Vow Renewal on the Beach

In November my husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.  We had a private vow renewal ceremony at Montana de Oro, which is where he purposed.  It was so nice.  On a cliff over looking the beach we said our vows and then had a picnic.  I had fun planning the day and would love to do more vow renewal ceremonies.  They are a great way to celebrate an anniversary!  Photography by Alex Creswell.

Amber & Jeff ~ Vineyard Wedding, Paso Robles, CA

Amber and Jeff were married with beautiful Stillwaters Vineyards as the backdrop.  The couple treated their guests to dinner and fine wine, topped off by a special dance by the bride and groom.  Photography by Amy Wellenkamp.

Stunning bouquet by Fleur Flowers

Tamara & Allstun, Santa Barbara, CA

Tamara and Allstun were married on the beautiful Santa Barbara beachfront.  With the sand and surf in the background guests mingled and enjoyed cocktail hour.  After the ceremony the bridal party walked across the street to the carousel.  I was so excited about these pictures.  Who has an entire bridal party on a carousel?  Sarah Angelique does!  :-)   It was a wonderful day with beautiful weather.  As the sun went down guests danced outside in the moonlight.

Although a Santa Barbara native the bride now lives in the Bay Area, so this wedding was planned with very few meetings with the bride.  We relied on phone calls and emails.  I cannot stress enough how important it is for destination brides and grooms to hire a wedding planner.   

Photography by Baron Spafford

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Ed McMahon Wedding ~ Paso Robles, CA

My phone rang one day and the caller ID said "Ed McMahon."  I thought, Ed McMahon is calling me?  Well, his wife was!  Turns out their son, Lex, picked beautiful High Ridge Manor Bed & Breakfast to marry his equally beautiful fiance, Ashley.  What a fun evening!  Both Ed and his son are Marines.  So I must say the best part of the day was having all of the men in uniform around.  :-)  At the end of the ceremony they drew their swords and welcomed the bride into the family in the traditional Marine fashion.  As usual the Paso Robles weather was perfect to hold a wedding and reception outside.

Regina and Dean were married in Cayucos, CA on the beach.  The only difficult task during this wedding was moving the chairs down to the beach and back.  It was easily half a mile down a little uneven dirt path.  Just after sunset Regina and Dean were married with the crashing waves behind them.

For the reception they hired an '80's Band.  It was the best music and reception I think I've been to!  Everyone had so much fun.  Photography by Jen Slot.

Kristi and Jeff, Paso Robles, CA

Kristi and Jeff were married at the lovely High Ridge Manor.  Their wedding was intimate with about 65 guests in attendance.  Toasts went on for awhile, so many people had nice things to say about the couple.  As the sun set the dance floor started hopping!    Photography by Michael and Anna Costa.

As a destination bride and groom we met only a few times in person and relied on email and conference calls to plan this wedding.  I really can't say enough how important it is for a destination couple to hire a local wedding planner.  I attended many meetings on behalf of Kristi and Jeff.  When they came to town I had an entire weekend of meetings scheduled for them.  

Kristi and Jeff's Rehearsal Dinner

Kristi and Jeff were a destination bride and groom from Southern California.  Their wedding weekend included three events that all 70 guests were invited to.  The first of which was a dinner in the caves beneath Eberle Winery.  This is a very unique location and was the perfect Paso Robles experience for their out of town guests.  During cocktail hour solo guitarist Manny Mestas provided ambiance while guests mingled and sipped local wines.  Then the party moved below ground where a Chef Matthew had dinner waiting.  Photography by Michael and Anna Costa.

LA Flower Market

In January I had the pleasure of helping my cousin Natalee plan her perfect wedding.  We decided we were crazy enough to arrange all of the flowers ourselves.  Here we are at the L.A. Flower Market at 8:00 am.  I was in heaven!  I wish we had a market like that in Paso Robles!  We had so much fun going through the market, we filled two large carts full of flowers.  Then if was off to her house in Riverside, CA where we set up shop in her garage.  For the next few nights we both had nightmares that the flowers would die overnight.  :-)