Socal Wedding on a Budget

I can't recommend specific vendors because I don't know where you live. But if you really don't want to cut your guest list, then the next best way to reduce costs is to think really hard about what elements are vital to you and your future spouse. Prioritize those things in your budget and eliminate or go really minimal on the rest. I think deciding what you DON'T want to spend money on is as important as searching for bargains.

Examples:

*Feeding your guests food appropriate to the time of day/occasion is important, but maybe flowers/decor is not that important

*Photography is important but you know you won't watch a video much so eliminate the videographer

*Save money with a public park venue but spend more on your dress

*Having bridesmaids and groomsmen adds a lot to your budget, so choosing to have no attendants means more money for food or venue.

Not to be discouraging but you kind of get what you pay for And for basic things really there’s no cheap way to go if you want at least decent like a DJ, photographer, officiant, florals. It doesn’t matter if you have 20 people or 200 most of those prices won’t change.

For photography, find a photography student or someone just beginning in their career. The Pro - they will be cheap; The Con - the quality of work and service level might be subpar. For flowers, try Sam's Club, Costco, or FiftyFlowers.com. The Pro - cheap; The Con - you'll probably have to DIY a lot yourself so be prepared for the extra work. For cake - try your local grocery store. The Pro - cheaper, and often just as good; The Con - you might not get the same level of design or service (i.e. delivery and set-up) that you would from a traditional baker. For catering, find a local restaurant - Mexican, Italian, and BBQ are all usually affordable options.

There are a lot of things in life that are "get what you pay for," but it's not always true with weddings and wedding services. My sister paid a lot for her videographer who was way late on delivering their wedding video and she liked the rough cut better.

But I agree that you need to prioritize what is important to you. Making sure everyone is adequately fed, has drinks, and has a place to sit. Also that it will not be blistering hot or freezing cold for your guests.

But your venue is going to have be HUGE to accommodate that amount of people, so be aware how much that is going to cost. Do not skimp on the guest experience because people are traveling far and wide to your wedding and will bring you a gift, the least you can do is be a good host. The food does not need to be top of the line, but DECENT and make sure nobody gets food poisoning.

I would not do a cash bar, that doesn't usually go over well and honestly I think it's kind of rude and so do a lot of guests. Beer and wine will be plenty. It would be okay to have unlimited beer and wine, but cash for liquor. Most people will drink what is there.

There are only 2 acceptable reasons to do a cash bar/dry wedding: The bride and/or the groom is SOBER, or it is against the majority of your family's religious beliefs, or your own religious beliefs.

Almost everyone is paying for the wedding themselves and have to budget based on priorities. But you need to select what is important TO YOU and your fiance.

For me, my priorities were:

Good Food

Beach location

Good Drinks (beer, wine, and liquor) We payed a bar tab at the end of the reception.

Beautiful Ceremony

Photographer

places to sit

And of course that our families and friends could be there.

What were not priorities for me were:

Flowers

Videography

Wedding dress (still bought one, but didn't spend over $100)

Shoes

Getting ready pictures (they would've been nice, but it's okay)

Cake

Honeymoon

Agreed with others—try to sit down with your partner and outline what’s most important. Also, maybe search for an alternate ceremony/reception site. As in looking at parks, private beaches, etc. The biggest cost idt typically the food/drinks it seems—maybe looking into alternative catering options

If you're willing to have a brunch reception you could cut catering/food in half from an evening affair. As others have said, instead of a florist use Costco or Fifty flowers.com. Also buying linens is much cheaper than renting them. Use sites like efavormart.com for decor.

You can easily have a nice budget wedding. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

Check out the wholesale districts for dresses, shoes, flowers, rings, etc.

Restaurant corporate catering provides very tasty food and a larger amount for half the price of an event caterer.

Look outside the box avoid the word 'wedding' when you can.

Sit down with fiance and decide on priorities. Most couples focus on the guest experience (good food/free drinks/good dj) and quality photos. Cut out the rest you don't care about. Skip favors/programs/champagne/welcome bags/bridesmaid boxes. Take a look at eventective.com for a venue. Blank slates have tables and chairs but do not have 5 figure minimums you must meet for food and drink alone. Vendors via Instagram or thumbtack.com

Get a grocery store cake. Flowers from the grocery store or fiftyflowers.com. get alcohol from a local warehouse store.

Annsbridalbargains.com or costco.com for invites.

Only invite the people you cannot imagine spending the day without. Pick only your closest best friends 6-8 months before the wedding to stand up for you. Bridesmaid dresses via Azazie or Cocomelody.

What part of SoCal are you looking to host your wedding at?


There’s a Facebook page for brides to connect with local vendors in SoCal. It’s called Something Borrowed, Something New. The preferred vendors for that group sometimes will offer special discounts for group members. I actually connected with my dream videographers on there!

Instagram has many vendors that are not on the regular lists and willing to give discounts

Where in SoCal are you getting married? Also, I understand wanting to get inexpensive vendors. But be careful and also be open to lower your expectations.

View Quoted Comment Hi thank you so much for the suggestions ❤️ I actually live in the San Fernando Valley, my Fiancé lives on the opposite side of LA. His stomping grounds range from Upland down Brea. We plan on Marrying on his side of Socal. We actually have thought a but on the what we care more about, one idea we had was to use a cupcake arrangement as the centerpiece for the table/dessert instead of flowers and sliced cuts of cake ☺️

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the reply ❤️ Yeah I think we won’t try to go too cheap on the photography, but for the catering my Fiancé and I like Stone Fire Grill and apparently they are pretty awesome on the catering, really professional. So we can get a full package with a wide variety of food for at the highest i believe is $27/person which for the average on catering I was blown away. We personally like their food, but definitely if you have any suggestions I am all ears ☺️ We will get married in OC/surrounding area.

View Quoted Comment Totally understand, thanks for the insight ❤️

View Quoted Comment Thank so much for thorough reply. Yeah Prioritize super big, for us I think we are likely to forgo the videographer?? Just stick with the photographer? Most couples I know have said they don’t look at their wedding videos and with everyone having phones with cameras these days I know id be happy with just a trusted friend getting the ceremony filmed that way i think ☺️ Also I think what will help is that our wedding will be a sober event ❤️

View Quoted Comment Yeah the location was a huge thing after looking into what you were talking about I even came across some nice community centers that have outdoor venue space that has some real potential ❤️

View Quoted Comment Wow! Brunch/lunch is something I am really going to consider 🤔 I think I just worry about how much time I’ll have to get ready haha. I am definitely going to look into those sites, we dont plan on having much flowers at all~ we plan on using an alternative centerpiece for reception so we would just need the bouquets and maybe two bigger ones as mirrored decor at the alter, I will look into those suggestions ❤️ thank you!

View Quoted Comment Wholesale district???? I hadn’t heard that one, if you see this reply could you explain that a bit to me? For us we are definitely looking into a restaurant to do the catering it really is cheaper than the average pricing! Also, for finding vendors on instagram I seriously have a hard time navigating it to find people in my area? I always see vendors from out of state or like...Russia lol

View Quoted Comment That is so cool thank you! We are want to get married somewhere around OC area or surrounding region? If that makes sense? Just on that side. I am going to join that page thanks! ❤️

View Quoted Comment See I was telling someone else this that I have such a hard time navigating instagram for that purpose 😅 I can’t seem to understand how to find vendors from MY actual area, I always see people from out of state or other countries haha. Help! lol

View Quoted Comment Yes definitely I’ll try to be as open minded as possible ❤️ We want to get married on the OC/surrounding area side of Socal. Just that whole side is up for consideration. Thank you!