Happy Friday everyone! More budget buster information today.
Wedding receptions take power, lots of it. Reception facilities do have electricity in their ballrooms, but often it isn’t enough to accommodate all of your power needs. If you have one or more of the following “power-drainers” you may need to order extra power:
- Band with amplifier
- DJ with light show
- Pin spots and up lighting
- Chef attended stations with heat lamps
Keep in mind, paying for power isn’t a bad thing. Having these extras at your reception is wonderful, but you must account for the additional cost when you are planning your budget. Make sure your band, DJ or lighting contracts include information on what their power needs are and let your reception site know so that the catering manager can give you a cost estimate. Each circuit can cost as much as $200.00 and if your wedding is on the weekend, you may pay even more in overtime charges. That can really be a budget buster.
How can you save money in this area?
- Ask your reception site if you can have the power dropped on a weekday so you don’t have to pay the overtime fees.
- Reduce the number of items that need power, for example, the fewer instruments the band has, the less power it needs.
Keep in mind that most reception sites use an outside company to get their power, so the hourly rate is rarely negotiable.
If you haven’t already, check out the free budget planning tool on PerfectWeddingGuide.com. It’s fabulous!
If you have questions or comments about this post, leave a message for me here or email me at susan.southerland@pwg.com.
Your partner in perfect planning,
Susan
