Wedding Sites

Ok I'm getting excited - yay!

Damon and I are kicking our wedding planning into gear. Everybody says it's early to be planning for a Spring 2012 wedding, but as I've unfortunately discovered, some places are already booked on the date that I wanted (May 12, 2012 - lots of twelves, plus even numbers are way better than odd, and the only other even numbered Saturday in May is during Memorial Day weekend - not going to happen).

We started making appointments and checking out places two weekends ago. As it turns out, things start getting exciting when you can actually go see places, rather than just reading about them online. The experience is totally different. Anyway, here are the places we have seen so far (in order of viewing):

Rincon Beach Club - I have no doubt that we would have an amazing wedding here. The staff seems really professional, and they even offer complimentary wedding reception coordination. You can have your ceremony in the garden or on the beach. It's never been my dream to have my wedding on the beach though - too much sand after spending hours on your appearance. But the garden could be nice. The reception can be indoors or outdoors. If you do it outdoors, they string lights/lanterns around. Dancing and lounge chairs are still available indoors. The Rincon Beach Club is in Carpinteria - just south of Santa Barbara. Parking could be a problem with the beach right there though, not to mention traffic would be bad. They offer a Friday Winter discount, so we might have to do that. Rincon is still in the running for a possible location.

Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort - I really wanted to have my ceremony here and then have the reception at the Cabrillo Arts Center (see next paragraph). They have a beautiful outdoor plaza that is framed by the hotel's archways with the Pacific Ocean in the background. However (sad face), I found out the hard way that you are required to have your reception there too. Bummer. So that is out, as the reception would cost waaaay too much here.

Cabrillo Arts Center - A perfect place for a reception. I would still need to figure out a ceremony site (see next few paragraphs). Located in downtown SB, the Cabrillo Arts Center is located literally as close to the beach as possible without actually being in the sand. There are large windows that overlook the beach. Plus, there are two outdoor patios that would be perfect for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. However, unlike any of the other places that I've looked at, I would need to rent pretty much everything (linens, glassware, china, etc.). I would need to find my own caterer too, which I'm starting to look into. But the upside is that I could go to Costco or wherever and provide my own alcohol. And boy, I could have quite a nice selection. So this place is definitely being considered.

Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club - I guess I was expecting more from this place. It's got a nice lawn with a beautiful backdrop of the Santa Ynez Mountains. It's also in Carpinteria. The site fee is quite reasonable ($3K), but we would likely have to rent a tent for the reception outdoors. Seems like you'd have to be a polo fan to appreciate this place. It's out of the running. On the upside, we did score 12 tickets to see polo events. Let me know if you're interested in going to one of their events (as 12 tickets is quite a lot). They start up in May again (through September, I think).

Shoreline Park - This is a possible ceremony location if I went with the Cabrillo Arts Center for the reception. The park overlooks the ocean and has a breathtaking view of the Santa Ynez Mountains and downtown SB. However, we would be lacking privacy, as this is a public park, and there are plenty of people milling about.

Santa Barbara City College - This is also a possible ceremony site to complement the reception at the Cabrillo Arts Center. See everything I wrote about Shoreline Park, but add in the fact that it's quite a bit more private than the Park, especially on a Saturday. When we visited this site last weekend, I got all excited. I could really see myself getting married here. It is soo beautiful. Plus, you could totally hear the waves when you are pronounced husband and wife. There is a small fountain and a stone area where we could get married. The out-of-town wedding guests would really get the Santa Barbara Experience with this and the Arts Center. Both locations are close to each other, so the guests could leisurely drive down the palm tree-lined boulevard from the ceremony to the reception. It could totally work.

Santa Barbara Zoo - The Santa Barbara Zoo is the most beautiful zoo I have ever seen (not that I've seen a lot, ok maybe two including this one, but still). It's got a spectacular view of the mountains, and you can even see the ocean from a distance. They offer really cool things like leaving the animals out late and letting your guests ride around in the zoo train. It would no doubt be an unforgettable experience for everyone. The downside... it costs a lot. Too much, really. Plus, it would all be outdoors, and I'm always cold anyway! I would have to rent a bunch of heat lamps. Oh well. So this is out. We did get to walk around the zoo after we met up with the wedding coordinators, so as we've started noticing, planning weddings certainly has its perks.

Glen Annie Golf Course - My mom's goddaughter got married at a golf course a year or two ago, and it was really nice. The Glen Annie Golf Course is located in the hills in Goleta. There are peaks of the ocean throughout the course. However, the reception would have to be outside. Again, I'm worried about the cold. But all the heat lamps and everything is actually included. There would some amazing photo opps too. Nice bridges and lakes located throughout the course. This is a definite possibility.

Other places that I will look at this coming week include Sandpiper Golf Course (probably too expensive, as it's over $100 just to golf there), the Santa Barbara Mission (as a ceremony site), and the Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens (also a ceremony site).

So the question remains - do I want to have everything done for me and go to Rincon or Glen Annie, or do I want to customize things myself and rent everything through the Cabrillo Arts Center? Most of the places I've seen are roughly around the same price. So it comes down to what I (and Damon too) want. We will see... Maybe my next blog will have the answer :)