15 Ways We Will Save Money!

1. We designed our monogram
2. We will design our save the dates, invitations, etc. and print them ourselves
3. Our RSVP's will be on postcards to save on postage $.28 (instead of $.44)
postcard must be: rectangular, between 3-4 inches high and 5-6 inches long
4. We are not planning to rent a limousine or a car
5. We will hopefully be married by a priest in the family
6. We are having cupcakes instead of cake
7. Instead of cut floral center pieces, we will probably have potted orchids (also saves time!)
8. Flowers for bouquets will be purchased from the flower mart
9. We are thinking of hooking up our iPod/ laptop to speakers - we'll see about this one
10. Not having open bar - sorry
11. We will hold the ceremony and reception at the same location
12. Probably have buffet instead of sit down meals
13. Jonathan's tux/suit will hopefully be free!
14. My hair and make up will probably be done by one or two of my talented cousins
15. Our parents are resourceful and know how to negotiate!

Venue Hunting

I have been reading blogs ever since we were planning Karla's wedding and after reading so many of them and reading how they started to venue hunt ever since they were pre-engaged makes me feel NORMAL. Staying within a budget is what the issue is when venue hunting, it takes about a year to plan the wedding details and it looks like it takes even longer if u have to search for the bigger aspects of the wedding like the venue.

There are so many features to keep in mind when venue hunting: indoor or outdoor, garden, yacht, loft, hotel, country club, museum, restaurant, parking available, ceremony site, morning, after noon, evening, all day, outside catering, sit down meals or buffet, alcoholic beverages allowed, round tables, squared tables, rectangular tables, loud music allowed, dance floor, and cost.

Right now, I'm looking at the cost to be my most important factor. I've contacted several more venues and it looks like I'll be doing more research.

-The Long Beach Museum of Art replied back and it turns out my minimum cost would be $20907.83 BUT my budget is $10,300. NO THANK YOU.

-The Oviatt Penthouse also replied and that venue would cost me a set up fee of $5500 which should include all the amenities listed on the website plus $52 pp for food. For a max of 125 I would pay $12,000 plus tax and service charges would put me at about $15,000- which is still outside of my $10,300 budget

- Coco Palm Restaurant

(I found today) has a lot of the features I'm looking for. They also have a very informative website (which is a plus!!!) I haven't even contacted them and I have already been able to make several breakdowns:

Havana Menu (Salad, Main Entrée, Dessert) Dinner $57.95 pp

Buffet – 3 items from each section $46.95 pp

Buffet – 4 items from each section $49.95 pp

Ceremony $8 pp

Cash Bar $150 per bartender

Corking Fee $10 per bottle

Child Entrée $18.95

Cake cutting & plating fee (waived with packages) $1.75 pp

Chiavari Chairs $7 pp

Extra Hours $399 per hour

My costs: for 125 people

Havana Menu, Ceremony, Cash Bar, 5 bottles, Cake, Chairs, Tax, Service Charge: $12,560.89

Buffet 3 items, Ceremony, Cash Bar, 5 bottles, Cake, Chairs, Tax, Service Charge: $10,750.01

Buffet 4 items, Ceremony, Cash Bar, 5 bottles, Cake, Chairs, Tax, Service Charge: $11,243.89

I think we may have a leader: It has outdoor venues, parking, we can have the ceremony there, alcoholic beverages are allowed, loud music is allowed, they have a dance floor, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY it is very close to my budget!

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!