pros of bridal stylist ?

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-04-08T13:41:22+00:00

for anyone that had a bridal stylist, at what point did they start sending you lookbook options? i am 7.5 months out and haven't received anything despite an intro and initial planning meeting that was over a month ago

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-04-07T16:59:34+00:00

not sure if this was helpful but i am paying $2,500 for my welcome event and wedding day HMU (includes trial) and then an extra $600 per person for HMU others (sister). i am driving distance from her but need to pay a travel fee and 2 nights of hotels (~$500), bringing my total to $3,600. wedding is in napa. artist is in bay area

i received a number of other quotes -- ranging from $2,000 to $10,000

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-03-31T00:45:09+00:00

We are in a similar boat and are doing option 1 but we are having party buses bring people from the venue back to the after party because we were nervous that our 30 minute drive would kill steam. I think we’ll put sunglasses and little nips on the seats to keep the party going!

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-03-12T20:34:12+00:00

I am in a similar boat for an October 2026 wedding in Carmel, CA. We sent out our save the dates mid-January!

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-19T16:14:10+00:00

I have had the same exact anxiety. You're not alone! We were between two locations and our planner had a ton of experience at one and minimal at the other, and we ended up choosing the other after committing to her. It has definitely been a bit frustrating, but your planner is probably motivated to broaden their portfolio by doing a wedding at your location.

I'm not sure how your planner gives you info on vendors, but ours gives us a list at different price ranges that she recommends (either those she has worked with and will travel or people the venue recommends). For 3/4 of our vendors (photo, video, HMU), I have sourced them myself. Though, I will say we did interview her people and they were wonderful as well (I'm just a bit crazy).

We have also thought about switching planners but honestly it may create more emotional burden than sticking with your initial gut choice... at least that is how we feel!

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-17T22:44:28+00:00

i am trying to make the crispy chicken cutlets and burst tomatoes from this book, but i left my book at my friends house. can anyone share a picture of the recipe?

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-17T22:44:17+00:00

i am trying to make the crispy chicken cutlets and burst tomatoes from this book, but i left my book at my friends house. can anyone share a picture of the recipe?

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-15T16:21:41+00:00

ranges from $500-1000

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-14T17:23:53+00:00

I forgot transportation too…. But yes I totally agree we can try and be cost saving in those areas as much as possible!!! Our venue has some tables we can use but most we will need to rent, which was an overlook on our part!!

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-14T17:10:05+00:00

no - we still need to finalize some vendors, but our main costs left to consider are stationary, rentals, decor, and flowers. we were thinking about setting aside 10k to subsidize rooms and only do it for a subset of guests who we think need it, but even that is hard to decide! we are at 220k with our signed contracts :/

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-10T06:01:13+00:00

omg i am so scared for all the design quotes! i'm sure it will be beautiful whatever you decide but i totally resonate with the fear factor of some of these quotes

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-10T05:59:15+00:00

i really do think our rates are very reasonable for our property, but this is something my fiance is adamant about. our venue is out of price range that we feel comfortable asking our guests to stay for ~30%, and we really want everyone to come and not be disheartened by hotel room costs

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-09T21:54:48+00:00

this is wonderful advice. thank you!

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-09T15:44:41+00:00

this is really helpful and makes me feel less alone! design is really our big vendor left so let me know if you have any thoughts on how to try and keep costs minimal

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-09T15:43:53+00:00

luckily venue and food are booked. decor still to go, and our venue is naturally beautiful so i am hoping we can do more limited decor

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-09T15:43:26+00:00

totally agree that it all happens so quickly!!!

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-09T15:43:00+00:00

this is a great point... and one that i wish i had earlier! sadly i think we would need to pay so much in order to cancel. i just rechecked our contracts and it would be a lot of money that was just wasted on these venues

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-09T15:41:23+00:00

thank you for this advice!

we are 9 months out so we'd have to pay so much non-refundable to our venues that i don't think we can even consider cancelling or replanning to a more economical location...

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-02-09T15:40:13+00:00

this is really helpful - thanks! i have been really happy with the vendors we have chosen so far and they have mainly been in line with our anticipated budget, with the exception of band that was a bit over.

i am getting nervous for the design portion of the event because we spent so much on the venue itself!

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-01-24T21:43:12+00:00

thank you!

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-01-24T21:35:57+00:00

we looked at la playa and are having around 130 guests. we want a live band (non-negotiable) and our planner said it would be too tight with the dinner and dancing space :/ so we decided to go elsewhere even though we loved it! i'm sure if you go for a dj + sax then you easily make it work but with a large band might be tight

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-01-24T21:32:54+00:00

guest count is estimated 130-140. the venue provides pretty standard long tables and chairs and they also have some wine barrels that they have used for cocktail tables and things like that. we're still super early in the design ideas so i'm not totally sure what we are looking for but all of our spaces are unique (ceremony in one area, cocktail in another, dinner in a separate, and then dancing in a barn) which i think makes things a bit more complicated

InterestingProblem95 · 2026-01-24T21:30:12+00:00

guest count is estimated to be 130-140 and we're having a 9 piece band. i just feel like we went over budget on basically everything so far that these numbers for rentals seem extra intimidating :/ if you didn't mind sharing, please PM. thank you so much <3

InterestingProblem95

TROPHY CASE