Everything you need for a Midwest wedding

Rachel Williams said:We once operated under the same assumption—that moving back to the Midwest would be the more cost-effective move. I’m originally from Washington, D.C., he’s from Nashville, and we currently find ourselves living in Vienna. However, once we actually sat down and put the numbers on paper, we realized how mistaken we were. The primary culprit? Our social circle. We constantly host guests traveling from all over the map—Washington, D.C., Orlando, Nashville, Seattle, plus plenty of folks visiting from Austria, Canada, Germany, and the Czech Republic. When you factor that in, the math simply doesn't hold up. 🤣 Honestly, given how much they were charging for accommodations, we figured it was just more practical to host the wedding in Washington, D.C. instead. Why deal with those inflated prices? 😲

I have a massive amount of family back in the Midwest, whereas he doesn't. For us, it’s much simpler to just rent a charter bus for his guests and handle the whole thing out in the Midwest.🙂🙂

wiredfalcon3 said:That works for me..
My partner and I absolutely love it. I'm originally from the Midwest but I live in Washington, D.C. now, so we're planning to have the wedding back in the Midwest. It’s way more affordable than doing anything here in D.C....
🙂🙂🙂

We’re living in D.C. too, but since we're both from the Midwest, almost all our family is back there. That means the wedding is going to be out in the heartland. Get ready for a whole lot of endless driving back and forth. 😁

Hey girls, I need a quick favor. I’m looking for a professional photographer for a bachelorette party happening in Chicago, and I was wondering if anyone has a solid recommendation? Ideally someone who does great work but won't break the bank. Any leads? Thanks!

Jason Rivera2 said:Hey girls, I need a quick favor. I’m looking for a professional photographer for a bachelorette party happening in Chicago, and I was wondering if anyone has a solid recommendation? Ideally someone who does great work but won't break the bank. Any leads? Thanks!

Have you tried Emma Jankovic? I think her work is absolutely stellar 😉

..iPhone talking..

Greetings everyone... I am officially joining the ranks of the prospective wedding planners 😉

Well, my partner and I have finally settled on a date (May 2015), so I’ve been spending quite a bit of time reading through this forum. There is so much helpful advice and so many recommendations here, which is honestly such a relief given that we are both complete novices at this... 😍
Regarding the venue, we’ve had a positive initial response from Crystal Springs (we have a meeting scheduled for next week), but I find myself leaning toward Perdue in Des Moines as well. If anyone here has firsthand experience with them, I would truly appreciate it if you could share some details...

As for photography, I see a lot of people pointing toward the ladies over at Artes—they are currently my favorites, though the $10 $0.00 price tag for the photo and video package makes me hesitate just a little 🤷—and then there is Zoom Des Moines, plus the work coming out of the Bot studio looks quite interesting.

Our biggest dilemma right now is the band. We definitely want a group that features both male and female vocals, but we are completely drawing a blank on ideas (aside from perhaps catching Babylon when we visit our godparents in May, and maybe putting down a deposit if they're good)... I notice a lot of praise for Still and Sto Prosto, so perhaps we can try to catch one of them live...

That is all for now; I will continue to follow the threads here and soak up all the information I can... 😁

Brandon Jackson said:Greetings everyone... I am officially joining the ranks of the prospective wedding planners 😉

Well, my partner and I have finally settled on a date (May 2015), so I’ve been spending quite a bit of time reading through this forum. There is so much helpful advice and so many recommendations here, which is honestly such a relief given that we are both complete novices at this... 😍
Regarding the venue, we’ve had a positive initial response from Crystal Springs (we have a meeting scheduled for next week), but I find myself leaning toward Perdue in Des Moines as well. If anyone here has firsthand experience with them, I would truly appreciate it if you could share some details...

As for photography, I see a lot of people pointing toward the ladies over at Artes—they are currently my favorites, though the $10 $0.00 price tag for the photo and video package makes me hesitate just a little 🤷—and then there is Zoom Des Moines, plus the work coming out of the Bot studio looks quite interesting.

Our biggest dilemma right now is the band. We definitely want a group that features both male and female vocals, but we are completely drawing a blank on ideas (aside from perhaps catching Babylon when we visit our godparents in May, and maybe putting down a deposit if they're good)... I notice a lot of praise for Still and Sto Prosto, so perhaps we can try to catch one of them live...

That is all for now; I will continue to follow the threads here and soak up all the information I can... 😁

We went ahead and booked a small hall at Crystal Geyser in Belišće. We heard nothing but glowing reviews about them, except for one thing: their desserts aren't great. So, we decided we'd just order sweets from someone else.
I don't know what specifically you're looking for, so feel free to ask anything.

Oh, and hurry up. May and June are filling up fast. We put our deposit down two months ago for May 9th, 2015, and we barely managed to snag that date.

Jason Rivera2 said:Hey girls, I need a quick favor. I’m looking for a professional photographer for a bachelorette party happening in Chicago, and I was wondering if anyone has a solid recommendation? Ideally someone who does great work but won't break the bank. Any leads? Thanks!

Ernest Hemingway

Hello everyone, I figured it was time to join the conversation 😁 My fiancé and I have been engaged for three months now, and we finally pulled the trigger on booking our venue today. We reserved the Mia Ballroom in Des Moines for August 22, 2015. Honestly, the place looks phenomenal following their recent renovations. Now, we’ve hit a snag regarding the music... My fiancé is dead set on hiring Heartbeat. I watched some wedding footage of them performing, and frankly, their take on Midwest folk music misses the mark. They excel at Canadian styles, but they just don't capture the local Midwestern vibe correctly. Since my side of the family is strictly Midwestern and his is more Canadian/river-valley style, we are struggling to find a band that can master both genres perfectly. I am pushing him to book TS United because they are truly versatile across all genres—plus, they have a violin and an accordion, so you really can't beat that 😁 However, he isn't sold because he refuses to have his traditional Canadian circle dances played on a tamburica. My strategy is to propose TS United, while promising him I'll bring in a specialist to play the šargija so we can feature a few Canadian circle dances accompanied by a violinist 🙂 I'm hoping that compromise works 😁 If anyone happens to know a group that can seamlessly blend Midwestern and Canadian styles, please let me know. Also, if anyone has a quote for TS United, I would be incredibly grateful 🙂

Hey everyone! I was wondering if anyone here has hosted a wedding at the Hilton in a small town in the Midwest lately? I'm curious about what their current pricing looks like and if you were actually happy with the experience. Thanks! 😛

Brandon Jackson said:Greetings everyone... I am officially joining the ranks of the prospective wedding planners 😉

Well, my partner and I have finally settled on a date (May 2015), so I’ve been spending quite a bit of time reading through this forum. There is so much helpful advice and so many recommendations here, which is honestly such a relief given that we are both complete novices at this... 😍
Regarding the venue, we’ve had a positive initial response from Crystal Springs (we have a meeting scheduled for next week), but I find myself leaning toward Perdue in Des Moines as well. If anyone here has firsthand experience with them, I would truly appreciate it if you could share some details...

As for photography, I see a lot of people pointing toward the ladies over at Artes—they are currently my favorites, though the $10 $0.00 price tag for the photo and video package makes me hesitate just a little 🤷—and then there is Zoom Des Moines, plus the work coming out of the Bot studio looks quite interesting.

Our biggest dilemma right now is the band. We definitely want a group that features both male and female vocals, but we are completely drawing a blank on ideas (aside from perhaps catching Babylon when we visit our godparents in May, and maybe putting down a deposit if they're good)... I notice a lot of praise for Still and Sto Prosto, so perhaps we can try to catch one of them live...

That is all for now; I will continue to follow the threads here and soak up all the information I can... 😁

A relative of mine held her wedding at Perry last year, and I can't say enough good things about them. The staff is incredibly attentive, the food was delicious, and the venue itself is stunning. A perfect ten out of ten. 👍
I would definitely recommend Zoom for photo and video; their work is fantastic, and they're quite a bit more affordable than the options you mentioned. I booked them myself and am counting down the days until our shoot. 😍
When it comes to music, you might want to look into the Viva Box band from Indianapolis. They feature both male and female vocalists (that's who I went with), they play incredibly well, they know how to get a crowd moving, and they're actually very helpful with song selection and advice. Plus, I think they're more budget-friendly than most bands in the area. 🎉 Hope that helps even just a little. 😉

Hey ladies, can anyone recommend a good catering service around Indianapolis? I'm hosting about 50 people at my place and need something that won't break the bank! :-)

We had considered working with Zoom or perhaps a contact out of Chicago (we were actually helping a friend look into them, though we hadn't confirmed the specific name yet), but in the end, we decided to go with Bota Studio
Everything he described sounds quite reasonable to me. He doesn't necessarily charge extra for certain items or try to "sell" them as freebies; he simply states that those services are included in his standard rate without additional cost
His range of services is truly impressive. To be honest, I initially assumed he would be much more expensive, but it turns out that everything we negotiated would have cost us significantly more elsewhere—even at Zoom, where the base price starts around $4,000
I am not sure how other professionals operate, but his pricing isn't strictly limited to rigid packages (though he does offer them). We were able to sit down with him, list exactly what we needed, and he provided us with a custom quote based on our specific requirements

Andrew Hill4 said:Hey ladies, can anyone recommend a good catering service around Indianapolis? I'm hosting about 50 people at my place and need something that won't break the bank! :-)

Mississippi Delta, Gale, White Ship!

I honestly have no clue about the pricing.

Andrew Hill4 said:Hey ladies, can anyone recommend a good catering service around Indianapolis? I'm hosting about 50 people at my place and need something that won't break the bank! :-)

Hey,

Well, we actually worked things out with the crew over at San restaurant just a couple of months ago. We were hosting closer to 150 people at our house, though most of the food was actually ours—they basically just handled the setup and decor, plus whatever else they suggested we provide.

If you happen to need the contact info for the guy we coordinated everything with, just shoot me a DM.

Jason Rivera2 said:Hey girls, I need a quick favor. I’m looking for a professional photographer for a bachelorette party happening in Chicago, and I was wondering if anyone has a solid recommendation? Ideally someone who does great work but won't break the bank. Any leads? Thanks!

Also, Emma Janković...
we'll be at her wedding 🙂

It seems unlikely that someone who specializes in wedding photography would take on bridal showers, given they almost always fall on weekends when schedules are already packed up to the brim.

Sent from my iPhone using Reddit

Siki snapped a photo of his girlfriend last night 😉

..Android talking..

Anyone know where I can find a folk band for a bachelorette party? Looking for maybe a 3-hour set... any leads??

Golden Stitch—these guys are seriously talented. They played at a friend's bachelorette party recently.
https://www.facebook.com/ts.ZlatniVez

Alexander Rodriguez2 said:Golden Stitch—these guys are seriously talented. They played at a friend's bachelorette party recently.
https://www.facebook.com/ts.ZlatniVez

I wouldn't say they're exactly budget-friendly, though. 😁

..iPhone talking..