Descanso Gardens 1418 Descanso Drive • La Canada Flintridge • California 91011

As you drive down the quiet, oak-lined residential street that leads to the Gardens, you get your first taste of this facility's peaceful seclusion. Living up to its name (descanso means "rest" in Spanish), Descanso Gardens is indeed a tranquil, verdant oasis at the foot of the arid San Gabriel Mountains.

Once a large private estate, the Gardens occupy over 150 acres, offering a wide variety of enchanting sites for weddings. One favorite is a quintessential California setting—a broad, open lawn under wide-spreading coast live oaks that convey a rustic simplicity.

Another option is the Magnolia Lawn. A wall of lattice entwined with crabapple vines and ruby-red buds marks the entrance, and guests pass beneath a pretty archway before taking their seats facing a pair of mature magnolia trees. The trees serve as a natural altar for the bride and groom, while their creamy white flowers evoke a feminine grace. The surrounding greenery is punctuated by seasonal surprises—think cheery tulips in spring and perfumed paperwhites in winter—that enhance the picturesque environs.

If you're exchanging vows with a few family and friends looking on, then consider the serene Japanese Garden. Your guests cluster along the bank of a koi-filled stream as you share your first kiss in front of the Full Moon Tea House. An orange footbridge and springtime show of pink cherry blossoms create a colorful, exotic milieu for photos.

And who can resist the romance of Descanso's five-acre rose garden? It boasts hundreds of rosebushes! Couples can wed at the wrought-iron Rose Garden gazebo, and continue their outdoor celebration in a timber-and-stone pavilion bordered by fragrant blooms.

Seated receptions can also be held in the classic Boddy House, poised at the edge of the oak forest. Larger gatherings convene in Van de Kamp Hall, which is situated near the Garden's main entrance. This Craftsman-style building boasts a lofty open-beamed ceiling and French doors that open onto a lovely and expansive tiled courtyard flanked by flowerbeds.

With its shade-dappled lawns, brilliant flowers, majestic camellia forests and secluded woodland clearings, Descanso Gardens is just the right wedding spot for any nature-loving couple. But whether you get married here or not, a visit to the gardens is a tonic to urban stresses and—dare we suggest it—frayed prenuptial nerves. You can breathe easy in this serene setting, or, as they say in Spanish, aquí puede usted descansar.