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Just Said Yes March 2019

What does $35,000 really get you in California?

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Alicia , on September 6, 2018 at 4:29 PM

My FH and I have been engaged for 1 month and as you can imagine, I’ve looked at 100000 venues so far. We are estimating our budget to be $35,000 (I really don’t want to go over) but I’m suddently coming to the conclusion that it’s not enough. We’ve been looking heavily Monterey Bay-area venues and my favorite places have 20,000 to 30,000 food and beverage minimums! Insane right!? Many other places aren’t too far off. I’ve yet to find a venue I love with reasonable prices in the area. We’re thinking about SF or Hawaii as well. Our wedding is planned for 2020 so we have time but I’d like to get a better idea of what $35,000 really looks like. Am I dilusional for wanting a beautiful Pinterest wedding (minus the insane amount of flowers) at that price? Food, photographer and videographer are important to us.

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27 Comments

Dedicated March 2020
· on February 22, 2019 at 11:41 PM
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I’m going with eagle ridge Gilroy through Wedgewood and there minimum was 10k for a fri or sun wedding! Carmel was only 6k?! For what days?? Ahhh man I wish I would’ve looked into that one. I also looked into boulder ridge but the lowest minimum was like 14-16k
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Just Said Yes June 2019
Sarah · on February 25, 2019 at 10:51 PM
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We were looking in similar areas as you with a bit higher of a budget and also for places with outdoor ceremony / indoor reception.
We ended up settling on Roaring Camp Railroads - it's right near Santa Cruz in the Redwoods and is really beautiful and unique. Our wedding will be a bit more than your budget and for ~100ppl, BUT we are bringing in our own catering. The venue offers in-house catering at a much cheaper price, so you can definitely stay within your budget there.
We also looked at Leal Vineyards in Hollister which would likely be within your budget as well! One other option that would allow you to do a lot of customization within your budget is Palm Event Center in Pleasanton.
Hope that helps!
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Expert September 2020
Christine · on March 2, 2019 at 5:30 PM
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We're going with Elliston Vineyards in Sunol, which definitely gives you a lot for your money - even for Saturdays in peak season their F&B minimums aren't crazy high (at least compared to other winery-type venues)! You could easily have a wedding for around $35k there.
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Just Said Yes March 2019
Alicia · on March 20, 2019 at 6:17 PM
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Thank you all so much for your awesome advise! We actually ended up getting married much sooner than planned, and had a 20 person wedding in San Francisco. We spent around $10,000 on our wedding and it was perfect. Highly recommend it if you’re considering having an intimate wedding! I thought I wanted a big wedding at first but the intimacy, ease of planning and the amount of money we saved made our wedding much more memorable and special than I expected. We are one happy, married couple!
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Devoted June 2020
Adrianna · on March 28, 2019 at 3:30 PM
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That's about how much our entire wedding is going to cost! We are getting married at Quail Ranch in Simi Valley. EPIC venue with farm to table food which we tried, and it's delicious!!
Venue is $10k, catering is $13k for 125 guests, and all the other vendors were under $4k.
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Beginner June 2020
Amanda · on April 5, 2019 at 12:03 PM
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Hi,
I'm doing an outdoor summer wedding in La Jolla, CA. I'm trying to stick to about 20k, but will realistically be at 25k.
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Dedicated October 2019
Kristen · on May 1, 2019 at 11:25 PM
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Hi there! You might try looking at non traditional venues. This allows you to save on everything. Rather than paying 60-100+/person on food, I’m paying 20/person. I also get to stock the bar and hire a bartender, so I’m not racking up an outrageous bar tab. Try looking at event spaces on peer space, VRBO, and air BnB. We looked at some gorgeous properties and decided on a waterfront property located off the PCH. Love it!
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