Colorful Santa Barbara Wedding

Today’s wedding from Kaysha Weiner Photographer and Lydia Ross Events is everything we could hope to see: big smiles, happy colors, and gorgeous design ideas for all you brides out there. Maribeth and Scott wanted their wedding to be fun above all else, and looking at these images, I’d say that’s what they got!

From the event designer, Lydia of Lydia Ross Events: Maribeth and Scott wanted a wedding that was “fun,” or in the words of Maribeth, “like a 5 year-old’s birthday party, but not,” and that paid homage to the natural beauty of Santa Barbara. The “wedding colors” were a rainbow of bright and cheerful colors that could be found in the local gardens in April – coral peonies and garden roses, lilac, and orange California poppies and yellow tulips.

Our toughest design challenge was working with the distinct décor of the venue. La Pacifica Ballroom has walls covered in salmon wallpaper with a large silver leaf print and a floor completely carpeted in salmon with an ivory leaf print. Many previous brides and event designers had completely draped the room to hide the wallpaper or had chosen colors that complemented it. We decided just to draw people’s attention away from the walls. The focal point of the room as you entered was a rainbow sprinkle-covered wedding cake, a design that we had found on Pinterest and the Four Seasons replicated. We used a mix of arrangements at different tables so that every perspective had something interesting, and then anchored each table with large gold number balloons that served as the table numbers. Although inexpensive, they actually added an extra touch of glamor and made it very easy for guests to find their seats!

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Maribeth really wanted an awesome welcome bag for guests. Lydia had found a vintage matchbook with an image of the Four Seasons, where the reception took place, and Leslie of Lilly & Louise recreated the drawing for the tote bag. We worked with Leslie to come up with some adorable paper pieces including an accordion itinerary and welcome note, a bag of Santa Barbara pistachios, some chocolates from Evansville (Maribeth’s hometown), cans of Sophia champagne (a nod to Maribeth’s beloved pug, Sophie), and a postcard with the same image on the gift bag.

Wedding Music:
Maribeth and Scott are both talented musicians so music was a very important aspect of each part of the day. Maribeth’s brother-in-law is a violinist with the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and played all of the prelude music. He was joined by several of Scott’s friends for the ceremony. Scott really wanted Dixieland-style music for cocktails so we brought in a group from Los Angeles. The choice of music was unexpected, but a huge hit. The reception featured a DJ as the choice of music was an eclectic mix of hits from the 80s and 90s… which, of course, led to a dance off between the bride’s side and the groom’s side. We called it a draw.

Wedding Location: Santa Barbara, CA / Photographer: Kaysha Weiner Photographer / Event Planning and Design: Lydia Ross Events / Flowers: Blue Magnolia Events / Ceremony Venue: El Montecito Presbyterian Church / Reception Venue: Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club / Hair and Makeup: TEAM Hair & Makeup / Cocktail Music: West Coast Music / Reception Music: DJ Akorn of Gavin Roy Presents / Photobooth: Smilebooth LA / Pastor: Rev. Jay Shirley / Co-Celebrant: Rev. Jimmy Bartz of Thad’s / Stationery, Paper Goods, and Welcome Bag Design: Lilly & Louise / Videographer: Ryan Davis of Cloudless Weddings / Guests’ Transportation: Santa Barbara Airbus / Family and Wedding Party Transportation: Santa Barbara Trolley