Sticker Shocked Brides: Cutting Costs for Your Wedding Day by Kenneth Huber

I own a Philadelphia wedding company that offers DJ, Photography and Videography services. My company serves over 200 weddings a year. Often brides come to me and one of the first things they say is they never realized everything was so expensive. It really is a matter of quality. It is not that everything is so expensive, it is just relative.

In the Leigh Valley, the average wedding cost is approximately $27,500. That would include 150 to 200 guests at a very luxurious reception site, with a Videographer, Photographer, and DJ. It would also include the dress, the flowers, a limo, 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 very tight budget, I would suggest a Fire Hall or VFW and cutting out "unessentials", which would include not getting a limo and going minimal on flowers. I have heard some brides mention not having a DJ and hooking up an iPod to a boom box. To me that is a huge mistake, no one is going to dance to an iPod. 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 the guests remember is if they had a enjoyable time, and that is precisely the reason you need anexemplary DJ or band.

Some would argue that having a professional videographer is not an essential service. 15 years ago I would have agreed with you, with the quality of the videos from years past.

Over the past 15 years, with the introduction of Hi-Definition cameras, professional level audio equipment, and an array of movie level video equipment. Wedding videos have made large leaps and became as essential as wedding photography. I would even argue that wedding videography is more important than photography. Imagine watching a movie quality video of your parent's or grandparent's wedding. To see your relatives in their prime and seeing some relatives that might have passed away enjoying themselves in a glorious occasion. The happenings of the day would probably be priceless to you. Whereas, how often do you look at your parent's wedding album? 

Have you ever looked at it? Many of my clients that come to me on a very tight budget for Photography and DJ services and say they are not interested in video. After watching a couple demo videos of prior weddings, I usually am 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 is, "Our wedding went by so fast, it was great to relive each moment watching our wedding video.  

Thank you!" If you book a Photographer that offers both Photo and Video, I'm positive they would work with you on the price and perhaps help with some type of payment options to assist you to be able to afford getting both services. I offer many various payment plans to assist my brides afford the wedding of their dreams, after all it is or should be a once in a lifetime event (for most).

If you are on a very tight budget and are looking to cut down on services, the first thing you should cut out is limousine service. It is not a vital part of the day, you can have a relative or friend drive 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 do not have to be extravagant, 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 place will be more expensive than finding a source online. Favors can be done yourself at a very cost effective price. There are many other spots that you can get away with saving some money, but DJ, photography, and videography are the most essential services for a successful wedding and the memories. 

Kenneth is the owner of Ken's Entertainment Group, a Pennsylvania based wedding company, which specializes inVideography, Disc Jockey and Photography services.

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