Wedding ceremony decorations

When you say “I do,” what are you hoping your surroundings look like?

Photo by Hoang

A lot of brides-to-be hope for a beach wedding, which can mean so many things here in Southern California. You could aim for an actual on-the-sand ceremony, or you could do something like this — have your wedding within the comfortable confines of a beachfront hotel like the Huntington Beach Hyatt. You won’t accidentally get some uncomfortably large man sunbathing in an uncomfortably small swimsuit (or, heaven forbid, in nothing at all!) in your wedding pictures, but you still get the sunshine and refreshing salty air of a beach wedding.

Above, the decorator used a classic arch and just covered it with flowers. For draping the seats along the aisle, the decorator used tulle and gathered it underneath pretty purple and white arrangements. Of course, one caveat to beach weddings would be the wind.

Photo by Hoang

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Tons of flowers, even kale, at the Huntington Beach Hyatt

This post starts with photos of the church. I’ve decorated this church dozens of times (I actually grow up in this church).

There was no draping; instead, my brother and his design partner custom made these stands of branches and put sprigs of hydrangeas on top and on the bottom. One arrangement was placed at the opening of each row along the aisle.

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Garden wedding decorations

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Even as the weather cools, there’s nothing more romantic looking than a garden wedding. There’s really no one way to decorate a garden for a wedding — you can go as elaborate as this one, at the Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, with flower arrangements and rose petals lining the aisle, plus hanging bowls of flowers along the sides. Most of the attention was paid to the aisle decorations, and the square-shaped arch is pretty simple.

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Simple seaside wedding in Laguna Niguel

Why are beach weddings so popular? Because the beach and the ocean are inherently beautiful, and you want to have your most beautiful moment — your wedding — in a beautiful place. So you don’t need much to dress it up.

My undercover wedding attender snapped these photos for me of a ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel back in July. It was an overcast day, but trust me — it was a blessing in disguise, since you don’t want to be broiling under the sun as many attendees find themselves at outdoor ceremonies.

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Persian-Japanese wedding at Pelican Hill Resort

My brother the budding florist has been helping out other florists and recently assisted at this amazing Persian-Japanese wedding at the Pelican Hill Resort in south Orange County.

An advance warning: this wedding has some shockingly beautiful flowers. And when my brother showed me these pictures, I immediately pegged it as a Persian wedding — I’d helped my mom decorate one a really long time ago. A Persian wedding ceremony requires some explanation.

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