Wedding Planning Advice
Best website/blog
...which even goes into details like how much booze to buy
General Advice
Remember it's just a party (beware the Wedding Industrial Complex)
Figure out what you care about (e.g. for us it was "everyone has fun" and "good food") and don't stress the rest
A good Day-of Coordinator is worth his/her weight in gold
Savor the moment!!
Other random logistics
In general we've had the most fun at weddings where there's a whole weekend of just hanging out & spending time with the couple; consider doing something like this
Make it very clear to people when/where they need to be, what the dress code is, etc.
Don't be afraid to send out multiple waves of invitations, once you start getting responses
We decided to hand out cake to everyone as a couple, which substituted for a traditional "visitation line"
Vendors We Used
Notes from our own wedding at Pie Ranch in Pescadero, CA in 2014:
Day-of Coordinator
Alyssa Griffith
--> now runs her own place, www.rosegoldevents.com she was awesome!! (she is also a contributor to apracticalwedding.com)
Rental Equipment
Alexis Party Rental
info@alexispartyrental.com --> used them for tables/chairs, etc. they were recommended by Pie Ranch and did a good job
Photographer
Ian Martin
--> really good "documentary" style photos (not too many posed)
Food
Roli Roti
--> both rotisserie chicken & porchetta were a big hit...we brought our own wine from BevMo
Sound Systems/Caller
Andy Wilson
--> Andy does Pie Ranch's monthly Barn Dance but also does calling for hire for events; he's great for all ages/experience levels. He also did the sound system for our ceremony. www.pieranch.org/work-day--- barn-dance.html
Band
County Line Pickers
Jim Davies
--> Pie Ranch's "house" bluegrass band, great musicians although Jim can be hard to get ahold of
Hair/Makeup
Liz used someone else for our wedding, but from a photo shoot she did, she highly rec's Melissa Hoffmann melissahoffmann.com
Dessert
Tartine Bakery
--> chocolate soufflé cakes were a big hit!!
Mission Pie
415.282.4PIE --> alas, they are closed now!
Flowers
Hiro Utsuwa
Utsuwa Floral Design
1288 Polk St (@ Bush)
415-447-8476
--> his prices are reasonable and he made some beautiful arrangements (he's especially good with succulents)
...for table flowers we used ones from our yard in reused milk jars, which ended up being very pretty:
