Wedding planing has been coming along smoothly. My main sources of ideas and inspirations have been on the web. I’ve been pouring over blogs, The Knot, and WeddingBee, among other major bride to be sites. I’ll have a list of all the links to my subscriptions and bookmarks soon.

Bruce and I have set the date for October 2, 2010! In Hmong culture, the traditional wedding and the American reception that many young couples today have adapted usually takes place where the bride’s family resides. So, our wedding will be in my hometown of Plover, Wisconsin. Plover has a population of about 10,000–it’s such a small town that the wedding hall we booked is less than a mile from my parents’ house! It was a rough few months of searching to find a place that would fit over 500+ comfortably and we’re happy to announce our wedding and reception will be held at Memories! We actually got a really great deal–it was only $400 instead of their usual $800 to book. That includes all tables and chairs to seat 560, buffet tables, electronic equipment such as microphones and projectors, bartenders until 2AM bartime (!!!), and the room itself which comes slightly pre-decorated.

The lights that are strung will stay

We are looking at similar table cloths and chair covers

There is the wonderful Rockman’s Catering next door that has cut us a price so low that I’m almost afraid to post it online! They’ve been open in the area for 25 years and the owner Scott as Andy Bernard would say is a “delightful fellow”! He sat Bruce and I, along with my parents down and walked through what a typical catering day would look like for him. Then, we went through and it again step by step to accomodate a schedule that would better suit our needs. Not only that, but all the dishes are going to be traditional Hmong food! Can you tell how exciting that is to me by the excessive use of exclamation points!!! And now on to what everyone’s probably been waiting for with abated breath…the grand total! Please keep in mind I was going to exclude this cost (because it’s so low that I might get in trouble!), but my first intentions of posting about wedding planning was to share all the details and costs of a low-budget wedding. So, without further ado:

$2000.00

This price includes all linen (tablecloths and napkins), dishes, and staff charges as well as a 5.5% tax charge and 15% service fee. Now, with the average wedding caterer cost coming to $12,790, according to The Bridal Association of America (and that’s only numbers for 150 guests)–I feel like that’s quite the steal!

Our grand total so far:

• $400–Memories Hall
• $2500–the bar minimum (and keep in mind this is including the cash bar for guests all night)
• $2000–catering

$4900.00

Not too shabby if I can say so myself!