Weddingbee Blog

I wasn’t sure I wanted to write a budget recap for a few reasons. I wondered if it wasn’t that helpful—like it would only placate gawkers—and I worried people would crash my party of good intentions with barrels of haterade.

But I got over it, for a few other reasons. We don’t all wear a white dress, have flowers, booze, a sit-down reception, or a bridal party. But everyone who has a wedding has a budget. However large or small your shindig, it is impossible to budget and prioritize if you don’t know what things cost. Especially in the spendy Yay Area.

First off:

• Our budget was $30K on the high end at the start of planning. We spent in the neighborhood of $37K - and had ~160 guests - once all was said and done.
• An SFGate blog post indicated the average San Francisco wedding was $45K.
• My MIL/FIL contributed 4 percent; Mr. T and I paid for the rest.
• This does not include: rehearsal dinner/drinks, next day brunch—both of which were paid for by my MIL/FIL—honeymoon expenses, or my engagement ring.
• These are good ballparks, not exact figures.
• I did not account for a few craft expenses, or taking friendors out for a casual dinner/drinks while we talked details.

So, here it is, from most expensive to least.

Catering: Miraglia Catering

Cost: $17,000

• We learned almost immediately that caterers outside of the city were significantly more affordable. We also didn’t see any need to stay in-city if we liked the food, and if the company had experience with our tricky venue.
• Dinner was buffet style for ~160 guests. We had three entrees: chardonnay-infused chicken, tri-tip au jus carved at the buffet table, and veggie lasagna. Salad, garlic mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, rolls, and soft drinks included.
• Food-related rentals included: silverware, standard gold-rim plates, standard burgundy linen napkins, standard white tablecloths for the buffet, and all glasses and barware.
• Staff included: serving staff, kitchen staff, licensed bartenders, day-of lead.
• Other included fees: alcohol transportation, set-up/breakdown/cleanup time, tax, and gratuity.
• Our caterer was the middleman between us and Classic Party Rentals and La Tavola Linen. So, “catering” cost included rental of 16 60-inch round tables, 2 smaller tables for DJ and sweetheart, 1-2 large tables for the buffet, 160 mahogany folding chairs, some higher-quality guest-table linens, and 12 beanbag chairs. Can lights (for uplighting) were thrown in for free, but I don’t remember why.

All pics by Ashley Forrette and Gem Photo unless otherwise indicated.

Flowers: Amy Burke Designs

Cost: $4,000

• Bridal party and parents: 5 bridesmaid bouquets, 1 bridal bouquet, 12 boutonnieres, 2 pin-on mother corsages, 1 flower girl outfit (fake petals and a little tulle cape for this one).
• For the room: 2 large ceremony arrangements (used also in the reception), 16 centerpieces, and 1 centerpiece-like arrangement for the buffet table.
• Calla lilies, orchids, feathers, branches, and seeded eucalyptus composed the majority of “floral” elements.
• We provided the tall cylindrical vases for the 16 centerpieces. Recycled from Bridesmaid AR’s wedding!
• The only rentals were six vases for bouquets and two vases for the large arrangements.
• Tax and gratuity included.
• Physical labor included: placing centerpieces, moving large arrangements from ceremony mode into reception mode, all pre-event deliveries, and all after-event pickups.

Don’t mind the guy staring at the camera. Hi, Carl.

Venue: The Green Room at the War Memorial Veterans Building

Cost: $3,600

• It being a city-owned venue drove the cost down, by a few thousand in one case, compared to private locales in-city.
• Cost included 7 hours of official “event time” from 3 PM to 10 PM, 3 hours of vendor setup/prep time, 1.5 hours afterward for vendor breakdown/cleanup, use of their built-in speaker system, and ready-rooms for bride and groom.
• There were representatives from the venue present the whole time, and their time was included in the fees.

Photography: Ashley Forrette Photography and Right Angle Images

Cost: $3,000

• Day-of package with Ashley included: unlimited day-of coverage with second shooter, day-after shoot (because we didn’t do an engagement session with her), 10 x 10 leather-bound album in an 11-spread layout, DVDs with all high-res images, DVD with all further-corrected images used in the album, and travel from Portland to the Bay Area.

Right Angle Images

Sometimes you get into a giant birdbath during your engagement shoot. Then, sometimes, you can’t get out of it without help. Pic by Bridesmaid AM.

Alcohol: DIY, via our local BevMo and Central California’s Four Vines Winery

Cost: $2,200

• We bought all our own booze in installments and stockpiled it awkwardly at our house. I drove it to the caterer’s headquarters five days prior so they could deliver it for us.
• Beer: 11 12-packs of Blue Moon and California’s own Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
• Sparkling wine: 1 gifted case of Mumm and 2 cases of Cristalino Cava.
• Red and white: 4 cases of Four Vines’ stainless-steel Naked chardonnay and 4 cases of Maverick zinfandel. Being paranoid about running out (we didn’t, not even close), we padded this with a case of our favorite cheapie red from Trader Joe’s.

Dress and Bridal Bidness: Rin’s Bridal, Zappo’s, Etsy, Misc.

Cost: $1,900

• I bought a sample dress at a sale, haggled for $200 off that price, then paid for major alterations and cleaning/pressing before the wedding. All told, the dress probably came out to ~$1,700.
• Another $200 or so went to shoes, a feather-and-flower fascinator, and a birdcage veil. Bracelet was a present from my MIL, and earrings were something-olds from my mom. Given my halter gown, I opted against a necklace.
• Side note: it was somewhat hard to find burgundy shoes that were not satiny or 80s-looking. Thank you, Zappos! (Shoes in the last pic in this post.)

Guest pic

Here are the before pics; I decided not to write about my dress in the planning phase, opting instead to discuss the didn’t-make-its. Here’s what she looked like, way too big and unaltered, in the boutique.

The boutique owner said that dress is often altered into a halter, an easy fix. This was the pic I saw on a Craigslist ad for the boutique, and I knew right away that it was the one for me!

Stationery: Good on Paper Design, Paper Source, FedEx/Kinko’s.

Cost: $1,700

• Good on Paper’s bill includes save-the-dates, 4×9 Paper Source envelopes; three-piece, two-color letterpress invitation suite; 5×7 Paper Source envelopes; and programs.
• We later bought 50 4×4 thank-you cards and sage envelopes, which aren’t included in this estimate. We only bought 50 because, given our registry, many thank-you cards were photos of specific items purchased from Honeyfund.
• GoP was a friendor and gifted her design services for all of the above. We paid for the materials and the printing.
• Misc expenses: 200 stamps; a personalized rubber stamp from Etsy used on the STDs; plus a Kinko’s run to print street-sign table markers, our seating chart, and a comically large welcome sign.

Bridal Party

Cost: $1,600

• Presents for 5 bridesmaids, 5 groomsmen, 2 ushers, friend DJ, and friend officiant. The ladies got an assortment of things they might like (mentioned here), and the gentlemen all got high-end alcohol.
• 8 ties for 5 groomsmen, groom, and 2 ushers.
• Brunch for the bride and 5 bridesmaids the day before the wedding.
• Mani/pedis for 6 ladies, including impromptu floral designs for all of our big toes.
• Two adjoining hotel rooms for 6 ladies the night before the wedding.
• Day-of sandwich fixins, snacks, and mimosas in the hotel room for 6 ladies.
• Day-of brunch for groom, groomsmen, ushers, DJ, and officiant.

What they covered:

• Bridesmaids paid for their dresses/accessories/black shoes.
• Groomsmen, ushers (and groom) wore their own black suits.
• Everyone paid for their own accommodations that weekend, with Friday/bridesmaids as the exception.

King for a day.

Photo Booth: Red Cheese Photo Booth Rentals

Cost: $1,200

• Entertainment, favors, and guestbook filler.
• Included: approximately four hours of operation, a nice, professional operator, set-up and breakdown, and CD (handed to us that night) of all the high-resolution images taken. Doubles for each set of photos printed for the guests. All prints came with a personalized event banner, provided by us and designed in the same style as our save-the-dates.
• We walked away with 150 sets of laugh-out-loud digital images.

Pic by Right Angle Images

Hair and Makeup: Hairtique MeMe and Beauty Mark Ink

Cost: $600

• Hair and makeup for five bridesmaids and a bride.
• Hairtique MeMe was a friendor, and her services were a wedding present. I gave her a Target gift card as thanks, anyway.
• Cost included bridal makeup trial, bridal hair trial, and a touch-up makeup kit.

Wedding Bands: RP Diamond & Gold Imports

Cost: $600

• Two white-gold bands, no embellishments or jewels.

Wedding-Night Suite: Hotel Whitcomb

Cost: $350

The Fred and Ginger suite, photo courtesy of the hotel. I wanted to live here, also, in all its Deco glory.

Cake/Cupcakes: now-closed Sweet Jerene’s

Cost: One comped bridesmaid dress - Bridesmaid JB did double-duty as pastry chef - and one a-mazing steak-and-wine dinner in Napa for me, her, her day-of deputy/chef boyfriend, and Mr. T. Let’s call it $300-400, just for the stuff we bought for them.

Marriage license

Cost: 98 smackers for our license to ill, plus one lunchtime bus ride to City Hall.

Wait, you’re missing some stuff?

Friend DJ and friend officiant were treated like bridal party (see above), and they did not charge us a penny for their services. Services included: emcee duties, laptop-music-wranglin (we created the playlists with his help), the, uh, marrying part, writing the super-short ceremony, and sending the signed marriage license to the city. Day-of coordinator was Bridesmaid AM’s sister thanked in the best way we know how (lots of drinkies and nice food).

No limo or anything? I see nothing about transportation.

Nope. Gals were going to take a cab from the hotel, but we opted to walk the half-mile in our flip-flops instead. I think the guys took BART from our neighborhood to the venue. We had the ceremony and reception in the same place - something that was really important to us - so guest-moving wasn’t an issue, either.

Well, what’s left, other than a dirty dress, your pile of contracts, receipts, and beautiful memories? I’ll write about our near-and-dear tangibles next. Hint: the contracts and receipts didn’t make the cut.

What else happened on the Tacos’ Supreme day?

• The professional album good enough to smell.
• <3 + 1
• Things that went “wrong” and petting the sweaty.
• After the party is the after party.
• Little things from a big day.
• Po-po-po-poker face po-po-poker face.
• Journey should have been at my wedding.
• DIET STARTS MONDAY.
• Wedding peeps make like Gaga and Just Dance.
• The formal-group-portraits thing
• The nice, naughty, and cardboard among us enjoy the photo booth.
• Introduction to the Snot Wall during toasts. Then we commemorate our real love with “Real Love.”
• Led Zeppelin and The Beatles kick off a rockin’ buffet dinner hour.
• Cocktail hour, just-us time with the photographers, and life-size cutouts, you say?
• Ceremony: “comedy hour,” not falling, and a snub-nosed flower girl.
• First look, bridal-party wanders around Civic Center.
• Official start of recaps, as we get ready for showtime with sandwiches and mimosas.
• Best of the Phone Cameras, some of the first pics we actually saw.
• Early lessons learned, two weeks into Mrs.