A $20-A-SLICE CAKE
For a 250-person wedding, that's a $5,000 dessert! Says event designer David Stark: "Hire a non-'wedding' baker to knock off a zero." |
$4,500 |
A HONEYMOON IN PARIS
A hoity-toity cake-cutting ceremony or a sweet slice on the Rue de Rivoli? This should be a no-brainer: Get two tickets to Paris on Continental Airlines and a week at the Hôtel de Vendôme, located between the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre. |
A VEIL WORTHY OF LADY DI
"A long veil with apliquéd Chantilly lace or rhinestones can cost $2,000. You can get a simple but still very beautiful one with a nice shape and cut for $350," says milliner Suzanne Newman. |
$1,650 |
A TOTAL BODY MAKEOVER
A customized program of workouts, nutrition, and motivational planning from personal trainer Joe DiAngelo is money better spent—especially if your honeymoon's on a beach. "I'll change your body in eight weeks" says DiAngelo. |
A COUTURE GOWN
The fit's flawless, the fabric's sumptuous, but it may cost as much as 15 grand. "Amy Kuschel has beautiful 100-percent-silk gowns for $2,000," says expert Gabriella Risatti. |
$13,000 |
A RIDICULOUSLY GOOD BAND
A ten-piece band from Starlight Orchestras includes a bongo player, horns, fab vocalists, and a string trio. Their blow-your-socks-off client list includes Clive Davis, Jimmy Buffett and Jon Bon Jovi. |
A CHAMPAGNE TOAST
"In lieu of a Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose, toast with prosecco, like Cardetto Coneglianno NV [at $300 for two cases, compared to $2,040]," says planner Loulie Walker. |
$1,740 |
A CLASSIC STRING TRIO
Would you like a harpist, violinist, viola player, cellist, or flautist? Choose three from Empyreal Strings Music and Entertainment to play at your ceremony—their instrumentalists, part of a 30-piece orchestra, are high caliber. |
A CHOICE OF ENTRÉE
Having a silent option will bring the per-head cost of food down by $20. "If someone doesn't eat meat, there's a veggie or fish option waiting for them, but they have to ask for it," says caterer Olivier Cheng. |
$3,000 |
MUSIC FOR THE AFTER-PARTY
Hire D.J. Johnny Stuart for three hours; he's spun at fashion events and arrives with his own sound system in tow. "The after-party is blow-the-rafters-off, burn-down-the-venue time. Everyone's exploding after all that open bar," says Stuart. |
ABUNDANT FLOWERS
Seven bouquets and four corsages for $3,290? Instead "Have bridesmaids carry three calla lilies each, and eliminate corsages—Moms and Grandmas don't want them," says planner Karen Bussen. |
$3,000 |
A RAUCOUS AFTER-PARTY
Rent out the Soho loft Studio 7 for three hours—its modern, 7,500-square-foot open space is ideal for 150 of your nearest, dearest, and rowdiest. |
