Everything you need for a Midwest wedding

quietcobra52 said:About a year ago, my brother paid $5300 plus $2.00 per gift—and they had 180 of them, so we're looking at $6380 total. No clue what the market looks like now, but my brother was super happy with their work.

We ended up booking Krizmanić for a July date this year... The price, excluding any tips or extras since those are handled separately, came out to $1833

Susan Carter11 said:Hello everyone 😉.
I’ve started the slow process of planning my wedding, and I could really use some advice. I'm based in Memphis, so I'm looking for a venue, a florist, a band, and all the little extras that go with it. There is a local hall here called V&S, but I haven't heard anything good about it. I assume Hotel Lav is on the pricier side, so if anyone knows their rates, please let me know 😉. My other options are Wichita (which seems like a better bet) or Indianapolis—though Indy is a bit of a trek since my relatives are coming from Little Rock, and I'd rather they didn't arrive completely exhausted from the drive. As for florists in Memphis... what about Jukić? Yes or no? Ideally, I want one vendor who can handle everything: the bouquet, boutonnieres, decorating the car, the church, and whatever else they offer. Please send recommendations for Memphis or Wichita. Regarding photographers... right now I'm looking at the Krizmanić family or Photo Ivan from Ivankov. Most of them include invitations and thank-you notes, so hopefully, that's one less thing to worry about. For the dessert... I'm hoping the cake and decor are included in the venue price 😁, otherwise, I'll probably order the sweets and the wedding cake from Babin Greda. Now, the band!!! That's the real headache. There are endless options, but I need someone talented who won't break the bank (around $1667). I'm looking for a group that can play traditional folk music as well as modern hits. Even a standalone folk group would work, provided they are versatile enough to cover everything... and again, a reasonable price point 🙂.
If I've overlooked anything, please chime in 😉. I hope I'm not being too demanding 😂

Look, if I can actually be useful here... We ended up booking that V&S hall basically because we were backed into a corner. Since the groom is from a small town out west, it just didn't make sense to drag everyone halfway across the country—I mean, people are going to drink regardless, right? I've heard mixed things about that venue, both good and bad, so we'll just have to see how it plays out. As for the photography, we went with Krizmanić. $1833 The price is honestly solid, and what he’s actually bringing to the table—forgetting the polite thank-yous for a second—is pretty great. For flowers, I’m going all-in with Iris Ivankovo; they handle everything from the bouquets and boutonnieres to the church decor and the reception hall. Plus, their prices won't break the bank. Seriously, these people kill it. We’re doing the wedding cake at Vigus, and as for the dessert spread, I haven't made a final call yet. They have options on the venue's menu, so I really only need to figure out what to grab for the after-party at the house. Oh, and we booked Babylon for the band. I haven't heard a single bad thing about them, and honestly, everyone who’s seen them live has nothing but praise. So yeah, that's where I'm at with things. 🙂

So, I finally decided to sit down and map out how my wedding day is actually going to look! We’ve settled on the Kristal Hall in Slough, where the cost per chair is $24, which—thankfully—includes the covers and lighting for free. That price pretty much covers everything: food, dessert, and all the drinks. We're planning on having a traditional family luncheon $1500. For music, we have $4833 (Svirci) lined up, and our photographer will be $4000 (Mijić). As for the church, the yard, the tent, and the table settings, a talented girl who runs her own small business is handling all the decor (you can find her on Facebook under Sandra Decorations). For hair and makeup, I'm going with $87 (Maja make up artist). My boutonnieres are being custom-made by Ana Decorations (she's also on Facebook). Our wedding bands are being crafted by a specialist from St. Louis, and we expect to pay about $1167 for them (they're actually the exact same style Koci was looking for at $2933). I'm still not entirely sure what the final tally for catering and other miscellaneous costs will be. I ended up renting my wedding dress from Isabelle, and the total came to $1833, especially since I managed to snag a $267 discount.

Who’s actually making custom wedding bands in St. Louis? I've heard there are tons of people just doing it on the side—basically off the books—which ends up being like 50% cheaper...

Right now, the lighting situation is what’s really killing me—prices are all over the map, and honestly, we’ve been warned that it’s better to skip the lights entirely than to end up with some cheap, low-quality junk. 🤷I haven't a clue who actually does good work—anyone here have any real experiences to share?

Alex Ross32 said:Right now, the lighting situation is what’s really killing me—prices are all over the map, and honestly, we’ve been warned that it’s better to skip the lights entirely than to end up with some cheap, low-quality junk. 🤷I haven't a clue who actually does good work—anyone here have any real experiences to share?

I’d definitely recommend the Music Fun team.

Henry Harris5 said:I’d definitely recommend the Music Fun team.

thanks 🙂

I don't get Krizmanić at all—I called to check their rates and they quoted me 6, maybe 6.5k $2333 😕 and that doesn't even include tips. I have no idea how you guys are getting it for 5500 🙂

Jesse Bennett3 said:I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction—does anyone know where I might find the most affordable place to order dessert platters for a wedding around the Midwest area?

Wait, what’s actually considered "cheap" for you though????? Like, what kind of budget are we talking about??

Jesse Bennett3 said:I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction—does anyone know where I might find the most affordable place to order dessert platters for a wedding around the Midwest area?

I heard about this small local bakery over in Semeljac called Vivo, $17/lb. It’s actually pretty budget-friendly, especially considering they're over 60 miles away...

Alex Ross32 said:thanks 🙂

I don't get Krizmanić at all—I called to check their rates and they quoted me 6, maybe 6.5k $2333 😕 and that doesn't even include tips. I have no idea how you guys are getting it for 5500 🙂

For my own date this July, I actually booked everything back in January of last year, and they quoted me $1833

Just thought of something else—if anyone’s actually looking for ideas. The wedding lighting from Jarmina over at VK- Marma light is super affordable, and since the guy also runs the Valentino band, you can probably snag a deal if you book both together. As far as the band goes, they're solid—more of a modern party vibe, but they can play pretty much anything. They actually played my cousin's wedding recently. P.S. Not an ad or anything, I just noticed nobody ever mentions them on here, and honestly? They’re good. Plus, they have a singer and some videos on YouTube.

quietcobra52 said:Just thought of something else—if anyone’s actually looking for ideas. The wedding lighting from Jarmina over at VK- Marma light is super affordable, and since the guy also runs the Valentino band, you can probably snag a deal if you book both together. As far as the band goes, they're solid—more of a modern party vibe, but they can play pretty much anything. They actually played my cousin's wedding recently. P.S. Not an ad or anything, I just noticed nobody ever mentions them on here, and honestly? They’re good. Plus, they have a singer and some videos on YouTube.

We actually reached out to them for a quote, and turns out they're $333 way more expensive than the others—at least when it comes to the lighting.

Alex Ross32 said:Right now, the lighting situation is what’s really killing me—prices are all over the map, and honestly, we’ve been warned that it’s better to skip the lights entirely than to end up with some cheap, low-quality junk. 🤷I haven't a clue who actually does good work—anyone here have any real experiences to share?

We ended up going with Marmu out of Indianapolis ( $1167), and I know of Vrtarić ( $567)

Paul Fisher34 said:We ended up going with Marmu out of Indianapolis ( $1167), and I know of Vrtarić ( $567)

The guy was quoting us 4500 for MarMa 🤷--absolutely ridiculous

Alex Ross32 said:The guy was quoting us 4500 for MarMa 🤷--absolutely ridiculous

I actually signed my contract with them like two months ago $1167 since we didn't grab that option about names or whatever you want listed on there... honestly, with stuff like that, it's just like $1333...

Paul Fisher34 said:I actually signed my contract with them like two months ago $1167 since we didn't grab that option about names or whatever you want listed on there... honestly, with stuff like that, it's just like $1333...

Unbelievable. Just last month he told us it would be $4,500, but if we wanted those specific names, the price jumps to $230 or $93 even higher 😕 It’s just great when they start pulling different numbers out of thin air 🙂 luckily we caught on fast enough to see there were better deals available, so we didn't jump the gun and sign right away

Alex Ross32 said:Unbelievable. Just last month he told us it would be $4,500, but if we wanted those specific names, the price jumps to $230 or $93 even higher 😕 It’s just great when they start pulling different numbers out of thin air 🙂 luckily we caught on fast enough to see there were better deals available, so we didn't jump the gun and sign right away

I actually reached out to them a year ago and they told me $1333, but now that I'm actually going in to sign the contract, it's like $167 less because of those specific names... and I contacted Krizmanić a year back too... clearly, they just hike up the prices every single year 🤷

Man, what a joke. My neighbor got ripped off on the band and lighting setup—charged a cool 9 $0.00. Honestly? Not even that crazy considering most bands pull at least $1,300, so they actually came out under $1,000 here. I guess some people actually get paid for once—too bad most people just hustle you instead.

Where can I actually find wedding bands in Indianapolis where someone isn't trying to gouge me for 50% more than they're worth? No one bothered to mention it earlier in the thread, so I'm stuck wondering...$1167 For those rings, if you go to a standard jewelry store, you’re looking at $8,500 for the exact same thing—it's just not worth the markup...

I’m asking anyone who actually knows how this works to please weigh in and explain what's going on here...

Alex Ross32 said:Right now, the lighting situation is what’s really killing me—prices are all over the map, and honestly, we’ve been warned that it’s better to skip the lights entirely than to end up with some cheap, low-quality junk. 🤷I haven't a clue who actually does good work—anyone here have any real experiences to share?

I'd also suggest checking out the Entertainment team.🙂😍