Believe it or not, you can save thousands of dollars on wedding costs. Here, the fees for a high-end wedding reception for 150 guests and advice from experts on how to cut that sum down to size.
Wedding Reception Catering
Budget-buster First comes a cocktail hour with both hand-passed hors d'oeuvres and food stations, including a sushi bar, followed by a four-course meal that consists of a salad, soup, entrees-such as roasted Chilean sea bass and braised beef short ribs in a rich burgundy wine reduction-and a plated dessert, like a frozen chocolate mousse.
Cost: $25,800 ($172 per person)
Budget-friendly Cut the cocktail-hour stations. 'Those serving sushi, for example, are more expensive than hand-passed hors d'oeuvres because you have to put a lot of food out and keep replenishing it for the entire cocktail hour,' says Christopher Robbins, vice president of the New York City-based Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs, which has a catering facility in the Hamptons, NY. Instead, he recommends hand passing a mix of less costly hors d'oeuvres, such as caviar and mini margarita pizzas.
Cost: $22,800 ($152 per person)
Savings: $3,000 ($20 per person)
Other ways to save: Go with a three- course meal, and choose to serve either the fish or beef, but not both.
Wedding Flowers/Decor
Budget-buster Because so many brides want a personalized look for their wedding decor, expenses can rapidly escalate. Darren Andereck, president and creative director of Alice'
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