You booked the perfect venue, set up the lighting, gathered the linens for the tables, did a test run for your DIY rose bouquets, assembled the floral centerpieces, ordered the cake, picked out your bridesmaid dresses, picked out your wedding dress, AND purchased the favors, it's now time to tie up loose ends!
Step 10: Take care of the rest of the details.
This is a compilation of all the other elements that make a wedding like the My Fair Wedding - Phantom of the Opera wedding that really didn't have enough work or detail to get its own post.
The Guys:
Have them look like the dashing Phantom himself by renting traditional black tuxes. Usually you can get a deal of a free groom's tux if you rent tuxes for the whole bridal party at once! I have always loved guys in red, however any combination of white, black and red for vests, shirts, or ties will work for this wedding!Cost for groom's tux: free!
The Ceremony Site:
Any church will work wonderfully for this type of wedding, especially one that is a little more ornate and decorated. Hopefully they already have some candelabras for your use for the altar, and perhaps more candles can line the aisle, with some red rose petals of course.
If you are not a religious couple, then look for a romantic, very decorated space that won't need too much extra decor to make it fit in with the Phantom theme.
Cost for ceremony site: varies
A ceremony site is so personal, there are countless ways you could go with the site and the decor. If you are smart with your choices this shouldn't break the bank.
The Music:
A string quartet (or trio) for the ceremony is almost a must. However, musicians can get very expensive, even for short amounts of time.I recommend either finding a local college music group or doing auditions at the local colleges in your area to look for affordable string musicians. These students are looking for any sort of extra cash, so as long as you are reasonable and take their travel expenses into account, you should find a more than capable group to work with.
Try to make a contract with them (I don't know the true details of creating a contract between two people that don't have a literal company, perhaps try to involve the college? Hmmm...I'll have to look into that) that has either a backup plan, a statement of reimbursement, or no payment at all if for some reason someone in the group cannot attend. Some students have very changeable schedules.
Also be sure to be clear on the dress of the students. Try not to be too unreasonable and ask them to purchase suits or rent expensive tuxes, their budgets are very limited. (If you're dealing with an actual organized band, this may be easier.) It will be easier on all parties to request something along the lines of formal wear, button down shirts and slacks for the guys, nice blouse and slacks/long skirt for the girls, you get the picture.
Cost for music: varies
The First Dance:
What made the dance floor so cool in the My Fair Wedding episode was that it had fog! How fitting is that for the Phantom?! This can be done by purchasing fog machines and placing them in optimized spots on the dance floor.
After Halloween sales are your best friend in this situation. I'll give you the pricing now, however they will be much cheaper once the Halloween madness is over for the year.
The quality of the fog machine your purchase will determine how many you need or how much you need to fiddle with them the day of. With some limited research, I found that the run of the mill fog machine will not give you that low-lying fog-floor effect without making your own makeshift cooling device. You could either look at the eHow fog chiller tutorial, or you could just accept that $200 is okay amount to spend on a proper fog machine and materials to save yourself that one extra DIY project.
Here is an affordable low-lying fog machine from Spirit Halloween for $64.99, it is sold out right now but may be back in stock in time for the Halloween season.
This will take any standard fog machine fluid, Spirit Halloween sells a gallon for $19.99.A more expensive fog machine for $150 on Amazon is the Mister Kool low-lying fog machine. This is given a very good description on the Got Fog? website, it seems to be exactly what you want for a wedding, with easy setup, standard materials needed, and even a remote timer!
This machine takes Kool Fog, and a gallon of this will cost you $24.99 on Amazon.A money and time saving tip is to start the fog machine shortly before your first dance, (to build up the fog,) and then just run the machine until the fog runs out. If you're doing this on your own, you don't want to have to keep running to the machine to refill on fluid or ice. If you insist on having fog the whole night, have a dedicated person supervising the machine to make sure things are running smoothly.
Also be sure to place them where no one can trip over any power cords or kick the machines! If there is a DJ booth that is a great place to place them, otherwise you would have to look at your venue to figure out the best placement. Also watch out for strong air conditioning vents or fans that could redirect the fog's flow.
Cost for fog machine: $84.98 - $174.99
Grand total for all details: $84.98+ - $174.99+
Now, the final evaluation: How much does a David Tutera wedding really cost you? Find out next post!
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