Posts by Nicholas Brown84

Kate Gonzalez said:Does anyone happen to know anything about this makeup artist, Kate Bush? A few friends have been raving about her, but I haven't heard a single word about her in these circles... is she just flying under the radar here?

She did my makeup once—you might even find some of my old photos floating around somewhere—and honestly? I was beyond thrilled. Everything turned out exactly how I wanted it, if not a little better.😍

Finally found a second to breathe and hop back onto the forum—it’s about time I shared my details, right? 😉
Wedding date: September 4th, 2009. 112 guests total.
Church: Saint Duje—honestly, a stunner. They were so classy about everything, setting up all those white arrangements for $67 and even letting me go a bit rogue with some lavender and tulle around our chairs. 😍, plus the organ music was just... wow. Absolutely $67.
Luxor: We had champagne at The Forum, and they had servers out there handing out glasses—so good, and honestly, the staff was incredibly sweet and attentive!
Pirate Restaurant: The menu was $42 back then (probably more now...) but man, the food was incredible. The menu itself was super interesting—this cool mix of meat and seafood. The waiters were basically flying around the room, and the manager was such a pro; you can really work with him to get things done. Such a beautiful space, too 👍.
Makeup: Kate
Music: DJ (Duplančić from KL)—absolute legend. We were obsessed!!!!!!!! Price was $1667.
Hair: Miran from Mladen over at Joker
Flowers: I actually did almost all the arrangements myself, except for the main table and the bouquet—Ann from the Marketplace handled those, she does floral work for the local hotels nearby. She's great, but maybe I was being too picky or we just weren't on the same page, because I ended up having to redo the bouquet myself! 😲
Photographer: Polic—we are beyond thrilled!!! He's pretty new to the wedding scene, but he captured exactly what we wanted!
If anyone else needs anything, just ask!

So, I still haven't actually sorted out the wedding cake situation—and honestly, I have zero clue where to even start, because apparently there isn't a single decent recommendation for San Francisco anywhere! The wedding is in just two and a half weeks, and I really need to have this wrapped up by tomorrow. Help!

Honestly, I think brittle is just top-tier—both for snacking and for crumbling over desserts. It looks so much better than those plain white cakes, too. I’m actually thinking about asking my baker if they can do a custom shape, maybe something inspired by Times Square since I love that vibe.
But then again, a lot of people just grab brittle as a snack or make it at home. For me, though? A wedding without some good brittle feels wrong. I guess I’ve just loved it since I was a kid. 😍
And man, it always gives me such a boost. That concentrated sugar hit really hits the spot during those afternoon slumps when you feel like you're running on empty.

Michael Davis21 said:A huge, standard croquembouche usually runs about $900—$400 which isn't bad at all, but with them, everything is way over $833 (I actually asked around at a bridal expo). To be honest, I don't even care that much since it’s probably just going to end up smashed anyway😁—might as well just smash it $400 rather than drop $3,000-$1333🤷 on it, but hey, to each their own, I guess...😉

I was actually thinking about setting up a little section near Times Square for the croquant, though I haven't really figured out the layout yet... I did some math and put down roughly $333 for the croquant. Does that price cover custom shapes too, or is that strictly for the bell shape?

Does anyone happen to know if there’s a shop in San Francisco with a decent selection of fabrics? I’m on this absolute wild goose chase trying to find some ivory-colored, irregularly pleated matte organza—it feels like a mission impossible at this point... I’ve been scouring stores in Chicago already, but I figured I’d check if anyone knows a spot in SF too.

kontra said:NIRS just won't work with the MBM setup, and since LoRa is stuck out in the suburbs, that's a no-go too... but hey, thanks for the input... 🙂

Wait, why wouldn't you want it in the city? I don't get it... 😕

Jacob Harris88 said:Good grief, my eyes nearly popped out of my head $400(that cake was a massive 4 feet tall)🙂
As far as I recall from the catalog, they don't have the Plaza design listed, but you could always give them a call and ask
if they can do a custom order for you.
When I checked with the venue manager (we held it over at St. Anthony's😍), he gave me the green light to bring in homemade food without any hassle whatsoever.
Their pricing is roughly $12 per pound (which is incredibly affordable, honestly...🙂). I only picked up a few pounds of peaches for the decor, since I knew I'd already prepared about 100 pounds of homemade desserts myself.
That said, I've had their pastries at Muset's before, and they truly are wonderful...

Awesome, thanks! No clue how I missed that!😕

Hey, Jacob Harris88—could you please, please write that thing about the cookies for me? I think I asked you a few pages back, but maybe you missed it or something... I really don't want to have to type the whole thing all over again.😢

Rebecca Nelson59 said:I know we’ve already gone down the rabbit hole regarding deli meats—enough said there—but I’m asking for some help navigating a dilemma—or let’s call it what it really is, a trilemma. I’m torn between choosing Pirate, San Antonio, or Bolero. The catch? I’m only catering for about 90 people, maybe even fewer, which means I have an equal number of pros and cons for every single option. I’d love to get your take on this because, frankly, more heads are better than one!

I ended up going with Pirate for my group, and I have roughly the same amount—maybe 100 people total. It was about $45 when I booked it, give or take. Honestly, that venue feels perfect for a crowd of about a hundred; it actually leaves enough floor space to dance...
They won't even look at you for a Saturday unless you have at least 150 people, so we grabbed a Friday instead. And honestly? Huge plus. You get the whole weekend ahead of you to just decompress, plus finding a photographer or whatever else you need is way easier since nobody's booked out like they are on a Saturday. Everyone tells you something different, so I hope that helps a little! 🙄

Jacob Harris88 said:The brittle was from Whole Foods—it felt like a scene out of a cartoon with a donkey and a mare in wedding attire—and there were also a few small treats, though about ninety percent of those were made by my mother and our relatives beforehand... and all I can say is, simply wonderful!!!

So, what does a cake like that actually run them? I was thinking about asking if they could recreate Times Square for me, though I have no clue if they even do stuff like that...
And how did you pull off the whole dessert situation—having your family bake everything? Do they actually need some kind of official certification or something? How many of their pastries did you end up grabbing, and what's the damage on the price tag? Thanks!🙂

Rebecca Nelson59 said:I’m curious about that gusar situation myself—and is there any truth to the rumor that they won't take reservations on Saturday nights if the turnout is under 150 people?🤷

Yeah, we ended up going with Friday since we’re looking at about a hundred people... I mean, it felt pretty stupid to pay for a 150-person headcount when we know only 100 are actually showing up—plus, why bother begging extra people to come just to hit a quota? It feels forced, you know? Anyway, honestly, I’m kind of relieved it’s on a Friday—it gives me more breathing room with photographers and all that gear, so there's way less frantic scrambling over bookings. And besides, everyone can actually make it work...
Regarding the setup—I really need to head out there one Saturday to check things out in person, but I’m stuck in Chicago at the moment. From what I gather, they’ve got those champagne-colored tablecloths ready to go. As for the chairs? Honestly, I think I’ll skip the covers altogether. It might actually look more sophisticated that way—you know, adding a bit of contrast? Plus, since the bar is black and that massive chandelier over the entrance is going to be dimmed, it all kind of flows together with the chair style anyway. Or maybe I'm just overthinking it? We'll see.

Hey ladies, has anyone actually hired that DJ—you know, the one everyone keeps raving about—for a wedding? I’m pretty much ready to pull the trigger and book him based on the glowing reviews, but I’m such a neurotic planner that I need to know if there are any red flags I should watch out for... is he actually as good as they say?😉
The reception would be at a place called The Corsair, sometime in September... I haven't had a chance to check out the actual layout since I'm not in Los Angeles right now, so I was wondering if anyone who's been there for a wedding could tell me about the vibe? Like, do they use chair covers, or is it just those black chairs they have? If they do use covers, how does it actually look in person? (I’ll obviously be bringing in my own decor, flowers, and all that stuff), but just for a rough idea... what’s the aesthetic?
Also, does anyone know if you can grab some champagne outside near Times Square (the area by the Luxor) after the ceremony at Saint Jude? And if so, does anyone have a ballpark figure for what that kind of luxury is going to cost me?😉

So, what’s the move here—how far in advance do you think I actually need to get these cookies on the books?

That sounds absolutely insane—like, 40 pounds?! I mean, we don't really have a thing for sharing desserts over here... so honestly, I haven't even begun to wrap my head around how much we'd actually need..

How much cake are we actually talking about if I'm feeding a crowd of about a hundred?
And does anyone have any good bakery recommendations in San Diego?