California Forest Outdoor Wedding $5k Budget Suggestions

knottief79610a842e623aa

I’m looking for suggestions on California Ceremony & Reception Venues. I’m looking to spend around $5,000 on a forest outdoor wedding. $5,000 preferably including the food, photographer and DJ so I’m looking for a very economical outdoor venue for ceremony & reception. Preferably that allows BYO food and alcohol to better ensure staying in budget. 

An alternative would be to do ceremony in a forest location and reception indoors if need be to make budget. 

Theme enchanted forest twinkle lights.

Anywhere in CA. We are located in Southern California but I also love redwoods and the coast of Big Sur where we got engaged so I would love to get married in Central or Northern California. I’d love to hear suggestions for all 3, Southern, Central and Northern California to weigh the options for the guests as well. 

Open to venues, community centers, private estates, county, city and state parks! Suggestions would be great I’m sure there are so many options it’s just hard to find the small local options in all locations.

Guest count 100-200. Likely around 150-175

charlotte989875

So at 150 guests you’re looking at $33/person; for food, DJ, and photographer that seems a little tight. I’m not in CA so I can’t give specific recommendations but I think your wish list might be out of alignment with your budget. Can you scale back the number of people? Can you do an iPhone/ your own music instead of a DJ? 

I think state/ county parks and a non-meal time, while cutting back your guest list is going to be the best option for getting what you want in your price range. 

knottief79610a842e623aa

Yeah music from iPhone would def be an option. So far I’ve found 1 option for a place. The site fee is only $1,900 for ceremony and reception for a Sat, (cheaper for Friday)but by the time you add the required bartender and site staff it’s almost $3k. 

maine7mob

I looked up weddings at Yosemite, because my SIL got married there 20 years ago and it was magical. She had her wedding in the chapel on the valley floor and her reception at Yosemite Lodge. The views alone were worth it, but I think it might be out of your budget because they have a lot of requirements, such as using their food vendor, which could make economizing a lot harder. I think @charlotte989875's suggestion to use a state or county park is a good one. Another option is a university campus. UC Santa Cruz has a lovely campus with redwood groves. But you might run into the requirement of having to use their approved vendors, which would rule out bringing your own food and booze. Still, it's worth checking out.

You will likely have to cut back on your guest list and maybe think about doing a cocktail reception with heavy hors d'oeuvres rather than a sit down meal. As long as you feed your guests enough, you don't have to do a formal dinner.

knottief79610a842e623aa

Thanks for the suggestions.

I’m def open to having to go over budget but I’d like to be able to have the venue, tables and chairs and BYO food and alcohol under or close to $5k. The few options I’ve found including the $1,900 site have come with tables and chairs which is good. 

MesmrEwe

First - write out the actual names of people you'd be inviting...  Too often we've had knotties think "150 sounds like a nice pretty number" only to write all their grandparents, aunts, uncles, first cousins, for their and FI's families, and they're already sitting at 250-300 without a single friend invited (or worse, they sent out invites and got 200+ RSVP's back because they thought people wouldn't all come and a venue for 130!)..  Write out your VIP's such that if your event gets suddenly restricted for size who gets invited.  

Next, no matter where you look, READ EVERY WORD of the contract!!!  Lots of brides this year got their wedding money spent without actually being able to use their venue because the state shut down all but churches and the contracts cancellation policy was followed, unfortunately not in the favor of the couple.  Here the Governor literally cancelled weddings/receptions on Wednesday for Saturday, if they were getting married in a church, they could have their ceremony but no reception.  

Next, remember "Bridal Blinders vs. Creature Comforts/Your guests/People who mean the world to you!"  A venue that is going to require your guests to hike it in or not have easy access to things like seating or restrooms, or simply the weather (Hot/cold/rain/snow/wildfires/allergy seasons/etc.).  You can always do a photo shoot in your ideal location, you can't however control Mother Nature nor the reality that guests may have mobility or health issues that being outdoors in a woodsy area isn't ideal.  Also access to affordable lodging if this is a DW for a good chunk of your guests.  

It's not just your wedding budget, it's what you're expecting of your guests!