Gorgeous Bay Area Wedding for under $10,000

Consider this: according to recent surveys, in 2010 the average wedding in the U.S cost around $30,000. Then you factor in the recession, inflation and the miscellaneously priced items that will undoubtedly pop up (like wedding crashers in who’s culture it’s quite alright to show up with five extra guests…) and you’ve got yourself one pricey nuptial. But It doesn’t always have to be this way. You’re about to read the story of a $10,000 wedding in San Francisco Bay area, set to tune of candy-coated harmony, summer-licious event design by Va de Vie Events and of course – beautiful photography.

Setting: Sausalito, CA

Heroine/ Hero: Filipino-American Bride – Vera and her “Good Ol’ Southern Boy” Beau – Fred.

Photography: Davina + Daniel

Vera and Fred’s wedding took place 18 months after his proposal at Disneyland, on October 10th, 2010. Yes, 10/10/10. So coincidence or not, their $10,000 budget seemed quite appropriate. But could they pull it off? Here’s how Vera described their planning choices in vendors, starting with the music selection:

Vera:

Since Fred is a musician, we absolutely wanted live music for our reception. We turned to our friend, Quinn DeVeaux, and his band, the Blue Beat Review. He writes his own songs which sounds like 1950 and 60s blues, Americana, and R&B music. He surely got our guests out of their seats! Our ceremony musicians were friends but also professionals. Jard Davis is a classical guitarist in the Spanish style like Fred and Jessica Wan is a soprano. Jessica is singing Ave Maria for my walk down the aisle. Fred [the groom] happened to compose our first dance, which he called “Vera’s Waltz.”…

…We hired a photo booth, Green Cheeze Photo Booths, to entertain our guests at cocktail hour and during the reception. Everyone, including my 96-year-old grandfather struck a pose and had fun with dozens of props including finger puppets. Our few rentals — mostly linens — came from Hartmann Design Studios and Impact SF (for lighting). Hartmann had such a great selection of linens and basics, of course. I allocated a portion of our budget to specialty linens for the head table to elevate the look of our wedding.

{CREDITS: Photography – Davina + Daniel; Event Design – Vera Devera of Va de Vie Events; Flowers – Ideal Floral Art Design; Rentals – Hartman Design Studios; Music – Quinn DeVeaux and The Blue Beat Review; Favors – Shakirah Simley of Slow Jams; Hair – Penney Do; Make Up – Beth Alyse Snyder of Guerilla Makeovers; Cake by Alison Okabayashi of Two for Two Cakes; Custom Maps – Genevieve Walker; First Dance – Fred Boette (Groom), With Jard Davis (guitar) & Jessica Wan (Soprano); Photobooths – Green Cheeze Photobooth}

You’ve seen the pictures, you know the final cost, now get inspired because there’s hope when it comes to budget savvy style. But if you don’t feel like doing it alone, get a professional to help…say, Vera?

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Vera D. July 18, 2011 at 11:48 pm

Thanks so much for sharing our day on your site — truly an honor! P.S. Forgot to credit my fab cake maker: Alison Okabayshi of Two for Two Cakes!

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2 Brittany D. July 19, 2011 at 8:44 am: Thanks so much! We feel the same; it is such an honor to share in yours and Fred’s celebration! What a beautiful wedding. I absolutely love the color scheme and the cake topper! Thanks for pointing out the missing credit, they are now updated. :)

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3 Kofi A. May 15, 2012 at 4:11 pm