Category: Wedding Locations

The second part of our wedding anniversary road trip was as fun and romantic as the first. My husband Jaya and I drove to Half Moon Bay, a quaint little town along the coastline where the air is fresh, the people are friendly, and the pace is slow. By the way, this is also a great spot for a honeymoon by the sea, too.

Northern California brides are so lucky: They can just look out the window and take their inspiration from the natural wonders around them: from the bright bottle blues found in San Francisco Bay to the vibrant Muir Woods mossy greens a little farther north. While your So Cal counterparts may disagree, taking inspiration from nature doesn’t mean you have to wear wildflowers in your hair or walk barefoot down the aisle. This palette is totally No Cal: sophisticated, sexy, and a little unexpected.

For our 5th wedding anniversary, my husband Jaya and I decided to visit places we had each frequented separately in our early adulthood—but this time, we’d be together!

Want to have a giraffe crash your wedding? It’s possible, and for animal lovers, it would be a jaw-dropping story to tell for years to come. If you want to get wild at your wedding, consider these animal-friendly venues in Southern California:

Recently, a couple getting married at The Historic Castle Green had planned to have their ceremony in a clear tent (outfitted with a gorgeous chandelier, of course) on the facility’s grounds.

If you’re thinking of getting married in the sunny and warm Los Angeles area, here are a few places that are so unique, you really only can experience them in LA.

My mother, a true Anglophile, brought me up surrounded by more than a few of her favorite British things. The first real, hearty books I read as a child were Agatha Christie mysteries and Charles Dickens novels. Every Thursday was Masterpiece Theatre night featuring an array of her favorite actors from the UK, and I was probably the only 12-year-old kid in school who (at the time, don’t quiz me now) knew the entire history of the English Royal Family.

I have two good friends, both unmarried. One is a City Girl through and through. Her dream wedding would probably be at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco, surrounded by 350 of her closest friends, dancing the night away in front of a 25-piece orchestra. She’s looking for complete refinement and urban chic.