Recession Proofing Your NY Wedding: Part II

Pin It Go local.  Except for a few things, like certain household products, I was never really too brand conscious.  So if you're not too particular about the name of the supplier, using local suppliers will save you a lot on transportation and delivery fees.  Plus, you don't have to worry about the deliveries getting stuck in traffic.  Because the Church was in the Bronx, we decided to make it a sort of an excursion for most of our guests who haven't been to the area.  Luckily for us, the real Little Italy of New York--as my friends and I would argue--is just a few blocks from Fordham.  So we made sure we featured as much of it as we could.

The Venue: Michaelangelo's Restaurant

Some general notes on how we kept budget with the venue. Having the reception at a restaurant saved us a lot on rentals:  chairs, tables, plates, and so on.  In addition, ask if there's a discount when you pay cash.  Several establishments would probably have it.  We also had the reception at 3:30 in the afternoon which we indicated in the invitation as a "cocktail reception".  By having a mid-afternoon reception, we didn't have to spend on a cocktail hour and a meal.  The guests were also surprised that there was so much food because they thought there would just be servers going around with little cocktail food.  So we stayed in budget without the guests feeling like we were scrimping on anything.

Now, a warning: I cannot stop raving about this place! Although I'd been to this place a couple of times before, booking our reception with them was a bit of a risk because we would be the first wedding they would do.  On the up side, because they wanted us to have a great experience, they were just so accommodating.

Let me start my rave with the restaurant itself.  Some guests were telling us that as they walked into the restaurant, they were all wondering why we were having our reception at a pizza place. But as they walked through the narrow hallway to the back, they were all surprised at how beautiful the venue was.  The hallway opens to a charming courtyard with stonework floors, a waterfall bar, rustic brick walls, and tropical plants.  You would never have guessed you were a block from the chaos that is Fordham Road.  But despite the courtyard feel, the place was covered and air conditioned. Again, as with the Church, the restaurant itself had a charm of its own that we did not spend a dime decorating it. They did offer to provide balloons, but we respectfully declined.  Oh, and our guests (me and my hubby included) appreciated the couches! They also had a patio where the guests could smoke without missing too much of the party.

All photos by KimThao Photography

My maid of honor gifted us these souvenirs. She got the cookies from a warehouse store, tied the cello wrap with ribbons and added a charming little detail of dried lavender sprigs.  The guests appreciated the cookies (they were good!). They also served as part of the table decor, having been set there before the guests arrived.

Bruschetta and bottles of wine (all included in the price per head!) were laid on the tables even before the guests arrived.  The guests did not have to wait for something to drink and munch on when they got to the restaurant.  And these were more practical centerpieces than flowers.

We were very comfy!  Note that those flowers were the altar decor from Church.

Now it would just have been wrong to be on Arthur Avenue and not serve Italian food.  And Michaelangelo's definitely delivered the comfort we expect from it.  The buffet menu included three pastas, salmon, meatballs, and the list goes on and on. And the menu already included Italian cookies and pastries (locally sourced by the restaurant, of course) and sodas, coffee and tea! Out of respect for my guests, I will not post photos of the heaping plates of food they held as they walked away from the buffet table.  And based on the clean plates, I'd say they enjoyed it. 

We had a bottom shelf open bar and a cash bar for all other drinks.  All that food, including the drinks, came at a price that was waaaay below $100--unheard of in NYC!  We were definitely lucky to find such a restaurant that was eager to please new clients in the Bronx, but I'm sure there are plenty of hidden gems like Michaelangelo's in the city. 

The Cake:  De Lillo's Pastry Shop

Because dessert was included in our buffet, we thought we didn't really need the cake to be too big.  Also, I wanted a simple and fully edible cake.  Red velvet cake was our favorite at the time, so the flavor was paramount.  De Lillo's, in my opinion, had the best red velvet cake among the Arthur Avenue bakeshops.  Is it obvious I've tried quite a number of them?

We had 3 cake flavors:  red velvet, chocolate mousse, and cannoli cake (we had to have something Italian there).  I was told they were all delicious.

 I just searched for a photo online that they could base the decor on because I didn't want too much embellishment.  Then, I got a Wilton cake stand from Amazon for $25 and my brother helped me spruce it up.  It is now sitting in my kitchen cabinet waiting for a pastry party.  Point is, I can use it again. All in all, we spent much less than $200 for our cake.

The Flowers: Small Flower Shop in Front of Mt. Carmel Church on 187th St.

I contemplated on getting fresh flowers and doing my own arrangements, but then I chose to pick my battles.  I didn't really want to worry about them wilting or not opening up before the wedding.  So I decided to get them from a teeny flower shop in the area.  I feel terrible that I cannot even remember their name. They did do a pretty good job. I told them I wanted to support local suppliers in the area so they agreed to waive the delivery charge (they delivered the flowers to Fordham which was only a few blocks away from them anyway). We spent only about $400 on flowers because we only needed bouquets and the altar arrangements.

Saved a lot on flowers by having such a small wedding party and having the men wear Barong Tagalogs (did not need flowers for them).  The florist also did the two tall flower arrangements for the altar.  Just like the cake stand, the vases are at home being re-used.  Also, choose flowers that are in season.  Roses are always classically beautiful and pretty much available year round.

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To be continued... will tell you about my photographers.  Apart from Michaelangelo's, I feel we got the best value from Kim Thao (and her hubby Jimmy).