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I came to a realization that this budget thing is hard. I knew it was going to be hard, but it came out to be super hard when I put the numbers down on paper. You think you got the big expenses under control, but you don't. You think you remember every detail, but you don't. You try to over budget, but you can't. 20K budget? Yeah right. Try more than that. Where can you cut when you already put the cuts into the estimates?
Hmm...I'm screwed.
Those of you who know me or do the social network thing might notice a couple of changes. All I got to say is "FINALLY!"
You know when you think your smart but not really smart and then your just dumb?
So I had one of those moments. My fiance checked out 1 venue and liked it. It had good and bad qualities but the good outweighed the bad compared to the previous sites she'd had seen. I also liked the place because it fit nicely in our budget because the site rental fee is low and they provided some stuff.
Then I sent her to look at a few more places. 1 was cheaper, 1 was about the same but still at our price point and then the last two were out of our budget but wanted her to check it out because they looked nice and I liked both of them. Man. Hit me with a bat right now and call me a baseball.
You send someone to a nice place not thinking that they may not like the nice place and then come back saying "This is it!". You're number crunching in your head saying, "How is this going to work? How is think going to work? A+B+C * X = AHHHHH".
See I thought I was smart and all I got was a big fat welt.
P.S. I thought I would post our finalist for venues but my fiance reminded me that they are a bunch of hungry hippos out there who will probably pounce on them and stealing them away from us. So to all you hungry hippos out there, get the hell out of Dodge!
When does a potential caterer become a "Get me the hell out of here!" type of caterer? I guess it happens when they suck major. My fiancee went to a potential caterer's restaurant for a tasting of what she would potentially serve at our wedding. Now this tasting was for 2 people, $30, out somewhere where it is actually semi far which equals gas which equals more money.
So I come back from my dinner (Congrats Mike & Vicki) and bounce online and she proceeded to tell me that she ate "Poop" aka nothing special or so I thought. At first I was like "Ok, I can't remember if she was suppose to do something tonite, but maybe she went to some grassy knoll looking for some protein and found poop." Then I totally remembered, she had a tasting. So I proceeded to tell me how it was. "I should get my money back", "I actually got tired of eating it.", "I just wanted to leave." , "All I could think was 'Thief & Liar'".
So all and all it was a pretty bad liar. And the funny part is, is that the lady is pitching my fiancee about the food and how she caters parties in Beverly Hills and Malibu while my fiancee is trying to shove the food down her mouth without trying to gag cuz she was dying of starvation. I think if she was stuck on a deserted island with her food, she would eat the sand.
Moral of the story is...Stay away from .... email me if u want to know.
So I was searching the web trying to find budget wedding places and happened to come upon this blog, a $10,000 wedding, where she actually wrote to those people are renting those crazy as places I posted about (I did too, that is how I got those prices) and here is what they said:
"Guest Count: 125ish
Budget: weekend rental up to $2k
Details: I'm looking to rent a home for the weekend and also to hold a wedding reception in the backyard for 100 to 125 people. So far, I like Venice Beach CA Penthouse #0093 and Studio City CA House #0084.
I'm open to your suggestions as well. Thank you.
and promptly got schooled:
We have nothing at your budget for 125 guest for a weekend and I really do not know who would. good luck on your search. Maybe try a hotel or a park." - link
Bebworld be some bitches. Well at least they didn't waste any of her time or theirs apparently, but what do you expect from a company that advertises in Dubai.
Get a load of this place. Some people just have too much and need to donate to my wedding fund.
3) Hidden Hills Mansion #0008
Description
This Hidden Hills CA. Gated Mansion (English Tudor, resort-style) Estate & Guest house: 6+ Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Living rooms, Lounges, Enjoy the beautiful old-world library. Fireplaces, BBQ, Kitchens, Pool, Etc. This Mansion is the ultimate for pampered living, events, productions. Have fun with friends or business clients in this extravagant 24 seat movie theater. For those who prefer to stay indoors check the ultimate fun playing game room complete with all of the major card table games, Arcade games and Slot machines. The Grotto swimming pool with water fall area alone features four full bars, two swim-up and two on land; a swim-up to the outside card and gaming tables or check out the four fire pits. Enjoy the hillside waterfalls both indoor and outdoor Jacuzzis, Landscape and green and tree hills, with the serene sound of its many waterfalls heard throughout. Great views combines the calming sights and sounds of nature with top of the line entertainment, boasting a mechanical bull riding ring, sprawling equestrian facilities, including numerous Horse stables, and a regulation-size arena and observation deck; a full-size tennis court and viewing area; basketball court; sand volleyball court; outdoor shuffleboard court; and a life-size chess set. Walk up and enjoy the highest point of the property and sit in the sixteen person outdoor dining table, circled around a hillside fire pit, provides the perfect setting to take in the beautiful a hundred foot water slide on par with any slide you would find at a world class water park; a two hundred inch water screen with full theater surround sound for outdoor movie viewing; an outdoor living room complete with a giant fireplace; a state of the art outdoor kitchen and barbecue areas; and a sixteen hundred square foot grotto pool and cave area. Plus an eight hundred square foot, decadent wine cellar with in-cellar dining table in the wine tasting lounge room. For the comfort of event guests, beautifully crafted and decorated commercial restroom facilities were constructed including a men's room with twelve urinals and three stalls, and a women's restroom with nine stalls. The estate features many guest suites, each decorated with their own distinct style and décor, complete with top of the line audio visual systems, as well as maid service and room service. Equipped with a full workout gym and luxurious health spa, Security Guards at the Gates, Private camera surveillance all around mansion.
Just reading the description screams craziness all over town. I don't think I would have a wedding here but the phat-est party Hidden Hills has ever seen. Check out some of these pics:
Arial View of the place with volleyball court, cascading waterfalls, and tennis court
Mechanical bull to get the rodeo on. Add some Phil's BBQ and it is game on.
You like how these chicks are photoshopped in, losers
Think Kerri Walsh will come out and pat my bottom?
And you got to have a Grotto. Nothing leaves the Grotto.
Recognize this place????Maybe I can get the Walsh's to let me stay over. Brenda here I come!
So we want are leaning towards a private estate. So where do you find private estates for rent that aren't necessarily wedding places? Craigslist. Craigslist Dubai to be exact. Maybe I should have gotten the hint when they are trying to rent out places in Cali to people in Dubai that there is no way in hell I would be able to afford on of these bad boys. Let's have some fun:
1) Pacific Palisades Mansion #16
Description:
This #0016 Private and Gated Pacific Palisades CA. 7,000+ sq. ft. Mansion with a round driveway, With one of the best Beach and Ocean and Island views in LA. This Palisades Mansion has Six Bedrooms, Five Bathrooms, Closet Space, Stairs, Living room, Lounge areas, Hallways, Kitchen, Dining room, Office, Garage, Jacuzzis, Enjoy the downstairs lounge area and Movie, Music, Game room with pool table, The lower Lounge has four TV's and one large TV screen with a full Bar. The outside has a large grass with high trees around the groups for privacy all around plus the great ocean views and garden, And the marble decks and patios with lounge furniture again with the great ocean views.
Sounds pretty damn nice to me. Check out these pictures:
Where da hell do I sign up? You know how bad ass that would be if you got married on that deck or even had the reception out there as the sun went down. Forget the caterers, call up a couple taco trucks to the spot and let's get this party started.
And now the sad part:
Price: $21,500/day
GET THE FUCK OUT!
Potential, 3:30PM today.
So I found this place by looking on some blog and some people were talking about budget places. So they rent out a ballroom and another company rents out the "Grand Terrace". Although we would prefer to have both event outside, sometimes you have to make compromises. I haven't fully done the numbers yet, but the place look like it could be affordable and fit in our budget. If it is done right, it could look really good.
"Grand Terrace" ceremony
Ballroom (use your imagination)
You ever wonder if caterers actually listen to you? I have been trying to get some quotes from some caterers to see if bringing in an outside caterer would be cost effective versus going with some type of wedding package. So I put our event out there to see if I can get some hits and I did.
Well one caterer I talked to for about 15 minutes on the phone about the event and what we wanted to offer, etc... One of the questions he asked was, "What is your budget?" I replied, " I would like the food, service, rentals, and taxes to be 9K max." Albeit to my surprise I get a proposal from the caterer the next morning at $20,000.
WTF?!?!?!
Did he just not get what I was saying? Did he not understand? I have no clue, but obviously we are not going with him.
I created an account on this god forsaken site. All is lost.
Actually I needed to find out if anyone has had experience putting plexiglass on top of a pool to use it as a dance floor.
So I posted on Wedding Bee. Yeah, I know, wtf am I doing on that mess, but I need to find a cheap venue, so you go where the people are. People were yammering on and on about how they have all this information and how they have spreadsheets, but no one shares it. They just like to hoard all this shit. My thought is, fuck the venue people who are ripping everyone off trying to charge 200 a head for dry chicken breast and crusty rolls. We need to bring the power back to the people and rein these suckas back in.
So I decided to share. All my hardwork. Actually well not "all" my hard work, but a lot of it. So for all those people looking for a place in LA and don't want to go through the hassle of going through all the wedding venue sites and actually want to find places they can afford, check out my spreadsheet. It doesn't have all the information but it has a lot so you don't have to waste your time talking to those bitches.
LA Venue Spreadsheet
So my fiance visited the Clarke Estate today liked. Well she more than liked, which is a good thing. The place looked nice from the pictures that she took, but not as big as I envisioned.
Pros: reasonably priced, provide table, chairs, heat lamps, and up lighting, site coordinatorCons: booked for Aug, first come first serve application basis so might have to camp out
I am glad at least she liked one place, so we have one if we want to go for it.
Stay away bitches, we are taking this joint! Fight you to the death!
Reception Area
Ceremony Area (don't mind the weird chinese person, she thinks she is in the olympics)
Shitter (got to have one of those)
