Working up the courage to propose may be the easy part. After their engagement, couples face the time-consuming task of organizing their special event – usually within a budget.
Add to the mix a slow economy, and planning a wedding can quickly transform into a grueling process of prioritizing the essential, cutting corners where convenient and eliminating some luxuries from the once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
Of course, wedding budgets can range from shoestring ceremonies to no-expense-spared extravaganzas. What’s important is that they reflect the couples’ personalities and pocketbooks, from the walk down the aisle to their “just-married” departure in an empty-soda-can-dragging-mobile.
Los Altos residents Scott and Jennifer Wilson organized their August wedding in under a year. They held their ceremony and reception at the historic Swedenborgian Church in Pacific Heights, hosting approximately 50 guests.
“We thought it would be nice to bring our family from out of town up to the city to make things a little more exciting,” Scott said.
They went easy on the flowers, which can be a huge wedding expense, spending in the neighborhood of $1,200.
“To save here,” Scott said, “we picked out locally grown flowers that were in season.”
Some couples hire multiple photographers and videographers, but the Wilsons used a single photographer, at a cost of $2,000.
After guests were ushered to their seats by a hostess, they witnessed an intimate ceremony conducted by a minister from the church. For $3,000, their wedding package included a traditional ceremony in a glamorous city that provided the backdrop for a swank reception. The San Francisco location added a memorable flair to the affair.
The church doesn’t offer in-house catering services, so the Wilsons hired a caterer for $5,100, affording them the opportunity to customize their menu.
“We didn’t do much to save here, except to provide some of the table decorations, like votive candles, confetti and table numbers,” Scott said.
The Wilsons saved money on entertainment. A guitarist and vocalist – friends of Scott and Jennifer’s – performed for their guests, a gift to the bride and groom. They used an iPod plugged into the sound system for music during the reception.
“It was really nice to have our friends play for us,” Jennifer said.
The stress involved in planning a wedding may be a little less daunting with support from seasoned professionals. In some cases, the package deal includes help from the venue.
“The church provided a hostess to help people figure out where they were seated, and the caterers handled serving the guests and all of the setup stuff,” Scott said.
After the reception, the Wilsons and their guests enjoyed a trolley ride through the picturesque streets of San Francisco.
“We had a great time taking our wedding party out for a tour in the city,” Jennifer said.
Events West trolley tours are a unique and relatively inexpensive way to show guests a good time. The company charges approximately $2,000 for up to 25 people on a tour, stocked with an onboard bar and a server included in the price.
Dave and Carmina Littlefield of Palo Alto, who married in February at Silver Creek Valley Country Club in San Jose, hosted a wedding and reception for 110 guests. For approximately $10,000, their package included all the basic necessities and a bit of extra help.
Silver Creek boasts a beautiful setting, nestled in the Evergreen Valley away from the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. The venue has a master staircase with a domed ceiling as well as a waterfall ceremony site. Both are ideal for photo backdrops.
“We were really happy with the ceremony and the setting,” Dave said. “The waterfall was really beautiful.”
The Littlefields paid Silver Creek an additional $15,000 for food provided by in-house caterers, allowing their guests to choose from three options, including vegetarian fare.
Prioritizing the entertainment, Dave and Carmina hired a Brazilian funk band, SambaDa, that played for three hours to the tune of $6,000.
“I’m really into music, and my friend had a really cool band at his wedding, so the bar was set pretty high,” Dave said.
The couple had an iPod plugged into the sound system to provide background music for the remainder of the time.
The advantage of holding a wedding at a venue like Silver Creek is that it has staff on hand to help organize the event and serve guests.
“Everything was included in the rental, which made things a lot less stressful,” Dave said.
The Littlefields spent $3,000 on flowers for the ceremony and reception. The photography, however, was pricier, totaling $7,000.
To top off their special day, they forked over $200 to hire a taco truck to take them from the country club to their honeymoon hotel.
One final reminder: Season matters. A venue may cost more to rent at the height of the season in June than it does in, say, January. It may be harder and more expensive to find your favorite flower, especially if it needs to be imported from afar in the off-season. Same goes for foods, particularly fruits and vegetables.
Even with a limited budget, choices can be made that are virtually undetectable to guests – who wants those almonds in the little net, anyway?
