Budgeting

Planning a wedding wouldn't be hard if I had all the money in the world - but I don't - so it's going to take lots of time and patience to find the better steal. Easier said than done. I've been on the hunt for cheaper venues and it is hard when we can't afford $100 a person plus drinks and set up fees.

Objective: Find an outdoor ceremony and reception venue AND cost of food must be between $50 and $55 a person.

Originally I had created a TOTAL budget of $18524, with a budget of 10300 for the ceremony and reception costs. Now that we are considering buying a home before the wedding, I must reconsider a lot of factors when planning this event. 1. what matters most to me when looking for a ring, venue, photographer, and a dress 2. total size of my party, who should be invited 3. where can i cut my costs

We've looked into a couple of venues. We've looked at the Marina del Rey Ritz Carlton and we were so lucky because a wedding was happening when we stayed there so I was able to see the set-up of the ceremony and the reception. Unfortunately it didn't scream out my name.

Yesterday I requested information from the Mountain Gate Country Club (since websites don't put any prices up). I was so disappointed to find that they charged a minimum of $97 a person plus drinks and set up fees and all sort of expenses that we cannot afford.

List of possible contenders:
The Oviatt Penthouse - a rooftop ceremony and reception overlooking beautiful Los Angeles
The Westin Bounaventure - the plaza pool deck (which happens to be the biggest so probably the most expensive)
The Long Beach Art Museum - a garden setting ceremony and reception overlooking the beach, pictures below are from their website.

If anyone has any suggestions to keep the venue cost at $$ instead of $$$ please let me know!