Lets see – we were married on a bluff above the beach in La Jolla. I had a beautiful, hand-sewn raw silk dress and a lovely rose bouquet. My family and his family was there, along with close friends. We had a luncheon reception at a beachfront restaurant in North County. We arrived at the reception in a vintage, convertable Edsel. After the lunch we had a really nice reception for a bigger group of friends at my sisters house with beer and wine.
Since we lived in Philadelphia at the time – we had a separate reception for 100 at a catering hall, a month later. Menu included a choice of stuffed fish or chicken, etc. (The food was super yummy).
Both events (wedding and bigger reception a month later) came out to less than $5k. The additional $2k included our travel to/from San Diego for the wedding, our lodging for the trip. and a trip to my best friend’s house in WA state for a fitting on the dress she made me.
We spent an additional $3500 for a trip to Maui for our honeymoon. Had a balcony overlooking the water… that we got a great deal on. It had a kitchenette in the room, so we were able to eat some meals in – which is my strong preference. (I don’t like having to get dressed and ready to go just to have breakfast!… I want to lounge comfortably and drink coffee while looking at the water.)
Yes. It was *my* dream wedding. But I never had the dream of having little net bags of jordon almonds, 12 bridesmaids and groomsmen, and a catered meal for semi-strangers.
Couldn’t have asked for a prettier place to get married. Here’s a picture with my maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather.
