Now I am really panicking!!!!!!

[JDMasso]

I just received my Estimated Event Budget for our wedding and I was floored. It was way more than I was expecting. I know Disney asked for us to aim high and then we can cut back, but, even after I cut back, I'm still way over budget. So my question is, is it worth it to use outside vendors such as a DJ? (Disney is charging me $1700.00 for a DJ for approximately 4 hours). Also, for past Disney Brides, what are some good tips for saving some money? (For example, I read somewhere that instead of using champagne for the toast, which is 35.00 per bottle you can use sparkling cider, whish is like 23.00 per bottle).

Any help would be appreciated!!!!

 

[Laurafoster]

Ok deep breath....lol. I was the same when i first got my BEO!

Firstly a DJ - Disney charge you a basic set up fee - for lights, dance floor etc etc so check on these before getting outside quotes for me it only worked out like $20 cheaper!

At first i really thought how can i cut down anything - but once i talked to some people i really found all the places that were not needed and i got down to close to my budget!

If you need any help with your BEO please PM and im more than happy to tell you area's i cut down etc!

 

[happylalagirl]

Hi there... we are leaving for our planning session this Saturday. The actual planning session is on Tuesday, 15th. We are saving money by using an outside vendor for our ceremony floral (we are getting married at SBP). I highly recommend Whimsical Wey!! Chris is fabulous to work with and they only do one wedding per day. I would have loved to use her for our reception but we are having an in-park reception and are not allowed to use an outside vendor. But that's ok. We are making our own centerpieces. Actually, they are almost complete. We are driving them down to FL with us on Saturday. So, we are saving quite a bit of money by not using Disney floral very much. All of our centerpieces cost us just over $100. And we made 16 of them. I am excited and nervous at the same time about our planning session because I've heard from just about everyone on here, how high their original BEO is. But, we know what we want and we know what our budget is. So, we are going to keep all that in mind as we go to our planning session.

 

[RangerPooh]

We too made our own centerpieces as a way to cut down our Floral BEO. In addition we actually had a minimal amount of floral used. A family member made the swags that were hung at the gazebo during the ceremony and were later transfered to the gift table at the reception. The only floral on the headtable at our reception were the bouquets that everyone carried.

See if you can get the look that you want with an alternatively cheaper flower. If you do decide to go with Disney vs. an outside vendor they can transfer any ceremony floral to the reception site without a fee (or at least this is how DLR does it), as with an outside vendor you might be charged a setup fee if Disney has to relocate it.

As for DJ double check as to what comes with them. The dance floor may be included with your site rental fee and may not be affected by going with an outside vendor. Shop around and see what the prices are. If you don't need specialty lighting and the price difference is great this might be the way to go.

Are you going with specific table cloths and chair covers? You might wnat to see if an outside vendor has them cheaper or if you can switch to a cheaper one that Disney offers. I would also suggest that you play around with your floral budget. Ask about alternative flowers or different arraingments to see what the price difference is as this might help you with your budget. You can always cut things to the bare minimum and then add to it just as a starting point.

 

[hmgolden]

I dont think using an outside DJ would save you money as Disney will then charge you a fee which I think is like $400.00

You can ask Disney to serve half glasses of champagne. They did that for us, saved us a bunch of money.

Outside floral vendors have saved other brides lots of money, as long as you don't need to use Disney to meet your minimum.

Cocktail hour food is another place that you can cut back some. Also, are you planning on serving cake and dessert? Consider cutting the dessert and just serving cake.

 

[twojo21]

take a deep breath & review the beo.

we had everyone toast with the wine we had poured instead of champagne it was no big deal & saved us $. one of the things we cut was goofy my husband just couldnt stomach $710 for 30 minutes, so review what items you have & if the cost is worth it. we also cut back on floral decor for the ceremony the rose garden & yc gazebo just didnt need it. we used outside vendors for photo & video. we also did some things ourselves like our own centerpieces.

best of luck with your cuts, my beo made me dizzy at first too. in the end we cut some things but our wedding was still amazing per guests & beautiful.

 

[JDMasso]

Thank you everyone for your support. I am going to review my BEO carefully and consider everyone's suggestions.

Twojo21: What outside photography did you use?

 

[allisonswonderland]

Happylagirl- My BEO was not that bad- but I was very careful when selecting. The only splurge thing I put on there were the 15 per chair, chairs, which I knew I would remove and I did, opting for the chair covers w/ bows- so be sensible and if you are making your own centerpieces then that will help, as my floral was really high!

 

[wendy46001]

Like everyone said....breath....
our original quote was a joke....my DH almost passed out...but the look on his face was priceless...our wedding ended up being less then a third of what we where quoted...
Just look at everything closely

What Disney doesn’t tell you is there are grades to everything
You can keep your lines but go for a cheaper material
you can keep the plate chargers just use the plastic instead of the glass
they quote you on expensive flowers, so go with what’s in season

We actually cut out champagne all together ...we had an open bar and had everyone just toast with what’s in there hand...saved us $$$

I always thought they give you that number just to see if you'll pay it...lol
but there is a lot of room to get back under budget

After we cut everything we could think of, we got back with them and said, this is where we need to be get us there....and they did

Still lots of planning to go....so keep breathing

 

[Cinderella2006]

Outside vendors could be a good way to cut costs especially the more pricey items such as photography/videography. We are using Randy Chapman for our photos and a magic moment for our video, this alone saved us a fortune! Charming events are also a great company for floral. Hope it all works out well in the end

 

[ItGirl753]

we are having an in-park reception and are not allowed to use an outside vendor. But that's ok. We are making our own centerpieces.

Sorry, somewhat off-topic.
Happylalagirl,
Where is your reception and can you post a pic of your centerpieces? I think I will start a new thread....not sure if there has been one, but I'll try.

 

[twojo21]

we used randy chapman & i am so happy with our photos. disney was just too much for photo along with the cost of additional prints & albums.

 

[pixie08]

we used randy chapman & i am so happy with our photos. disney was just too much for photo along with the cost of additional prints & albums.

Absolutely ...Disney really is insane on Photo & video prices for what they give you. Floral also. We are using outside video (kennedy video) and photo (Randy Chapman) but for sake of convenience I am just going to use Disney for floral and everything else. Like for floral I am hoping to say i want this look but don't want to spend over $1000 or whatever to acheive it. what can we do? I think that it just takes some negotiating...I hope anyway

 

[Codie]

We cut:

Champagne toast---used whatever they were drinking...a lot of people don't like champagne anyway

Cake--just went with a delicious dessert

Floral--kept it very simple--bm wands instead of bouquets and bought my own ($3) centerpieces, which doubled as favors

Transportation--limos instead of fancy cars

Menu--I played with the menu to pare it down in price

Photography--I went with Randy. I loved getting the rights to my pictures...that is so valuable

Location--went with a location that didn't need decorating...no chair covers, etc...downside was more centerpieces because of 4 tops at ADH...but smaller centerpieces aka favors were then appropriate

Transportation--only provided a ride to the ceremony and reception--not home from reception

Bar--wine/beer only...know your crowd (and your bartender--you'll see in my trip report that I ended up upgrading to full bar)

That's all i can think of off the top of my head