost of invitations?
Cost of Photographer and videographer?
Cost of family table, special style of décor for those tables (2 tables most likely)
What is the cost you had to pay or average you think? please!!!
Also any vendor you recommend that are reasonable priced? how do vendors price your events? I want to know what to look out for any special things to ask your vendor to make it smooth transaction.
Is having a wedding on the west coast more costly then maybe say Midwest?
Re: Cost Breakdown of a Wedding, Mehndi, Dholki, Bridal Shower Decor
There are WAY too many variables to answer your questions! What you want dictates what you pay for.
You need to do a lot more research yourself first to figure out what you want- none of this "etc." business or "Indian/Moroccan/whatever decor" stuff. Be more decisive and firm.
OR set a budget according to what you can afford and work backwards from it.
Have a starting point of some kind- I can tell you right off the bat that no vendor will entertain you if you've got no idea what you want, and none of us can advise you for that same reason. Vendors can't quote you for anything without knowing what they are quoting on, regardless of location and ethnicity of vendor, and it's a big waste of their time and yours.
You can adjust the areas of expenditure to fit a desi wedding here and there but overall it kept me on track and on time. Print it and fill it out tonight just off the top of your head and then discuss it with family to see what they think. Then come back and give us a figure and I’m sure we’ll be able to guide you on whether it needs to be higher or lower.
Re: Cost Breakdown of a Wedding, Mehndi, Dholki, Bridal Shower Decor
It is all relative and depends on the person, and where they live (or rather where the wedding is). It is best to have a budget and some contingency. And it differs from people to people. For instance my in-laws didn't want to do anything fancy because of their financial constraints so we were fine with a simple valima dinner. However, I wanted a "beautiful wedding" as close to a typical Pakistani wedding back home - because at the end of the day it is my wedding and I should be happy / content with everything. And to be honest, men don't usually care about these trivial things, as was the case with my husband. I respected my in-laws constraints and also the fact that I don't want my own parents to be broke, so I chipped in quite a bit & helped my parents out for mehndi and shadi. For all my events, I spent around $20,000.00 on décor, photographer, video, favours and fresh flowers / garlands. Now I live in an area where there is limited availability to anything desi and flowers here cost a fortune. My budget was $18,000 but had a contigency of $3000. The cost of venue, food etc for about 250 people was $45,000. But like I said the venues etc were my choice so the shadi hotel I picked was a 5-star Fairmont and in heart of city core, and the mehndi venue was also pretty high-end. I wanted a simple Mayoun / Dholki (at home) with only family and close friends, so really it was just the cost of flowers / food / sweets / favours. The bridal shower usually is done by your friends, as it was in my case so no cost there. Now this is EXCLUDING the cost of being a bride i.e. dresses and jewellery. I even had a separate budget for being a bride because I knew that with my taste in fashion etc, things don't come cheap and I do not want to put my family or my husband's family in a position where they feel like they are broke after the wedding. Also I saved like crazy after engagement and all my money went in this "wedding fund", which helped with everything at the end from dress to decor. To be honest, with my budget I would have had a super grand wedding in Pakistan.
Re: Cost Breakdown of a Wedding, Mehndi, Dholki, Bridal Shower Decor
thank you for sharing this is something I just wanted to read about and get some info. So it looks like your grand total was the range of 45,000 for both mehndi, reception and valima? I just want to know what kind of expectations to have. I am not sure what my budge is yet but I feel that people in California are paying approximately 40,000 per event. Now the mehndi's here are not simple they have décor from draping the whole place to extra fancy desserts for the guests. Also the stage is elaborate at least the events I have been attending. My plan is to spend a total of 50,000 for both mehndi and reception combined.
It is all relative and depends on the person, and where they live (or rather where the wedding is). It is best to have a budget and some contingency. And it differs from people to people. For instance my in-laws didn't want to do anything fancy because of their financial constraints so we were fine with a simple valima dinner. However, I wanted a "beautiful wedding" as close to a typical Pakistani wedding back home - because at the end of the day it is my wedding and I should be happy / content with everything. And to be honest, men don't usually care about these trivial things, as was the case with my husband. I respected my in-laws constraints and also the fact that I don't want my own parents to be broke, so I chipped in quite a bit & helped my parents out for mehndi and shadi. For all my events, I spent around $20,000.00 on décor, photographer, video, favours and fresh flowers / garlands. Now I live in an area where there is limited availability to anything desi and flowers here cost a fortune. My budget was $18,000 but had a contigency of $3000. The cost of venue, food etc for about 250 people was $45,000. But like I said the venues etc were my choice so the shadi hotel I picked was a 5-star Fairmont and in heart of city core, and the mehndi venue was also pretty high-end. I wanted a simple Mayoun / Dholki (at home) with only family and close friends, so really it was just the cost of flowers / food / sweets / favours. The bridal shower usually is done by your friends, as it was in my case so no cost there. Now this is EXCLUDING the cost of being a bride i.e. dresses and jewellery. I even had a separate budget for being a bride because I knew that with my taste in fashion etc, things don't come cheap and I do not want to put my family or my husband's family in a position where they feel like they are broke after the wedding. Also I saved like crazy after engagement and all my money went in this "wedding fund", which helped with everything at the end from dress to decor. To be honest, with my budget I would have had a super grand wedding in Pakistan.
Re: Cost Breakdown of a Wedding, Mehndi, Dholki, Bridal Shower Decor
I spent $25,000 on the wedding with 96 guests, $6000 on mehendi with 45 guests. This included everything from outfits to music to venue, food, rentals, decor etc. I did not have a stage. My husband is not desi so ours was a much more laid back affair, despite being formal in its own way, than many desi weddings. And yes, everything was amazing :D
If 50k is your budget for both events, print out two copies of that worksheet. Split your budget into 70/30 I think and start splitting up costs according to the breakdown. Let us know the numbers you come up with and we can make recommendations to go up or down accordingly. A lot depends on how many guests you are planning on inviting. The best way to control budget is to control your guest list. Venues and photographers are the second most priciest things usually, and I guess if you want a designer bridal than that would count too.
Re: Cost Breakdown of a Wedding, Mehndi, Dholki, Bridal Shower Decor
thank you for sharing this is something I just wanted to read about and get some info. So it looks like your grand total was the range of 45,000 for both mehndi, reception and valima? I just want to know what kind of expectations to have. I am not sure what my budge is yet but I feel that people in California are paying approximately 40,000 per event. Now the mehndi's here are not simple they have décor from draping the whole place to extra fancy desserts for the guests. Also the stage is elaborate at least the events I have been attending. My plan is to spend a total of 50,000 for both mehndi and reception combined.
I think $50K is fair considering California. I would spend more on the shadi (main event) compared to Mehndi, just as Groovy mentioned (split the budget). Two of my cousins got married in OC couple years ago, and both were very lavish weddings. Just having done all the wedding plan for my own (and comparing to cousins etc while I was planning)... I think they would have spent $1000 per table on décor. But you know you can still have an elegant décor for way less than that. I think most people make the mistake of choosing weird colors & lighting for venue décor, trying to match it to the dress or whatever, and it ends up adding the total cost (and looking tacky or over the top). Plus why would you want a bride to match the décor... she has to stand out, lol. Best is to choose neutral color schemes like ivory / champagne / silver for décor. And no jokes, going with these colors, will save you on your cost. Usually good hotels have very nice basic ballroom & table pieces (and these are included in your venue cost). So then all you're left with is the stage décor / centre pieces and chairs. And unless you are dancing, the dance floor for actual shadi event is pretty useless ... you can ask them to lay it out as an aisle from entrance to stage - rather than spend on an aisle runner. There's many corners to save on... I saved on video... cuz I didn't care for a Bollywood or Hollywood type video production - I just wanted the raw footage. I think once you set your budget and start planning... you will know where and how to save.