Many happy wishes to Groom S. & Bride L.
What happens when an Irish guy and a Chinese gal meet at work in America and fall in love? Why, they have a wedding in California, of course! Specifically, under the redwoods at a beautiful and rustic wedding venue named Stones & Flowers, in Ben Lomond, Santa Cruz County. This was my first time at this charming site, which is located within the Sequoia Retreat Center, up some narrow, windy roads of Ben Lomond. I was contacted only a week before the couple's Big Day, so I had to get as much information as I could from the busy pair to personalize their ceremony (with no time to spare). It was a fairly intimate wedding, but Groom S.'s family all came from Ireland to celebrate with him. The Irish family members were all so happy and gracious, and they marveled at the towering redwoods around us. The bride's parents also made a long trip to be at their daughter's side on her wedding day. I ended the ceremony with the traditional Irish toast of "Sláainte" (pronounced slan-cha) & got a rousing reply in kind by the family.
Many happy wishes to Groom S. & Bride L.
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Rev. Des & Weddings with Aloha, once more headed to Monterey County for the wedding of Bride S. & Groom R. This good-looking couple had already been together for 8 years and started a family (2 boys & baby girl) when they held their casual beach ceremony & reception at Beach Marker 9, along the stunning 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach. I greeted the guests in Spanish (for Bride) and Samoan (for Groom) for their Light Aloha ceremony--which especially delighted the friendly Mother of the Groom. Despite all the years the couple have been together, they still got a little misty-eyed during their vows, so sweet. The wedding party and some of the guests were barefoot, keeping with the location, and the weather was great. During photos, the bride ended up getting her dress train wet from the surf, but everyone was lighthearted and relaxed I was glad to have been their officiant (I actually was a "pinch hitter" replacement for previous officiant) and as the MOG said, "You were meant to be their minister." Much Aloha to the couple! Asilomar Conference Grounds and Beach was the destination wedding location of couple A. & A. The seaside rustic grounds and sandy beach set a beautiful backdrop for family to sit by the seashore for the ceremony.
This longtime couple each wrote their own personal vows, which were heartfelt and loving. The couple's own children were the Ring Bearer & Flower Girl. To symbolically join their lives together, Bride A. & Groom A. added in a unity sand ceremony (befitting the venue). To further carry out the seaside, seashell theme, the bride's bouquet included seashells and other sea-themed trinkets. Groom A's boutonniere was fashioned with a starfish. Crafty & cool. I liked how the bride hit her poses and worked the camera on the beach-sassy! I closed the ceremony with a Blessing in Hawaiian and sent them off with Aloha. Weddings with Aloha made the trek to Brookdale, in the San Lorenzo Valley for a family wedding, at the home of the couple. We incorporated a Japanese tradition of honoring the couple's parents, and they were presented with flowers. The couple also included the groom's son and made vows to him; the father and new stepmother pledged to love and guide him. Earlier in the week, I went there for another ceremony which included a unity sand ceremony which represents the blending of all the parties into a new family. Careful consideration was made to include the boy and to let him know he is still an important member of the family, despite his father remarrying. A Divine Aloha, top of the line, custom ceremony was what they required to set the tone for their special day. A sunny and hot summer day and a blue water backdrop was the scene of the wedding of Bride N. and Groom R. (The sand on Cowell's Beach was so hot that my feet needed to dip into the ocean before the ceremony began.) This cerebral couple met at UC Merced graduate school and made Santa Cruz their destination wedding location. Chairs and an arch were set up on the sand (through the Dream Inn) for this small gathering of family.
Sweet Bride N. made her way down the damp sand, through the beach-goers, over to the ceremony spot (she's smart not to walk across the blazing hot beach like I did) where Groom R. and yours truly waited. My mini, portable P.A. system added just enough volume to my words so as to be able to be heard by the guests over the crashing waves. I ended up dropping the groom's ring in the sand, but we had a quick treasure hunt and located it quickly. The couple were so easy-going that they didn't get flustered, they had the Santa Cruz vibe. Natural Bridges Beach on a summer day was the site for the wedding of Bride H. & Groom T. The bride got her wish to marry as close to the ocean as possible and the waves crashing was the soundtrack for the wedding. All the wedding party was barefoot but still dressed up in the colors of purple and green (hence my scarf choice). Their guests formed the "aisle" by lining up in two halves and carrying purple bows to indicate where we walked to the "altar" ( a large rock set in the sand). The bride was escorted down the sand dune by her father. The couple's little daughter was a little cutie in her lavender dress. I used a portable mini-P.A. to slightly amplify my words so that the guests would be able to hear the ceremony over the waves, as I officiated with the ceremony choices the couple selected. As always, I spoke about the couple's history in the address to add in a personal touch - no two weddings are alike. The guy who introduced them eight years ago was a member of the groomsmen so I gave him a "shout out." The guests and couple looked very happy on this special occasion and I wish H. & T. all my Aloha. Today we had an non-traditional, offbeat wedding for Bride B. & Groom M. at the Felton Guild. The fog even burned off in time for a lovely day under the redwoods.
The indie rock group Weezer laid the groundwork for my bridal couple, as they "met" via an online Weezer fan forum. They became long distance friends, eventually met face to face, became a couple, and the bride moved from California to Illinois to be with the groom. I thought it was fitting to mention their Weezer connection in the address and also included some lyrics of a Weezer song as the closing. The vibe of the wedding was alternative & casual: from the dress the bride wore (short with a purple crinoline & Converse) to the Lego bride and groom cake topper and invitations, to including their dog as ring bearer. The groom is Catholic and the bride is agnostic, which is why hiring a non-denominational officiant can be helpful, as I can include aspects of both people's beliefs. The groom selected an excerpt from the Bible, Corinthians 1:13, for inspiration, which I read in the ceremony. There were some small technical glitches, but I worked it out-phew. All went well (although I thought their pug dog Chester was choking a bit on stage, but I think he was excited). I was happy to overhear the guests comments that they thought it was a real nice ceremony. Congrats to the happy couple! On a sunny summer day, the Felton Guild outdoor wedding venue and its tall cathedral of redwood trees provided the backdrop for the wedding of Bride E. & Groom T. They opted for the Divine Aloha services packages which includes additional sub-ceremonies, a reading, and extra customization. I even made some last minute edits after we had the rehearsal, as the bride realized that she wanted to have to less to repeat in the vows section. Trees were inspiration of the day as my couple wanted to have a Unity Tree ceremony. The symbolic use of the tree represented the roots of their family, the foundation of their marriage as strong, and the growth in their future. They had an apple tree that they watered together and I read some prose about trees. The theme was carried out in their wedding colors-greens and browns (and of course, my outfit coordinated) and the touches of nature throughout. It was a beautiful day. Weddings with Aloha's Rev. Des officiated on a sunny Monday afternoon as a nice alternative to the courthouse wedding that my bride C. and Groom G. were scheduled to have. With only a day or so's notice, this couple had a "Wiki-wiki" wedding at Harvey West Park in Santa Cruz. There was not a cloud in the sky and we were outside in nature (which surely beats out the government building vibe this young couple would have had if they hadn't been referred to our services). Even with this most casual of weddings, the bride was at least 30 minutes late. A Bride is a Bride! Couple C. and G. had been together several years and had decided that this was the time to take the plunge. I hinted at the fact that the Bride's father was from France and the Bride's name was French by greeting and closing in French as well. The mother of the groom and a few close friends were their witnesses to the happy occasion. Felicitacions! The guests for the wedding renewal of A. & C. were greeted in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, & my native Hawaiian on a beautiful day in Santa Cruz. The venue was Cowell's Beach, below the Dream Inn. The bride was Hispanic/Catholic from the Central Valley of California and the groom was from French-speaking Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) of West Africa and was Muslim; however the couple met and married in Seoul, Korea. That made an interesting challenge to honor and meld all of their cultural traditions and craft a ceremony renewal that was totally customized for them. I touched on items about love and marriage from passages found in the Bible and Qur'an (which required research). The couple were actually married in 2008, but as none of their family or friends were there at that time, they were treating this ceremony as if it was their "real" wedding. I was told at the start of the ceremony (when the bride walked up) that the groom's brother was going to say an Islamic prayer somewhere in the middle and so I incorporated that on the spot. You have to be able to think on your feet when presiding a wedding. The groom seemed surprised and pleased when I quoted 2 lines from the Qur'an in French! To honor the bride's culture, they included the Lazo (lasso) ceremony in which a double cord was placed over their shoulders to signify that they are joined. There was no rehearsal (not recommended, by the way) so I had to give the padrino & madrina their instructions just minutes before the start. The couple reaffirmed their marriage and walked back down the aisle in the sand to the live music of a mariachi band - so festive! Felicidades & Felicitation to C. & A.!! |
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