New to this and very frustrated..

I'm looking for an all inclusive wedding venue in the San fernando Valley.  My problem is finding a place that doesn't have a guest minimum....We're only going to have 30-40 people at most and we don't want a huge party after the ceremony, just a dinner with quiet music.  We'd like a bar as well.  I'm leaning towards restaurants since they accomodate to smaller parties better....if you guys have any suggestions of places to call I would really appreciate your input.  I want to narrow it down to 5 or 6 placed before I start calling.  Our budget is just about $10,000 and I feel like we could do something really special with that much money and so little guests, but finding a location is becoming impossible.  We don't have a house to do it at either, which was our next idea.  Most places have a 50 or 75 person minimum, and we just don't want that many people there.  This is becoming much harder than I thought it would! Hahaha 

First, welcome! It can be very frustrating, that's for sure! I am not familiar with the area, but what I learned from my planning is that I needed to call everywhere to narrow down my search. Some places will make exceptions gladly, some won't, and you never know until you talk to them. I hope that helps! <3

Welcome!  As a fellow Southlander, I can empathize with your struggle, I know how hard it can be here and how expensive things are.  I have sent you a few ideas via PM to check out, not sure if they would work, but will try to help if I can...

Welcome! The other ladies have made some great suggestions. I agree that a restaurant would probably be your best option. Could you also consider renting a house? That might allow you to have a relaxed atmosphere with enough space for everyone (assuming they don't have restrictions on having parties/events while you rent the space). VRBO or HomeAway might have some options (?) If you haven't already checked out the venue reviews for your area here on PW, you might do that. I found several good vendors that I wouldn't have considered otherwise! Good luck! 

Welcome, and again not from your area, but the restraunts in my area are always will to change things up a bit if you give them enough notice. Some do charge an extra $100 some don't.

We are doing this for my sons graduation and renting out a room in restraunt for 4 hours.

Welcome to PW and congrats on your engagement!!! I'm also not from your area, but I did do a quick search for all-inclusives and found this website with many venues in and around your area. 

http://www.allinclusivevenues.com/pages/AllInclusivePackages.htm

Hope that helps!!!

First, welcome to PW and congratulations on your engagement!!!  Second, hang in there!!  You're not alone in trying to find a beautiful venue for a smaller wedding reception.  I'm not from your area either, but I had the same problem trying to find a unique reception venue for our own wedding, which was just under 100 people!  Most of the time, you've got to actually call and ask what certain venues are willing to do as they don't always list it on their website!  It looks like the ladies gave some great advice already, so best of luck with this!!  And YES, for your budget, doing something really special is absolutely do-able!!  :)

Thankyou everyone! I didn't realize how hard it would be to find a place! I've got two restaurants that I'm going to make appointments with, Lawrys Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, and Maggiano's in the Farmer's Market.  I'd preferr and outdoor, rustic, deal, but with this few guests, there just isn't anywhere.  Although the idea of looking for a house to rent for the day is a great tip.  Thanks again all! :D

have you looked at this website thebrokeassbride.com? a lot of weddings are in unique locations. Might give you ideas or inspiration. 

I haven't looked in depth at thebrokeassbride....it seems like most of the sites that have venues all have the same ones, but I'll look at that site right now and see if they have anything different. :) Thanks for the tips girls....I can tell I'm going to be using you for tips A LOT since we're dumb and waited until the last second to plan this thing Ha!