I am about to get amazingly personal with all of you, so I sure hope you’re ready for it! I have been so venue-challenged, and I feel like it is only getting worse. It has been almost 8 months and I swear, if I don’t find one soon, I’m giving up! So, I am going to lay it all out here for all of you with the hope that some feedback is just what I need to pick the right place!
I started this wedding planning process with the idea that I could do the wedding for $10,000. Now, that may be a very popular number these days for those budget brides, but I never thought that $10,000 would mean giving up my Vera Wang, my fire pit and lounge areas, or all the other million things I wanted. And let me say this in my defense, I never would have had to. I’m smart, resourceful and very DIY handy. I know it could have been done. So, why am I not doing that? Well, because I woke up to the amount of work it would take and the amount of hours I work in a week (well over 100) and I just realized that I would burn myself to the bone. I don’t have the time like I used to.
So, fine. I got over that and I upped the budget. I let the parents and everyone help out and we came to yet another agreement, which sounded fair enough. The only problem is that I can’t get the REASON behind the $10,000 budget out of my head. That’s a lot of money. Really, it is! So, where do I draw the line? That’s the problem I keep struggling with.
Ok, now onto the venues, I have three solid options at this point. Read my pros and cons and let me know what you think!
- Ventana Inn
I absolutely love this place (remember when I talked about it before), but it is definitely the most expensive! I would get one terrace for both ceremony and reception. The terrace holds 80 people total. This means I am cutting my guest list by 50! (We both have big families). So let’s say I can cut the guest list, those 80 chosen ones are still going to cost $75 per plate for dinner. This is not a bad number, but adding the drinks on is a whole new story! For 2 hours of open bar, it costs $35. 2 hours! OMG, that’s insane. So unless I want to be tacky and make an announcement that everyone needs to literally stock up, I have to pay $10 per hour per person after those two hours. And what about during dinner, during speeches. My 2 hours includes people not being able to stand because of speeches! Lame.Roughly, I will probably end up spending $150 per head for everything including 30% of random dumb extra charges. So, all in all, this wedding scenario will cost me $14,200 for 80 guests. 20 of which are in the bridal party!
Not to mention all of that, the rooms at this place are about $500 per night! I just can’t make my guests do that. So, I would have to research a cute Inn near by.
This one is definitely the splurge and probably my favorite option, if I had the money for it and was comfortable spending that!
- Vignette Vintage Ranch
UPDATE: Radonich Ranch and Vignette Events turned into a nightmare of a situation and I ended up taking this option out entirely. Read more about the details: {Venue Nightmare} Radonich Ranch and Vignette Events.
This spot is great, but it’s not 100% my style. I am definitely more a fan of the refined, classy, chic look. It’s a little harder for me to think with rustic, vintage, distressed, and shabby looks. Every wedding I see makes me crave a ranch wedding though, which is why this place is in the running. Only Beer and Wine (but it is BYO meaning I will save literally thousands of dollars!) caterer is $86 per person. It is all inclusive with tables, chairs, linens, taxes, etc. etc. etc. That’s sooooo nice! But, I have a feeling this venue just isn’t the nicest vintage barn. But does that matter?? Chandeliers, lanterns, couches and fire pits should handle that just fine! This one would be about $13,000 for 100 guests including everything. Cheaper and more guests, but definitely not as nice.
Photos: Vignette Website
- My parent’s backyard
You may have heard me bring this up before. Well, its definitely still in my mind! My thought is that I would do WHATEVER I wanted and go a little psychotic on the details and the décor. Heck, I have months to do all the prep work. I would save so much money finding my own caterer and bringing in my own drinks. It would be half the cost roughly. So, I decided the one thing that could make me fall in love with this idea would be to plexi-glass the pool and make it the dance floor! It would be the splurge of the event, but it would be INCREDIBLE! I would still be spending under $14,000 to do food and everything including the plexi-glass.
The con is definitely that it is not set up for a wedding, so it makes it far more difficult. I would want to find a place for the ceremony that wasn’t the house. I’ll have to research some places around the area. The other problem is that there are no epic photo spots. I want some great photos and the backyard just won’t provide that for me. This is definitely a huge consideration of mine!
Check this for ALL the pictures of my parents backyard!
So there you have it.
I would LOVE to hear thoughts and suggestions, ideas or even other venues you think I must see! I need some help ehre, and I am turning to the people that have been riding this wedding planning wave with me for the past 7 months! I know you guys know what I want, what a great wedding is, and what the best decision is-so go for it!
Thanks !
my vote is still for numero dos.
it’s already rustic, chic and charming… add your personal style and DIY projects, what more could you ask for? you’re going to save a grip of money being able to bring in your own alcohol… you’ll be making a lot of costco trips :) i just think it’s a big canvas to work with, it’s gorgeous and looks to be well laid out. might not be the prettiest barn like you said, but a barn is a barn! string some white lights on that sucker and you have yourself a GORGEOUS venue.
I had the exact same dillemmas as you!! I searched and searched for months and as a trained event planner myself I could just not accept forking over the $$ for hours of open bar! We tried destination, both tropical and more local but ended up settling on staying in our hometown. This definately spiked the guest list to climb near 200 but we are saving the money by having the reception in my mom’s backyard. I had the same feelings as you about the ceremony, I wanted something more magical and special but I loved the control of being able to decide every detail and vendor back at my moms. So we settled on a local winery in Livermore for the ceremony and wine tasting hour then dinner coctails and dancing at my moms! It’s been a ton of leg work on our end but with me being so picky and detail oriented it was definately the best option. Now I make up all the rules! It does however still tend to have an impact on the budget, we are working with $20K plus after everything. The entire summer has been devoted to getting it ready but it will be amazing! Sept. 4th is our wedding I’ll let you know how it goes :)
I know it’s difficult to choose, but go with your gut even if the blows the budget you will be so happy!
I LOVE the first selection.. however, money is a huge factor in your day and you don’t want to be stressing about cost. What *feels* best? I would love to photograph the first location over the rest, however – you may enjoy yourself more at your folks’ place! My vote: pick a place to accomodate EVERYONE you want to come. You won’t regret it later & keep looking. -you’ll find that perfect place. (something to keep in mind.. planning catering and services can be a headache too if you choose to go the ‘home’ route)
..additional con to at your folks’ house: one word… Bathrooms.
As far as the bathrooms go-there are 5 of them in the house. 2 are downstairs. There is a door that goes straight to a bathroom from the outside as well as the one in the entry way that can be used as well!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Aspiring Couture and The Knotty Bride, Allison. Allison said: If you could spare the moment to tell me what decision you would make, i will love you forever!! http://tinyurl.com/2crsnv7 [...]
Vignette Vintage Ranch:
1. overall cost is more in line with your budget
2. accomodates larger number of guests so you do not have to cut so many
3. the fact that it’s so rustic means that it’s really a blank canvas and you can create the wedding you want to have with amazing details
4. lots of neat little spots for photos
xo yasmin
I don’t have much experience w/weddings but based on photos and what you’re saying, I would go for the barn or backyard. I know you’re great with decor so either one would look AMAZING once everything comes together. I am in love with the idea of candles and rose petals in the pool, so regardless you should have a party there with those ;-) lol!
If you think you could fit everyone in the backyard and can find a place, perhaps where you get married, for photos that would be ideal! :-)
thank you all for the input! It looks like Vingette is winning by a long shot! Definitely true that it is the best decision for the budget and for the stress levels for sure! Wow-how come I am so darn indecisive!!!
wow christie!!! that sounds like you really on top of it and prepared!! Can’t wait to see the outcome!
Anna-Good to that my photographer loves the spot I am choosing!!!
I would definitely go with number 2. I think it is darn near crazy what vendors will charge for liqiour to be included in the wedding. I am buying all the alcohol for my wedding this september, and it will probobly cost me a total of 500-100 vs 4-5000…
Also, when talkting to different people, there is a too small and a too big number for your wedding. People who have 150+ tend to feel like they didn’t get to see everyone and enjoy the day because of formalities…people who had under 50 feel like they kind of missed the party. I think you need to decide if you can really get ALL the people you really want into the first venue or if you really need the extra numbers.
We thought we were going to have a small wedding, and now we are looking at 120ish. I have had to make some tough decisions, but one thing i did was cut the cocktail hour out, and extend the first course of the dinner (we are doing first look pics so after the ceremony we wont need the cocktail hour for pics)The first course takes an hour to serve and is a ton of food in itself. It is saving us a lot of money AND I wont have to buy a whole extra hour of drinks ; )
Hope that helps…sorry it was sooo long
Anyway, I could go on forever…e-mail me if you want to chat more in detail about some of the choices I made…but I will come in under or at 10k…ALL vendors included : )
My vote would be Vintage Ranch. It is entirely personal but that place lends itself to crazy photography ideas. I am sure whatever you end up with will be charming though. It is hard to pick a bad spot in the area you live.
[...] Vendors « {Help} Narrowing Down the Venues! [...]
I vote the ranch too! Similar to what others said but honestly you can make anything ideal. I think you can get amazing pictures there which I know is important to you and would be SO important to me cuz after all is said and done, those are what u have to look back on and remember the day! Also I think you’ll feel better aboutthe pricing and won’t regret spending too much AND you can invite all the people you want and not regret havingto cut some people you might have wanted there! Also, your amazing DIY ideas and the couches and firepits will fit right in with the venue and will make it totally have the feel you want! Anyway, I had to comment too! :) whatever you choose will be amazing though, can’t wait for the big day! <3
Have you checked out the Big Sur River Inn? Just up the road from Ventana in Big Sur. We have a beautiful lawn alongside the Big Sur River…full restaurant and bar plus full wedding services. Check it out.
My vote is for #2 the ranch! Though a ranch is…well, a ranch, I think you could get some really beautiful and artistic shots there. There are tons of DIY projects that would help make it your own, for a rustic-meets-elegant vibe! You can check out my site for a recent blog post about burlap… =)
Also, all-inclusive with linens, chairs, etc. is a lot of money saved and a lot less hassle the day of and leading up to it. The backyard wedding is really nice too, but might be a lot more work to prepare for it.
We are also getting married nearby, in Bonny Doon at Redwood Croft, a small B&B hidden in the redwoods. We have a super small wedding so don’t have catering or anything though, so I don’t know how much that all would cost to get caterers to come there. It’s a great little place for a weekend getaway anyways!
[...] went to see the Vignette Vintage Ranch this weekend! It was definitely the majority pick from all of you on Friday. I was thinking that it would be very hard to incorporate my vision and style into this space, but [...]
Not sure if you’ve got it figured out yet but… I am the winemaker for Heller Estate Organic Vineyards in Carmel Valley and we have a beautiful — albeit remote — spot in the Cachagua Valley that you might want to take a look into… Our Event Planner is Rachael Martinez and you can contact her at info@hellerestate.com for pics and stuff.
Good luck in your search and best wishes for a super, happy future.