San Diego Wedding Planner, Consultant and Coordinator, Sharon Cole

I asked Brandi to tell you all about her wonderful wedding that will take place today at the Rancho Bernardo Inn.

Check back soon for photos from Brant Bender!

The Details…

Wedding Ceremony Location: Rancho Bernardo Inn – Valencia Lawn

Wedding Reception Location: Santiago Ballroom

Number of Attendants/Bridesmaids: 8 and 8

Wedding Coordinator: Sharon Cole/ A Dream Wedding by Sharon Cole

Officiant: Pastor Patrick Foy

Photographer: Brant Bender Photography

Videographer: Ashley Video Productions

Florist: Tessilk Flowers

Linens:   A Perfect Table

Entertainment (Ceremony): Caprice Strings

Entertainment (Cocktail Hour): J. Boykin Saxophone

Entertainment (Reception): Sunset Mobile Music

Catering: Rancho Bernardo Inn

Wedding Cake: Edelweiss

Invitations: Costco

Stationery: Invitation Theory

Hair: Catrice

Makeup: Makeup by Natalie

Dress: Deborah’s Bridal Signature Collection

Men’s Formalwear: Mens Warehouse

Jewelry/Rings: Robbins Bros

Rentals: Chiavari Chair Rentals (chairs and White dance floor)

Other: Chocolate Haven and Dove Release (40) Feathers From Heaven

Theme: Classic Sophistication

Honeymoon & Travel: Sandals St. Lucia

Which three vendors that went beyond the call of duty and were A+ (you could and will recommend to everyone):

 Sharon from A Dream Wedding by Sharon Cole was beyond AMAZING! She was so organized and detail oriented.  She was able to keep me calm at all moments of planning, and seemed to be inside of my head to create my exact vision. 

 Tess from Tessilk Flowers was wonderful! She definitely knows what she is doing and has an eye for the perfect look in floral arrangements.

 Brant from Brant Bender Photography.  Brant is truly an artist.  His photography is amazing and his personality is equally amazing.  We felt comfortable at every moment of picture taking (engagement session) and he gave us pointed on how to pose to get the looks just right.

 Edelweiss.  I loved every moment of picking my cake.  When I was unsure of the cake flavors, the owner came out and offered to create a White Chocolate Pound Cake for us.  She sat and described every aspect of what could go into the flavor and then made wonderful suggestions on décor.  She was right on, and I got the 5 tier cake of my dreams. 

Tell us about your wedding…

My fiancé and I love of travel, so we thought it would be great to have a destination wedding.  We also wanted to think of our guests by picking a location that was still accessible to family and friends without the expenses of airfare.  This led us to beautiful Rancho Bernardo Inn, San Diego, two and half hours from our Inland Empire home. We chose the Rancho Bernardo Inn because of its elegant and timeless atmosphere plus beautiful and plush gardens.  My immediately fell in love with how it was green everywhere but still had a classic charm filled with sophistication.

 We are having an evening ceremony held at Rancho Bernardo Inn’s outdoor lawn, with the cocktail hour in the Santiago courtyard, before guests will be moved inside to the Santiago ballroom for dinner and dancing. Our goal was to host an event filled with the same sophistication and class of RBI, while allowing guests to enjoy a good party.  For us it’s all about the party.  I wanted the wedding to feature soft palettes of Ivory, Champagne, and Peach.  I was inspired by a bouquet of peach roses that my fiancé once gave me and my vision grew from there.  I centered a lot of my décor decisions on the soft peach rose.  And since a rose is very traditional yet timeless, that’s exactly the style of my wedding with a slight twist of a contemporary edge. 

 The ceremony will feature mostly white floral arrangements with the exception of peach orchids attached to strands of crystals hanging from the Canopy draped in White Organza.  Down the aisle we will have bunches of white rose petals arranged in a crisscross pattern down the center with rows of peach rose petals scattered along the sides.  The bridesmaids will walk down the aisle to the classical sounds of Bach, wearing elegant strapless Jim Hjelm dresses in Cashmere. The soft hews of the colors perfectly compliment each of their skin tones, while adding additional softness to the color scheme of the overall wedding.  The groomsmen are also sticking with the soft colored theme by wearing Ivory Tuxedos from Men’s Warehouse with Champagne colored vests and ties.  The groom and I are wearing uninterrupted white, with my gown being a strapless dropped-waist ball gown from Deborah’s Bridal Signature Collection paired with a cathedral length veil.  Adorning my hair will be a dramatic side comb of rhinestone flowers, crystals, and marquis stones by Bel Aire Bridal.  My favorite part of the ceremony’s order will probably be the 40 doves released right as the pastor announces my fiancé and me as man and wife.

 During the cocktail hour guests will enjoy open bar while listening to soft jazz played by saxophone artist, J. Boykin.  The reception will be equally grand featuring soft peach up-lighting throughout the ballroom with a perfect mix of round and rectangle guest tables. The custom peach linen will be topped with champagne scrolled overlays, gold charger plates, ivory napkins, and custom designed menu cards.  The centerpieces for the round tables are vases filled with peach orchids and topped with a round arrangement of white hydrangeas, peach and white roses, and peach and white lilies.  The centerpieces for the rectangle tables are more contemporary having tall pillar vases filled with peach orchids and tops with floating candles. With short square vases on each side filled with white and peach roses, hydrangeas, and lilies.  In the center of the ballroom will be a white dance floor that beautifully highlights the custom gobo of mine and my fiancés names and wedding date.  This same monogram will be present in the seating chart, menu card, favor boxes, and place cards to keep the cohesion of all printed items.  Dinner will include a choice of white or red wine paired with a duet plate of filet mignon and salmon. After dinner the guest get both wedding cake and white chocolate fountain as dessert choices. I am especially excited about the White Chocolate fountain because not only is it doubling as the guests favor, but the dipping items, long stem strawberries, marshmallows, cream puffs, rice crispy treats, and bananas, are some of my favorite desserts.

In my opinion, my wedding is unique because we were able to pull of a destination wedding for 150 guests without sacrificing a single element of my vision and while staying on budget.  We incorporated the “L” from my newly married last name into all the stationary and include 5 “Lessons of Love” each beginning with the letter L into frames placed on the cocktail tables.

I truly believe my wedding mirrors many weddings on Platinum weddings without the platinum budget.