Wedding Impossible?

I'm being sincere and mean no offense when I say, "lose the Pinterest Boards".

The good news is that you have over a year to save for things that don't have to be purchased/paid for right away. I also disagree with those books and websites that say, "put your friends and family to work so you can save your own money".

Have you considered the national parks in North CA? Lake Tahoe has amazing packages and there is also Union Hill (I think that's what it's called) in Sonoma that will rent you the entire property for about 10,000 and has accommodations for up to 30 on site.

OMG! all I can think about is what I could do with $17,000... I know everyone prioritizes things differently, but I'd be having a low-key ceremony and running away to Spain or the Maldives, but that is just me. Decide what's most important to you, but be open minded to other options.

Im not in California, so i have no advice there. Could you reduce your guest list? Or switch to a destination wedding?

What part of NorCal? I can help if I know the general area

Check out this website http://www.herecomestheguide.com/northern-california/search/wedding-venues

Also, maybe think about doing ceremony/reception in different places and a reception that will let you bring in your own caterer. You can always try parks too or local restaurants can be rented out sometimes.

All said and done we should be at about $12000 for our wedding of 140ish people. Morris chapel in stockton and a reception in my neighborhood clubhouse. $2000 for the two venues, $4000 for catering. If your in the area, elkhorn and wine and roses are good reception places.

I also looked at Tahoe and they have some better deals (8-10,000 starting range) and wedgewood banquets. Oh, and golf courses! Those weren't too bad.

@AprilGirl13 I live in Napa but am willing to travel anywhere within about a 2 hour drive

Hmm there are some good spots in San Jose. Have you checked Mendocino? http://www.sonomacounty.com/weddings/wedding-venues

Bumping so I can lurk responses. It's crazy because I also think 17k is a great budget. However I understand that it can be challenging with location and family. If you found a place for 14k that means you have 3k for the rest. You can skip favors, bridal party, honeymoon, limo, photo booth (goes without saying). Perhaps find an alternative to flowers for centerpieces. My main concern would be getting a good photographer. It's also wise to have some leftover money for emergencies and unexpected costs. That's something I wouldn't want to skimp on so you probably need a different venue solution. Best of luck!

@Kay I was actually just looking at Wedgewood! I was trying out their Wedding Calculator but I didn't understand if the "Out The Door" Cost included chair, table, etc. rentals. Also, do you know if the "Out The Door" cost is inclusive of the ceremony cost?

I'm with Kathleen. As soon as we set a budget, I stopped going on Pinterest. A lot of those dream weddings were probably 50k+. It sucks to not feel like you're having your 'dream' wedding, but at the end of the day you'll be married

@AprilGirl13 I haven't come across this website yet, thanks for sharing!

Wedgewood is ALL inclusive....like, show up in appropriate attire and BAM!

I believe most of these are within the 2 hours of napa (sorry if I am wrong!) but this is the list I made when doing research

http://www.golfsangeronimo.com/weddings-events/

$7455 for venue and food. ($5700 minimum charge)

https://www.fairviewevents.com/crystal-springs/wedding-packages-cs

$5805 for venue, food, and DJ.

http://www.rockefellerlodge.com/specifics.html

$6810 for venue, food, lemonade, water, coffee.

http://www.wedgewoodbanquet.com/images/Venue/ww-carmel-w.pdf

$7000 for venue, food, DJ

Rivermill

$10,260 for venue, dinner, cake, flower

Boathouse (river isles): can rent out the deck area, reasonably priced but I don't remember what. Beautiful lake!

Scotts on the Water http://scottsseafood.net/theriver/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2015.2016-Wedding-Buffet-Packages.pdf

Sacramento area, $74pp

As for wedgewood I just used this PDF of pricing never the calculator. Also, if you contact them they are pretty helpful and respond quickly and then they leave you alone as soon as you say you have gone with another place! It was just slightly out of my budget to do so I didn't get further than a guesstimate on price. I understood it to include the ceremony, but I am not positive.

http://m.wedgewoodbanquet.com/images/Venue/ww-carmel-w.pdf

Definitely check out the herecomestheguide site above because they have some non-traditional places that I didn't find anywhere else, like museums and such

@Kay This list is beyond helpful! Thank you so much!

No problem I spent a lot of time researching and then decided to stick to my original plan so someone might as well get some use out of it. Lol.

Of note, don't use friends and family as labour for the wedding. This is knows as "friendors", and is fraught with problems.