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

Of course, many brides also dream about a garden wedding. This garden at the Universal Hilton has a cool dome that the decorator rimmed with flowers. The decorator also covered all the pillars, including the ones placed alongside the aisle, with flowy chiffon. Pink and white flower arrangements sit on top each aisle pillar and the couple’s initials — A and M — are laid out artfully with red, pink and white rose petals in the middle of the aisle.

Photo by Hoang

The flowers used for this wedding ceremony at the Long Beach Hyatt were all purple phalenopsis orchids. Setting aside how expensive that probably was, they sure do make a big visual impact. The florist used the flower both in the arrangements framing the head of the aisle and in the aisle arrangements. And they had a nice backdrop there — water!

Photo by Hoang

The aisle in this wedding at the Palos Verdes Country Club was draped with organza and gathered with red roses, white orchids and lemon leaf. There was no aisle runner, but the edges of the aisle were scattered with pink and red rose petals. The half trellis at the head of the aisle were decorated with branches, white phalenopsis orchids and red roses. Love the branches look!