Category: Wedding Receptions

Are you looking to have your wedding ceremony and reception in beautiful Santa Barbara—without breaking the bank? We’ve got two fabulous finds: The first is Elings Park, a private, estate-like setting sequestered in the forested bluffs above the Pacific Ocean. This non-profit park’s 230 scenic acres includes several special event venues with a breathtaking blend of city, hillside and coastal views. Exchange vows in a stone amphitheater, serve cocktails on an oak-shaded patio, and then let the reception unfold on a vast garden lawn!

On a recent weekend getaway to the Napa and Sonoma Wine Country area, my husband Phil and I decided to explore a different side of this famous wedding region. To me, an ideal wedding locale allows guests plenty of options for exploration, and the towns of Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Petaluma certainly kept us happily occupied.

The bride put a different spin on the father daughter dance: instead of having everyone simply focus on her and her dad, about 30 seconds into the song, they invited all fathers and daughters to join them on the dance floor. The guests were delighted to share in this moment.

I have to confess I am personally not a huge fan of cake, so I love that more brides are moving away from serving a traditional wedding cake and offering more creative wedding desserts. I’ve attended a few “cakeless” weddings in the past year, and I really enjoyed how personal and unique these dessert presentations can be.

Did you all see Oprah the other day? She featured some great YouTube videos, one of which was a clip of a British couple’s first dance at their wedding. Apparently, they are both huge fans of Dirty Dancing, the 80’s classic dance movie. They performed Baby and Johnny’s famous dance, almost move for move. Wow, how many of you could convince your fiance to do this?

I wanted to tell you about a recent wedding we heard of at one of our favorite Malibu private estates, Enchanted Sea Cottage. The expert design architect behind it all was Gianna Provenzano of Gianna and Company, and, let me tell you, she knows glamour. First of all, the couple was married on a private Malibu bluff overlooking the ocean (how’s that for making a statement?). To keep the focus on the natural scenery, Gianna smartly placed natural wood chivari chairs facing the ocean for the guests.

I recently blogged about using a Wish Tree in lieu of the traditional guest book and got such great response from brides that I wanted to tell you what you would need to make your own. By purchasing the materials to make your own Wish Tree, you’ll be able to use it again for other types of parties such as baby showers, birthdays, graduations, etc. Think of it as the Wish Tree that keeps on giving.

A chicken coop and water tower used for events? As the location scout for Here Comes The Guide, I just couldn’t resist exploring this anomaly of a Wine Country reception venue/event site, situated along the Gravenstein Trail just outside Sebastopol, also known as “the Berkeley of Sonoma County.” How, I wondered, could this former working farm possibly host a wedding or corporate event?