Posts by casualwolf22

Brandon Martin16 said:Hey everyone! I was wondering if anyone here has some leads on a private villa with a massive yard or estate for a wedding near a place like San Diego... it would be absolutely killer if we could find somewhere tucked away and super secluded 🙂 ... 👍

Villa California? 🙂

Maybe try looking it up through: So, I was just scrolling through Airbnb again, and man, it’s getting kind of ridiculous out there. I don't know if it's just me, or maybe I'm just getting old and jaded, but the whole vibe of short-term rentals feels like it's shifting into something way more corporate and... I don't know, sterile? I remember when you could find these quirky little spots—like a tiny cabin in the woods up near Seattle or a weirdly charming apartment in Chicago—that actually felt like someone lived there. Now? It feels like you're just booking a high-end hotel room that happens to have a kitchen, except you still have to pay a cleaning fee that costs more than the actual stay. Seriously, what is up with those fees? It’s like they lure you in with a decent nightly rate and then hit you with a $150 "sanitization fee" at checkout. Total scam, I guess. And don't even get me started on the rules. You can't bring a dog, you can't stay past 10 PM, you can't even breathe too loudly or the host will send you a message about "respecting the neighbors." It’s all becoming so sanitized. Everything is white walls, IKEA furniture, and zero soul. Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I miss the days when renting a place felt like an adventure rather than a transaction with a landlord who tracks your every move via a Ring camera. Just my two cents, anyway. Probably just me being a grump.

copperowl13 said:Thanks... I’m honestly a bit lost when it comes to pricing—I really don't want to undersell myself or make a mistake here. I’ve seen quotes ranging anywhere from $50 to $350, which is frankly a little disorienting. There are about twenty different sites out there offering similar things... laminated, 12x12 inches... or so I thought. My plan was to aim for top-tier quality, but I'm just not sure if that's even feasible at this level $833... it feels a bit low, doesn't it?

I appreciate the help

Look, I don't own a printing press, so I haven't got a clue what the actual overhead is for a shop or why their prices are so wild. All I know is what it costs when you're the one placing the order 🙂
From what I've noticed, there's a massive gap between just some basic laminated paper and, say, high-end heavy cardstock or something fancy like that.
The binding makes a huge difference too. Some books are so flimsy that after you open them a couple of times, they basically snap, and the pages start falling out everywhere. Then you've got others where you couldn't pull a page out of the middle even if you tried.

copperowl13 said:What’s the going rate for a wedding album these days? I’m looking at something roughly 12x12 inches...

Man, honestly, it just depends on everything. You've got the paper weight, the type of finish, how many pages you want, the cover material, the printing tech, how they actually bind the whole thing together... there's a million variables. Prices can swing from like $333 (if you're doing something DIY through a site like Shutterfly) all the way up to $833 for the high-end stuff. I guess if you're looking for an average, you're probably looking at somewhere around $160-$$600.

So, our plan is basically just doing a small lunch for about 15 people—mostly just family—after the wedding. We were thinking somewhere near the coast, maybe somewhere fancy like Grasso or whatever, so I was just wondering if anyone could give me a rough idea of what a lunch like that would run per person?

restlessdrifter6 said:So, I have a quick question for you all :P

Here’s the vision: a wedding with about 50 guests, an officiant right there on-site—maybe just outside the venue—with full catering service. Looking at June or maybe August, somewhere in the San Francisco area or the surrounding outskirts.

My big question is: any location recommendations? I'm looking for restaurants that boast a beautiful garden or beach access, and obviously, a view of the ocean. Any and all suggestions are more than welcome!

Hvalaaaaaaa! 😁

Maybe a wedding at Sustipan, with the Grašo restaurant located just right below it.
Or check out the Jure restaurant in Podstrana. You could do the whole ceremony right on the beach in front of the place.
I'm not entirely sure if "the woods" is still doing weddings, but if they are, a forest ceremony (Ovčice-Firule) followed by a reception in the restaurant would be a vibe.
Also, how about a seaside ceremony followed by the reception over at Benedict.

Frank Wells5 said:Hey there,
I’m looking for a bit of guidance here. First off, I’m crossing my fingers that we get some decent weather in September—let’s just call this a "get-together" rather than a full-blown bonfire, shall we? We're looking at a group of about 60 to 70 people, potentially hosting it in either San Diego or San Francisco. If anyone has any solid restaurant recommendations that could handle a crowd of that size, I’d truly appreciate it. Thanks.

Here are a few thoughts:
There's Grašo right by the local marina—they've got a killer terrace and the food is actually solid. Plenty of space whether you want to be inside or out.
George's place in Malibu (just a bit past Hotel Lav)—the main room is upstairs and basically one giant glass wall overlooking the beach and the ocean. They usually do a "welcome cocktail" down on the sand with torches and stuff.
Maybe check out Mali Venecija in Vranjic, which is sort of halfway between San Francisco and San Diego. They have this really cute garden area tucked away in the shade that they can deck out with candles.

Jacob Evans12 said:Hey everyone,
We’re hunting for a wedding venue in San Francisco (looking at about 200 guests) and we really dig the vibe at the Sky restaurant over at Joker. Has anyone actually held their big day there? Looking for some real talk—recommendations, complaints, whatever.
Thanks!

The food and the overall atmosphere are killer, especially those welcome cocktails they serve out on the terrace by the pool under the open sky. My one gripe—and honestly, this just depends on the crowd you invite—is that if smoking is banned inside the hall, the smokers tend to drag the non-smokers right out to the patio with them. Especially during the summer, you might end up with a dance floor that feels a bit... empty.

Arthur Smith3 said:Has anyone been to the Pirate restaurant recently, either this year or last?
I’m curious about the food quality, the service, and the overall vibe of the room. Their menu looks pretty unique compared to the usual spots, so I'm wondering if the flavors actually live up to the hype.

Also, has anyone attended a wedding at the President Hotel in San Francisco?
The photos look stunning, but I’ve had zero luck tracking down the event coordinator. I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences there.

We're looking at May for the wedding, keeping things small, so we'll likely just do a nice lunch or an early dinner at a restaurant. Any feedback would be welcome.

You literally just asked this one post up. 🙂>
For what it's worth, I honestly think the food at Pirate is the best out of all the dining rooms I've hit up.
I still can't get over this one thing they do—like that black bread they make with squid ink... man, it’s so good you could practically eat it like a dessert or something. It’s wild.

Arthur Smith3 said:Has anyone been to the Pirate restaurant recently, either this year or last?
I’m curious about the food quality, the service, and the overall vibe of the room. Their menu looks pretty unique compared to the usual spots, so I'm wondering if the flavors actually live up to the hype.

Also, has anyone attended a wedding at the President Hotel in San Francisco?
The photos look stunning, but I’ve had zero luck tracking down the event coordinator. I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences there.

We're looking at May for the wedding, keeping things small, so we'll likely just do a nice lunch or an early dinner at a restaurant. Any feedback would be welcome.

If you're looking at Pirate for great food and a solid atmosphere, you might also want to check out Grašo right by the marina, especially since you're working with a smaller group.

I've hit up that Pirate spot a few times now, and honestly, the food is always on point 👍

Terry Howard7 said:Anyone here been to a wedding at the Grand Hyatt lately? I'm trying to get the scoop on the food, the service, and everything else

So, I was there for about a year or so. Honestly, I don't even know what to tell you... to my mind, Honey is a notch above the Hilton, but that’s just saying they’re in the same general ballpark when it comes to luxury and how fancy things are.
At first glance, the whole place felt a little... I don't know, budget? A bit low-rent? But I guess you could probably fix the vibe with some decent lighting or maybe a fresh coat of paint on the walls or something.
The service was solid though—fast and actually fun. They were always smiling, nothing seemed like too much trouble, and they were constantly cracking jokes. As for the food, it was alright.
Nothing totally sucked, but nothing blew my mind either. I'd probably give it a middle-of-the-road rating.
There's really no point in me trying to describe the food specifically, because it's one of those things where, like, I might absolutely love a risotto while someone else finds it gross, or vice versa. It's so subjective. 🙂 Let's just say the food was generally better than what you'd get at Phoenix, but definitely not as good as what they serve at Pirate or Grase.
They have this big, long, narrow terrace that's perfect for welcome cocktails. Most people seemed to dig it, especially since it's right by the ocean and close to the rooms. Since most of the guests weren't from San Francisco, they just crashed there after the party.

Chris Lee24 said:Unfortunately, June through September is high season, so hardly anyone will let you book for just one night. I already checked with Amigos, but they're fully booked for my dates (September). I need space for about 80 people. Honestly, finding a venue is turning out to be harder than actually planning the wedding itself. :-)

There's a Student Hostel right across from the Pirate, which looks like they rent out space during the summer:

"Spinut Hostel" has a capacity of 223 people. The hostel has 113 rooms, including three single rooms specifically designed for guests with disabilities.

The Student Hostel rents to outside guests from July 23rd to September 30th, and apparently, they take reservations year-round.

Jamie Allen4 said:I appreciate the advice, but I have a slightly different vision in mind than just a standard banquet hall. I’m picturing something more unique—perhaps an outdoor terrace or an open-air setting of some kind. If anyone has any creative ideas or personal experience with venues like that, I would be incredibly grateful to hear them... maybe somewhere in the San Francisco area... 🙂

Hotel Park has a really nice terrace, plus the beach is right there.
I’ve been to a few weddings there, and usually, the crew does a fancy dinner on the terrace until midnight, then the older crowd heads home while the younger crowd moves over to Zbirac until 3 or 4 in the morning for an all-night party—you can even go for a swim 🙂

Or maybe something like this (if I’m reading the photos right, is this the beach at Hotel Split)?
http://moze-weddings.blogspot.com/20...ka-jelena.html

Thomas Cruz9 said:URGENT HELP NEEDED!
Does anyone know of any decent, budget-friendly places to stay near the Aria wedding venue by Walmart? I'm looking for some rooms to rent for guests who need a place to crash after the reception.
Thanks so much!

Maybe try looking on www.airbnb.com

Robert Chavez20 said:??!!
I'm honestly confused... this is the first time I've ever heard of such a gifting tradition in California (I'm originally from San Diego).
Nobody I know—whether they're from San Diego or even further inland—has ever bought anything for their future in-laws, nor have they received gifts during those "return visits."

Okay, look, when you go over to someone's house for the first time (you know, that famous "meet the family" introduction), it’s common courtesy to bring something along—maybe some flowers, a bag of coffee, or a bottle of wine—but that's just standard etiquette for visiting anyone, regardless of the occasion. When I met my future mother-in-law, I didn't buy her a thing, and she didn't get me anything either. I wasn't expecting a grand gesture by any means.

So, could someone please enlighten me? In what part of California would you actually find customs like these?

I'm with you there; I've never heard of any official gifting ritual, aside from maybe grabbing a bottle of wine or some nice coffee, which is just what you do whenever you drop by someone's place anyway. 🤷
We handled our situation with a single bottle of wine😁 just so we wouldn't show up empty-handed... but honestly, it wasn't a whole big production or anything.🙂

Angela Sanchez73 said:External drives don't really need much airflow, though they can get pretty warm. You could stick them in a drawer, or maybe just try to squeeze them inside your PC case.

Thanks, everyone. I'm working with an iMac here, so shoving them inside a case isn't exactly on the table—not like I have extra slots in there, haha. I might try a drawer, but honestly, since day one, they've just been lying flat and stuck right to the desk. It’s worked okay so far, I guess.🙂

So, I’ve got these two 2TB WD MyBook external drives that are basically permanently tethered to my PC. But here’s the thing—we recently brought home a tiny kitten, and let me tell you, this little creature is a chaotic menace. She’s constantly leaping all over the furniture, and now I’m sitting here low-key panicking about how to protect my drives before she decides to swat them right off the desk.
I was thinking maybe I could just tuck them away in a desk drawer and run the cables through some routing in the back, but then I started wondering... do these external drives actually need a ton of airflow to stay cool? Or am I just overthinking it?
Does anyone have a smarter way to handle this without losing my mind?
Thanks!

Thanks for the input!
If I don't have any employees on payroll, do I actually need to sign a contract with myself when I head out to film, or can I just wing it without all that paperwork?

Hey, I could really use some advice here... if anyone knows the deal.
So, here’s my situation: I’ve got a steady full-time gig right now where they pay me on time and handle all my taxes and benefits, which is great. But, I’ve got this itch to pick up some freelance work on the side whenever I have the downtime.
Since the work involves photography, I can't just open a simple sole proprietorship because those are strictly regulated—you basically need specific trade certifications or licenses that I don't have. So, I’ve been looking into starting an LLC.

From what I’ve gathered, you can technically set up an LLC without having employees, but there's this catch where the business isn't supposed to show a profit unless there's actually someone on the payroll.
I also thought about asking my current boss to scale back my hours from a full 8-hour shift to maybe 4 or 6 hours, so I could use the leftover time to run my own thing, but honestly, I'm not really vibing with that option.

Then, this idea popped into my head: What if I set up an LLC in my own name but don't officially hire myself as an employee? Instead, every time a job comes up, I’d just sign an independent contractor agreement with my own company. Basically, I’d be signing as the owner of the LLC on one side, and as the service provider on the other. Is that even possible? And more importantly, is it actually legal?

I know it sounds kind of "stupid" since the tax hit on contractor agreements is pretty brutal, but I'm low-key terrified that I won't find any other way to do this legally.

The only other alternative I can think of is finding some country in the European Union that doesn't have these weird rules about companies needing employees to turn a profit, then opening a business over there while still working here in America. 😕

So, does anyone have any advice? Like, has anyone dealt with a wedding like this before?? I’m really dreaming of getting married abroad (just the ceremony itself), you know, out in a field or something—exactly like those weddings you see in movies here in the States. Basically, I want to bring a priest out to marry us outdoors, everything all fancy with bows, flowers, and all that jazz. But now I'm wondering, how much does it actually cost to pay a priest to come out to a location like that? And what kind of spots could we even use? The only thing popping into my head right now is somewhere like Manhattan.

I just stumbled onto this online... looks like it's in Manhattan and honestly, it looks straight out of a movie🙂

http://instagram.com/p/blXlpCAJhw/

casualviper36 said:Hey everyone! So, I’ve been daydreaming about doing something a bit more modern—you know, that classic American vibe with a guest list of maybe 100 people... does anyone have any advice or maybe some experience with a wedding like that?? I’m really leaning towards getting married outdoors, like just a beautiful ceremony out in a meadow or a field—totally inspired by those dreamy American weddings where you bring a minister out to the site and everything is just perfectly styled with ribbons, flowers, and all that aesthetic goodness. Now, the big question is, how much does it actually cost to have an officiant come out to a remote spot? And what kind of locations should I even be looking at? The only thing popping into my head right now is somewhere like Manhattan 😕
.
Also, can anyone suggest some venues or restaurants that can host up to 100 people and have either a pool or just a gorgeous garden without a pool?
A few girlfriends were telling me about the President in Atlanta, right near the pool—it sounds like it has a killer atmosphere and scenery, but I’m wondering how much they charge per seat... I’m guessing it’s pretty pricey 😲??

First things that come to mind:
Michelangelo's Gallery.
Michelangelo's Castle.
Villa California.
The Park Hyatt has a beautiful garden, but they probably have a curfew around midnight.
The San Antonio Hotel in Malibu has a beach.
If you're looking for a cheaper option, Joe's restaurant in Malibu might let you set up tables in the lower area right on the beach.
As an alternative to all that, you could, I don't know, rent a big excursion boat and cruise through the San Francisco/Catalina Island channel while dinner is happening.
Etc.