The Prado in Balboa Park
One of my favorite venues in San Diego is the Prado. Why? The Prado has all the three major elements that all Brides and Grooms look for when planning a wedding in San Diego.
1. Beautiful Location.
The Prado at Balboa Park is a National Historic Landmark which was originally built for the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition. This two year festival was held in Balboa Park to promote San Diego and to celebrate the 1914 opening of the Panama Canal. In 2000, The House of Hospitality reopened after a complete reconstruction and modernization. The 3-year renovation restored the building’s architecture, artwork, sculptures, alcoves, gardens and fountains. Every effort was made to historically renovate the House of Hospitality in keeping with its original Spanish, Moorish and Mexican architectural design. This is evident in over two dozen, original, hand-painted, wooden stencil designs on doors as well as the intricate hand stenciled ceilings and beams. The Donal Hord sculpture, “Women of Tehuantepec” still remains in the fountain of the building’s restored central courtyard.
The renovated House of Hospitality features lush historical gardens and a courtyard, elegant banquet rooms, romantic terraces and the outdoor grandeur of the historic Casa Del Rey Moro Gardens. The Prado at Balboa Park offers more than 22,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space and can accommodate groups of 20-20,000 guests.
2. All Inclusive Wedding Packages.
Wedding Reception Package
One Hour of Silver Level Brand Bar
Tray Passed Hors d’oeuvres with White Glove Service
Luncheon or Dinner Menu designed by Award Winning Executive Chef Jonathan Hale
Formal Champagne Toast
Professional Staff-Synchronized Service
Wedding Cake
Full Length Table Linens, Gold Chiavarri Chairs and Porcelain China
Beautiful Casa Del Rey Moro Gardens For Your Ceremony
White Padded Outdoor Chairs
Gift and Guest Book Tables
Bridal Changing Room
Scheduled Rehearsal Time
Outdoor Sound System for Officiant
3. The Food.
Chef Jonathan Hale and his staff prepare amazing menus for both lunch and dinner. The Prado’s restaurant awards are numerous and well deserved!
Gold Medallion Award 2009 | Best New American
Caterer of the Year Award 2009 | NACE San Diego Chapter
The Best in Weddings 2008/2009/2010 | The Knot Wedding Network
Gold Medallion 2006/2007 | Best Casual Continental
Best Romantic Restaurant 2006/2007 | SignOn SD Readers Poll
Best Outdoor Dining 2005/2007 | SD Home & Garden Mag
Best Restaurant in a Historic Building 2006 | 944 Magazine
Best Décor 2005/2006 | SD Home and Garden Magazine
Best of the Best (Moderate) 2005| San Diego Magazine
Chef of the Year 2005 | Jeff Thurston
Gold Medallion Award 2005 | Best Continental Casual Dining
Gold Medallion Award 2004 | Best Casual Dining
America’s Best Restaurants Award | Gourmet Magazine
Gold Medallion Award 2000 | Best New Restaurant
Best New Restaurant 2000 | San Diego Magazine
“Four Stars” | California Restaurant Writer’s Association
Silver Fork Award | San Diego Home and Garden Magazine
Calling all “A Dream Wedding” new Clients and past Brides. Fun Competition from Brides.com
Let me know if you enter the contest and I will post your video on my website to help you get more votes!
Good Luck!
Sharon
It’s Time to Shop for Wine!
When you supplying your own beverages for your event, finding a sale is key to saving a ton of money!
BevMo’s annual “Buy One Get One for 5 Cents” sale is the perfect place to stock up on all your Wine, Champagne, Beer and even Mixers.
Check my past blog on Calculating Drink Amounts for your Guests (June 16 2010) to see how much alcohol your guests typically consume during your San Diego Wedding or Event.
Cheers!
Planning a wedding in three to six months
A short engagement doesn’t mean you can’t have a Dream Wedding. Instead of eloping, here’s my list of what’s truly important and how to plan a beautiful wedding in half the time:
The Wedding Location
While many favorite venues will be booked, plenty of locations should still be available, and may even give you a discount at this late date. Consider having a Friday or a Sunday event. Look for a venue where you can have both the ceremony and reception at the same location. Schedule a tasting as soon as possible if you want to offer your guests a choice of Entree during dinner, as this will need to be included in your invitaion inserts.
Your Wedding Dress
Visit a large bridal emporium like David’s Bridal, where they have a wide range of sizes and styles in stock, and ready to be worn. JCrew carries a line of dresses suitable for both brides and bridesmaids looking for a relaxed style. You might also ask your bridesmaids to wear dresses they already have, or to purchase a gown in a particular color.
Invitations and Accessories
Email close family and friends the date, but order invitations as soon as you find the venue.
You’ll still need six weeks to mail your invitations. A Dream Wedding carries hundreds of beautiful invitations that can be delivered to you within one week of ordering. I also carry a large selection of accessories such as Toasting Glasses, Guests books, Flower Girl Baskets, Ring Bearer Pillows, Gifts etc.
Wedding Professionals
If your looking to work with some of the Best Wedding Professionals in San Diego, I make it easy by scheduling all your meeting in one afternoon at my Chula Vista Showroom.
Meet and Hire your Photographer, Florist, DJ, Officiant, Videographer and Hair and Make up Stylists. You can also choose Up Lighting, Favors and Additional Decor all in one afternoon!
Vera Wang Fall 2010 Collection
$500 off Full Service or Executive Packages
A Dream Wedding by Sharon Cole understands how difficult times are, and how planning a wedding has been influenced by our recent recession.
Therefore until times change, ADW is offering $500 off the Full Service or Executive Packages!
Plus the added bonus of 8 Uplights are still included in our Full Service Package and 8 Uplights and Spotlight Monogram is included in the Executive Package for FREE!
Contact Sharon today to take advantage of these great Special Offers.
Calculating Drink amounts for your guests
Calculating how many drinks to provide for your guests can be one of the most challenging parts of entertaining. Keep it simple with these rules of thumb:
1. By providing a few “signature drinks,” you won’t need to supply too many different types of spirits and liqueurs.
2. Assume that each guest will consume two drinks per hour during the first two hours of your soiree, then one drink each hour thereafter.
3. Have a half pound of ice on hand per person in attendance – you’ll need the ice for shaking cocktails as well as serving in glasses.
Information provided by Stirrings.com – check their website for Signature Drink recipes!
Father/Daughter and Mother/Son Dance Songs
The First Dance Songs went over so well, I thought I would give you a little help with the Father/Daughter and Mother/Son songs too! (this is one of my favorite parts of the reception, it always brings a tear to my eyes)
- · Because You Loved Me – Celine Dion
- · Butterfly Kisses – Bob Carlisle
- · Daddy’s Hands – Holly Dunn
- · Daddy’s Little Girl – Al Martino
- · Daughter of Mine – John McDermott
- · Have I Told You Lately – Rod Stewart
- · Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder
- · Hero – Mariah Carey
- · My Girl – Temptations
- · My Special Angel – Bobby Helms
- · Sunrise Sunset – Fiddler On The Roof
- · The Men In My Little Girl’s Life – Mike Douglas
- · Through The Years – Kenny Rogers
- · Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler
- · Turn Around – Harry Balafonte
- · Wild World – Cat Stevens
- · I Wish You Love – Dean Martin
Father Daughter Dance Songs – Something Different
- Forever Young – Bob Dylan
- Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses (or Cheryl Crow version)
- Changes – Ozzy Osbourne
Popular Wedding Songs – Mother/Son Dance Songs
- A Song For My Son – Bobby Morganstein
- A Song For Mama – Boyz II Men
- Because You Loved Me – Celine Dion
- I Am Your Child – Barry Manilow
- I Wish You Love – Natalie Cole
- Through The Years – Kenny Rogers
- Times of Your Life – Paul Anka
- You’re The Inspiration – Chicago
- What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
- Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler
Need a Theme? Ensembles can help you coordinate any wedding!
Here is an easy way for you to coordinate your Invitation, Place Cards, Table Numbers, Favor Tags and more.
Contact Sharon to begin designing your favorite Ensemble today…all at 20% off the retail price! Matching Invitations availble.
