Oh yay – a wedding in Tosa!! This couple focused on great food, atmosphere and of course an open bar. And for just over $20,000 we think they did a great job!
On their wedding day they used two unique locations in Wauwatosa – The Woman’s Club for the ceremony and Firefly for their reception. The also saved on expenses by utilizing friends and family for things like the cake and makeup.
As always, we were excited to see they used #MIMFamily Member Blue’s Egg for their unique rehearsal dinner. Read on for this awesome wedding at Firefly in Wauwatosa and don’t miss the “note from the couple” at the bottom.
Quick Facts – Firefly Tosa Wedding:
- Guests: 120
- Ceremony: Wauwatosa Woman’s Club
- Reception: Firefly
- Rehearsal: Blue’s Egg
- Total Costs: $ 20,270
Wedding Essentials ($3,068):
- Invitations/Stationery: $340
- Cake/Desserts: $0 (gifted by family)
- Photographer: $1,628
- Flowers: $1,100 (Bride’s bouquet, 5 bridesmaids bouquets, 1 Jr. bridesmaid bouquet, 3 corsages, 9 boutonnieres, 2 large vases for ceremony, 6 small centerpieces for reception)
Reception and Ceremony Costs ($11,937):
- Ceremony: $600
- Reception: $11,337
- DJ: $0 (used in-house music at Firefly)
Attire, Jewelry and Beauty ($2,622):
- Bride’s Dress: $1,500
- Bride’s Shoes: $72
- Bride’s Jewelry: $50
- Groom’s Attire: $250
- Hair/Makeup: $0 (gifted by friends)
- Rings: $750
Other Costs ($2,643):
- Wedding Favors: $0 (gifted by family)
- Wedding Party Gifts: $1,100
- Hotel Suite: $0 (free with wedding block)
- Rehearsal Dinner: $1,543 (Blue’s Egg)
- Decor: $300 (vases & candles for reception centerpieces)
- Transportation: $595 (coach bus)
- Other: $150 (Jr. bridesmaid dress and Jr. groomsmen outfit)
A Note From The Couple
We asked the couple to tell us about their planning and budgeting process, and this is what they had to say:
The Rehearsal:
From the start, our focus was to have great food, atmosphere and of course open bar. We allocated the majority of our budget towards those expenses beginning with our rehearsal ‘Brinner.’ Blue’s Egg is our favorite brunch spot and instead of using their catering menu we chose items from the brunch menu to have for dinner or brinner. Monkey bread, french toast, pulled ham, bacon and eggs were served family style.The Venue:
We were drawn to Firefly in Wauwatosa after having dinner there one night prior to actually getting engaged. Although it is an unconventional venue with separated rooms, it really fit the relaxed and modern atmosphere we were aiming for, plus it was so beautifully decorated we didn’t have to add much to it in the way of flowers or decoration.Most of our centerpieces with just mercury glass vases with candles surrounded by eucalyptus. Unlike other venues we had looked at where there was a rental fee for the space, fee for catering, open bar and renting chairs/tablecloths, etc. Firefly just provided us with just a minimum to meet for food and drink and allowed us to personalize the menu completely to our liking whether we wanted more food and less drinks or vice versa.
The Food and Drinks:
We had 3 appetizers (three cheese aroncini, date ramaki and beet/goat cheese skewers) followed by 3 dinner stations throughout the restaurant (pork tagliatelle, sliders and short ribs), I was hesitant about the stations at first but it ended up encouraging our guests to walk around and socialize even more. We provided open bar (beer, wine and rail drinks) for 5 hours.We cut costs by utilizing referrals and our amazing family and friends. Andy’s Aunt Sue owns a chocolate making business, Truffelotta, and made plates of chocolates for every table along with all of our homemade desserts as a gift.
The Flowers and Photos:
We were referred to our florist by my sister-in-law and our photographer Meg, was a referral from friends of ours that got married a couple of years ago. She did an amazing job and was flexible in the amount of time we wanted to reserve her (6 hours) as well as a great package that included engagement photos and a canvas print.My dress was a gift from my stepmom and at the beginning of our planning my dad gave us a fairly large money gift which allowed us to increase our initial budget from $15K to $20K. We will be forever grateful for their generosity in helping make our day perfect!
The Honeymoon:
We went to Italy for 12 days for our honeymoon, but I don’t include that cost in with our wedding. We traveled to Milan, Lake Como, Venice, Florence and Rome. We estimate the total cost of our honeymoon around $6000.– The Bride and Groom
A BIG thanks to the couple for sharing their awesome wedding at Firefly Tosa and to Meg Johnson Images for the amazing photos!
If you’re currently working on your wedding budget, make sure to read through our previous articles featuring real Milwaukee wedding cost breakdowns.
