Austin Tice Staff Writer
Life is not fair. For a groom, the most complicated part of getting married is sizing a couple of rings and making a few hotel reservations. Meanwhile, his beleaguered bride to be is engaged in one of society's most arduous tasks - the planning of a wedding.
The preparation of a wedding is one of the most complicated things that a prospective bride will ever have to do. From size to food to entertainment to dress to location, transportation, decoration, invitations and a million and one other things, planning a wedding is a marathon of meticulous detail.
"I strongly recommend that you hire a wedding consultant to help you plan your wedding. If you don't, you'll just be run ragged," said Lisa Green, owner of Santa Fe South Catering, a full-service wedding consulting company.
The size of a wedding can range from a private ceremony involving only the bride, groom and witnesses to hundreds of guests or more.
"There is no such thing as a moderately sized wedding," said Selim Tenorio, manager of the Flower Corner. "It could include just the two of you, or it could be up to 300 or 400 people and a huge reception."
Whatever your visions are, advance planning is necessary to turn your dreams to reality.
"We like to plan weddings a year in advance," Green said. "We will do eight months in advance or even six, but once you get under six months, you start to have problems."
And sometimes, weddings must be planned years in advance "Some places are already booked past the year 2000," Tenorio warned.
Here is a far-from-comprehensive compendium of the various vendors you may want to utilize on your special day:
If you don't want to get married in a big empty room, you'll need to send out invitations.
"You start out with your basic black print, and everything else carries an additional charge," said Barbara Eisenbaum of BEE-Dazzled Designs. "You can get colors, you can get them engraved or embossed - you can get them really elaborate."
The price range on 100 invitations runs from a low end of about $70 to a high end of around $110 or more.
"Invitations are pretty much the same wherever you go, so try to buy them from someone who gives you a discount," Eisenbaum said.
To make your wedding nice and colorful, you'll need to buy some flowers. Flowers can run from a mere $45 to $1,000 or more. "It all depends on the size of the wedding," Tenorio explained.
To remember your wedding day for years to come, you'll need a photographer. However, simply choosing a picture package can be a daunting task in and of itself.
"We developed an 'a la carte' program here," said Jeff Davis of Work of Art Photog-raphy. "You pay for the photographer's time, plus $640 for the pictures.
"After the wedding, you can look through the proofs and purchase additional photos if you wish to. We treat you the same whether you are buying $1,000 of pictures or $6,500 worth," Davis said.
A slight variation of the traditional photo package is a wedding video, which generally costs quite a bit less than photographs.
For a large wedding with hundreds of guests, you will need valet parking. "You want to make sure that the valet company is insured and bonded, so that they can handle it if they ding your car," Green said. "Valet parking really adds a classy touch to a wedding."
Valet parking runs about $50 per hour, depending on the number of guests.
One thing you definitely don't want to do is send your guests home hungry. Enter the catered dinner.
"A typical meal costs about $25 a plate," Green said. "You can get it for less, but it won't look too good and it won't be that much food."
Meal price also depends on whether you want a buffet or a full-service sit down meal, which can run to $55 per plate or more.
Along the same lines, don't forget the drinks. "The trend these days is away from alcoholic beverages," Green said.
But if you want alcohol at your wedding, be prepared to pay. "The taxes today are so high, alcohol gets to be really expensive," she explained.
Perhaps the most memorable edible is the wedding cake.
"Cakes range from $1.50 to $5 a piece, depending on what kind of icing and flowers you have on it," said Green. Accordingly, cakes can range from $150 up to more than $500.
To make your exit, you'll need a limousine service. Prices start "Most people want a limo from around four to six hours," said Tina Harris of Virdorie Limousines. "We pick you up from your home, take you to the place of the wedding, then to the reception, and afterwards to the airport or to your hotel," she said.
Prices start at around $300 for four hours, plus an optional tip for the driver.
All of these services can be had at discounted prices if you use a consultant, such as Bridal Connection. Usually, you must purchase two or three services to get the discount.