St. Augustine on a budget!

Re: St. Augustine on a budget!

• rhend88

  

  November 2011 edited December 2011

  I think a great place for a budget reception can be A1a their bayview room (or with a smaller group the Sala Menendez) is beautiful and if you are open about your budget restraints from the beginning they can tell you the best way to make your money spread on a lot of food (pretty much why we are having out wedding there).  They definitely are better about offseason wedding dates though if you are trying for a competitive wedding season date I am not sure how flexible they are. 
  
  That being said if you are doing a wedding season wedding the Trinity Episcopal Hall in downtown does not change its rental price per season or per day, they really only charge what it costs them to have you use the place.  Just check early on your propsed date because you are competing against not only other brides but any other church related event.  They are really sweet but you have to bring your own decor and such as the room isnt naturally the prettiest place in St. Aug and they have their own parking lot and a baby grand in their facility.  You will have to get your own caterer but that can help you get a range of prices (plus you can buy your own alcohol etc with some caterers saving a ton--only beer and wine here though)
  
  Just FYI places I know that dont really adjust to a budget (based on personal experience) are Casa Monica, the White Room, and River House.  Also the Lightner Courtyard doesn't adjust at all for the ceremony price based on guests.
  
  As far as ceremony locales go and depending on the season and weather of your date places to check out for an outdoor ceremony would be Princess Place Reserve in Palm Coast, the St. Augustine Beach pier area has a pavilion that I think is rather cheap to be married on or even the beach for a ceremony (maybe a permit and just renting chairs). Also have heard great things about outdoor weddings at Mission Nombre de Dios on San Marco.
  
  Things I havent checked out as much but supposedly are cheaper (I was looking mostly downtown for a medium sized group (100) when setting ours up) are the Kingfish Grill over by the Vilano bridge, Sanchez House downtown, St. Augustine Historical Society has some places, and even Amici's Italian Restaurant has a room for receptions (relatively close to the pier should you go that route).
  
  Good luck and have fun, you will be surprised with how much people will try and work with you (if you are local feel free to try and use that to your benefit on prices if you chose a restaurant or anything, speak of your continued patronage etc)

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• SheilaDancer43 member

  

  November 2011 edited December 2011

  I went through the Wedding Authority in the Lightner Museum. We went with one of their packages that includes: -A wedding planner -The ceremony in the Lightner Garden -Reception at the Bayview Room with A1A Aleworks (all tables and chairs included) -Butler passed hors d'oeuvres -A seated meal -Open bar -A $400 cake allowance ...I think that's everything. That's for 100 guests and it was ~ $11,000 I think. I'm pretty sure you can pick and choose things w/in all of that and the price will change accordingly (but I'm not 100% positive you can do that). That's the highest package. They have cheaper ones so I'd say give them a call or go in and meet with them to see what all the prices are.

  

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• FutureMrsMiller25 member

  

  November 2011 edited December 2011

  We had initially wanted to do ours in downtown St. Augustine. My dream was the White Room - but like someone said above don't really adjust based on number of guests. Not really budget friendly at all - even though they told me in emails they could "work with me." I got there and they told me with a straight face that I had to spend a min of about $20,000 (w tax and gratuity). We ended up going with the Serenata Beach Club - it's not technically in St Augustine - you have to go across the river to the beach and it's within PVB lines. But it's beautiful and ON the beach - and since I wanted a beach theme wedding it worked much better for that. The events manager, Cordel, is also WONDEFUL and wants to work with you to keep you in your budget (no hidden fees!) We are having luncheons and putting on our own haunted pub crawl to make sure we have events in the city since we like it so much.

  

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• EricksonBride

  

  December 2011 edited December 2011

  That is exactly what I'm doing! St. Augustine wedding on a budget. It was really important to my FI and I that we had our wedding there (downtown St. Augustine). I initally was also in love with the White Room....but it was way out of our budget. We are having our ceremony at the Cathedral but had a really hard time finding a reception venue within budget. I started to feel really discouraged at first because everything was so expensive. I thought we were going to have to give up our St. Augustine wedding. But then we came across the Llambias House and we fell in love...and it was way cheaper than most other places in St. Aug. Now the Llambias House is for 100 people, (more people can fit there but it's not really allowed) so if you're having a bigger wedding that probably wouldn't work. You have to use a caterer from their approved list. We went with D-VIne Cuisine and let me tell you they really work around your budget and give you a lot of bang for your buck! Hope at D-VIne is amazing! Another good place for about 100 people is The Government House. It's a really cool venue, that lets you use any caterer you want. Good Luck!

  

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• SammieXO1031 member

  

  February 2012

  A vendor disobeying the rules and posting when you are asked not to .. I def. would not use someone who can not read english. You have been reported.

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• Brittany Meadows

  

  March 2012

  Hi, I would recommend It's Official! http://www.itsofficial.webs.com for an officiant willing to work with someone on a budget.
  
  He is a great guy, very professional!
  
  Good Luck1

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