Affordable Weddings
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Affordable Weddings
May 2010
Does anyone have ideas about how to spend as little as
possible on a wedding, without it seeming tacky? Places like
parks dept. rentals, or a restaurant that would charge less
than others, but is still nice.Thanks.
Elle
I have been to a lot of weddings! There are lots of great
little places tucked away ..More specifically, I know a
couple of boat clubs in San Francisco that are amazingly
cheap to belong to; the BayView Boat Club at China Basin and
the Mariposa ...they both have nice kitchens. Also in
Sausalito um forgetting what it is called...a huge barge,
has a fantastic kitchen & you can have a party on it. All 3
places are non-profit and you can have a catering company to
do the work...all 3 have safe parking and fabulous views. I
have been to weddings at Delancy Street in San Francisco
that were very very well catered by them and it's nice
there. I think The Maybeck Recital Hall does parties here in
Berkeley and The Faculty Club on Campus but not as
inexpensive.. Mazeltov!
One way to save money would be to search (on Here Comes the
Guide or elsewhere) for venues that allow you to use any
caterer, rather than making you choose from a pre-set list.
If it fits your taste, you could probably save significantly
by having your wedding catered by an ethnic restaurant--say
an Indian or Mexican buffet. There are tons of cost-cutting
tips: buy a wedding dress from a consignment store, or use a
bridesmaid's dress instead, hire students as musicians, have
a small wedding cake with a big sheet cake for slicing, use
a make-your-own-invitations kit, etc etc. If friends and
family can help do things like flowers or photography,
that's great. Focus on what's most important to you about
the day and don't let the wedding industry convince you a
bunch of silly extras are absolute necessities. Have fun!
I went to a great wedding which was 'pot luck'. Instead of
bringing gifts, everyone brought a dish for the party
afterwards. The food was great and everyone has a great
time because they felt like they participated. Honestly, at
a wedding, everyone wants the couple to be happy, so don't
worry about the details which seems to upset many other
brides, just have a great time.
Most parks will allow use of the facilities with a minimal
reservation fee and I have seen weddings in the Rose Garden
in Golden Gate, in Tilden,at the Legion of Honor (it was
very windy), and on Mt Tam. If you have a favorite spot,
you may want to look into whether it can be reserved. Anon
HI - Of course, places that are nice and inexpensive are
going to be booked up way in advance. But if you are
planning ahead, you might try either the Berkeley or Oakland
Rose Gardens. I was a student when I got married, and we
had our ceremony in the Rose Garden in Oakland and then a
reception in Sequoia Lodge in the Oakland Hills. The lodge
is also in a park and managed by either Rec and Park, or
East Bay Regional Parks. It's been a while, so I don't
remember the details. Saturdays are booked very far in
advance, we lucked out and got a cancellation spot on a
Sunday (my husband's family is Jewish, so it worked for us).
Good luck! Deborah
Congratulations! I was married in October and remember
having the same questions. It was not easy, and we still
spent a lot of money (probably between $7-10,000). Yikes!
However, we did have help from folks. We had a two day
affair: Saturday was the intimate backyard wedding (no fee!)
and dinner with all those folks. The next day was the
larger reception with about 100 people at Mills College. My
husband's brother-in-law officiated (no fee). We bought
cheese and fruit from our local market as appetizers. We
had our wedding night dinner, with fewer than 30 people
total, at Lo Coco's on Piedmont Ave. We took up around 2/3
of the restaurant. It's Italian food, Sicilian style, and
one of our favorite restaurants. We met with the owner
ahead of time and chose our favorite dishes (pizzas,
bolognese, caprese salad, etc.) The total cost was in the
hundreds (600 ish? The exact amount is escaping me). I
asked my aunt if she would co-sponsor the dinner, and she
generously said yes. Ask people for help!
For the reception, two friends made nuptial brews, so that
cut down on beverage costs. I'm a Mills alum, so our fee
was 50% of the cost. Do you have that option?
Our photographer is an assistant to an established
photographer. She had done a few weddings, but was still
building her portfolio, so her fees were much less
expensive. She charged $850 for unlimited shooting, and a
CD of the photos. She also graciously lowered her fee by a
hundred dollars when we asked her because we were
overstretched financially. It never hurts to ask for lower
fees. The worst that can happen is the person will decline.
For flowers you can do it yourself and get flowers at the SF
Flower Mart. If you know someone with a badge, you'll get
an even better discount. Good luck and have fun!
still a newlywed
Sequoia Lodge, Redwood Lodge, in Oakland (Oakland Parks
dept) are relatively inexpensive to rent. Then you can
either do pot luck, or plan a menu and ask specific people
do bring specific dishes. We did this for our wedding.
Although we had it at the Brazil Room which was more money
then Sequoia Lodge, etc. we saved several thousand by having
our friends adn family bring food. I hired a caterer to move
the food around, but maybe you could hire some teenagers.
Get your wine at Trader Joes, do a lot of the prep weeks in
advance, yourself.
Do you want a professional photographer? If not you can ask
everyone to bring cameras adn take pix. These days you can
get fabulous pics on digital cameras. They can e-mail ou
pics or give you a CD. Then you can figure out if you want
to spend money on a band, a DJ, or small group to play
background music. good luck. have fun planned my own less
pricey wedding
I wanted a low-budget, low-drama wedding and planned a
roving celebration in SF for ~25 people. We all met in a
public park, had a gathering and ceremony for about 40
minutes, then had a nice shuttle van transport the guests to
a friend's apartment for a champagne reception (about 1 hour
long or so) and then had the shuttle transport everyone to a
restaurant for dinner. Someone else gave me the inspiration
for this format and her wedding was similar, except she was
married at a city hall, stopped at an art gallery for a
reception, and then went to a restaurant afterwards.
I don't know about specific restaurant suggestions, but I
would look for ones that are moderately priced, but nice and
that don't have a specific wedding program. Boulevard in SF
had a set wedding program with a boring menu and an
exorbitant price. Call around and ask how they would handle
a large party and what the pricing/options would be. Anon
We had a relatively inexpensive wedding (about $5k for 100
people) by: 1) Got married at the Brazil Bldg in Tilden Park
on a weeknight - I think it was a Wednesday night - we had
the space from 4pm to midnight for around $800 (I think
about 1/3 or less of the price of a weekend day - not to
mention we were able to book our date within a few months
before the wedding)
2) Hired the least expensive catering company they offered -
Royal Raspberry was the company and they were awesome -
didn't do appetizers - just snacks out on tables that we
supplied ourselves - and supplied our own alcohol (we paid
the catering co. to serve the alcohol)
3) Friends supplied the photography and dee jaying as
wedding gifts. My dad's band played for free also.
4) Got my dress at the Gunne Sax/Jessica Mcclintock outlet
in SF - absolutely loved my wedding dress (traditional white
wedding gown) and paid $100 for it - then spend another $200
or so to have it altered to make it perfect.
5) Didn't do many flowers - very minimal - the space itself
was beautiful, so flowers weren't a priority for us.
Come up with a budget and stick to it by deciding what
things are the most important to you and letting the rest
go. good luck
May 2008
My SIL and fiance are really struggling to make their wedding
plans. They don't
have much money, but they want to have a large wedding (150-200
people). They
really want to avoid a reception in a lame hall with terrible
catering. Any
suggestions?
I once went to an outdoor wedding of some friends, and I
described it to my SIL
and she thinks it sounds good, but it was in another state and we
can't figure out
where/how to do it in the Bay Area. It was on a lovely piece of
property outdoors,
there was a lovely early-evening ceremony, followed by a great
BBQ/party
(someone came in and did a hawaiian pig roast, they had some
catering and a
cake, and some of the couple's foodie friends made some amazing
''potluck''
dishes to share. They had the property overnight, so all the
young folks camped
on the land that night. The couple shacked up in a loaned
motorhome on the
property that some friends decked out for the wedding night.
Anyone know where one could do something like that for relatively
cheap?? Or,
anyone have any other good suggestions or recommendations?
They're hoping to
get married in early Fall. Thanks so much!
trying to help the bride!
Tilden Park in Berkeley has a bunch of ''spaces'' for rent.
Some are much nicer than others, and would be perfect for a
low-key, inexpensive outdoor wedding. More info at the link
below. The better spaces get booked quickly, of course. One
of the really nice locations is next to the golf course.
http://www.ebparks.org/parks/tilden
congratulations!
I saw a exact outdoor wedding like you describe last year
while camping at New Brighten State Beach in Santa Cruz. They
had the entire group day use area reserved that is set on the
cliffs overlooking the sea. They had it catered by a bbq
service and had live music. It looked just wonderful. They
also reserved the ''premium'' camp site that are on the
cliffs overlooking the beach where they spent the night(in
tents-no RV)
If they are planning for Fall you better hurry and reserve
whatever site you ultimately decide on as to they all fill up
6 months in advance.
Love a beach wedding
Tilden Park. You can rent a large picnic site, get
reasonably priced catering, keep it simple.
Rebecca
We got married five years ago at Tilden Park. We booked a
spot (grassy meadow near a big redwood grove) for 2 hours in
the Botanical Garden for the ceremony and also reserved a
picnic area nearby (I think it was Laurel) for the whole day.
We had to fudge this since for some reason they won't rent
two different facilities on the same day to the same person -
so my fiance reserved one and I reserved the other; different
names, no problem. We did the ceremony in the Gardens then
moved over to the picnic area for the reception. Most of our
guests were young and healthy and had no problem walking the
quarter mile; we had a couple of friends with minivans
shuttle the older folks. Dress was casual so most people were
not doing this walk in dress shoes.
It was a great experience, perfect for us because we wanted
casual/outdoor. It turned out to be a 100 degrees that day so
people migrated to the strip of shade along one edge, but the
picninc area was a huge field with lots of room. We had an
acoustic band - there's no electricity. We had about 130
guests and a caterer (Wildrose Catering) who had no problem
with setting up a buffet on picnic tables. Parking was tight,
but we managed.
All up, I think it cost about 200 bucks for the day (for the
rental). You could do the whole thing at the picnic ground
and save $60 and avoid the walking issue.
I 'd do it the same way again
Having that large of a headcount at a wedding will not come
''cheap'' and will require lots of engenuity to make it not
appear ''cheap'', but fortunately, it can be done. As for
location, check out the regional parks district website and
look at Ardenwood Farms (historic victorian structures, lots
of pretty landscape, different activities there so guests
could make a day of it... and they do weddings). It's in
Fremont, so the weather in the Fall may be more predictable
and constant throughout the day than weather up here. Another
suggestion or theme: Some friends of ours who were both older
and didn't want the pomp-and-circumstance of a fancy wedding
hosted a cozy-country themed wedding somewhere in South San
Jose (heard it was really fun). Ceremony was outdoors,
reception in a barn-like structure, they had BBQ for the
dinner, guests and wedding party went on a hay ride and they
learned some country line dances...
UC Botanical gardens also does weddings...
Happy planning
I missed your original post, but thought I'd chime in for a casual
wedding. My husband and I were married four years ago in the
gazebo at Alvarado Park. We live close to the park and were very
familiar with the setting and the EB Park Staff, so we made it
work. It wasn't a 'traditional' wedding location, but we rented
the two picnic areas surrounding the gazebo, had a friend that
brought in nice chairs, had a superb bbq and the guests really
enjoyed it. The only downside was that it was 103 that day
(unseasonably warm) and it was quite a bit of work (which my
husband and I didn't mind because we are the types that like to
work). We really wanted our wedding to feel like us and have some
personality to it, we just are not formal people and would feel
uncomfortable in a formal setting. We had badmitton, but also
hired a jazz band, which was a hit. You can see my review of the
park on Yelp, along with a picture of the gazebo.
Good luck.
a casual setting fan
May 2007
We are getting married now, and need...
Location
1. outdoor setting like a garden, farm or vineyard
2. a place we can do both the ceremony and the reception with
room for dancing. It is fine to have the reception indoors.
3. kid friendly
4. max $2000 site fee, without any accommodations. We will of
course pay more if services are provided.
5. within 2 hours of Berkeley
Caterers
1. organic is better
2. we want the best tasting food, not the best price
DJ
1. nothing too cheesy
2. someone who knows house music and cheesy wedding music
Thanks for the help!!!
Courtney
We just went to a wedding at the park in Piedmont. Our friends
had an outdoor wedding and indoor reception. There was a dance
floor inside, and we even saw couples dancing in the adjoining
courtyard. I don't know how expensive it is, but the wedding we
attended was not extravagant. The location is beautiful, with
lovely indoor and outdoor spaces. It's very kid friendly. The
children ran all over the park while waiting for the wedding to
start.
Check out the Marin Art and Garden center
(http://www.maagc.org/index.html). I believe the cost is less
than 2k on certain days and during the ''off'' season.
I don't have any recommendation for a DJ, but an amazing event
venue in Sonoma is Cline Cellars. We were married there 7 years
ago, and it is still my favorite place on earth.
It is not pretentious, a country setting with tons of rose
bushes. We were married on the patio near the adobe mission.
I'm sure their prices have gone up since then, but I did TONS of
research and they were one of the most reasonable in the wine
country. At the time, they let us choose the caterer from a
list. We chose Piper Johnson out of Calistoga and LOVED the
food.
Check out Cline's website at www.clinecellars.com. Click on
winery and vineyard and then host an event on the pull down
menu. Seven years later, that is a picture of our first dance
when you click on HOST AN EVENT.
Good luck finding a great place. It's still the best day of my
life!!!
Kris
Also recommended:
Cakes
Caterers
DJ for a wedding
January 2007
My fiancee and I are planning a frugal (but pleasant, we hope)
wedding this summer. Our preferred location has no catering
restrictions, so we're considering having some buffet foods
prepared by one or more local restaurants ... but we'd like to
not be involved in picking up food, setting up, serving, cleaning
up, etc on the day of our wedding, so are seeking ideas for
reliable and not-too-expense help for these services. There's a
recommendation for Hostess Helpers in the archives, but even they
seem a bit pricey ... up to $140/hour for one Captain and two
Servers. Anyone have any goods experiences or suggestions?
Mike
My husband and I got married in our backyard in Oakland 3 years
ago. We were totally broke but wanted to get married then
because there were lots of people around that were moving and
we wanted them to be at our wedding.
We went to a Tacqueria in San Leandro (Los Pericos) a few
months in advance to discuss all of the possibilities and then
again the week before. They made large pans of rice, beans, 2
different kinds of meat. Also all the trimmings (lettuce,
tomatoes, guacamole) in presentable containers as well. We
ordered 100+ home made tortillas. The food was awesome.
We ordered the kegs from a local liquor store. We set the
whole thing up buffet style. It went off without a hitch. We
hired 3 persons who were friends of friends and it was
perfect. They picked up the food and set up everything up for
us. Everyone got lots to eat and the service was great.
The whole thing to feed & drinks for 60 people and hiring cost
us about $500. Was not my ''dream wedding'' but it sure came
close.
DiAnn
February 2003
I just got engaged and am looking for recommendations for
wedding reception sites in the Bay Area or nearby/Northern CA
(e.g. Tahoe, etc). Ideally, we are looking for locations that
are reasonably priced as we have a limited budget. I reviewed
the past recommendations on the web site but still need more
help. We're open to all kinds of suggestions (e.g.,
restaurants, hotels, halls, parks, etc) -- we're undecided but
it's likely to be between 50-125 people. We plan to hold the
ceremony in a church. And, any other hints/tips about weddings
are most appreciated too! (web sites, magazines, advice)
Best wishes on your upcoming nuptials! For a great party space -
check out the California Alpine Club facilities on Mt Tam in
marin. They don't advertise their space but it is gorgeous
setting and non-members can rent it. http://www.calalpine.org/
The Oakland parks have nice lodges for rent too, they have a
website also with fees listed. Many places are hurting for
business so don't be afraid to bargain--my employer held a
function at a local hotel and had the room rental fee waived -
only paid food costs. In Tahoe you might check places like
Holly's Place, Camp Richardson, and Spruce Grove (tahoe has many
facilities like these) where you have a courtyard space to
celebrate within surrounded by cabins and rooms where guests can
stay. Do a websearch for ''family reunion'' type of facilities
for lodging/meeting space, there are nice settings in Monterey,
Anderson Valley, and Marin which offer the same. Consider a
picnic style menu, just appetizers, or similar simpler but still
tasty fare to lessen your food costs.
frugal new wife
Congrats on your engagement! Since you said you want to have
the ceremony in a church, I want to first point out that
whatever church you use may have a parish/social hall that you
could very conveniently have your reception at. That's what my
husband and I did when we got married in 1998. Otherwise, I
honestly can't give any further suggestions on reception sites,
except to say that it will be very hard to find an affordable
place for a wedding reception here in the Bay Area. Actually,
since you mentioned Tahoe, I'll add that one of my best friends
got married on The Princess (Tahoe Queen affiliated) in
Septmeber 2001 and that was very nice. Here are some helpful
websites:
www.theknot.com
www.ultimatewedding.com
www.easiestwedding.com
www.weddinglocation.com
www.wednet.com
www.topweddinglinks.com
www.tahoeweddings.org
Etc, etc, etc.....
Just do a ''wedding planning'' search on Yahoo! You may find TOO
MUCH info!
Also, for general party planning and supplies for cheap, I just
bought a bunch of stuff from Oriental Trading Company
(www.orientaltrading.com) and PartyPro (www.partypro.com) for my
other best friend's Bridal Shower coming up in April.
Have fun and good luck!
P.S. I can recommend a good caterer if you do have your
reception somewhere in the Bay Area!
Jennifer
We just had our wedding in September. We did a very laid back
afternoon party, so this may not apply to you at all, but here's
how we did it.
We did our ceremony and reception in the Mountain Theatre on Mount
Tam, which certainly fits your budget requirement (it was only
$100 to get the whole thing for the day, as it's basically
classified as a State Park picnic site) and it's beautiful, with a
view of the bay and the city on a good day. But it's logistically
challenging to do the (outdoor) reception there. We were only able
to make it work because we had a wonderful caterer, the Kitchen
Magician (Rachel - 415-459-3033) who was flexible, creative,
accomodating, extremely helpful, made fantastic food (I mean it -
delicious) and really quite reasonably priced, especially for what
we got, which was a full Thai-fusion feast outdoors under the
trees. I'd recommend Rachel no matter what site you end up with!
But since you're set on the ceremony, for an inexpensive site for
a reception I might suggest looking at the Marin Headlands Hostel,
out near Rodeo Beach. We had family and friends stay there, and
were able to very economically house over 30 people (it's a
hostel, not fancy, bunk beds), plus we rented out their main hall
as a rain back up for $150 for the afternoon. It would have been a
tight fit for us with nearly 150 people, but I think it's fine for
a group up to around 80. Full kitchen, tables, couches, outdoor
picnic tables. You may want to rent a few extra tables and chairs.
Not fancy, but definintely a beautiful setting.
There's also a great website which is fun to check out, which
debunks a lot of the commercialization of weddings and is full of
a thoughtful commentary on the whole wedding experience: http://
www.indiebride.com/
Most important, which was hard at times, is to remember to ENJOY
yourselves -- both the getting ready and the having the party. We
tried to involve friends and family every step of the way - we had
a wine tasting at a dinner party to choose wines (which we bought
at Trader Joe's -great prices), we got friends to create
decorations, our moms went to town creating pots full of annuals
for the tables rather than (more expensive and less long-lasting)
cut flowers. My mom made my dress, which was a simple sundress out
of a material I chose, a good friend did my hair that morning.
Three photographer friends took our photos (we bought the film
online for cheap at B&H - http://www.bhphotovideo.com) Friends and
family provided live music at the reception. We had plain sheet
cakes and asked guests to sign the cakes with frosting during the
reception! People all claim to have enjoyed themselves, and more
importantly, we certainly did.
This was possibly more than you asked for, but I hope some of it
helps!
Deb
Congratulations on your wedding! I'm getting married too this
July. Wedding planning has consumed my life for the past five
months. I think I have read every bridal magazine, searched
every site available and asked every question there is to ask...
and I'm still not ready. Anyway, to answer your question... I
looked into renting the Redwood Heights Community Center in
Oakland. Its a nice place esp. for a low budget, approx. $65 an
hour, and accomodates up to 150 (more ideally 125). I think we
were going to pay about $700 (including liquor lic. fee,clean-
up/set-up,etc.)for the evening, 3-11PM.
Most city facilities have reasonable rental rates. The only
problem is that although tables and chairs are provided, you may
spend more money decorating because the place is bare... only a
big room with tables and chairs. Thats one of the reasons we
chose to go with the Rockefeller Lodge in San Pablo, which rents
for $1050 for 6 hours, Sat and Sun and 1/2 price, $525. on
Fridays! There are no clean-up or set up fees or liquor license
fee, only extra for additional chairs, or tables outside.
Rockefeller is a historic lodge/garden location, with indoor and
outdoor areas for ceremony and reception. Its also partially
decorated with flowers on each table etc.
If you choose Rockefeller or a place like it, be aware that you
will have to use their catering services and the catering is the
most expensive. I think its still worth it though and their
catering fees are pretty average especially since they include
everything... china, glasses, linen, and servers. Most catering
companies charge an extra fee for bringing linen, china, etc. to
another location so it adds up.
Other nice locations are...Preservation Park in Oakland, The
Snow Building at the Oakland zoo, Webster House in Alameda (a
little expensive), Marina Community Center in San Leandro, and
another historic house in San Leandro near Dutton...rents for
$550 (I can't remember the name).
My favorite and most useful website is The Knot.com. There is a
ton of information on the site, including vendor lists, your own
personal budget information, checklists, and a personal website
for you and your fiance' to tell your story. So, good luck. You
can email me anytime of for more info.
magic
We were married in China Camp State Park 2 1/2 years ago (on the
Bay near San Rafael). We couldn't have been happier with our
choice. We held the reception during the afternoon at Miwok
meadows ($25 to rent for the day) after a late morning wedding
at little peninsula in th epark (special permit required). SOme
people have held both wedding and reception in the meadow). We
used A La Heart catering--and they did a beautiful job in a
place with no water or electricity. We brought in our own
bathrooms because we didn't love the ones there.
Go visit and Good luck!
Like you, I am getting married on a budget. My fiance and I chose the
Joaquin Miller Community center for our reception. If you've looked through
the ''Here Comes the Guide'' book, then you may have seen it mentioned. The
community center is lovely, as is the park in which it resides (Joaquin
Miller park). Reservations are made through the City of Oakland, Office of
Parks and Recreation, Central Reservations Unit. The community center has 2
assembly rooms with beautiful wood floors, that can be opened up into one
large assembly room if you need more space. There is a full, professional
kitchen, a beautiful fireplace alcove and a gorgeous view off the deck that
runs the length of the building. The rates are very reasonable, and you
only pay for what you actually use (there are several different rooms and
configurations of use), but you still get the building to yourself. In
other words, even if you only rented one of the assembly rooms, the rest of
the building would NOT be rented to anyone else for the duration of your
rental period. We rented the deck and one assembly room, and the only
reason we had to actually pay for the deck was because we decided to have
our tables and chairs set up there. As long as you aren't planning a
specific event or use for an area (like I am with the deck), you can still
''use'' it for free - that is, people can ''hang-out'' on the deck or in
the fire-place alcove - you only rent areas if it will have a *specified*
use, like eating, or dancing, or taking photographs, or whatever. I hope
the way I said that makes sense. Any way, I also really liked the Community
Center because it is near the ''cascade'' in Joaquin Miller Park. The
Cascade is a beautiful, multi-tiered waterfall. It was made in the 1930's,
and, even though it is man-made, it is very beautiful and perfect for
photographs. Since it is a designated wedding site, we reserved a couple of
hours so we could be sure to have it to ourselves to take our ''forma!ls!
'' Oh, another VERY important reason we chose the Joaquin Miller Community
center: you don't have to use a caterer. Since these are so expensive (we
couldn't afford one), we needed to find a place that would let us bring in
our own food (my dad's doing the cooking!). Joaquin Miller Community center
reccommends Glass Onion for a caterer, but you're free to bring in whomever
you wish. So many wedding sites make you use a caterer from their list of
recommendations.
Well, best of luck in your search! Feel free to email me if you have any
questions about the Joaquin Miller Community Center.
alesiam
My girlfriend had what I thought was one of the most lovely and
meaningful weddings I've ever attended (about 75 people
attended). She and her husband were on a limited budget. So,
they asked friends who had a pretty backyard if they would host
the reception. They rented chairs (and decorated them with
craft store white ribbon and dried flowers), a wedding canopy,
aisle carpet, and bought and arranged ''outlet'' flowers and
potted plants. For food, they asked about 6 of their closest
friends to prepare food for the reception (in lieu of a gift).
The food included two poached whole salmon, 2 large roasted
turkeys carved and plated, a roast beef, and various salads,
cheeses and olives, and side dishes. They bought a simple
wedding cake and rented chafing dishes, plates, silverware,
cloth napkins and tablecloths, etc. and also hired professional
staff to serve and clean up. For drinks, they served punch - one
with alcohol, the other without. The food was wonderful and none
of us who cooked had to do more than 1 or 2 large dishes (I did
a 25-lb turkey and a vegetable platter) and we could all enjoy
ourselves while professionals served and cleaned up. The rented
tableware and craft-store based decorations made everything look
beautiful. Oh, they had music as well - another ''gift'' from a
friend who was a semi-professional DJ (he did a tape so he could
mingle most of the day)- they did hire a professional
photographer. At the end, the photographer took a wide lens
picture of all the assembled guests with the happy couple in the
midst that was later sent to those of us who ''helped'' as a thank
you. GREAT wedding.
Karen H.
We had our wedding reception at the Central Park Restaurant in
Oakland. It's right on Lake Merritt, and there is an
attached ''rooftop garden'' that is actually quite pretty. It
was certainly in our budget, we had about 80 guests, and I
thought the food was good, the place was nice, the staff was
very helpful. Overall, I thought it was a great place
considering our budget limitations (I think we ended up paying
about 35 dollars a person. I don't remember--or repressed--all
of those specifics.)
Jennifer
We got married at The Old Homestead in Crockett. It was $400.00
8 years ago and was great. Would only work for an outdoor
wedding though there is a small house for food service, etc.
There is a beautiful deck built around three redwood trees and a
large cement circle that is perfect for dancing.
Ariel
Lake Merritt United Methodist Church in Oakland has a lovely
view of Lake Merritt, an incredible sanctuary featuring three
glass mosaic panels by Louis Comfort Tiffany, and a social hall
that accomodates up to 200 people for a sit-down reception.
The rates are reasonable and you can't beat the location!
Also, there is an enclosed outdoor patio that has a play
structure, a plus for the kids of your guests who might come.
You can rent the kitchen and do your own cooking or have a
caterer bring in the food.
Call me at 465-4793 (the church office), as I'm the facilities
manager for the church. I'd love to speak with you about your
needs and what the church has to offer. You can see some
photos at www.lakemerrittumc.com.
B Avalon
this page was last updated: Apr 30, 2011
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