Everything you need for a Midwest wedding

David Ramos25 said:Does anyone have a lead on a tent rental company for a wedding reception? Looking for options other than Party City.

I was actually asking around about tent rentals at the trade show last week. Aside from Viggo Mortensen, I came across ALTERA. I can shoot you their number if you want. 🙂

What’s the consensus on the band Escher? I think there are five of them, maybe. They have a female vocalist too. I saw them play at a wedding once and they were great, but let me know if you've heard them just to be sure.🙂

Hey, has anyone in the US actually seen people wearing formal long dresses? I know some guys just went with suits... so if you have any info... 😬

David Ramos25 said:I wasn't aware that Exclusive could only be booked as a venue alone...🤷
When we put down our deposit, that wasn't an option...

As for the florals, I haven't heard of Blažica. I did see a florist from a small town near Chicago called Stella at the trade show, and based on what I told her I wanted, it would cost $13 per table. With those sphere arrangements and everything. Since I have 45 tables 🙂 , it might actually stay somewhat affordable... though I'd also love a large floral centerpiece right in the middle of the dance floor. I think I'll head over to see what Jaka's pricing looks like given my specific tastes. $1667 I'm setting a strict limit on the flower budget... not a single dollar more.
And for bouquets and boutonnieres, I'm looking at Fantazija in Chicago...

I made it out to the trade show myself. 🙂 The ladies from "Exclusive" really caught my eye. Their booth was right at the entrance, decked out in this whole "winter wonderland" theme. I heard they actually took home first place for best booth design. Does anyone know much about them? I’m definitely planning on stopping by to have a word. 😁

Mark Nguyen11 said:Welcome!!!

Thanks 😁

So, yeah... what's everyone's experience been like with renting lighting rigs and special effects gear?

casualfalcon15 said:I was actually asking around about tent rentals at the trade show last week. Aside from Viggo Mortensen, I came across ALTERA. I can shoot you their number if you want. 🙂

We actually talked to them too, but I keep hearing people say they’re pretty pricey... especially once you add shipping all the way from Columbus to the Midwest..

But honestly, their tents look awesome

BTW, roughly what kind of price are we looking at with Viggo Mortensen? (Feel free to DM me!)

casualfalcon15 said:So, yeah... what's everyone's experience been like with renting lighting rigs and special effects gear?

Welcome to the group!
Personally, I’d suggest checking out Igor from St. Louis—we used him for our last project, and he's great (if you send him an inquiry, he can show you plenty of his portfolio):
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/p...00000504890903
http://www.youtube.com/user/gothicsb.../1/OGsFvJ-aFRc

Olivia Gomez2 said:Welcome to the group!
Personally, I’d suggest checking out Igor from St. Louis—we used him for our last project, and he's great (if you send him an inquiry, he can show you plenty of his portfolio):
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/p...00000504890903
http://www.youtube.com/user/gothicsb.../1/OGsFvJ-aFRc

And roughly how much does this cost? No idea what to expect...

The most basic, budget-friendly option was $500, which could go up to about $1667 if we included wall graphics.
We gave him a ballpark figure of what we were looking to spend—around $3,000 tops—so everything should fit within that range. We don't need any of those inflatable decorations, nor do we need the walls painted (since there aren't actually any walls in the hall), but he mentioned he’d throw in a few extras. We still need to sit down and finalize the exact list of what's included before we head back to see him.
We put down a deposit back in June of last year, so I'm honestly not sure if he's bumped up his prices since then...

The Sator from Viggo Mortensen is 5x7 and goes for $233. They’ve only got 10 in stock and they’re always flying off the shelves... better to grab one now if you can. At least that’s what they told me when I called.

Walter Price5 said:Hi ladies 🙂
I suppose I should chime in too... I also have in-laws in Indianapolis at 10 AM
Venue: Admiral
Music: Grega band from the Midwest
As for flowers and a photographer—I honestly have no clue, which is why I joined this forum to see if anyone has recommendations. I heard about a florist named Jack over in Ivankov, so I’m wondering if anyone has worked with him or perhaps the photographer Krizmanic? I'd love to know roughly what the pricing looks like and what's included in their packages.
Since I live in San Francisco, checking all this out is a bit of a logistical headache.
Thanks

Jack and Krizmanic really give you great value for your money—honestly quite affordable, especially compared to the prices you'd see in San Francisco. As long as you aren't expecting anything over-the-top, you'll be very happy with them. Just make sure to be super specific about exactly what you want, and you shouldn't have any issues at all.

Olivia Gomez2 said:Welcome to the group!
Personally, I’d suggest checking out Igor from St. Louis—we used him for our last project, and he's great (if you send him an inquiry, he can show you plenty of his portfolio):
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/p...00000504890903
http://www.youtube.com/user/gothicsb.../1/OGsFvJ-aFRc

Oh, awesome. Thank you so much!🙏

Not sure if any of you made it out to the wedding expo... I spent the whole day wandering through every single booth. My top picks 🙂 were definitely—the floral design studio, which was absolutely stunning (easily the best setup there), and the dessert table—homemade cookies that tasted just like my grandma used to make. As for travel, their "honeymoon" package (they won an award for the best promo material) totally blew me away 🙂. For men's suits, check out Arbanas. Honestly, though, I couldn't find anything decent for dresses, lighting, or a solid photographer. Still, I'm pretty happy with the expo overall since I nailed down the flowers and the sweets (though my mom and mother-in-law are going to have to do a taste test first, haha) 🙂. One less thing to worry about 🙂

Does anyone know if it's cheaper to pick up lapel pin supplies in Canada? Or maybe over in Canada... I think someone mentioned a specific shop in Harkanje on one of the other threads once...

I can't believe I'm actually sitting here typing this out—it’s just one of those days where everything feels slightly off, I guess. You know that feeling? Where you look at the state of things and you just want to shake your head? Anyway, I was thinking about some of the stuff being discussed lately, specifically regarding how people are handling the shifts we're seeing in the Midwest. It’s a bit much, honestly. I mean, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining—I really don't—but there's a certain level of disconnect happening that's hard to ignore. Maybe I'm being too cynical, or maybe I'm just paying more attention than most, but it feels like the conversations we should be having aren't the ones actually getting the spotlight. It's frustrating, in a very quiet, simmering sort of way. Just an observation, I suppose. kaže:
Does anyone happen to know if it's actually cheaper to pick up lapel materials over in the North America? Or maybe in Canada... I think someone mentioned a specific shop in Harkanje once in one of those old threads??

I was just over at the Target aisles—scouring the place for wedding supplies—and honestly, it’s kind of wild how much stuff they have. Everything is so incredibly cheap there. I managed to snag a whole set of silver-plated serving trays for basically nothing. Then I come back home and see people trying to charge me a fortune for the exact same thing? It’s ridiculous. $8.25!! 👎 I mean, I definitely have all the raw materials sitting around—but honestly, I haven't actually sat down to check the current market prices because I’ve just been buying everything pre-made up until now. It might actually be worth making a trip out there to see if doing it ourselves really pays off—though I guess we'll have to go see for ourselves to know for sure.🙂

Thanks!

ruggedtrucker5 said:Jack and Krizmanic really give you great value for your money—honestly quite affordable, especially compared to the prices you'd see in San Francisco. As long as you aren't expecting anything over-the-top, you'll be very happy with them. Just make sure to be super specific about exactly what you want, and you shouldn't have any issues at all.

Thanks... I only know about Krizmanić, but over at the casino they actually recommended Jack.🙂
Do you happen to know if there's a better florist or photographer around Indianapolis, and is there much of a price difference?

p.s. - I have no idea what Krizmanić or Jack charge. I haven't reached out to anyone yet, so I figured I'd check the forum first to see what other girls say based on their actual experience.

Walter Price5 said:Thanks... I only know about Krizmanić, but over at the casino they actually recommended Jack.🙂
Do you happen to know if there's a better florist or photographer around Indianapolis, and is there much of a price difference?

p.s. - I have no idea what Krizmanić or Jack charge. I haven't reached out to anyone yet, so I figured I'd check the forum first to see what other girls say based on their actual experience.

I think Jak is excellent; I already mentioned that in another post. I went in for a consultation and found everything I was looking for. Prices depend on the type and amount of flowers, of course, but she mentioned it rarely goes over $1000. For everything—bouquets, car decor, the hall, the church—the issue is that many couples, like my cousin for example, come in and say "whatever, just make something within this budget," and naturally, it might not turn out as wonderful as it could. But if you tell her exactly what you want and show that you care about the look, I believe she does a much better job. She showed me photos of some of her work and everything looked great. They even do balloon decorations, which look really nice... I liked that.

Other places jack up their prices so high you almost faint when you see the bill. For instance, a colleague paid $567 at one florist for a bouquet and car decor, and it was just roses—not exactly worth that kind of money...

As for that exclusive studio in the area, some people say they are phenomenal, while others say they're just okay. I even heard—though I don't know if it's true—that they don't actually do much of the work themselves, but instead order from others and then resell it under their own brand at a markup.

casualfalcon15 said:Not sure if any of you made it out to the wedding expo... I spent the whole day wandering through every single booth. My top picks 🙂 were definitely—the floral design studio, which was absolutely stunning (easily the best setup there), and the dessert table—homemade cookies that tasted just like my grandma used to make. As for travel, their "honeymoon" package (they won an award for the best promo material) totally blew me away 🙂. For men's suits, check out Arbanas. Honestly, though, I couldn't find anything decent for dresses, lighting, or a solid photographer. Still, I'm pretty happy with the expo overall since I nailed down the flowers and the sweets (though my mom and mother-in-law are going to have to do a taste test first, haha) 🙂. One less thing to worry about 🙂

So, my mom went over the other day to drop off a deposit for the dessert order, and they gave her two little half-pound boxes of sample sweets (one for her and one for my mother-in-law). Well, she hadn't even been home for thirty minutes before my brothers managed to sneakily devour both entire boxes! I guess that's a pretty good sign that they're delicious, right?
Now the poor lady is in a total bind because she has absolutely nothing left to bring to the meeting 😂