Re: oooodeadmanicureFebruary 20 2004, 13:55:55 UTC
his website is www.laszlophoto.com
he lives down near Portland, OR...but he includes Seattle in his local area...meaning that even though he is with you for 2 days (or 4, if you do that option, we just did 2) you won't have to pay for his travel or lodging or anything, just the one package fee includes everything...album, two days of him, all proofs, everything.
the other thing i'll say is that the pictures on the website are older and of older couples...he has since done mine and several of my friend's weddings which have a more casual feeling to them, while still being elegant and exciting.
his site will explain how he works a little more...but i can't recommend him strongly enough. it was half my wedding budget but because the pictures are so gorgeous and we have so many of them (in addition to the album he makes for you with around 250 pics - you get every picture he takes...so we have a shoebox of professional photos of us and have built several albums for our parents etc. he estimates that he gives couples between 700 and 1000 pictures) our wedding looks like a far more decadent affair than it actually was.
that's all. :) but he books up way in advance and he only schedules one wedding per weekend so you'll want to check available ASAP if you're even remotely interested because we actually changed our wedding date to get him.
Re: oooodeadmanicureFebruary 20 2004, 15:47:18 UTC
erica holds breath and says quietly...yeah. for two days he charges $3,800. and with tax it's about $4,200. but i'll tell you, my wedding budget was only 8k so i'm not kidding when i say that he was half my budget and i don't regret it for one second.
but this last weekend, for my sister's wedding he did a half day with just her and her new husband, then he met up with the boys when they tried on tuxes and then they went and played football in the mud and he was with them for that, then he came and hung out with the girls as we made programs and got our nails done...and then he was at the rehearsal and the dinner and then back again at 9am the next day. and he does all this candid photojournalistic stuff that is, in my opinion, better than having a video...and then he also does portraits of people the day before looking normal (except when you get the pictures back you look way better than you even though you could) and then all the formal pictures at the ceremony etc.
he has a sample album at fox's jewelry downtown, but also you're welcome to see my album sometime. it's like nothing i'd ever seen...and i still, three weddings i've helped plan besides my own later, haven't found anybody who does so much for the cost.
i always tell people that after the day of the wedding, you're married (which is good :), but all you really have left are the presents and the pictures. and i looooOOOOOOoooove my pictures.
it would be great *except*.... we have so many people flying in from out of town that the catering expenses are mind-blowing--that, and we're breaking the bank on the honeymoon, which is more of a priority for us than the pictures. believe me, i'd love to be able to afford all of it... but i just don't think it's going to happen. not unless i sell some stock and arrange for it on my own, and then it would be a hard sell to my sweetie.
so chica, how did you do the flowers and invitations and catering and dj and so on on just $4000? any other vendor recommendations???
Re: oooodeadmanicureFebruary 20 2004, 17:08:35 UTC
we got married in the summer at lord hill farms in snohomish. so we had to hire a bartender, but we could buy our own booze at costco/redhook etc. and we used the house caterer but i asked if we could have a mexican buffet and they had a corporate picnic fiesta menu that they let me have in the wedding serving dishes etc. so we had enchiladas and fajitas etc. it was so tasty...and much cheaper.
i did my own flowers so the bouquets were hand-tied roses (from costco 20 dozen for $110) with a little fabric pinned around the bottom and the reception flowers were from pike place market. there were dahlias 'n' sunflowers 'n' lilies in ikea vases on all the tables :) it was $400 total, including vases...and there were flowers everywhere. the only thing i didn't do was corsages and boutineers (spelling?). they wouldn't have been hard or expensive, just time consuming.
and i made my own invitations...which was more expensive than i thought, but less expensive than my sister's. they were two layers, one of vellum, and then we painted and stamped these dragonflies on them. and i made my programs too...and they were ok, but then i had a great idea for my sis's wedding and her's cost the same but they were soooo cute. i kinda outdid myself on that one - ha ha.
and my dress was an old oscar de la renta couture thing from the back of some bridal shop that i bought on ebay and then had the train cut off and the waist lifted. it was very simple and classic and worked out really well. and i got it for $76 and then paid $130 to get it alterred etc.
oh, and we got our cake from Larry's market. it was only like $287 or something, for 120 people. and my sister just got her's from there too and it was really pretty, classy, and tasted yum.
what time of year are you getting married?? 'cause i was able to cut a lot more corners than my sister just because of the time of year.
mostly, just make sure that there aren't a bunch of hidden costs with your vendors. my sister just used a caterer and it was 16.50/person flat. no extras for cake cutting or dishes or linens. i can get her name if you need somebody. she was great too.
sorry to keep writing you books...i just really enjoyed planning my wedding and i think it's such an exciting thing i get kinda worked up :)
Thanks for all the advice--I really appreciate it. Would love the caterer's name, and you've made me think again about having a florist do most of the flowers; sounds like you did incredibly well. We're getting our invitations pretty cheaply, so that shouldn't be a problem. We're doing the wedding reception at our house so we can buy our own booze & do much of the decorating, but will require tents and stuff.
my maid of honor is making my dress because my figure is so screwy there's no chance of finding something close to the style I want that will work without having it built. :(
but other than that, thanks again for all the ideas. it is exciting; I'm finding it more stressful than fun at the moment but that could change too. :)
he lives down near Portland, OR...but he includes Seattle in his local area...meaning that even though he is with you for 2 days (or 4, if you do that option, we just did 2) you won't have to pay for his travel or lodging or anything, just the one package fee includes everything...album, two days of him, all proofs, everything.
the other thing i'll say is that the pictures on the website are older and of older couples...he has since done mine and several of my friend's weddings which have a more casual feeling to them, while still being elegant and exciting.
his site will explain how he works a little more...but i can't recommend him strongly enough. it was half my wedding budget but because the pictures are so gorgeous and we have so many of them (in addition to the album he makes for you with around 250 pics - you get every picture he takes...so we have a shoebox of professional photos of us and have built several albums for our parents etc. he estimates that he gives couples between 700 and 1000 pictures) our wedding looks like a far more decadent affair than it actually was.
that's all. :) but he books up way in advance and he only schedules one wedding per weekend so you'll want to check available ASAP if you're even remotely interested because we actually changed our wedding date to get him.
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but this last weekend, for my sister's wedding he did a half day with just her and her new husband, then he met up with the boys when they tried on tuxes and then they went and played football in the mud and he was with them for that, then he came and hung out with the girls as we made programs and got our nails done...and then he was at the rehearsal and the dinner and then back again at 9am the next day. and he does all this candid photojournalistic stuff that is, in my opinion, better than having a video...and then he also does portraits of people the day before looking normal (except when you get the pictures back you look way better than you even though you could) and then all the formal pictures at the ceremony etc.
he has a sample album at fox's jewelry downtown, but also you're welcome to see my album sometime. it's like nothing i'd ever seen...and i still, three weddings i've helped plan besides my own later, haven't found anybody who does so much for the cost.
i always tell people that after the day of the wedding, you're married (which is good :), but all you really have left are the presents and the pictures. and i looooOOOOOOoooove my pictures.
Reply
so chica, how did you do the flowers and invitations and catering and dj and so on on just $4000? any other vendor recommendations???
Reply
i did my own flowers so the bouquets were hand-tied roses (from costco 20 dozen for $110) with a little fabric pinned around the bottom and the reception flowers were from pike place market. there were dahlias 'n' sunflowers 'n' lilies in ikea vases on all the tables :) it was $400 total, including vases...and there were flowers everywhere. the only thing i didn't do was corsages and boutineers (spelling?). they wouldn't have been hard or expensive, just time consuming.
and i made my own invitations...which was more expensive than i thought, but less expensive than my sister's. they were two layers, one of vellum, and then we painted and stamped these dragonflies on them. and i made my programs too...and they were ok, but then i had a great idea for my sis's wedding and her's cost the same but they were soooo cute. i kinda outdid myself on that one - ha ha.
and my dress was an old oscar de la renta couture thing from the back of some bridal shop that i bought on ebay and then had the train cut off and the waist lifted. it was very simple and classic and worked out really well. and i got it for $76 and then paid $130 to get it alterred etc.
oh, and we got our cake from Larry's market. it was only like $287 or something, for 120 people. and my sister just got her's from there too and it was really pretty, classy, and tasted yum.
what time of year are you getting married?? 'cause i was able to cut a lot more corners than my sister just because of the time of year.
mostly, just make sure that there aren't a bunch of hidden costs with your vendors. my sister just used a caterer and it was 16.50/person flat. no extras for cake cutting or dishes or linens. i can get her name if you need somebody. she was great too.
sorry to keep writing you books...i just really enjoyed planning my wedding and i think it's such an exciting thing i get kinda worked up :)
Reply
my maid of honor is making my dress because my figure is so screwy there's no chance of finding something close to the style I want that will work without having it built. :(
but other than that, thanks again for all the ideas. it is exciting; I'm finding it more stressful than fun at the moment but that could change too. :)
Reply
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