who got married Jan. 31 and they contacted me Jan. 9. About three weeks, but it’s a small event, few people. Starr: The couple should call a wedding planner or start a year out, but they don’t always have that luxury. I’ve planned a wedding quickly, kind of picked up the pieces of what the bride was doing and planned and coordinated a wedding, and I’ve had five weeks’ notice. It’s a lot of work and it’s lastminute crunch time, but we’ve made it happen. What should a wedding budget look like? Borgia: They really do need to look at: What am I spending my money on? Because they might hire us but they have to think about other expenses, like their hotel stay, transportation, rehearsal dinner, reception. We do recommend restaurants here locally for receptions, and so we give them an idea of how much they’ll be spending for that. They have to take a look at that overall budget, and then just decide what they’re comfortable with, because you don’t want to start off a marriage with $30,000 in credit card debt. Starr: The first thing I would ask is: How much money do you have set aside? Are you putting it on credit cards? Are you gifted money from family members? Do you have people contributing to the wedding? I want to assess whether or not it’s a realistic budget. How big is your wedding party and how many people are you inviting? Because if you’ve got a $20,000 budget and you’re inviting 150 people, that’s not a realistic budget. Ford: You have to think about EVYNN LEVALLEY PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL DADULA ASK THE EXPERTS 18 THE BEST OF MONTEREY BAY ® WEDDING GUIDE 2026-2027 471 WAVE STREET MONTEREY (831) 655-0264 P M canneryrowantiquemall.com Visit us for “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue” “ANTIQUE MALL OF THE YEAR” Professional Antique Mall Magazine ’25Voted Monterey County’s Best Antique Shop OVER 140 DEALERS 21,000 SQUARE FEET The Largest Antiques and Collectibles Mall on the Central Coast 18.indd 1 2/19/26 3:00 PM
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==