San Francisco Wedding: What does it really cost?

Our “What does it really cost” series sheds light on how much different women across the country spend on the big life events: having a baby, taking a sabbatical year, moving, getting a master’s degree, buying a house, etc. This week’s feature is highlighting one woman’s cost of her San Francisco wedding.

Location: San Francisco

Age: 33

What will be your total wedding costs?

We are having a wedding for 85 people or 95 people max.

I always imagined I would elope like in the Graduate when they run onto the school bus. However, over time my partner and I kept coming up with fun ideas for settings for a dance party with friends. We finally realized we were actually designing a wedding. I make music for my partner’s short films so the idea of programming 4-5 hours of music was also really exciting to me. My partner loves throwing art events and has enjoyed rethinking the ritual. We are excited to engage our creative community and see it as a way to feature our friends’ art and music.

Final Costs: ~$10K

Was this more or less than you were expecting?

We were hoping for $8k but will probably spend $10k. We decided that if we could do it for under $5k each then it was worth it. It’s hard to think about spending a lot of money for one night. However being separated from friends and family in the pandemic has shifted our point of view. We also really enjoy running art shows and making creative projects. This feels like it flexes and develops that skill set so we have enjoyed planning and hacking it.

Free Bride and Groom Sitting on Dock Stock Photo

Were there other options that you considered? What are the pros and cons of this compared to other options?

The big thing was saving on the venue. We found that if we booked on Friday instead of Saturday, a half day became an option. The other venues quoted us a minimum of $4k and restaurants required us to buy them out (up to $20k just to start). Even other sites within Fort Mason started at $8k.

We realized part of the cost was needing staff so the other advantage of our venue was that we could have a food truck and just one bartender. The layout accommodated inside and outside experiences on the ocean which is deeply meaningful to us without risking being on a cold beach.

We decided to rent heaters so people will feel comfortable in both settings for the whole night. One of the more frivolous items is we will pay $20/ table to rent tablecloths from the venue. However, we decided this was worth it since the venue will be responsible for setting up and breaking down the tables and chairs including the table cloths which saves us time and cost on our $1,500 rental.

We are also paying extra for the food trucks. They didn’t offer a volume discount so we decided to spend a little more on the food since the marginal cost was negligible for tacos vs. lobster.

We also decided to design custom enamel plates from Alibaba to elevate the food truck experience for roughly $3/plate. We might end up selling the leftover volume on my partner’s online design object store afterwards. The biggest decision was the venue. We’re constantly figuring out cost-saving hacks, which we are weighing against time setting up and cleaning up on our wedding day.

For instance, if we rent speakers for the event, the vendor will be required to break them down. While this is more expensive, it might be worth it because we won’t have to also coordinate that piece. In addition, assigning friends and family specific jobs has been really meaningful. We would much rather be supported in this way than with a registry of gifts since we already have setup our space and have lived together for years.

What do you wish you would have known?

I’m a little scared to find out. My biggest fear is the venue only has 2 bathrooms with 4 stalls total. The more I think of it as a fun dance party instead of a wedding, the more manageable it becomes. And many of the best clubs have lines for the bathroom so maybe that’s ok.

In conclusion, this woman’s total San Francisco wedding costs will be about $10K.

We hope this gives you insights into how someone else navigated the costs of a San Francisco wedding. Do these costs surprise you?

This post was created as part of the “What does it really cost series?” Her Personal Finance’s mission is to help high-earning women take charge of their finances. As an MBA, our founder has a particular passion for supporting this community. Here is a link to a Q&A with Harvard Business School students about finances in school. You can also learn more about our founder and our classes on our website.

Did you enjoy this post and want to contribute your own story? Send us an email to eryn@herpersonalfinance.com.

San Francisco Wedding: What does it really cost?

San Francisco Wedding: What does it really cost?

What will be your total wedding costs?

Was this more or less than you were expecting?

Were there other options that you considered? What are the pros and cons of this compared to other options?

What do you wish you would have known?

In conclusion, this woman’s total San Francisco wedding costs will be about $10K.

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