Guest Blog Post: How to Avoid Being Wedding Poor - Jessica Geiszler of Stellar J Productions {San Diego Wedding Photography}

How to Avoid Being Wedding Poor

Stellar J Productions has a knack for making champagne dreams happen on a beer budget. Here are some tips from the Stellar J team on how to avoid being wedding poor. Take a look and see what techniques might apply to the planning of your special day – curbing unnecessary costs will help you to maximize on your wedding investment! 

• House wine is fine. Guests love free booze, plain and simple. There’s no need to stress over brands or harvests or the age of the vines and the climate they’ve grown up in – because there’s a very good chance that most of your guests won’t know the difference between a $10 bottle of Barefoot Merlot and a $100 bottle of Mendoza Malbec. If you love wine and you want to splurge, go for it – but consider channeling those expenditures toward a special bottle for your parents or bridal party, and order whatever is available in house for the rest of your party attendees. 

•  Consider all-in-ones. Many linen companies also provide furniture rentals. A lot of caterers offer table settings. Limos can manage transportation for bachelor/bachelorette parties as well as wedding day festivities. Bridal shower venues can double as locations for rehearsal dinners. HOTELS DO IT ALL! You get the picture. Combine services whenever possible to simplify the planning process and avoid paying extra on service and delivery fees.

• Give yourself time to shop around. The sooner you start thinking about wedding day details, the longer you have to capitalize on killer deals on things like décor, cards, gifts, hotels, beauty services – even undergarments! Make a list of everything you’ll need. Then begin adding bridal shows, trunk shows, open houses, department store sales and the like to your personal calendar. Plan time on the weekends to visit area malls, thrift stores and swap meets. Identify the holidays that match your color scheme and hit craft warehouses and supermarkets as soon as that holiday has ended, for an extra 25-75% off! You can even sign up to receive special offers via email from companies like Groupon and Living Social. 

• Condense the bridal party. More people means more flowers, more thank-you cards and gifts, more hair/make-up appointments, more rehearsal dinner plates, more drinks, and let’s be real, more drama. Pick a few people who are very close to you and find roles for the then identify a few roles for the close friends and family who didn’t make the cut; you might be surprised by how happy they will be to do a scripture reading or share a toast! 

Look local. The closer the vendor, the cheaper the delivery fee. If your wedding venue is 60 miles from the florist you hired, understand that you’ll likely be covering a gas/mileage fee – smaller companies might even tack on a charge for a refrigerated truck rental. Caterers will follow a similar pattern, as will photographers – especially if you pick one who needs to fly in for the event and book overnight accommodations. In any situation, it’s always good to support your local economy (or the local economy of your favorite party destination)! 

• Attend free dance lessons. San Diegans can visit In Cahoots, a country line dance bar, pretty much any day of the week for a free line dance lesson and a “couples” dance lesson. You’ll learn staples like the Boot Scootin’ Boogie, Cotton Eyed Joe and Cupid Shuffle, as well as first dance favorites like the Two-Step and the Waltz. If money is tight and you want to look polished and poised during your first dance, you should definitely try the free stuff before you opt for the "for-a-fee" stuff.  

   

•  Hire a planner. A planner can assist with the vendor negotiation process and can review contracts to ensure all possible perks have been plugged in. They may be able to negotiate chargers into the table set-up, or audio to the ceremony plan – sometimes they can arrange to have leftover alcohol delivered to your bridal suite. These folks know the industry and WANT to help you make the most out of your special day so don’t be afraid to take advantage of their connections and special talents.

 Jessica Geiszler, the J in Stellar J Productions, has been working in the events industry for the past 15 years. With experience spanning the public, private and non-profit industries, she has effectively planned everything from small parties to million-dollar fundraising campaigns. Connect with Stellar J Productions on Facebook, Twitter, WeddingWire, Google+ and Pinterest to stay on top of the latest wedding and event trends

San Felipe, Mexico Weekend Photo Safari {San Diego Lifestyle Photographer}

My folks are considering retiring in Mexico, so I tagged along on a house-hunting weekend to San Felipe, Mexico. According to Google Maps, it was supposed to take 4 1/2 hours. Close, we made it there in 5 hours. The last 2 hours in Mexico on straight, boring, desert roads. So glad we go there right at sunset. Driving at night would not have been fun. We's never been down this side of the Baja California, Mexico Peninsula before. It has a start desert beauty about it. The town of San Felipe itself is pretty small, with a 3 block downtown waterfront area of bars and restaurants. We stayed just south of town in a vacation rental condo. Not bad, but definitely not luxurious by US standards. Friday night we had a delicious seafood dinner at La Vaquita Marina Restaurant with pomegranate margaritas and my new favorite, tacos goberador. 

Saturday, after waking up early to watch the sun rise over the Sea of Cortez, was all about house hunting. We checked out several places, nasty and cheap as well as gorgeous and less cheap. I just loved all the places with water views and rooftop decks are a must ! Saturday afternoon, we headed down to the Malecon for some lunch at the Taco Factory and a bit of shopping. By the time we got back to the condo, it was after sunset, so we watch a bit of the Winter Olympics on TV and crashed ! 

Sunday, we packed up and headed out for breakfast at Juanito & Berry's just north of town. Great value for money and fabulous restrooms (important to know for roadtrips). Back in Mexicali at 2:30pm, we thought we were in time to beat the traffic at the border. But no, we sat in line for 2 hours anyway ! So the way back home to San Diego ended up being a 7 hour trip. All in all, a fun time though. Glad to be back in the US with reliable cellphone service and WiFi. LOL. Here are a few pics I managed to take between sips of fruity beverages and tours of homes.


The Malecon

Sunrise over the Sea of Cortez

  

Unfinished condo buildings everywhere !

My mom, such a dork ! LOL

Low tide beachcombers

New Referral Program {San Diego Wedding Photography}

Young Family {Balboa Park San Diego Family Photographer}

I first met Michelle & Joe when Joe was stationed in the Marines here. I shot their engagement photos at Sunset Cliffs and it instantly became one of my favorite sessions. Their connection and love was so obvious ! Well, it's been a couple years, they moved back to the East Coast and have added Jaxon to their family ! Both Lana and Jaxon are the sweetest kids. So well behaved ! I was in awe ! But the whole family is super cute, right ? We had a great time catching up and roaming around the park taking pics. 

Lighting workshop with Gregory Cain

It being a slow time of year for photographers, most of us take this time to go on vacation, catch up on paperwork, re-evaluate our branding and marketing and learn some new photography techniques. Local San Diego photographer, Gregory Cain, put on a workshop this past weekend teaching off camera flash techniques. I've been wanting to get more confident with this for a while now and was super excited to have the opportunity to learn in such an intimate setting. I've taken other workshops before on this subject, but there was never much opportunity to practice at them. After a couple hours in the classroom, everything was starting to click into place. All the bits and pieces of info I'd collected over the past year melded together in my brain and I was ready to put it into practice for real ! I know I still need to practice more to get slicker and more confident with it, but I think I'm off to a good start ! Here are a few examples of the pics I took at the workshop being 100% in charge of the shot ! I just love how dramatic they turned out. Can't wait to use these techniques at engagement sessions and weddings going forward ! 

 

Mostofi-Lawson Family {Hillcrest San Diego Family Photographer}

This family was referred to me through a South African connection and it was great hanging out with them near their home in Hillcrest. Such a funky neighborhood, and the boys fit right inn with two of the coolest names, Caspian & Zephyr ! I love it ! Little Zephyr was a pleasure to photograph, only getting grumpy when he wanted some food. And we managed to sneak some pics of Caspian in, despite the fact that he is running head first into his terrible twos !