Outdoor Southern California Wedding
Today we’re featuring an outdoor southern California wedding. Shannon and Garrett made great use of their personal home to host their family and friends for their big day. The rustic handmade details woven throughout the day give their wedding and reception a personal, authentic feel. Garrett’s craftsmanship is evident with the signs he made. I especially love the “Eat, Drink and Be Married” sign he created! And it’s always fun to see unconventional menu choices for weddings. Doesn’t their food truck reception look amazing? Be inspired by today’s handmade sunny wedding! xoxo, Jessica
Shannon Garrett
Feb 7th, 2015
Valley Center, CA | The Couple’s Personal Home
What was your wedding budget?
We spent a total of $9500.Dress: $200
Ties: $50
Flowers: $200
Photography: $3000
Decorations: $300
Officiant: $240
Food Truck: $2300
Beverages: $500
Party Rentals: $1207.3
Porta-potty: 1437.5
Cake: $0
Music: $0
Website/Invitations: $60
How many guests did you have?
70
What creative or personal aspects did you include in your wedding?
My husband does metal work. He made our wedding sign for out front, as well as the Cornhole boards and the “Eat, Drink and Be married” sign. He did an amazing job. The wedding sign is gorgeous and we’ll keep forever. The roses instead of just the usual holes for Cornhole was so creative and gorgeous. I also loved how the “Eat Drink and Be Married” signs turned out. He intentionally made the i’s small because there’s no more “I” once you’re married
What was the biggest thing you did to save money?
We kept the guest list down, bought my dress from China and skipped on things that weren’t important to us (like music and dancing).
What was the biggest sacrifice you made to stay on budget?
I don’t feel like we made any sacrifice to stay on budget. We decided very early on what was important to us and looked into general prices to figure out our budget. We had exactly what we wanted at a price we were comfortable with.
What’s the best advice you have for planning your wedding now that you’re on the other side?
Focus on what matters to you so that you will have FUN on your wedding day and ignore expectations. You should have the day YOU want, not the day everyone else thinks you should have. There is such a “formula” to weddings now but I feel like it really doesn’t fit all couples and you should think about what you want on your wedding day so that you have fun.
What was your biggest splurge?
The photographer. We almost just had a friend do it, but everyone kept telling me photos would be the most important thing. $3000 but SOO glad we did it. Robert did an exceptional job!
What was your favorite detail?
The cake topper. Even though the hair colors don’t match us the sentiment of how they are holding each other just reminded me of my husband and I. It made me really happy. What’s funny is I didn’t show it to him before the wedding and he had the same visceral reaction the day of the wedding when he saw it on the cake.
What is the most memorable moment of your day?
Our kiss. It was such a culmination of things. All the planning and preparation, and we were finally standing up there, holding hands, getting married. The officiant actually used the wrong vows but it didn’t matter. We were so happy. But jumping in the bouncy house would be a close second…so much fun!
VENDORS
Photographer: Robert Paetz • Caterer: Curiosity Catering • Officiant: Ken Hoelscher from SoCal Vows • Event Rentals: Event Party Rentals
