California Wedding Tips
Introduction.
Whether you already live in the state, live elsewhere in America or even the world; there are plenty of scenic and romantic places to hold a wedding in California; so here are some California wedding tips for anyone currently planning a wedding. One of the quirkier things about having a wedding in California is that any Californian resident can be the Marriage Official overseeing it. This means that if you have a friend or family member living in the state - they could conduct the official/legal part of the marriage ceremony.
Getting ready for the wedding.
Having decided to get married and have a full wedding ceremony the first thing to do is prepare and send out the invitations. Depending on your budget you can get these designed and printed professionally, you could use one of the many online specialist printing companies or, if you’ve got a reasonably good quality printer, you could run them off yourself from your computer. Having them designed and printed professionally invariably looks the best, although it can seem a very expensive way to let people know you’re getting married. Depending on your graphic design skills and the quality of your printer you may well be able to do them yourself. However, an advantage of using an online printing service is that whilst you will have full control and responsibility for the design of the invitations, the online printing company will have access to top quality commercial printers and professional standard paper and card to print onto. Don’t forget to include your wedding gift list in the invites, or the web address for the company organizing it for you. Whichever printing option you choose - don’t forget to also get the Order of Service sheets printed.
Hire a photographer.
Most of us know someone, be it a relative or friend, who thinks they’re as good as the professionals at photography. I dare say some may be, but generally it’s not true; and not worth the risk in finding out! I’d recommend hiring a professional wedding photographer that is local to the venue you’re going to get married in. When looking for your photographer, ask the venue if they can recommend anyone, and anyone you do consider check that they’ve worked at your venue before. This is important as a photographer who has experience of working in that venue should already know the likely lighting conditions and where the best shots can be taken etc.
The wedding outfits.
The bride to be will almost certainly want to buy a new bridal dress. However, for the groom hiring wedding outfits is becoming more and more popular; as the trend moves away from wearing lounge suits towards Morning Tail and ¾ length suits.
The wedding breakfast.
No matter what the time of day or night that the wedding is - a meal afterwards for all the guests should be offered. Depending on the venue you choose you could be restricted in your choice of caterers and entertainment, or you could have a completely free hand with it. Whilst you can probably keep the costs down by arranging everything yourself - by letting the venue do everything for you then at least on the ‘big day’ itself you can sit back and relax, letting others worry if everything is ready and running to schedule.
The venue for the wedding.
As mentioned above California has some fantastic venues for weddings. If you want virtually guaranteed sunshine for your wedding, regardless of the time of year, then Palm Springs has to be the place to head for. There are plenty of outdoor venues to choose from including wedding venues in California State parks, or choosing a beach location. California offers two of the best known beaches in the world in Malibu and Laguna beaches - both of which make spectacular wedding ceremony venues, especially at dusk. Alternatively if you want to invoke a more European mood for your wedding day, why not hire out one of the winery venues and hold you’re wedding ceremony amongst the vines as they do in Spain, Italy and France. For these wedding venues anywhere along the Sonoma or Napa Valleys could be perfect. Finally, wherever the venue for your wedding is - please don’t forget the wedding rings!