I was checking out different spots about 4 or 5 months ago. Aria runs at $38 on Fridays and $40 on Saturdays (though they’re pulling in at least 130 people on the weekends), Friends is $40, but honestly, feels way too cramped for my taste, even if the location is killer. Velum hits $40 for the standard menu...
Kyle Chase20 said:Hey everyone, I really need some help... Does anyone know of a restaurant, a hotel, or somewhere similar with an oceanfront terrace? I'm looking to host a wedding dinner for about 20 people. I guess I would prefer somewhere in Miami or maybe along the Southern California coast! Thanks... Any advice would be so appreciated 🙂
The Cheesecake Factory. Haven't been myself, but a coworker had a small dinner there after her ceremony once. Apparently, the location, the patio, the food, and the service are all top-tier...
gentlewolf69 said:I almost forgot to mention one more thing—my maid of honor actually reminded me about it today. Back when she was trying on a dress at Lipoto's, she noticed this tiny little hole in the fabric, honestly looking just like a cigarette burn... The consultant there insisted it was part of a brand-new collection that had just arrived, claiming it came that way from the manufacturer, and that it wasn't even an issue since nobody else had noticed it yet... When we went dress shopping, both Lipoto's and La Perla mentioned that if you put down a deposit during your very first fitting, they offer a 20% discount, so it might be worth hitting up a few different boutiques on the same day to see what sticks...
They’re playing games with those dresses. I only went to Victoria's Secret—had a fitting scheduled there and then went to V. Spose a week later. Gotta admit, I only hit up Victoria's Secret to browse. Signed up for a fitting at the bridal expo and entered their giveaway, so figured why not... I was expecting rude staff (saw their Facebook page, they seemed to have some issues, deleting any comments that weren't praise, idk... felt like they couldn't handle criticism), but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. The girl helping me was sweet, super nice, didn't rush me at all. After I tried on my picks, she brought out 3 or 4 more she thought would look good on me... wasn't expecting that. Found "the one," put a deposit down right then, and scored a $333 discount because of it. The prize drawing is in a week, maybe I'll win a free rental... you never know! 😁 After that, I canceled my appointment at V. Sposa and stopped scrolling through wedding dresses online altogether... 😁
I’d honestly much rather just do my own makeup. I wear it every single day and I know what I'm doing, but there is zero chance I’m pulling off a perfect eyeliner wing while under pressure... It’s happened to me before during weddings or big events where everything has to look flawless, and I just can't deal with 😁 For me, being able to do my own stuff up to $83 is fine.
$83 is fine, but I heard they charge up to $133 depending on which lash extensions you pick. Honestly, that sounds like total nonsense, just old wives' tales... Haven't picked anyone yet, everything about this 😁 has me totally overwhelmed... but I really need to make a call soon
Based on what people are saying, I've put Anna in the same bucket as Maya Angelou, who actually had the nerve to ask me for $150. That’s just a bit much, even if it is my big day.
I get where everyone's coming from, I’m not personally offended or anything. It's just that when I reached out to makeup artists one by one, everyone else gave me straight answers, but with Anne Hathaway, it felt like she was just blowing me off... there are plenty of other 😁 . From what I've heard, her prices are absolutely insane too, which pretty much killed my interest in following up. As for reaching out again in a few months, I'm not sure... I checked in about a year before the wedding just to get an idea, purely for info. Who knows if she was planning on hiking up her rates this year or what.
We basically bribed them all... I can tell you by October just how bad they 😁
So what did you guys actually end up grabbing and what was the damage? Like, how much did you have to put down for the deposits?
Price depends on the package you pick. Deposit was $333. Our package was $1,500. Per the contract, that covers everything: photography (editing, small book, montage, effects, posing, DVD, 2 photographers), a large album plus plexiglass (20 photos at 8x12, 160 photos at 5x7, 13x16 inch album size, 50 pages), HD video with 2 camera ops and a crane (color correction, wedding story, wedding highlight reel, 10 DVD sets, 1 Blu-ray, and a music video shot after the wedding). They're also putting all the raw footage and photos on a flash drive for us.
Someone mentioned Anne Hathaway on the site earlier—I bet her makeup skills are great and all—but when I messaged her on Facebook to ask about pricing and if she travels... she just ghosted me. She just told me to call an xx number in a few months. Didn't bother following up. Just felt pointless...
feralsurfer3, you're better off just walking around the old downtown area. There's a jeweler on basically every corner. Vagus is over at 4 Marulić Street, but honestly, the streets here all look the same... I wouldn't be able to find it on my first try either.
Amy Johnson said:Hey ladies, I’m new here—just another one of those future brides in training! :-) I’ve been scrolling through almost every single thread on this forum since there’s stuff dating back five years... honestly, I lose all willpower trying to catch up on everything. :-) Anyway, I’ve already picked up some great advice and ideas along the way, but now it's my turn to pick your brains... Has anyone ever worked with Megagraf studios? I saw their setup at the Fair and I was seriously impressed. :-) Also, I'm curious if anyone has experience with the food catering from Topić out in the valley, and has anyone hired the Best live band for a wedding before? That's all for now...
We actually signed them. I can let you know how they turn out in October...😁
I honestly thought Vagus didn't offer any discounts since nothing was mentioned on the flyer, but thank God I didn't toss it in the trash. The guy didn't explicitly say the deal lasts through the end of March, but he did mention it'd be smart to swing by before summer hits because they're expecting gold prices to spike. Even without that discount, their prices are solid. The rings I like are around $1000, whereas Zaksa totally shocked me with their pricing compared to them—not a single ring under 4000-$1500. Tiffany & Co. is also great regarding prices, and I actually snagged a 20% discount there. They have a massive selection and can make basically anything we want regardless of our budget. Like, we could just bring in a photo and say, "I want rings worth $1000," or $1333... etc. I guess most jewelers do that, but these guys were actually really nice 😁 Johnson has good prices too, and they were offering discounts as well. In the end, the only reason to hit up the Fair is for the jewelry deals. Oh, and I won a cake in the raffle 😁... I was hoping for a wedding cake, but nope... just a regular cake I have to order and eat within a month. Still, I'm happy. First time I've ever won anything 😁
Aaron Brown7 said:Does anyone happen to have a contact number for Castle over in San Diego? I'm in a bit of a bind here and need to reach them ASAP... thanks...😁
Richard Doyle48 said:Hi everyone. My fiancé and I have been talking quite a bit lately about our upcoming wedding. Right now, I’m really curious to get an idea of what wedding venues in the San Francisco area and the surrounding regions typically cost. If anyone happens to have some rough numbers, I would be so grateful if you could share them here... We are looking at a guest list of about 150 people. Of course, we plan to reach out to venues directly to get official quotes, but I’d love to have a general sense of the ballpark figures first. I actually really loved the vibe at Aria (I went there once before for a party, and both the food and the venue itself were just perfect)... However, I have to say, the prices for live bands completely caught me off guard when I heard them. They are quite steep... For example, Bomba is a five-piece band at 15 $0.00, Viva is a five-piece at 17 $0.00, Major League Baseball is a five-piece at 15 $0.00, and Milan Terze is a three-piece at 15 $0.00. 😲
Man, that venue... we didn't have enough people to justify it, and we only liked it because of the vibe. On Saturdays, they require a minimum of 130 guests; if you show up with fewer, you still pay for 130. Their rate is $40 per person on Saturdays and $38 on Fridays. On Fridays, you can actually pay per head if you're under 130... We ended up going with a place out of town, which was our last resort, but honestly, I'm so glad we did 😍 In San Francisco, I couldn't find a single restaurant for under $40 a head on a Saturday. Same thing in Malibu. Somewhere further inland might be cheaper, maybe around $34, but I'm not positive...
Angela Cook7 said:I’ve actually been to quite a few weddings over there, and honestly, the food and service have always been top-notch for me! Now, let's be real—you aren't going to find the absolute best prosciutto, the finest cheese, the most incredible risotto, or the world's greatest wine at any wedding venue unless you go ahead and rent out a private space and bring in your own high-end catering! But the food is definitely better than what you'd get at a nice steakhouse where you'd be dropping $50 or $60 per person, or at least that's been my experience. Everyone has their own opinion about every single venue, whether they love it or hate it; tastes are just different like that. And let's face it, you're never going to hit the jackpot where absolutely everything is 100% perfect. Personally, I think Costco is one of the best venues in all of California, and judging by what people are saying online, I'm not alone. The servers are always right there when you need them, and I've truly never heard anyone say anything bad about them. 🤷
Yeah, nothing guarantees a killer meal at a party, I'm with everyone on that. But man, I actually had the best risotto of my life (yeah, yeah...) at a banquet over at Nirs 😁 ...and it wasn't just me, the whole crew loved it. Everything else was decent. Out of all the spots near that area, I only tried Fenix once and the food was honestly pretty mid. We were at Veluma and I'm glad to see some good reviews for the food there too. 🙂
Hotel Plaza... I reached out to them, but honestly, I can't quite recall their exact response. They were pretty non-responsive, though. If I remember right, there was some kind of deal regarding the Lamb and the drinks, like we had to handle that part ourselves. And from what I recall, they won't even let a band play without a tip... Now I'm just pissed at myself for deleting their proposal 🙂
We put down a deposit for Jesse's band, $1,800 for this year, but they mentioned prices are going up next year. We were looking at the Boss group too, but when we checked out a restaurant, the owner told us they played there just last weekend. Apparently, besides the five main band members, there are two extra guys who hang around all night that you end up paying for too. She said they claim to handle the sound quality and make sure everything runs smooth, but honestly, who knows... I also heard they don't really care about what the bride and groom want and just play whatever they feel like. Supposedly one bride tried to speak up once and the singer just waved her off and made a comment to hype up the crowd... mind you, that’s just hearsay, not my own experience...
Betty Sullivan3 said:Hey everyone! I was wondering if anyone has some good tips on where to find wedding invitations and boutonnieres? I’m really hoping to find something a bit more budget-friendly than $7 per invite, and as for the boutonnieres $1.75, I haven't found anything reasonably priced yet—honestly, everything I've seen feels way too expensive for my budget! Any advice would be amazing ;D
What about buying online? These guys have boutonnieres for less than $1.75... Those first ones, the lilac and white ones, really caught my eye... gorgeous. I gave up on the DIY boutonnieres... just didn't have the energy or the patience 😁