Jaimee, Executive Assistant/Part-Time Event Designer & robin, Talent Acquisition Manager

Planned budget: $10,000
Actual budget: $11,000
Number of guests: 56
LOCATION: San Francisco, California

Where we allocated the most funds:

We allocated most of the funds on the food. Our price per person was significantly low for San Francisco standards, and there’s that saying, “You get what you paid for…” but in this case the food quality and flavor far exceeded our expectations; to this day our guests still raves about the dinner and day-after wedding breakfast!

Where we allocated the least funds:

We allocated the least amount of funds to the photo booth. I was trying to think up “activities” for the guests to do during cocktail hour. Low and behold our venue had a pre-existing photo booth back drop (which we borrowed), and I happened to have a Fuji mini instax camera. Voila, instant party favor and activity for the guests during cocktail hour; though most of our guests (more or less) knew each other, the “polaroid” photo booth broke the ice and made it even more fun for everyone.

What was totally worth it:

Having a wedding coordinator/designer be our go-to person, who also executed our design vision. Trust me, if I could split myself in two, I would have done everything! But having someone else take care of all the little details made the day for me and my husband totally enjoyable and memorable!

What was totally not worth it:

Because we knew we had a very limited budget, every “spend” was justified, so everything in our mind was worth it.

A few things that helped us along the way:

My family especially my mom and sister! My mom is the MVP of the whole planning and execution—she seriously can do everything! Not only did she give us a very generous gift for our future, but her ingenuity and innovative spirit helped us through a lot of DIY stuff, especially when my wedding dress needed to be altered: my mom altered my dress! My sister is a graphic designer, and she was my matron of honor, sounding board, and creative/business partner; having gone through her own wedding planning eleven years earlier she provided me with great advice and insights. I am detail-crazy and had a gazillion ideas going through my head (thanks/no thanks to Pinterest). My sister was my sounding board who always helped me edit, hone our vision, and reminded me not to sweat the small stuff.