Infusion of Cultures

As the wedding season slows down for some of us, photographers are busy bees. They are still working hard; editing and getting clients, families and vendors wedding albums and photos of their memorable day.

I revel in this time of year. I enjoy seeing our efforts in fruition thru pictures. It allows me to reminisce about the clients, the planning and the wedding itself. Images capture details that I may have filed elsewhere in my brain during orchestration. To me it’s like putting on a winter coat for the first time in the season and finding a fun surprise in your pocket from the last time you wore it months ago – a lottery or movie ticket, wrapper from a certain gum, lip gloss etc.

Here is one wedding from last summer at The Santa Barbara Club. What a great venue that is! Nestled within a historic building downtown Santa Barbara, this venue is a local hidden treasure....
Having traveled the world growing up, one of my favourite types of weddings is when there is an infusion of cultures. Can you guess what the two cultures are by looking at this slide show?





Did you guess correctly?
Beach and Asian

The bride was raised in Rhode Island, and the groom grew up in California - ending up at UCSB for college.

The happy couple moved to Tokyo after falling in love, and have been living there for a couple of years. It was important to them that they share with their guests and family some of their 'asian favorites'.

The personalization began at the ceremony - not only with the wedding umbrellas as altars and personal items lining the aisle (Thank you Nico Designs for such a creative eye, dedication and gorgeous job. You created just what the client had imagined).

During the ceremony, performed by the ever so eloquent Rich Tobin, the bride and groom participated in a sand ceremony of East Coast (Providence) and West Coast (Santa Barbara) sand as a gesture of the blending of the two families.

The dinner and dancing areas at the Club were transformed and more feminine thru the use of soft lighting and draping from Bella Vista Design.

Guest favors were Asian plates, chopsticks and candy placed at each place setting mimicking the feng shui touches carried out throughout the evening.

The food at the Club was delicious - a four course dinner prepared by the gourmet-talented Chef Norbert. Alejandra and the Santa Barbara Club team executed flawless service.

The couple wanted soft music for ceremony, cocktail hour and dinner, performed by the talented Aurora Ensemble. Upon the completion of dinner everyone was ready to dance, and dance they did, with help from Michael and his band Area 51.

It was indeed a magical evening. Everything the bride, groom, family and guests had hoped for. A big thank you also to Michael and Anna Costa who once again did an above board job encapsulating this happy occasion which brought everyone – friends, family and vendors alike - together in the first place.

Mille Grazie to all involved on this wonderful event. What a great team!

Ruth's Chris Reception

Last night I was graciously invited to Ruth's Chris Steak House - at the La Cumbre Mall - in Santa Barbara to see their event space.  Although I became carnivore a few years ago, I admit I had yet to step foot in those doors,.  I was excited to experience something new.

Here is my event venue review:

Food - EXCELLENT!  What did you expect?  Crunchy Bruschetta, Fresh Crab Cakes, Mouth Melting Lamb Chops and a perfectly cook sliced filet were all butler passed.  Dessert, the banana tart and cheesecake tart..TO DIE FOR!!

Staff - nice, knowledgeable about food, the venue etc. Maya, the sales manager is accommodating and fantastic!

Venue - it's beautiful... looks rich with the dark browns and reds.  

They are not open for lunch, so they do rent it out for private events and have a couple event spaces for a rehearsal dinner, bachelor party, baby shower or even a dinner meeting.