Venue help

We looked at 10 venues in OC. The least expensive were the most basic packages at Wedgewood properties (I think there are a couple in the IE, but we only looked in OC) and the Orange County Mining Company. They aren't really inexpensive, but they were on the lower-end of what we looked at. Good luck! So Cal isn't particularly budget-friendly....

View Quoted Comment We’ve looked into Wedgewood locations also but the menu they offer will not satisfy my guests (traditional Mexican family here lol) & they do not allow outside catering so that’s our conflict with them. Other than that their low spectrum packages would probably be do-able. Idk if we’re just being picky but I would hate for my guests to talk crap about the food I’m paying an arm and leg for.

View Quoted Comment And yes definitely! SoCal isn’t budget friendly for ANYTHING 🤣🤣🤣 lol

Maybe be open to a Friday or Sunday wedding! Our venue is $7000 on a Saturday and $1800 on a Thursday so we went with a Thursday wedding! The venue is the exact same on a weekday and it will be a destination wedding so people will be taking off work anyway

View Quoted Comment Ah yes that would definitely help! Just not sure how many people will be willing to take off work 🤔 but definitely something to think about, thanks!

Check out Abbott Manor in Temecula. When I was looking at venues last year, they were definitely affordable and included a lot with the venue. They also allow outside catering and alcohol, which can help. Can we get a rough estimate on your venue budget/approximate guest count? I toured a ton, but not sure which to offer up since I don’t quite know what’s affordable for you.

I don't know any specifics but there is a venue called The Hacienda in Santa Ana. It's owned by the same company as Tivoli and Tivoli Too in Laguna Beach, which aren't inexpensive, but their packages are very inclusive so it might be manageable. Good luck!

View Quoted Comment You definitely don’t want people hating the food. I actually went to a Wedgewood wedding last year and had the worst wedding food I’ve ever had for my entree. I don’t know if it was the choice (steak), the specific WW venue, or the cooking staff that night, but it was pretty inedible. Luckily, I don’t drink, so that wasn’t a concern for me, but a couple of friends got a bit more inebriated off the open bar than they would have if the food had been a bit more consumable.

View Quoted Comment Okay! I will definitely check them out! Our budget is 15k-20k MAX including the little stuff like invitations, hair/makeup, etc. Our guest count is roughly 175 people

View Quoted Comment Ah thanks for sharing your personal experience! This is exactly what I’m afraid of lol that’s why I’m looking for somewhere that’s more flexible on stuff like that. But I will give your suggestion a look!

View Quoted Comment Okay, thank you so much for your help!

View Quoted Comment Hmm. Okay. If you’re willing to travel to the OC, Country Garden Caterers has a location in Santa Ana that’s cute. They’re my caterers (at a different location that probably won’t fit your budget; though it may be an option for a non-Saturday wedding (Heritage Museum of Orange County)) and their food/alcohol prices are really fantastic for So Cal. There’s also Reptacular Ranch in Sylmar that is a very DIY venue.

I'm not familiar with your area, but also see what is around you that might be like an hour or so of a drive. To find something in our budget that we liked we have to make a 45 minute drive.

I recommend looking into blank slate venues that let you BYOD and don't specialize in weddings. Also consider a Friday or Sunday wedding. We're getting married at the ZLAC club in San Diego. It's rowing house right on the bay and costs 2k for a 6 hour Friday evening event. Also look into women's clubs, senior centers, etc

View Quoted Comment I’m open to anything and everything at this point🤣 thanks for all the pointers!

View Quoted Comment Yeah we’re willing to drive no more than 1.5-2 hours and most of my family is located in the LA area so it’d be easier for them. It’s just a matter of finding the right venue that fits our needs 😭

View Quoted Comment Nice! We started looking into community centers, golf courses, but for the price they were offering we weren’t getting much out of it. This one golf course we took a tour & we learned that people will be golfing right next to me as I’m walking down the aisle! Talk about tacky 🙄🙄🙄

You may just want to extend your budget. Unfortunately, things that are not tacky usually fall into larger budgets lol

Try these lists of LA and OC venues!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16oLyBviL6fA8uKD0Kgfhh48uFtNEMksZuHirgjyjNXk/edit?usp=sharing&utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bu7EDFBud3FiciaC_34HbxDoHM_jir8GRKzP0ARNoqA/htmlview?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf#gid=987209586

Here are a few, somewhat affordable venues, in the riverside area:

https://www.citrusparkweddingandevents.com/

http://www.uplandeventscenter.com/weddings.html

Or https://www.labanquets.com/ (not sure about the pricing on these, sorry!)

I'm having the same struggle as you, except in the OC area. I need a place that allows outside catering, fits almost 200 people, and my budget for the entire wedding is around the same as well. we were considering community centers too but decided we didn't want to spend the wedding day doing everything ourselves and even having to rent china and flatware. We ended up going with Knott's Berry Farm Hotel as that's the cheapest I could find and am going to do it on a Friday to save even more! I would definitely recommend switching to Friday or Sunday, or look into parks, restaurants, or banquet centers. Good luck! As much as i love living in SoCal, it is not budget friendly haha