Rustic Garden Party Style & Design

We chose to have our wedding at Green Gables Wedding Estate in San Marcos, CA. The schoolhouse that was built in the 1800's still stands there today surrounded by lush green gardens, and it is now being used as the Bridal Suite. All of the blooming flowers in April were perfect for the garden wedding!

As guests arrived, they stopped by our sign-in table to take a program, drop off gifts and cards, write marriage advice for us, and stamp their fingerprint on our fingerprint tree. The table also included photos from our engagement shoot, small florals, and a handmade burlap banner with the wedding date. 

The cocktail hour followed the ceremony and guests enjoyed drinks and hors d'oeuvres in this cute courtyard between the ceremony gazebo and the reception tent. 

In keeping with the schoolhouse/garden theme, the centerpieces were lanterns atop a stack of hardcover books surrounded by candles and florals. The table numbers were one-of-a-kind wooden doorknobs. Burlap and lace runners ran along farm tables for that sweet, rustic charm. The Green Gables tent had beautiful chandeliers that provided a cheerful glow to the evening. I also loved the mismatched china on the gold chargers to add a bit of old school flair.

Green Gables Wedding Estate was perfect for the sweet garden party that seemed straight out of a fairytale story. 

Contact me if you'd like me to coordinate your wedding at Green Gables! 

Venue: Green Gables Wedding Estate
Photography & Videography: XOXO Wedding Studio
Florist: Lovely Stems Floral
Fingerprint Tree: Algo Art Studio
Photobooth: Mobile Photo Booth

A Peek at the Bahia Resort Hotel

I had the opportunity to tour the beautiful Bahia Resort Hotel this week and I fell in love with everything they have to offer to host weddings. The Bahia Resort Hotel has so many different options for couples to choose from.

For your ceremony, you can decide whether you would like to be surrounded by a quaint pond and lush, green gardens by the gazebo or whether you'd like to sink your toes into the sand with the blue bay waters as your backdrop.

The Bahia Resort Hotel boasts one of the few private beaches where you can hold your ceremony. On the day that I went to visit, they were setting up for their weekly Thursday night beach party. The Bahia Resort Hotel would be perfect if you wanted a beachside wedding and it even accommodates up to 550 guests! You can also host your cocktail hour on the beach as another option. 

The picture above is of one of their large ballrooms where you can host your wedding reception. It is a grand ballroom that can fit plenty of tables and still allows plenty of room for dancing! Take a look at those sparkly chandeliers! They have large windows that look out onto the bay, whether you see it during the day or have a night view, it will be gorgeous and guests will definitely and enjoy the view.

My picture above shows you that incredible view in the daytime, although it doesn't quite do it justice. At night, the lights in the distance are so charming and you can even get a great view of Seaworld's fireworks nearby, an added bonus! The Bahia Resort has different sized ballrooms that caters to the size of your party, everyone can find something that works for them here. 

Not only do they have beautiful ballrooms, you could even have your wedding on a sternwheeler! The Bahia Resort Hotel has two sternwheelers: the William D. Evans and the Bahia Belle, both are unique options for your wedding. Imagine having the entire sternwheeler for yourself and your guests as your celebrate your big day! Here's a bit of the charming stained glass art that makes up the ceiling of one of the sternwheelers. 

The event space has endless possibilities and when it is all decorated, it'll be the perfect setting for a wedding! I can not wait to coordinate weddings here! If you're interested in having your upcoming wedding here, send me a message and let's start planning!

Featured Florist: Lovely Stems Floral

I've had the pleasure to work with Nancy of Lovely Stems Floral. She created beautiful floral arrangements for my April garden-themed wedding at Green Gables. Nancy has been in the flower industry ever since she was little and has many years of experience and expertise. She thinks of every detail and customizes each floral arrangement to meet your needs.

For this garden-themed wedding, I wanted the colors to be bright and vibrant. I love the pop of pink and peach that signals that spring is here. I definitely had to have ranunculus because it's one of my favorite flowers and they are grown right here in Carlsbad, San Diego! We added roses and stock in the same color palette. The sprays that she arranged for the gazebo were really cheerful and pretty! They doubled as arrangements on our sweetheart table later at the reception.

My vision for the reception was to have a variety of glass vases, mason jars, daisy vases, milk bottles, and wine bottles filled with bright sprigs of flowers. Here are some more of those beautiful ranunculus. She put garden roses, ranunculus and seasonal roses together to make my bouquet. She really goes above and beyond, check out the cute labels for the bouquets and boutonnières! I highly recommend her for all your floral needs! 

Venue: Green Gables Wedding Estate
Florist: Lovely Stems Floral
Photography: XOXO Wedding Studio
Make-Up: Daisy M Hays