Everything you need for a California wedding

Does anyone have recommendations for wedding planners in San Francisco?
I only want people who actually know what they're doing, please... 🙂
Thanks

Hey everyone! Does anyone have recommendations for a good band in San Diego? I'm looking for someone who stays pretty faithful to the original versions—I really don't want them speeding up slower songs like "Da te mogu pismom zvati" or adding too much of their own "flair" to someone else's music. Thanks in advance! 🙂

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I’m getting married in San Francisco soon. I'm not even from St. Louis, so I’ve basically had to figure everything out through trial and error. I’ve learned a thing or two about what actually works and what’s a total waste of time, so I put together some thoughts on it below.

Location: The Catering Co.
Catering: Gusar (they did a tasting—the food was incredible)
St. Anthony's Church
Music: DJ Khaled
Lighting: 1-800-Flowers
Flowers: 1-800-Flowers
Photographer and videographer: what should I get them?
Nothing. Nothing.
Desserts: Luke and some lady's homemade dry cookies.
The wedding attire: Nike.
Footwear: Topshop, Mango, H&M
Suit: Nicholas (New York City)
Footwear: Strugar (New York City)
Jewelry: Medaković (New York City)
Thank you notes: A family farm from San Diego
Thank you boxes: 2have&2hold
Makeup by Lucija Spajić.
Hair style: still undecided.

I used to go to Dolce & Gabbana and Tea Mamut for desserts. I actually passed on Dolce & Gabbana for some personal reasons, even though she put in a ton of work and her selection and tasting sessions were top-tier. As for Tea Mamut, they do those flourless sponge cakes—everything we tried was delicious, honestly. My only gripe is that the prices are a bit steep. But hey, if you want to splurge, that’s your call.

Makeup: If you're looking for makeup in San Francisco, stay far away from this place. I ended up using them by pure chance for a wedding recently, and honestly? It was a disaster. I made it very clear what I wanted: no heavy black eyeliner, nothing too dramatic. I asked for a light, sun-kissed, breathable look. Instead, they gave me harsh, overdrawn eyebrows and bronze eyeshadow that made me look like the wicked stepmother out of Esmeralda, topped off with thick black eyeliner. I basically looked like a carbon copy of the woman who did my makeup. It feels like they have a "one size fits all" policy where they just crank through clients without any individual attention. It’s a total assembly line. To make matters worse, after just a few hours, the foundation started sliding off my nose and chin, leaving behind this dry, cakey texture. It was probably because they skipped the primer or used cheap products. And don't even get me started on the music playing in the studio—just some loud, unrecognizable garbage mixed with the latest Taylor Swift track. It was borderline tacky.

Hair: Anthony’s Hair Studio—I’d seen a bunch of recommendations across different sites claiming they were the absolute best in San Francisco, specifically mentioning that Thomas is the go-to guy for formal styles. So, I went in for a trial run and booked him for my big day. It was the same stylist who handled the hair for that wedding recently.
The hair looked great at first, but three hours later—while we were still sitting at home—it was completely gone. It was unrecognizable. The whole thing just fell apart in record time. Flyaways started popping up everywhere before we even stepped out the door. That hairstyle was... $83 I went to the absolute best salon in St. Louis. I sent them photos of what I wanted, they gave me some half-hearted apology, and that was it. Zero effort. Just "sorry" and nothing else. I should have been looking perfect on my big day, but instead, I'm left dealing with this mess.

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

Reserved:

Amigos
Lido Photo
Lido Photo

Does anyone happen to have any experience with these places? 🤔

Our big day is set for October 5th, 2018, and here is what we have lined up so far:
- The venue is Ino Hall
- Our band is being provided by Uber
- Photography is handled by Lido Photo
- As for footwear, I've got my own pair—my sister accidentally ended up with mine in the box for $67, but they are incredibly comfortable, so no complaints there
- My dress was a total "love at first sight" moment from the Lipoto boutique (cost about $2,000 before any major alterations or cleaning); both the owner and the lady who helped me try it on were absolute gems
- He’s already got his suit ready; we actually already own it
- Hair and makeup are both through Marinela in Santa Barbara, which comes to $67 total
- Nails will be done by one of my girls who does this professionally, $33
- For flowers, we're looking at Potocnica Florist (I'm not sure on the price yet; I'll check in October once I see which seasonal blooms are actually in stock so we can decide what I want)
- We are DIY-ing the boutonnieres and thank-you cards
- Even the decor is a DIY project using stuff from eBay, mason jars, and things like that

I think that covers everything! Everything listed here has been vetted through friends' weddings or my own personal experience

Sweet, you got everything sorted out...

So, what time is the photographer showing up?
And who else is actually any good at this?

Susan Jones6 Asks:
Everything turned out perfect... you really nailed every single detail!

How long do you think it’ll take for the photographer to get the shots back to you?
So, who else would you recommend for photography? I'm looking for someone truly talented.

Mine is top-tier, honestly. You can check out the shots on Facebook Miše. https://www.facebook.com/Antonio-Mis...86849/?fref=ts.
I haven't even had a chance to look at the other options yet. Give me 10 minutes! $0.00It was honestly such a dream setup: two photographers, a videographer, a custom photobook, and two separate albums just for the parents. We also got five USB drives, all beautifully organized in a handcrafted wooden chest. It’s absolutely stunning. Plus, the guy himself is just wonderful—so much fun to be around and always cracking jokes. It feels like we keep running into him everywhere! 🙂

Dennis Reyes40 said:Reserved:

Amigos
Lido Photo
Lido Photo

Does anyone happen to have any experience with these places? 🤔

Amigos is a great little spot for parties—up to about 100 people—run by a family where the food is flawless. If you aren't booking during peak season, you can usually arrange to rent a few apartments right above the restaurant for those who overindulge :klap:

Austin Thompson96 said:Amigos is a great little spot for parties—up to about 100 people—run by a family where the food is flawless. If you aren't booking during peak season, you can usually arrange to rent a few apartments right above the restaurant for those who overindulge :klap:

The wedding is set for May 5th, 2018. We actually managed to score the bridal suite for free, along with the chair covers 👏. I suppose we are quite satisfied so far. They’re even willing to add a soup course to the menu based on our specific preferences, so they are definitely flexible and very easy to work with. 👍

I haven't actually picked a makeup artist yet, mostly because I've had some pretty terrible experiences with trial runs in the past, so I'd really appreciate it if someone could give me the lowdown on Katja Filipović, Tina Kalinić, or Ana Benzon. Thanks🕺

Hey everyone, I’ve got a wedding coming up at the end of April next year and I'm hunting for a DJ.

DJ Double is out. Based on your comments, he won't play the stuff we actually want to hear at our wedding. So, I need the real scoop: what are the others like? What kind of music do they spin, how do they handle the flow of the night, how do they keep the energy up, what are we looking at price-wise, etc.?

I'm looking into DJ Khaled, DJ Snake, DJ Marshmello, and that Wedding DJ company. If you have other recs, throw them my way. Just starting my research, so any advice helps.

swiftbadger14 said:Hey everyone! Does anyone have recommendations for a good band in San Diego? I'm looking for someone who stays pretty faithful to the original versions—I really don't want them speeding up slower songs like "Da te mogu pismom zvati" or adding too much of their own "flair" to someone else's music. Thanks in advance! 🙂

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We used to hire a group called Defiance. They were excellent.

restlessmoose said:Hey everyone, I’ve got a wedding coming up at the end of April next year and I'm hunting for a DJ.

DJ Double is out. Based on your comments, he won't play the stuff we actually want to hear at our wedding. So, I need the real scoop: what are the others like? What kind of music do they spin, how do they handle the flow of the night, how do they keep the energy up, what are we looking at price-wise, etc.?

I'm looking into DJ Khaled, DJ Snake, DJ Marshmello, and that Wedding DJ company. If you have other recs, throw them my way. Just starting my research, so any advice helps.

You could always hire Double plus a second DJ who plays the stuff he misses.

Noah Wright4 said:You could always hire Double plus a second DJ who plays the stuff he misses.

That’s way out of my budget. I heard his rates alone are insane.
That’s why I’m asking—can anyone give me a breakdown of typical prices and let me know if they're actually easy to work with?

Snag these wedding discounts for 2017 -> https://goo.gl/MGrT6g 🙂 😁

Hey everyone!

I honestly don't get why there aren't specific subforums for different areas like Los Angeles-San Diego-San Francisco, because trying to find anything here is a nightmare! 😠 I've been scrolling forever trying to find some wedding venue recommendations in San Diego, but I can't find anything useful or even current. Someone recently asked about experiences at Miami Beach club and it looks like they never got a reply (by the way, I did a quick Google search and apparently the place is actually shut down right now due to some inspection issue ☕

Anyway, I'm on the hunt for a wedding spot. I'm definitely not looking for big banquet halls like Anna or Tony or whatever, but since I haven't lived in San Diego for a while, I'm pretty out of the loop on local spots. Ideally, I'd love something more intimate—maybe a family estate, a villa, or something similar that fits about 100-150 people max. I stumbled upon Black Rock Tavern while searching and it looks really cute, so if anyone has been there, please let me know what you think!!😉
Or maybe a hotel, like Penelope? It seems nice since it's right by the water... and maybe the Four Seasons too, though I have a feeling that might be a bit pricey...🤔

Thanks in advance!!🙂

restlessmoose said:Hey everyone, I’ve got a wedding coming up at the end of April next year and I'm hunting for a DJ.

DJ Double is out. Based on your comments, he won't play the stuff we actually want to hear at our wedding. So, I need the real scoop: what are the others like? What kind of music do they spin, how do they handle the flow of the night, how do they keep the energy up, what are we looking at price-wise, etc.?

I'm looking into DJ Khaled, DJ Snake, DJ Marshmello, and that Wedding DJ company. If you have other recs, throw them my way. Just starting my research, so any advice helps.

We ended up hiring DJ Dada. To be honest, I didn't quite click with him when we first met, but I told myself it wouldn't matter—he isn't some kid, so he'll handle the job professionally, which is the most important thing. Now, I regret not listening to my gut and looking elsewhere, but our situation was unique and we didn't have much flexibility at the time.

The guy is completely uninterested; he’s just there to clock in and do the job. He doesn't fade songs out properly, and he never says anything unless prompted. I prepared a specific playlist for him, yet he barely played half of it, and even then, only after my husband or I had to step in and remind him—and those were some very special songs to us.

It is best if you meet them personally and judge for yourself. And listen to your intuition. Good luck...

Roughly what kind of damage am I looking at for a venue, a band, and a photographer?

Susan Jones6 said:Roughly what kind of damage am I looking at for a venue, a band, and a photographer?

It really depends on which venue or band you pick, but I can give you an idea of what I paid in deposits;
- The banquet hall in Phoenix, Arizona $667 (for 200+ guests)
- A local cover band
$220 - Misha Photography (based out of Savannah) is asking for around $850-$$333

I’m helping out an organization right now...
In Phoenix, Arizona, you’re looking at $34 per chair—Doris is charging $36, Catherine is north of $50, and once you get into San Francisco, expect to pay anywhere from $40 to $60.

Jukica Photography is running about $900 for one photographer and a small album, $1,000 for a mid-sized album, or $1,200 if you want two photographers and a large album. Add $500 for a videographer, plus maybe another $50–$60 per album for the wedding party or parents...

Bonačić Photography is roughly $2000 + $167 - $667 depending on how big the album is.
Video is around $1667...

Basically, everyone is hovering around the $1,000 mark just for photography.
And then you’ve got another $500 to $1,000 for video work.

The Bura Band is $1,900 for a five-piece.

Some people are going to charge you up to $3,000, regardless.

+ obviously, there are chairs for the band members too.

Misha, is the photographer quoting in dollars or euros?