Hi all! Just got married this past weekend and we couldn’t have been happier with how it all turned out. This thread was incredibly helpful for our wedding planning and I wanted to share in case it’s helpful for future brides plus shout out all our wonderful vendors.

We had an American ceremony and reception on Friday, then a Chinese tea ceremony and banquet on Saturday. My parents covered Saturday as their gift to us, so I’ll just be focusing on Friday in this post (amounts are slightly rounded up).

tl;dr

Essentials (venue, caterer, photographer, DJ, bartender): $16,810

Miscellaneous: $7,240

Total: $24,050

THE ESSENTIALS: $16,810

This covers things that we felt were truly necessary. We wanted to prioritize good food and fun vibes within a reasonable budget over anything else.

Venue: $2,980, Plant Connection (8 hours)

A hidden affordable gem in Embarcadero! Loved having a private jungle in the middle of the city, making it accessible for our guests staying all over the bay. It had indoor and outdoor spaces with string lights. They were open to all vendors and caterers except requiring one specific bartending company. But most of all, they were so lovely to work with and flexible with our needs.

Caterer: $6,750, Burma Superstar

We wanted nontraditional wedding food and we were so thrilled to have one of our favorite restaurants cater! The setup was so professional and our guests loved it.

Photographer: $3,600, Justin Kunimoto

A lovely friend I met through my best friend’s wedding! He somehow knows how to coordinate formal photos, group photos, and casual photos while being simultaneously professional and kind. Plus he brings such great energy to the party, people loved him!

DJ: $2,750, DJ Sami from Heart of Gold

We love music and had inspirational playlists sent over to DJ Sami. They understood the assignment and delivered the funky vibes we wanted!

Bartender: $730, On the Rocks

Super responsive and flexible to our wants! Everyone kept saying how nice our bartender was.

MISCELLANEOUS: $7,240

This covers things that we felt could be more flexible about.

Dress: $430, Anthropologie sample sale

Omg, the dress gods truly blessed me. I tried two bridal salons but somehow found my dress on a random sample sale day that made me feel the most beautiful and confident.

Alterations: $1,130

I’m based in Philly and I wanted to cut the train entirely not only to make traveling easier but also because it was my personal taste.

Shoes: $0, my Mom’s wedding shoes

Second dress: $660, East Meets Dress

I didn’t end up changing but they were incredibly helpful in creating a custom dress that I envisioned: a pink cheongsam with fringes as a node to my Chinese-American identity between the white American dress and red Chinese dress. However, I did wear one of their cheongsams for Saturday’s banquet and felt so beautiful and comfortable the entire night.

Digital wedding invitations: $70, WithJoy

For save-the-dates, we did a workaround by using their free General Messaging ;)

Engagement and wedding rings: $1,230, Bario Neal and Hitched

Makeup: $0, myself

I don’t usually wear much makeup and I couldn’t stomach the costs of professional makeup, so I decided to practice for months before the wedding. I’m still so happy with how the photos turned out :)

Videographer: $150, camcorder from Amazon

Day-of Coordinator: $400, Friend’s sister so we comped her hotel stay

Hair: $0, my hairstylist is a friend and gifted this to me (I still left a big tip)

Bouquet: $20, Amadeus Flower kiosk

Cakes (2 of them): $280, Lady M

Alcohol: $1,000, Total Wine

Gel nails: $100

Brow lamination and tint: $250

Groom’s suit: $1,100, Suit Supply

Random items (cocktail napkins, plates, table numbers and signs, waters, playing cards, parking vouchers, tablecloths): $420