What’s a Cost Of Wedding Cake?
GARDEN PARTY For a spring wedding for 350 at the New York Botanical Garden, a late-afternoon wedding ceremony is followed by cocktails and hors d’oeuvres amid the reflecting pools and tropical foliage of the Victorian-era Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. The dinner: Beneath a lavishly decorated tent, guests dine on caviar tarts, roast veal, homemade strawberry ice cream-and, of course, wedding cake-then dance to a ten-piece band. Costs (using outside vendors recommended by the Botanical Garden): Tent (available from April through October only), $25,000; reception and dinner, $250 to $350 per person; flowers and decor, from $25,000; music, $10,000 to $25,000; and Costs of wedding cake, from $5,250. Total: From $152,750.
CALIFORNIA DREAMING A twilight affair for 100 at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles begins in front of the property’s Swan Lake, where family and friends gather beside a rose-petal-covered aisle to witness the vows. The reception: Waiters lead guests to the front lawn for Cristal Champagne, caviar and martinis.The dinner: Lobster soup and filet mignon, vintage wines and Champagne. Later the band exchanges tuxedos for zoot suits and a livelier beat. Costs: Ceremony, $2,500 (includes a hostess who will keep things on track); reception and dinner, $450 per person (including most beverages). Additional costs (using outside vendors recommended by and hired through the hotel):Costs of wedding cake, $1,800; flowers and candles, from $30,000; chamber-music quartet, $2,800; and band, $8,000 to $10,000.Total: From $90,100.
A SURE BET This black-tie extravaganza for 400 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas kicks off with a short reception, followed by a ceremony beneath a satin canopy trimmed with flowers in the ballroom. The reception: Cocktails in the Monet room, overlooking the pool. The dinner: After filet mignon and miso-glazed sea bass, everyone swings to a thirty-two-piece band, whose players change costumes and put on a floor show. Costs (all arranged through MGM Mirage Events): Food and beverages, $90,000; flowers, $65,000; linens and table accessories, $23,000; lighting and technical assistance, $21,000; and band, $78,000. Total: From $277,000.
BEACH PARTY At a sunset wedding for 300 at the Breakers hotel in Palm Beach, the music of bagpipes greets arriving guests as they head into the Mediterranean ballroom for the ceremony. The reception: In the adjacent courtyard, butlers pass mini bottles of Piper-Heidsieck (with straws), and attendees feast on a lavish seafood spread. The dinner: A meal of rack of lamb and lobster thermidor precedes dancing to a tenpiece band in the Venetian ballroom. Costs: Reception and dinner, from $250 per person (including beverages); decor, from $45,000 for flowers, linens and lighting; bagpipers, from $250; and band, about $10,000. Total: From $130,250.
COLORADO FAIRY TALE For an intimate wedding for fifty at Saddle Ridge, a slope-side hideaway in Beaver Creek, the couple arrives by horse-drawn carriage. The ceremony takes place on a sweep of lawn dotted with slender aspens and pots of daisies. The reception: Family and friends mingle outside while sipping Champagne and nibbling on smoked trout. The dinner: In the wood-paneled dining room, a jazz quartet keeps things mellow during a dinner of roast halibut and beef tenderloin. Costs: Reception and dinner, $175 to $200 per person, including beverages. Additional costs (using outside vendors recommended by the resort): Table flowers, $900 ($150 per table); music, from $400 per band member; Costs of wedding cake, $500; and horse-drawn carriage, $500. Total: From $12,250.
