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image Suzanne Hansen

Your wedding décor welcomes your guests into your world. Find the unique aura you want to share with your family and friends.

The décor of your wedding invites your guests into more than a special event. Every detail of your décor is a piece of a puzzle that wraps your guests in a feeling; a mood. Your guests are, hopefully, not coming to see that you’re “legally wed” they are coming to feel the joy and richness of a wedding! Give them feeling! Your décor imparts a great deal of feeling into your event. Use our halo effect questionnaire to help determine the type of feeling that suits you and then get creative!

To create the most powerful décor; use elements from your venue’s setting to create depth and a deeper, yet more subtle sense of style. Subtly is definitely the key. Your event should feel natural in your setting and your décor can really help avoid that feeling that you have rented a place in which to celebrate one of the most personal days of your life! To build a feeling for your décor - draw out what is natural and what is right in front of you. Look for the little things; they really add depth to your décor and help you avoid the feeling that you have cut and pasted a cookie cutter event into a setting.

Go beyond the obvious enrich your décor with all the elements from your surroundings. Look closely, stay awhile. How does the setting make you feel? You and your guests will spend about 4 or 5 hours in this setting, booking it after a 10 minute tour may not give you all the information you require for décor. Settings are dynamic that change a bit as your event goes along. Spend a little time at your chosen location, particularly near or at your scheduled event time. The feeling of your space may change dramatically over time as the light, noise and other elements change.

~What is the light like? Will it get dark during your event? Does the space get hotter or brighter as time goes by?

~What time of year does it feel like? [In San Diego it may be Autumn but still feel like Summer with the heat]

~Color of course is a major factor in décor. Look at your setting through the eyes of an artist. If you were to paint the setting; what colors would you use?

~What natural noises do you hear? Birds? A fountain splashing? Bees buzzing? Any unnatural noise? Traffic? Other events? Passers by?

~Does the setting evoke a particular time period, cultural or geographical feeling that you want to build on?

~Surprise touches always go over well, little details that make people smile.

You can easily bring a few of these elements in to incorporate into your décor with specialty linens, fabrics, flowers, music and creative details.

So to create the perfect décor start with what you cannot change; the physical set up and dynamic of your chosen venue. Build on the things you like and then balance out the things you do not care for. Remember to look for the little things that you might not see at first and check for the sounds, scents and feelings of your setting. Using the simple tools of fabric, flowers, arches, favors, and color - you can build on what you have to start with and infuse your event with richness, joy and power.

image Suzanne Hansen

Feng Shui, the Eastern art of placement is over 4000 years old. The principles used in this art and science are designed to bring balance and harmony to any environment, ensuring success in every area of life: Marriage and Relationships, Career, Health, Prosperity, Creativity and Spirituality.

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life and can be everything you ever dreamed it would be. Beginning your lifetime together with balance and a positive flow of energy is a powerful way to create the foundation for a strong, healthy and happy marriage.

Consider the environment in which you hold your wedding and your wedding reception as a sacred space that honors your vows to each other. This environment is the fertile ground that takes the seeds of your wedding vows and grows them into the garden of your life together. The people that you invite to participate in this occasion deserve to be honored too. They are your witnesses and future support system, reminding you of the vows you spoke to each other on this day. In Feng Shui the whole environment is taken into consideration to ensure safety, comfort and beauty. FENG SHUI can create a magnificent environment that will ensure the success of the most important day of your life - Your wedding ceremony and reception.

The basic Feng Shui principles used to accomplish this are:

PROPER ARRANGEMENT - The arrangement and coordination of objects into powerful spots throughout the ceremony and reception area is essential.

USING THE BAGUA MAP - This is a powerful Feng Shui tool derived from the I Ching, the Chinese book of changes. When this map is overlaid on to a building or room it divides the space into 9 different sections, each one representing a different aspect of your life. By setting your intention and enhancing these areas with the right colors, elements and design you create a positive flow of energy. You and your guests will benefit from the harmony and will experience powerful results.

HONORING THE 5 ELEMENTS - The natural world, objects, materials or ourselves that we are surrounded with and live in are comprised of 5 elements. One way to create an atmosphere of balance and harmony is to ensure that all 5 elements are present.

BALANCING YIN AND YANG - This is the marriage of opposites - feminine and masculine; light and dark; big and small; hot and cold. As human beings we are always seeking places that are a balance of these extremes. This is where we are most comfortable.

Advice article by Shivam Kohls of Essential Feng Shui

image Suzanne Hansen

You are beautiful and stylish! You are born with imagination, creativity and a desire to play out your way of expressing yourself.

As a child, our sense of style is influenced by social factors; the culture and family that one is born into usually lay the foundation of one’s concept of the way things should look. Although some people come into life with a distinct and separate sense of style from the beginning! As we grow and mature, we discover the myriad of influences that life offers, developing a stronger sense of what style means on a personal level. Of course the social and cultural factors are still in place but now they are seasoned by life experience, friends, and peers. This offers the individual many options from which to form one’s sense of personal style.

What influences speak to you? The graceful and chic Classic styles of Jacquie Kennedy, or perhaps the holistic beauty of a Flower Child or Earth Angel, reflecting your respect and love for nature and a sense of spirit? Or maybe you are drawn to the royalty and richness of a Grace Kelly, Queenly and Elegant or the over-the-top, bejeweled, designer-clad beauty of the Glamour Girl. How about the funky constructs and creativity of the ultra-individualistic Artist? Or the drama of the Exotic or the in-love-with-an-era, time-capsule fashion sense of a Vintage Girl? So many influences to choose from and so many ways to play! Wardrobe, makeup, music, décor can be subtly or dramatically influenced by these styles to add your personal touch to a very personal event.

From talking to brides and grooms for 5 years, we know that most of you want to touch your guests with more than generic event. You want your style in every last detail. The more personal a wedding event is in décor, dress, design and expression - the more intimate and powerful it becomes.

So the key to a personal and powerful wedding event is to be yourself and have fun! Our style ideas section offers a fun look at some style options in which you may see portions of yourself. Combining a few different facets of your personality or running with a dominant style will create an event that is uniquely you!

image Suzanne Hansen

Music adds an amazing dynamic to any wedding and the music you select for your ceremony and reception is essential to creating the mood you want for each phase of your event.

Music can be your best tool for letting your guests know how you want them to feel; be it upbeat, relaxed, joyous or reverent. The right music sets the mood, brings back happy or poignant memories, lifts your guests' spirits and sets the pace for each phase of your event.

There are 4 phases to wedding music:

1. Pre-Ceremony and Ceremony

We recommend at least 15 minutes of socializing before the ceremony, with guests serenaded by relaxing and beautiful music. Guests may have difficulty finding ceremony location and parking, especially if they are from out of town. This preliminary music flows nicely into your processional and ceremony music.

Pre-Ceremony

Relaxing music for your guests to enjoy while they wait. The prelude music is played as guests are seated and for the formal seating of “special guests” and parents. Thirty minutes is ample time for prelude music especially if your event is outdoors. Pre-ceremony music sets the tone for the upcoming event and can be lighthearted, soft, and not too overbearing. A special song may be played for the seating of the mothers.

Processional

The processional music is played for the grand entrance of the wedding party and the Bride - it should be rich, grand and powerful. The tempo should be slow and comfortable. Usually, two musical pieces are played to separate the wedding party and the bride; with the bride getting the more dramatic piece. More than that two songs played for entrances gets complicated; making it difficult to build a feeling for your guests. Time your walk; slowly and more than once, when planning your music for your processional to be sure the timing is perfect.

Ceremony

Meaningful music to enhance your ceremony, serve as a prayer or homage to a loved one or for meditative purposes. Music can be played within the ceremony of marriage to highlight special moments: during lighting a candle, presenting roses or leis to parents, poetry readings, and other traditional rituals. A vocalist singing is very appropriate for this selection as it is more reverent and focused; a part of the ceremony.

Recessional

The Newlyweds proceed back up the aisle to a joyous song. The recessional music is played at the end of the ceremony for the Bride and Groom’s grand exit back up the aisle. This piece is usually upbeat to pronounce the happy nuptials to the world!

2. Cocktail Reception

The second phase of music begins immediately following the ceremony. Once the recessional is played and the ceremony is over. Musicians can relocate for the cocktail reception or pre-dinner reception; a very happy, upbeat time as all of your guests mingle and talk about how beautiful your ceremony was and how great you both looked! Guests can enjoy a 1 hour mini reception with music and refreshments while the Bridal Party finishes their last photographs. Music during the pre-reception should be more upbeat to dictate and match the mood of the guests. Cocktail reception music can be the best opportunity to add a particular element to the day by reflecting a culture or era relevant to the couple's lives or wedding ceremony.

3. Dining

The third phase; dining music, must be more subdued, to allow guests' conversation to be heard above music. It is difficult to truly enjoy a spectacular meal when music is blaring into your ears.

4. Dancing

Later in your celebration (after dining) more dramatic and louder, dance music is welcomed by all.

First Dance

Powerful, memorable and oh so romantic! Especially important is your first dance song; one you and your mate will remember for a lifetime.

All in all; a general rule of thumb with determining musical selections is to match the music to the movement you wish to generate among your guests. If the guests are to be standing [or you want them to be circulating and not sitting] the music should be more dynamic. If the guests are to be seated [or you want to calm down the energy of the event to transition] then the music should become more low-key; softer and slower. Remember to choose music that crosses many boundaries of age, culture and taste. You may love early 60’s nostalgia or 80’s disco but most of your guests, especially family, may have difficulty relating and moving to such niche music. A reception that gets everyone moving is dynamic and meaningful to all of your guests and ends up being far more memorable than hearing the latest pop tune for the 100th time.

Ceremony

Whether lighting a candle, handing roses to your mothers, having a friend read a poem or having a moment to honor someone who has passed, the right song creates a powerful mood and moment. Especially music from your family's culture or heritage.

Traditional

Luciano Pavarotti "Ave Maria"

Semi Traditional

Kenny G "The Wedding Song"

Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion "The Prayer"

Natural

Don Ho "Hawaiian Wedding Song"

First Dance

All eyes are riveted on you and you new partner for life. Hope you took some dance lessons!

Semi Traditional

"Just The Way You Look Tonight" ~ Tony Bennet

"All The Way" ~ Frank Sinatra

"You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You" ~ Dean Martin

"I've Got You Under My Skin" ~ Frank Sinatra

"I Get a Kick Out of You" ~ Frank Sinatra

"Witchcraft" ~ Frank Sinatra

"What a Wonderful World" ~ Louis Armstrong

"Everybody Loves Somebody" ~ Dean Martin

"Dancing Cheek to Cheek" ~ Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald

"L-O-V-E" ~ Nat King Cole

"Our Love Is Here to Stay" ~ Nat King Cole

"(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" ~ Nat King Cole

Contemporary

"From This Moment" ~ Shania Twain

"Could I Have This Dance" ~ Anne Murray

"You're Still The One" ~ Shania Twain

"Someone Like You" ~ Van Morrison

Pre-ceremony

Watches are checked, greetings and smiles are exchanged, guests continue to arrive and the anticipation builds as the hour approaches for the ceremony to begin!

Classical

Handel’s “Water Music”

Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4

Vivaldi “Four Seasons”

J.S. Bach’s: “Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring” from Cantata 147

Semi Traditional

The Carpenter's "We've Only Just Begun"

Henry Mancini "A Time for Us" {Romeo and Juliet’s Love Theme}

Contemporary

The Beatles "In My Life", "Here Comes the Sun"

Pre-reception

The pre-reception cocktail time is designed for light-hearted chatter and is the perfect time for people to meet the other guests and for long distance family members to catch up with each other. This is an all-important time of relaxation, joy, easy laughter and connecting for your guests.

We recommend music free of words for this phase of your event to allow your guests to connect easily without having to compete with lyrics.

Live music is perfect for the pre-reception time as it adds a resonance element that is inherent only in artists playing music live for a crowd.

Reception

Anything goes here as long as you are meeting your guests' needs not just your own. Consider the variety of tastes which will be assembled in one room and how many different people you will need to bring together with music? How many generations? How many different cultures?

You may love Disco but 4 hours of it will not do much to get your Grandparents on the dance floor and involved in your reception. We suggest you mix it up as the evening goes along top please everyone.

Here a few suggestions in various categories to help you get started:

50’s

Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry

60's

The Beatles, Beach Boys, The Platters

70's

Disco! The Bee Gees, Donna Summer et al and any of the new Dance/Techno remixes of the last 10 years

Funk / Soul

Barry White, Marvin Gaye and Kool and the Gang

80's

B 52s, Billy Idol, Depeche Mode and Prince

90's

Cher, Crash Test Dummies, REM

00's / Pop

Nelly Furtado, NSYNC, Sting

'10s

Natalie Bedford

Alternative

Sugar Ray, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Matchbox 20

Classical

Ode to Joy Beethoven, Wedding March by Mozart

Country

Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks, or old school idols Patsy Cline, George Jones, Johnny Cash

Easy Listening

James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond & The Carpenters

Hip Hop

Lauren Hill, Janet Jackson, De La Soul, Macy Gray, Will Smith

Jazz / Swing

Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole

Big Band

Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Brian Setzer Orchestra

Latin / Salsa / Cha Cha

Gipsy Kings, Buena Vista Social Club, Sergio Mendez

Rock

Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, America, Bruce Springsteen

Reggae

Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Fugees, UB40

image Suzanne Hansen

Ahhh Winter in San Diego! Clear skies, sparkling stars on crisp nights, snow capping the distant mountains and holiday cheer abounding.

Since winter is the season for celebrations galore, your wedding will be in perfect sync with all the love, joy and festivities! And with "off-season" weddings, couples can sometimes find a deal to boot! What a great time for a wedding!

Decor

Wintertime, even in San Diego, conjures up yummy thoughts of fireplaces, snowy landscapes, white wonderlands and twinkling candlelight. Adding a Wintery touch to your wedding décor is easy and fun.

Here are some ideas:

Candles, candles everywhere. Use votive or hurricane style to keep flame protected.

Find a location with a fireplace.

Choose winter white [slightly blueish cast] combined with silver or gold, glittery snowflakes and lots of sparkling crystal. Have a custom ice sculpture created for your reception. You would not believe what an ice artist can do nowadays!

Christmas Weddings

As the song says “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” so why not wed at Christmas and make merry with your friends and family? Here are some perfect Christmas wedding ideas:

Add tiny bells to your train to remind that it really is “A Wonderful Life”. [Because “Every time you hear a bell ring an angel gets his wings.”]

Give guests bells to ring at end of ceremony to chime in your new life together.

Wear red instead of white.

Use giant wreaths as table centerpieces.

Decorate tables with red velvets and heavy satins in gold, ivory or white fur.

Send a beautiful ornament as your invitation.

Have a huge Christmas tree on which guests can hang ornaments or pre decorated tags upon which they may add their wishes for your future happiness.

Hire carolers to entertain and a Santa to interact with guests during reception.

Decorate aisle runner with a calligraphied “Dear Santa” wish list of love. Have mini stockings with candy as each favor for guests.

Use mistletoe as boutonnieres for grooms and everywhere around the room for easy kissing!

Warming Winter Menus

We interviewed Mark Vogel of TK&A Custom Catering, long known as one of San Diego premier caterers, for some yummy winter wedding menu ideas. Here’s what Mark had to say. “Winter menus are a time to focus on the traditional, classic, comfort foods:

Rustic, hearty fare warms the tummy on cold nights and keeps guests happy and feeling loved from the inside!” Mark also added, “TK&A is famous for our unique presentation: tiny crepe purses filled with meats and cheeses tied with a green onion bow, winter vegetable soups served in a hollowed out squash, mini petit fours decorated to look like presents; a wedding feast should begin with the eyes.”

Soups instead of salads, Carved beef or turkey, Duck confit, Chateaubriand , Fondues with olive breads and black forest ham, Baby lamb chops, Potato gratin, Cream sauces, Plum pudding and big Cabernet Sauvignons to compliment the meal.

New Year's Eve Weddings

A New Year’s Eve wedding is a fun, fabulous way to enjoy a great night with all the ones you love as you celebrate your wedding. And guests don’t leave early and you have the added bonus of never forgetting your anniversary! Some fun ideas:

Make sure each table has noisemakers, party hats, champagne bottles and confetti ready for midnight.

Have fortune cookies with happy fortunes, a fortune teller or tarot card reader for guests.

Do a balloon drip at midnight- it’s a blast. You can personalize the balloons too.

A fun and useful favor would be a calendar for the New Year with the bride and grooms engagement shot on it.

Have an open mike resolution time for guests to announce their New Year’s resolutions [offers too many witnesses to back out of them!]

Have a casino night brought in for guests to enjoy.

Have a fireworks display at midnight.

image Suzanne Hansen

A wedding celebration is a feast for the senses; a day to have our eyes, ears and heart open to the magnificence of love and spirit.

This special day’s inherent joy and gifts are given more depth and power when designed to fill all of our senses. Working with only how an event will look or sound is to miss out on a profoundly rich, multi-dimensional experience for you and for your guests.

Take a second to do a little experiment. Focus for a moment on your surroundings and on each of your senses one at a time. If you are reading this while sitting at the computer, look around you; what do you see? Colors, shapes, sizes, dimensions. Now focus your awareness on any sounds; the hum of your computer and the sound of silence. Are you listening to music or can you hear people talking around you? Then bring your awareness to any scents or smells around you; perfume, flowers, ink, coffee, smoking, the smell of lunch nearby-what nuances do you notice? Now bring all of your awareness to your body; feel yourself sitting in your chair; your fingertips touching keyboard, paper, wood or plastic, your feet touching the floor. How does your body feel? Is your neck and back a little stiff from sitting at the computer? Are you wearing comfy shoes or are you barefoot? And lastly bring your awareness inside; how do you feel? Are you a little bored at work? Are you on alert, sneaking a little wedding planning in at the office? Nervous about planning a big event? Content that you are having a great day?

Now become aware of all of your senses operating simultaneously. Amazing isn’t it!? All that input happening like a symphony; giving you tons of data about everything happening around you. Now let’s put that to work for your wedding experience.

Your wedding event is a day of filling up the senses of your guests. The visual and gustatory aspects are very conscious levels of awareness; you see bright yellow flowers you acknowledge a happy, sunny feeling. You taste that gorgeous cake, champagne and you are happy; in sugar heaven. But the audio, olfactory, tactile and emotional aspects register far deeper in your brain; triggering emotions and memories that flood in to alter your state of awareness deeply and profoundly. You know how a particular song can bring back memories of good times or challenging times, a particular scent can bring back memories from even when we were infants and goodness knows nostalgia and tradition generate a tide of emotions.

We offer you some guidance on how to develop the sensory levels of your wedding; the visual, the audio, the olfactory the gustatory the tactile and the ever-so-important emotional.

Emotion

You know how a particular song can bring back memories of good times or challenging times, a particular scent can bring back memories from childhood and a familiar story always elicits laughter and fondness for another time? Nostalgia and tradition are part of our kinesthetic sense and generate a tide of emotions and play a very important part at any wedding. Things that touch us deeply and move us generate the most feeling and are the most important touches you can add to your event.

Add the power of this sense to your wedding by placing previous generations' wedding photos at your guest book table or adding a professional photo montage of both your childhoods to the cocktail reception or dinner time. Circulate photo albums from childhood for all to see and chuckle over, have Grandpa tell an amusing story that everyone knows and can groan over one more time, or have Grandma reminisce about what it took to get to the altar with Grandpa!

Scent

Fresh baked cookies, vanilla, the perfume your mother wore when you were young, and the natural perfume of ocean air. Scent is actually considered to be one of the most powerful of our senses. Your olfactory response registers far deeper in your brain than visual or audio elements; triggering emotions and memories that flood in to alter your state of awareness deeply and profoundly.

Add a touch of Aromatherapy to your wedding. A few drops of Essential oils added to a floating flower arrangement can be placed in strategic locations like restrooms and around ceremony location. Flower essences or combinations of oils designed to soothe or stimulate are readily available in health food stores. Or have guests toss dried lavender during your recessional or add flowers that have strong scents to your centerpieces, bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres. Gardenias, Stephanotis, Plumeria, Freesia, and many types of Roses have distinct and dramatic aromas. Be sure to check your wedding location to see if you need to cover up any scents you do not want like car exhaust, nearby dumpsters, restrooms or food smells from other events.

Sight

A wedding is a gorgeous palette of colors, designs and beautiful images playing out before your very eyes. Capturing your day in photography and videography that will touch generations with the beauty and power of your wedding is an all important choice that should not be made lightly.

Using color wisely and various shapes create a visual harmony that allows guests to really see your event's personality. The colors you choose play a larger role than you may even know, offering centuries of symbolism and meaning in the innocent hues and tones. Please see our color gallery for color symbolism and psychological responses to color.

Sound

The right musical sound sets the mood at a wedding, brings back happy or poignant memories, lifts your guests' spirits and sets the pace for each phase of your event. But what about the rest of the sounds of your day? Many venues, especially out of doors locations, can offer you some pleasant additions to the sounds of your day. Can you hear the song of birds, trees moving in the breeze or water splashing in a fountain? What about undesirable noises like cars, the highway, airplanes overhead, very loud birds or strangers at public parks who do not respect your sound boundaries?

Be sure to check your wedding location's acoustics if indoors or if out of doors - to see if you need to cover up any sounds you do not want. Nice cover-ups are music, singing, water fountains or wind chimes. Also check to be sure that guests can hear your Officiant deliver your ceremony, [and your vows!] especially at the beach where the waves and wind can carry away even amplified speech.

Taste

Remember wedding reception food from a few decades ago? Well goodbye mystery chicken!

With weddings now bringing together strangers from across counties or countries, food has been elevated to a very high priority at weddings. Most couples really want to offer their guests something special on which to dine and breaking bread with people has a way of bonding them together.

Palate pleasers abound at a wedding - from your cocktail appetizers to dinner and dessert and of course, wedding cake!

Mixing the right combination of tastes is an art form. Your caterer is the best source for complementary flavors.

Your menu should enhance and take into account your setting, time of year, time of day, whether you want guests active or not and offer an array of foods to allow everyone to eat foods they like and are comfortable with.

Here are some fun ideas for creating a masterful gustatory experience:

Cheese platter with a selection of fine cheeses.

Different wines to taste from with score cards to see which wine is the favorite.

Champagne tastings with various liqueurs added to create cocktails of many colors.

Try passing hors d’ouevres of many styles warm and cold.

Martini glasses filled with seafood gazpacho.

Soup sips for each guest.

Mini wedding cakes for each guest.

Chocolate fountains with strawberries for dipping.

Touch

Nothing pulls you into the present moment like touch; the sense closest to our inner child's heart. Everyone is a 3 year old at heart and the more tactile your event the more fun it is! Add elements that your guests can really get into; finger foods, chocolate fountains for dipping yummy strawberries and pieces of cake, scrumptious specialty linens that feel rich to the touch. Why not have a caricature artist draw portraits of your guests, rent a photo booth for tons of fun and keep in mind that dancing is the number one get- involved aspect of your event, throw a co-ed dance lesson bridal shower or hire dancers to wow your guests and to remind them of how great it feels to get up there and dance too!

image Suzanne Hansen

Where you choose to have your wedding plays an important role in the preparation for your ceremony. Learn about some “sweet spot” settings that San Diego has to offer you.

Beach Weddings

Whether surfers, sailors, explorers or just sunset lovers, the ocean holds a great deal of power for us. If you have chosen to marry on the beach consider these fun ideas.

~Use sea shells to delineate your ceremony space; either in a circle or as a line that you step over when you are wed.

~Have a sand castle sculptor create a masterpiece for your altar.

~Write your names in the sand and a big heart and step inside to wed.

~Throw petals of roses into the waves to let the sea carry your blessing away to the world.

~Exchange leis as island people do to express love and respect and Aloha. Remember a special lei for your parents.

~Serve sherbet in coconut halves to kids.

~Have lemonade for your guests to cool down and relax.

~Have ice cream catered by Cold Stone [yes they do!]

~Do the “sand ceremony” combing grains of sand to symbolize the joining of your two lives.

~Go barefoot and wear a wreath of flowers and tiny seashells in your hair.

~Keep in mind that sound is an issue at the ocean and why fight it?

~Have large seashells at each place setting so guests can take home the sound of the ocean. Print a card saying every time they listen they can remember your wedding.

~Let children run wild! Have a sandcastle building contest for all kids under 12 and offer fun prizes.

~Dig a bar into the sand and serve foo foo drinks with tiny umbrellas as guests arrive.

~Give each guest a rice paper parasol to protect them from the sun. Get one for yourself with seashells dangling from the rim.

~Have a pilot skywriter write your name across the sky as you wed.

~Give flip flops to each guest as they arrive [get their size in advance and have plenty of extras on hand-size large so they can fit anyone]

~Have a rinse bucket available for guests to clean their feet as they leave the sand.

~Poetry in your ceremony? Natural of course, the ocean is a powerful metaphor for the depth of romantic love!

Bride and Groom’s love is like the sea that surrounds all lands.

Those that love the sea, can understand life as the tide ebbs and flows,

as the sun rises and sets, as the stars come out nightly to the sky..

for the peace, beauty and serenity.. .

there is always something for which to be thankful.

Tell me,

Was Venus more beautiful

Than you are,

When she topped

The crinkled waves,

Drifting shoreward

On her plaited shell?

Was Botticelli's vision

Fairer than mine;

And were painted rosebuds

He tossed his lady,

Of better worth

Than the words I blow about you

To cover your too great loveliness

As with a gauze

Of misted silver?

For me,

You stand poised

In the blue and buoyant air,

Cinctured by bright winds, ???

Treading the sunlight

And the waves which precede you

Ripple and stir

The sands at my feet.

Garden Weddings

A garden wedding has such a romantic feeling, infused as it is with the gentle energy of flowers, trees and songbirds. A garden is an idyllic setting for anyone who wants a more gentle, and often more feminine setting.

A garden wedding can gently unfold; like a flower opening in the sun to bask in the glow of love. Flowers and herbs are the key detail for a garden wedding. Try adding these details;

~Give a flower to each of your parents during the ceremony.

~Have each guest greeted with a flower.

~Have your guests tie their own flower to a blank archway to cover you with their blessings and love.

~Have your flower girl circle you with rose petals right before your vows.

~Have flower petals for guests to toss.

~A program with a real flower attached to it.

~Tiny vellum envelopes of seeds at place settings for guests to plant and remember your day.

~Instead of a few petals create a carpet of rose petals for your aisle or have your florist create a masterpiece of a runner out of overlapping leaves.

~Have a tree in a pot at the entrance for guests to tie a bow, or a card with a blessing written on it to you, onto the branches. Plant the tree in your yard.

~With an organza ribbon; tie galvanized metal buckets or clay flower pots overflowing with flowers and herbs to the end chair on along the aisle.

~Use colors that work with the flowers that will be in bloom during your wedding so that you blend with your surroundings and are enhanced by them.

~Release butterflies to the skies to end your ceremony.

~Embellish your ceremony with poetry filled with florally words from Shelly, Browning or Gibran. Make your vows a bouquet of words, poetry and feelings that celebrate love.

Quotes;

The temple bell stops but the sound keeps coming out of the flowers. ~Old Chinese saying

Though the world be thorns, a lover’s heart is a bower of roses. ~line from a Persian poem

Loving relationships bloom over time. ~line from a Hawaiian poem

Vineyard Weddings

If you have chosen a Vineyard for your celebration you have a rich reserve of ideas and creative touches just waiting to be unearthed. Wine has long symbolized generations, growth, harvest and celebration. Celebrate the power of the vines, generations of love coming to this very moment in time and the power of family, past and future. And of course the abundance of life! Going beyond the obvious detail; grapes, you could;

~Use textured specialty linens in a color pulled from the surroundings. The rich red of a merlot, the pale yellow green of a chardonnay, the pale blue of the sky or the rich browns of the earth. To lighten stronger colors add an overlay of white, a lighter shade of the same or a complimentary color.

~Have your florist incorporate grape vines and teeny tiny, oh-so-elegant champagne grapes into your centerpieces. Use topiaries to line your aisle or tin buckets with luscious flowers spilling out tied to each aisle chair. Rough stone urns and bowls filled with floating flower heads and scented water are intoxicating.

~Increase the butterfly population naturally right before your event by releasing organically grown butterflies who live and flourish. [check that they won’t eat up the grapes first!]

~Use a grape vine archway for your ceremony, decorated with herbs and wildflowers. if possible set up a grape stomp for the end of the reception for the very brave.

~Use old wine labels as table markers [who wouldn‘t want to be seated at the Mouton-Rothschild table?!] You can scan in different wine labels and print them out on card stock.

~Have your Baker use real fruit; the tiny grapes, persimmons and other earthier fruits and elements to decorate your cake.

~Offer personalized wine bottles to give as favors to your guests, commemorating your big day.

~You could really extend the Vineyard feeling to every element of your day by having your caterer serve goat cheese wrapped in grape leaves, chicken in wine, breads dipped in real olive oil and a dessert wine with cake.

~Offer each guest a glass of wine as they arrive with a tag tied to them stem welcoming them to your wedding.

~Make your own wine tags out of earring hoops and beads that spell your initials.

~Have an appetizer table of cheese from all over the world.

~Have a blind [covered bottles not guests’ eyes!] wine tasting with a prize for winner.

~Share from a goblet of wine during your ceremony.

~Have servers pass out a glass to each guest during a musical interlude in ceremony and have your guests stand to give the final blessing to marriage with a toast to your future.

~Romantic guitar music completes the Old World richness of a vineyard celebration. Rich deep and vibrant colors enhance the earthiness of the setting.

~Have a large framed version of your family trees on display at reception with photos of past generations’ weddings.

Parks

San Diego is home to a variety of spectacular parks; from casual grassy lawns to cliffside ocean view bonanzas. The various departments that govern local parks; State, City, County, can seem a bit intimidating at first but the parks department officials are so friendly that getting it together works out just fine. We highly recommend a professional coordinator for park weddings in particular. There are so many details that you must supply yourself, sometimes regulations and rules you may not even consider and you cannot be there to get it all together on your big day!

Shade umbrellas, parasols or canopies [if allowed] offer protection for guests from the sun and a table set with iced tea or lemonade gives your guests a refreshing respite before the ceremony commences.

And consider the option of offering valet parking for your guests at a park event. It is less costly than you might think and makes all the difference in the world for your guests to arrive without having to walk a mile in 80' heat to get to your ceremony.

For specific information on parks and permits see:

San Diego City Parks permits click here.

San Diego County Parks permits click here.

California State Parks in San Diego County permits click here.

image Suzanne Hansen

A supreme balance of the elements in your wedding will create a harmonious and special occasion for you and for your guests.

The elements affect all life. Your wedding definitely takes on a life of its own and needs to have the same balance of earth, water, air and fire that all life needs. Does your wedding have all of them represented?

Earth:

Physical, location, food and sweets, solid elements of a wedding.

Water:

Emotions, flow of event and feelings, ceremony, the circular dynamic, your relationship.

Air:

Your thoughts and purpose, ideas, the reason you are getting married, the concept or theme of your wedding.

Fire:

The passion, the chemistry, charge or electricity, the hot-hearted power of your love.

A lot of older styled ceremonies and weddings have very solid earth part and an abundance of air [especially from long winded Officiants!] but lack in water and fire. For instance, does your ceremony have enough emotion in it? What words are you going to use to convey your passion and your feelings about your life together? How can your guests contribute to the chemistry of your day? Let the water element nurture your guests! Get your guests laughing, crying and feeling. Bring on some fire! You can do it by making sure that the energy of the day gives off your passion for life and for each other. Guests come to be with you on one of the most charged days of your life, not just witness.

Involving your guests emotionally builds the energy of your day. Instead of just having them watch you, create a way for them to participate. Have them speak during your ceremony, offer their hopes and dreams for your future, or join with you in vows to honor your relationship. Have different types of music, before, during and after your ceremony. The right music can create and direct your guests' mood [water and fire] effectively.

Try writing some of your own vows to use words as a way to tie together the theme of your day with the ceremony. Your spoken ceremony should set your day on fire with the mood of your whole wedding experience. Your wedding designer should be able to help you plan to bring all the elements of your new life together in a beautiful, harmonious ceremony in tune with your own feelings and the natural beauty of this wonderful area we live in.