Questions
What people ask before they call
Cost, how a quote works, what we bring, and what a venue or a finance team needs from us. If your question is not here, call 919-324-4044 and ask.
Cost
How much does event decoration cost in Raleigh?
Every event is priced on what it actually needs, so there is no menu. As a rough guide: a single backdrop or balloon setup for a birthday or a graduation usually lands in the low hundreds to around a thousand; a full ceremony or reception with a stage, florals and seating is typically a few thousand; and a multi-day Indian wedding across several venues runs into five figures. Delivery, setup and takedown across the Triangle are already inside those figures rather than added at the end. The quote itself is itemised line by line with a photograph against each piece, so you can see what the backdrop costs separately from the table styling, take out anything you do not want, and watch the total change before you agree to it.
What does a mandap cost?
A mandap is quoted as part of the function it sits in rather than as an item off a shelf, because the pillars, the canopy, the aisle flowers and the seating around it are one piece of work. A ceremony with a stage, florals and seating is typically a few thousand, and the quote breaks the mandap out on its own line so you can see what it contributes. The pillars themselves are our own stock, crystal or draped, sized to the stage the venue gives us, with the hawan kund and patiyas arranged to the priest’s requirements. We have installed mandaps at SV Temple and Marriott Crabtree among others, and delivery, installation and takedown are part of the figure rather than lines added to the end of it.
Do you charge for delivery?
No. Delivery, setup and takedown are part of the quote rather than a line added to the end of it. That covers Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, Apex and Pittsboro, and the rest of North Carolina, and there is no mileage point at which it changes. The same team that designs the decor delivers it, installs it and clears it afterwards, inside whatever load-in window the venue allows, so a birthday in a rented hall does not end with you carrying arches to a car at the end of the night.
Can I take something out to bring the price down?
Yes, and the quote is built for it. Every item is a separate line with its own figure and a photograph against it, so you can remove a piece and see what the total becomes rather than asking us to re-price the whole event.
Getting a quote
How do I get a quote?
Call or message on WhatsApp and tell us four things: the date or the month, the venue or the kind of venue, roughly how many guests, and anything you have already seen and liked. A photograph from somewhere else is genuinely useful, because most people know the look they want before they know the words for it. The itemised quote is usually with you the next working day: every piece on its own line with its own figure and a photograph against it, so you can remove anything and see what the total becomes. You can read it and approve it from your phone, and calls and messages are answered from nine in the morning to eight at night, seven days.
Can you quote before my date or venue is confirmed?
Yes. Most of the quotes we write start before the date is fixed. Give us the month and the kind of venue you are considering, and we will quote against that and adjust when the details settle.
Will you come and look at the venue first?
We can, and often do. It is not a requirement though: photographs of the room, or the venue name if we have worked there before, are usually enough to quote from. Whichever is quicker for you is fine.
Is there a size you will not take on?
There is no guest count we turn away on principle, in either direction. A living room and a ballroom are both ordinary jobs here. Tell us the number and the room and we will quote it.
When can I reach you?
Calls and messages from nine in the morning to eight at night, seven days. Email is answered within one business day. If it is urgent and close to your date, call rather than email.
On the day
Do you set up and take down?
Yes, both, with our own team. The people who design your decor are the people who deliver it, install it and clear it afterwards. That is also what lets us commit to a venue load-in window and hold to it.
What do you bring, and what do I need to supply?
We hold a large stock of our own: chair covers and sashes by the hundred, drapery, lanterns, urli, brass diyas, crystal mandap pillars, vases and centrepiece glassware. In practice a quote from us covers the whole room rather than one rented backdrop.
Do you work alongside our photographer and DJ?
Routinely. Most events we style have a photographer, a DJ and helpers working the same room to the same schedule, and the decor has to be finished and out of their way before they need the space. Put us in touch with them and we will sort the order of the day between us rather than leaving you to relay it.
Do you decorate in private homes?
Often. Haldi mornings, home pujas, griha pravesh entrances and milestone birthdays are a large part of what we do, and private homes are half our venues. We install and clear without damage to the house.
Booking and terms
How does payment work?
A 25% deposit confirms your date, and the remaining 75% is due the day before the event. The deposit is non-refundable, because the date is held for you and stock and labour are committed to it straight away.
What is included in the price?
The items listed on your quote, delivered, set up and taken down by our own team, within the access hours your venue allows. Most of what we install is our own stock rather than a sub-rental: chair covers and sashes by the hundred, drapery, lanterns, urli, brass diyas, crystal mandap pillars, vases and centrepiece glassware. Anything not on the list is quoted before we do it, so the figure you approve is the figure you pay. If the venue changes those hours, we tell you before the day rather than on it.
How can I pay?
Zelle, Venmo and cash are the ones we are usually asked for and the easiest for us. If a company needs to pay another way, say so and we will work to your process.
What if I need to cancel or move the date?
Cancellations need to be in writing. Moving a date depends on whether we are free on the new one, and it may cost more. The deposit stays non-refundable either way, which is worth knowing before you pay it rather than after.
Will it look exactly like the photograph?
Close, and occasionally not identical. Fresh flowers depend on what is available that week, and venues have their own rules about what can be fixed to a wall, a ceiling or a floor. Where something cannot be sourced we substitute something comparable and tell you rather than surprising you on the day.
Do you photograph our event?
We photograph the setup for our portfolio and to show future clients. That is how the photographs on this site exist. If you would rather we did not, tell us in writing and we will not.
Working with a company
Can you invoice a company?
Yes. We invoice the company and work to your procurement process, and a W-9 comes back within one business day. If your venue has a vendor requirements document, send it and we will answer it point by point, including anything we cannot meet.
Where we work
Where do you travel?
Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, Apex, Pittsboro and the greater Triangle, and the rest of North Carolina. Hotel ballrooms, banquet halls, temples, community centres, offices and private homes, and private homes are half our venues. We have built at SV Temple and Marriott Crabtree among others, and delivery anywhere in that area is part of the quote rather than an extra.
Ready to ask for a number? Tell us what you are planning, or call 919-324-4044.