California-Los Angeles

Feeling like I don't know what I am doing {VENT}

We set a date for our wedding only 7 months out.. not too much time to plan. 2 months later after TONS of work trying to figure things out, we have a pretty major change of plans. We live in Santa Monica so we decided to get married at our church, Saint Monica, because we love it there. Little did we know how expensive it would be to find a recpetion place nearby. Orginally the costs (120-185 pp) of local hotels totally freaked us out. So we rented a house in the Palisades but our guest list has grown from 30 to like 50 and so now I have to cancel the house and start ALL OVER AGAIN and we only have 5 months to go now. I also thought all the DIY stuff would be fun but  it is such a pain for us. Bringing in rentals to a house and lighting and decorations and sound .. so hard to figure out so now we are back to square one looking at hotel packages in the previously mentioned range. Also, I was going to have the family stay at the original house but we can't afford to have the reception at a hotel AND pay to rent them a house so now we have to tell them to get hotels. What a mess. I feel like I screwed up with getting that house and also maybe even screwed up deciding to get married here since it is so expensive!
BabyFruit Ticker

Re: Feeling like I don't know what I am doing {VENT}

  • edited December 2011
    Have you contacted loews? they have a small banquet room (fits up to 70) called the venice room

    also maybe consider restaurant private rooms in the area


    november-december is a slow time for hotels in the santa monica area so at least rates will be low for incoming friends and family. i would suggest even trying to wait on getting a courtesy block of rooms - people can always book on their own first and then a month or so if you can ngotiate a lower wedding block rate they can cancel and rebook under your rate.
    Anniversary Photobucket
  • RoMy215RoMy215 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Ok so first, this is doable. As far as your reception venue, I loved The Victorian (on Main St), but it is a little pricey. What about Cheesecake Factory in Marina Del Rey, or one of the harbor cruises --- Spirit Cruises or Hornblower?
    As far as hotels for guests, I don't know your family, but I'm sure they will be fine (finding their own accommodations). Try www.vbo.com (vacation rentals by owner). We had looked at Bungalows at the Dudley (http://www.vrbo.com/232277). You might also want to look at hotels in MDR because it's really not that far and the rates tend to be a little lower than Santa Monica.
    I had a good time doing a lot of stuff myself, but in the end I did feel kind of overwhelmed. The good news with getting an event venue is that they will already have a lot of the things you were talking about having to take care of. In the meantime, try to take a breath...and enjoy a little!!! Good luck and congrats!!

  • edited December 2011
    Thanks courtneykelly and RoMo215.

    We ended up telling our parents about the change of plans and they are actually happier without the hosue rental because not everyone gets along and people like their privacy so they are getting rooms at a budget hotel right near the beach. I am so relieved! I also looked at a bunch of hotels this past week and would you believe that Shutters on the Beach actually has the best deal for anall inslusive reception???? I prayed to God about this and I think he answered because we met with them today and things really fell into place. It's a great package and we lucked out with them allowing us to start in the middle of the day (2:00) when most places want either earlier or later. All we have to do is sign the contract and pay a deposit tomorrow. THANK GOD! I am so happy now, that was our dream location and in the beginning we never thought we could get it but after a reality check on prices in the area it isn't bad and it is so beautiful there. YAY!!!
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • edited December 2011
    Sounds like you found the place - I love Shutters on the Beach! FYI Wilshire Restaurant is another great Santa Monica venue.
  • Good luck with your wedding!  We are planning on getting married at St. Monica's too but have been challenged to find ano affordable venue for our 120 guests. What pricing per person did you end up with at Shutters? 
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