Wedding Venue on a Low Budget, Help!

Lroullier · June 2010

I recently got engaged and I am trying to plan a wedding for $10,000 total. Venue, food, photos, everything. I have 150 people on my guest list, and I am very flexible on location, date, everything. I just want my guests to have a good time and celebrate with us. I would prefer a dinner wedding on a Friday or Saturday. I am looking for a low cost location in the Bay Area. Most of the family is in Walnut Creek / Danville area, but I am willing to look anywhere for the right price. Any suggestions? I am open to everything, I am just starting to plan. Please share and good deals you have found! Thank you!

GJones27 · June 2010

I don't know how possible that is in the Bay Area, even on a Friday. Everything seems so expensive. However, I did see a story about a $10,000 wedding in San Francisco recently (past month or two) in one of the big bridal magazines. It didn't involve a sit down dinner... more like h'odervs (spelling?) and drinks at a restaurant. I took a quick look for the article now in my old magazines but couldn't find it.

My family looked hard for a nice and not expensive reception hall. Depending on how many people you have, maybe the Spinnaker in Sausalito will work for you? Their food and beverage minimums are lower on days other than Saturdays. Or how expensive is the Basque Cultural Center on the peninsula?

future mrs.riva · June 2010

If you hold the reception at a restaurant or hall that offers catering, it'll be cheaper, but you also have to factor in the decorations, etc and any rentals you'd need. I heard that the Basque Cultural Center is pretty cheap- a small fee for the hall rental and the food is ~ $30/person. GL!

MrsJG2Be · June 2010

Some venues charge less for Friday compared to Saturday or Sunday

San Ramon Community Center

Brownstone Gardens in Oakley (very nice but not sure what their catering prices run)

Crow Canyon Park & Hall (http://www.crowcanyonpark.com/Lettuce_Ketchup.php) you can either use them for catering or bring in an outside vendor.

mmort06 · June 2010

Im having my wedding in The Brazilian Room at Tilden Park for about 10,000 for everything wedding related. The actual venue only costs 2700. The food is costing us 5,000. You have to book about a year in advance though. Also check out wedgewood facilities, they are all over the bay area.

mica178 · June 2010

Elliston Vineyards in Sunol had fairly reasonable rates, but I'm not sure if they're reasonable enough. I heard the Brazillian Room is also a good deal. There are a bunch of public parks in the East Bay that can be booked, then you just need to find a caterer. If you're willing to go with the more basic packages, Wedgwood is also a good option for the budget minded, but I thought they were a little too generic-packagy.

kingofpop · June 2010

Beth Chaim in Danville has BYO options, Rios Lovell winery in Livermore, Point Marina Vista in Alameda is also nice. Try herecomestheguide.com and filter it so that it has BYO options, then you can make it within your budget.

sunnyd711 · June 2010

Check out the Sesnon House in Aptos. It's catered by the Cabrillo College cullinary students so the food is great and very well priced. Plus, they let you bring your own beer and wine with no corking fee.

HendersonL · June 2010

Have you used HereComesTheGuide.com?

HendersonL · June 2010

http://www.rockefellerlodge.com

Here is a place I checked out personally. Can't guarantee that it's your style.

vanessaipadilla · July 2010

im using the freedom hall in santa clara. $7200 for first 100 people. that includes hall, food, unlimited beer and wine, cake, and dj. We're doing ours on friday and in January so we got one hell of a deal.

rosetobe · July 2010

Doing a wedding on a $10,000 budget is absolutely doable. You just have to get creative. I think your best bet is to decide what is most important to you. Is it beautiful location, the food, the first dance in front of your family and friends? Once you decide on the thing you can't cut then work with everything else. I have a $10,000 budget but have only about 75-85 guests. If you find a place with a very small rental fee and do a Sunday afternoon wedding and kept it to hors de'oveures and cake only and limit alcohol you should do just fine.

Good luck!

MichelleLHennessy · July 2010

If you are open, Vasona Park is awesome! It would give your wedding a beautiful picnic like outdoors-y feel and it is VERY cheap. The rental for the circle area, the largest and the most secluded, is only $340. Find a caterer to do some delicious and elegant BBQ and do a lunch instead of a dinner which is cheaper. the only draw back is that there is a $6 vehicle entry fee, but you can pre-pay that so your guests do not have to. Just try to find out about how many cars there will be and encourage people to carpool. Its a beautiful park with a lake view and the price can't be beat!! (I am planning my friends wedding there for next year and she is trying to go less than 10,000!! Yikes!!)

slubkin · August 2010

I second what rosetobe says.

My budget is also $10,000 total (although my father has volunteered to pay for a couple things to help out). I looked at the Brazilian Room and while the venue is inexpensive, you end up having to spend a lot more on the caterer than you otherwise might (and choose one of their approved vendors), so it may not be cheaper than other options overall. In addition, while the site is gorgeous, we thought it might be confusing for out of town guests to try to find their way there unless we provided transportation (which I wasn't interested in doing).

We ended up choosing the Berkeley City Club as our venue for both the ceremony and the reception because the pricing was good and they have an on-site coordinator who will oversee all the set-up and staff. (I also got a discount as a UCB alumna!) They will be doing the food as well. In order to cut costs further, we are doing our wedding in the afternoon on a Thursday to get lower room rates, and doing an hors d'ouevres reception (more because of so many conflicting dietary issues among our guests than because it's cheaper).

Some of the features that won us over besides the on-site coordinator: We loved the gothic look of the historic Julia Morgan building and vintage furniture, and they are a B&B as well, so visiting guests can choose to stay there for a reduced rate. In addition, it's very close to UC Berkeley so out-of-town guests can also explore, shop, and dine in Berkeley if they have time before or after the wedding. There are also a number of other hotels and motels nearby enough to give our traveling guests options of where they would like to stay.

Hope this info is helpful!

Wedding Venue on a Low Budget, Help!

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