San francisco prices

Unfortunately, I think San Francisco (and the bay area in general) is one of those places where everything is way over priced. There's a bride on here who had a gorgeous, very high-end wedding and she had it in Sonoma because it was less expensive than the city. I don't know if the price difference would also be true for a smaller budget, but you can check. Good luck!

https://sfrecpark.org/permits-and-reservations/weddings/wedding-site-directory/

https://theboxsf.com/

https://www.herecomestheguide.com/wedding-party-ideas/detail/affordable-san-francisco-wedding-venues

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/san-francisco-affordable-wedding-venues

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I hope I'm not assuming incorrectly, but was it my wedding you're referring to? If so, thanks for the kind words!

As far as getting married in Sonoma, the prices weren't that different from the bay area especially since a lot of the vendors were in the bay area and/or competed in pricing with bay area vendors. The farther the OP can get away from the bay area, the better. For example, I live in the Sacramento area, and the prices are significantly cheaper here. A good photographer here can be hired for $1,500-$3000, but in the bay area that same quality and package would run $3,000-$5,000. For some of my vendors, I found it to be more economical to hire ones in the Sacramento area and pay their travel fee to Sonoma.

The best way to stay within your budget is to keep your guest list low. There are some fabulous restaurants in S.F. where you can rent a private room to host your wedding reception. Get married at the gorgeous city hall there and take your immediate family and closest friends to a restaurant to celebrate. A friend of mine did that and it was a beautiful wedding reception.

For that price in the Bay Area you’ll need to keep your guest list on the small side. I would look into the private room of a restaurant.

How big is your guest list?

I wanted an elegant boho wedding in a winery. Flowers and food matter to me. So I cut guest list from 90 to 55.

View Quoted Comment I’m drooling over your dessert table and the balloons. I’m not normally a fan of balloons at weddings but this is such a fun (yet classy) touch!!! 🎈 ❤️

View Quoted Comment Thank you. My hubby is a therapist and he died when he saw the Alice in wonderland theme cake cause he’s into dreams and psyche. So I surprised him with the cake and the balloons just tied in the whimsy to the wedding. I was going to do the balloons myself but Im glad I found a vendor that quoted me $200. I wouldn’t have had time to do it myself. Oh we had a sugar overload. I upgraded to a flambe donut late night snack. A chef flambes your donut and guests can put sundae toppings on top.

Hi There! I'm a wedding planner in SF and there are definitely venues that charge under $5k for the space. Check out Stern Grove Trocadero, the Firehouse at Fort Mason and the Log Cabin in the Presidio. If you're flexible to day of the week, that helps as well!