newly engaged & monterey venue questions

csclarke

hello all!  my fiance (so weird to type that) just proposed to me last weekend at the lone cypress on the 17-mile drive...it was absolutely perfect!  while on our romantic getaway, we talked about getting married in the monterey area next summer.

i am now beginning to look online for sites and was hopeing for some guidance.  we are planning a small wedding around 50 guests i would assume, and i have always had $5k as my budget in my head.  i have no idea why, but i guess it is because he and i will be paying for the majority of the wedding on our own, and i just can't see speding a whole lot of money on one day...no offense to anyone who has had a weding with a much larger budget...i have been to many of them and have had a great time, but i didn't have to pay!

i am thinking that we will get married sometime between june and august, and i am leaning toward at least part of the event being outside.  we currently live in yuma, az (hottest city on the face of the earth:).  all guests will be coming from out of town.  we are open to having our wedding on a non-traditional day in order to save money, since people will need to take off from work to be there anyway.

i have come across the site for "gatherings" which states that it is an all-inclusive set up.  i was wondering if anybody knew anyone who had either used this site, or have you heard anything about it.

basically, i am totally new to all of this and am looking for some assistance.  also, there are some abbreviations that i don't understand on this site.  is there someplace that there is a key that defines all of them?

thanks in advance for all of your help!

carrie sue

anglyn

I haven't heard of the site, but I just wanted to say Congratulations!

Aimee8314

Congratulations!!!!!!

The knottie lingo can be found here:
http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-tools-help-center/the-knot-about-us/articles/community-frequently-asked-questions.aspx

I'm not familiar with Gatherings - but all inclusive and in your budget sounds like a great find to me!  I used to live in Monterey.  That will be a gorgeous place to get married.  

mmgrillo

Hello, and congrats! I am getting married in Monterey. My ceremony is going to be at The Memory Garden, which is an outdoor State historic Park. My reception is at a different location: The Naval Postgraduate School. In hindsight, I would have had my reception at The Memory Garden also. It is not an all inclusive set-up, but you reserve the location and then hire a catering company to do all rentals and food. I think you'd be able to get everything under $5,000. The 2 catering companies I looked at were: http://www.grapesofwrath.com/ and http://montereycatering.com. Everything would be outdoors though, so I'm not sure if that's exactly what you're looking for. Here is a link to a fellow knottie that got married there: 

http://blog.ashleyforrette.com/2009/06/rob-and-rachelle.html

It's a really beautiful and unique place! 

HTH (Hope this Helps :-) )

csclarke

mmgrillo:  monterey catering company is who owns "gatherings".  have you already tasted their food?  on the gatherings website if you go to this page you will see the package that i am talking about:  http://www.montereyweddingsites.com/concours.html

are you having monterey catering cater anything for your wedding?  if you don't mind me asking, are the prices comperable to just having them cater or is it much more expensive to use their property?

thanks for your reply!
carrie sue

EastBayChick

You should decide what kind of location(s) you really want. It's possible to do a really inexpensive beach or coastside ceremony and then move the party to another location. The advantage is that you can take pictures and video at the view site and then go someplace more comfortable for the party.

With 50 guests you have lots of options. Both catering companies discussed are really good and you also have the option of some excellent restaurants that have private rooms or that would consider closing for your party.  This link http://www.grapesofwrath.com/location.html has some ideas for private sites and then check out banquet rooms at restaurants for party spaces. You can do a beach party with tiki torches or get  a small room at Monterey Beach Resort or Asilomar, Tarpy's or Il Fornaio for your budget. Massaro and Santos is a cool spot too. Lots of options! Have fun. I was out last night at Sapporo's at Fisherman's Wharf and saw a wedding party come in.