San Diego Budget Wedding - It Happened!

I recently helped my stepsister with planning her August wedding in San Diego.  You might be asking yourself how "San Diego wedding" and "budget" could possibly show up in the same sentence.  But they do, and it was a beautiful day!

Here were her basic tricks...

Location:  her ceremony took place FOR FREE on the beautiful cliffs of La Jolla.  They simply sent someone to stake out their spot early that afternoon and set up the chairs.  It's a public strip of land.  There were people picnicking about 100 feet away.  Anyone can use that space!

Guest List: 30 people.  Simple as that :)

Reception: House party with catering of various delicious hors d'oeuvres- no sit down dinner.  We hung out on the upstairs deck and lower patio/ yard and mingled.  It was great!

Built in Honeymoon:  Who doesn't love San Diego?!

I offered to do a video of the ceremony and tidbits of the reception with my flip cam, since she wasn't planning on hiring a videographer.  I wasn't expecting it to be great or anything, seeing as I'm not a professional.  But I really thought I could capture all of the important moments and put something nice together for her.

I was seriously dissapointed- I have used the flip for over a year now, and it has never steered me wrong. Crystal clear quality, so easy to work.  But I guess I never used the zoom feature before.  Well, at the most important time I needed it (for a wedding), it made everything blurry whenever I zoomed in.  I don't know if it's something I did, or if that's just what I should expect from a $200 mini video cam.

Anyway, if the blurriness had not been an issue, I would have been pretty happy with this video.  And I only used Windows Movie Maker, which is automatically installed in most computers these days.  The point is, if I can do it, anyone can do it.  Give it a stab some time :)

Wedding Week Checklist

After you've worked so hard to square away all of the details of your wedding for some 8-12 months, it might seem that it's smooth sailing in that final 2 weeks or so. Everything should be locked in at this point, schedules have been created, deposits have been taken care of, etc. However, that last week before the wedding is when all the little tedious and easy-to-forget things pop up. Here is my list from my wedding week (September 2008)...

Tuesday, September 16

Pack for next 4 days & Honeymoon, go down to bay (I had an at-home wedding at my in-laws), PASSPORT!
Make list of who needs to be where at what time
Confirm times with all vendors, what I owe
Confirm #s with rehearsal dinner and caterer
Arrange for transporting of gifts while on honeymoon

Wednesday, September 17

Hair cut 1pm
Shop for Bridesmaids lunch
Go tanning
Finish making wedding favors & place cards
Box up things that need to go to the church vs things that need to go to the reception

Thursday, September 18

Prep/ cook for Bridesmaids lunch
Set up bars
Set out flowers for hair & cake, pick up corsages & boutonnieres (as late as possible to stay fresh- put in fridge immediately)
*I made my own bouquets and centerpieces so I picked up corsages & boutonnieres from a florist and set aside my flowers for cake and hair so I wouldn't forget
Set out all jewelry/ accessories for wedding day

Friday, September 19

Set up for BM lunch 7:30-8:30
Nails 9am
BM lunch 11-2:30
3-4:30 get ready for rehearsal
5-10 rehearsal/dinner
Set out all checks for vendors

Saturday, September 20

Shower, wear button down shirt 8-8:45
Hair appt 9-10
Breakfast 10-11
Dress & makeup 11-12:30
Pictures begin 12:30
Relax and enjoy the day!

Budget Wedding Flower Fix- May

This brief tutorial will help you to incorporate expensive flowers into an low budget wedding for your centerpieces.  This wedding centerpiece is very affordable, coming in around $20.

All Those Extras

Isn't it the best feeling in the world when you're tallying up the last of those wedding costs and you think "We did it!  We figured out how to squeeze everything into our tiny budget!"...  And then the week of the wedding rolls around and you realize how many little extra costs there are and what they add up to.  Don't let yourself get caught in that web of stress- plan ahead and take note of these extra costs that you might not have thought about...

• Stamps ($0.41 per invitation-- no wait!  You should provide that RSVP envelope stamp for your guests... that's almost an extra dollar per invite!)
• Tips (limo driver, officiant, makeup, hair and nails, catering crew, bartenders)
• Additional Decor (centerpieces for the buffet tables and bar, cake table, etc)
• Vendor Meals (don't forget to feed the photographer, DJ, officiant, etc)
• Bridesmaid Luncheon (it's generally in good taste to throw a little get-together to show your appreciation to your bridesmaids)
• Guest Bags (if you have out of town guests, you could provide little snack/goodie bags, but you should at least provide itineraries for the weekend)
• Alterations (try to work that into the price of the actual dress-- it's generally a good idea to take a package with unlimited alterations, rather than paying for the alterations separately.  You never know how many times they'll need to take it in or let it out!
• Little accessories (ring bearer pillow, flower girl basket & petals, flowers for bride's hair or cake table if using
• Disposable cameras for the guest tables
• Additional prints/ photo albums
• Thank You Notes
• Honeymoon (Obviously you already thought of this one!)

What's Your Priority?

This may seem obvious, but it's really important to prioritize when you're planning a wedding on a budget. Since it can be difficult to know where to start, I thought I'd get the juices flowing and lay out a few decisions to think about. Once you figure out the 2 or 3 most important things to you, the rest of the pieces will kind of fall into place. Start here...

Which is more important to you--
a) the location of the ceremony
b) the location of the reception

If the reception is more important to you, try to have your ceremony right there, if the location allows that. This will cut back on the cost of transportation (limo, shuttles, etc). Vice versa, if you've always dreamed of saying your vows in your family church, try to pick a nearby affordable reception spot.

Point being... be reasonable- you can't have your ceremony in the church you grew up in and then take a limo an hour away to your favorite reception spot on the water.

Which is more important to you--
a) decorations
b) entertainment

If you blow a huge portion of your budget on extravagant flowers, you might consider using an iPod for your wedding entertainment. If you really want your guests to unwind and have a good time, you might make your own bouquets and centerpieces in order to have a really good DJ.

Which is more important to you--
a) food
b) bar

If you want a really nice seafood and steak meal for your guests, you might limit the bar to beer and wine (and limit the variety). If you have a bunch of partiers on your hands, you might focus more on the bar, skip the passed hors d' oeuvres and have a more unconventional meal like Italian style (pastas & salad) or pulled pork (pig roast).

Location, Location, Location!

Guest Blog by Celia Milton
 

There are SO many places you could choose to be married! Of course, there are churches and temples; reception halls and fire houses, but if you’re on a budget you might want to get a little more creative! Here are some ideas to get you started...

• Sports Stadiums; I did several weddings at the old Yankee Stadium a few summers ago (okay, okay, we snuck in…) What a perfect backdrop for a true sports fan, one that will provide your officiant (Well, that and maybe a permit; it never hurts to check…... with great metaphors for your ceremony script! Some of your more local stadiums may think this is just a wonderful publicity idea for them (and if you both wear team jerseys, think of the savings on wardrobe?)

• Retirement Homes/Assisted Living Facilities; many of these have beautiful party rooms or outdoor gardens, and you couldn’t have a more delighted if spontaneous audience!

• Train stations; how wonderful for a long distance relationship! Many of them are historic, lots of them are cute, some of them are landmarks. Check with the transit authority.

• Museums and gallery spaces; if you have a small group on a weekday, this could be the perfect path for you. A small donation would be in order for a non profit, maybe a goodie gift of chocolate or great stylish cookies for the staff in a gallery. Check your local art schools and colleges too; they may have quirky fun studio or exhibition spaces.

• Libraries; public and college libraries very often have private rooms or collections, which may be the perfect backdrop for a literary couple.

• College greenhouses; my alma mater has a wonderful little greenhouse that would be just perfect! (Note to self…make call…) Private greenhouses or garden centers…

• Local parks, gardens, zoos, skating rinks, ball fields; if you have a little group, a short ceremony and no amplified music, this shouldn’t be a problem, but you might call the parks department to ask about a permit. While being arrested might prove to be an entertaining photo opp, this might not be the way you want to start your married life together...

• Wine Cellar; many restaurants have little private rooms or wine cellars and having a short ceremony in the dining room would be a bright spot for anyone’s dining out experience!

• A box seat at the opera! (Probably only good for the two of you, your officiant and the witnesses!)

• Observations decks on giant buildings. Best to call about this one! Probably have to buy tickets, but what the heck! (And no, the Empire State Building will not let you do this except on Valentines’ day. If you’re thinking of a ceremony in say, 2015 you might have time to apply.

• Ferries and water taxis; how fun is this one! Have your officiant check on the legality of being married on the water, or do a quick vow on the dock.

• Do you have a friend or family member with a wonderful garden? Beautiful library? Gorgeous living room? I bet they would love to have you! Again, a sweet little present would be a great gesture of thanks.

 

Photo Credit: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3280/2326839401_89085c0287.jpg?v=0

• If you met somewhere interesting; that might be a thought; I’ve done weddings next to the bears at Bear Mountain, on a pier in Wildwood, in a swamp in northern NJ.  If the spot is sentimental and meaningful to you, that is really all that matters.
  

Celia Milton is a wedding officiant serving New Jersey and New York. She is, so far, unincarcerated for her public space antics with her couples! www.celiamilton.com