Moonlighting Photography
Okay so clearly Vegas is smack dab in the middle of DESERT and would not really be the place for an oceanside bride, however there are plenty-o-gorgeous pools that one might consider using for a poolside wedding bash! Vegas is getting ready to host many 09/09/09 wedding this year. They’ve seen 07/07/07 and 08/08/08 come and go and have yet another date to prepare for. Hotels like the Venetian, Mandalay Bay, and Bellagio have set wedding package prices ranging from $1000-5000, most including music, flowers, ceremony officiant, a room for the bride & groom, and some even include photography! I’ve already come to my wedding planning point where I just want to run off to Vegas and get married NOW, but when I’ve joked with the mom’s a few times about it I get the mean face. Ha ha! That’s expected and no we won’t do that. It’s important we include all our friends and family in the celebration. But for those thinking about it, check out Destination Weddings & Honeymoons for more info!
Sooo our #1 pick for now is Avia Hotel in Long Beach. Mr. Oceanside felt like the decor, layout, and price was right. He really likes V2o (our #2) but says he can picture his grandma being more comfortable here. We’ll I love his grandmother and I think he’s right…for all of our grandparents sake, this venue probably feels more “wedding” like than some of the others we toured. This venue will still give me my “modern” feel and since it promotes itself as a “boutique-chic” hotel. I still think I can funk out the rooms so their less “traditional” by using long tables and do family-style seating rather than the traditional rounds. The outdoor terrace and banquet room (known as the Gallery) will also have lounge seating which will reflect the modern look also. The pool deck view is amazing (you can see all of the Long Beach harbor) and so are the guest rooms. I’m still on the edge on this place only because there are still LOTS of unknowns since it actually doesn’t open until August 1st. We were actually the very first “wedding tour” they’ve done…feeling kind of special! They are still creating their catering menu and wedding packages and we should hear from them next week. But I will admit I think I love it even more now just because Mr. Oceanside put in his 2 cents! I’m not cutting off any of my other options until I get their proposal which I should have by the end of next week! Cant’ wait! Here are some pics we took while they were still setting things up…
We toured V20 with Victoria and she was great and so was the venue. Originally we were looking for a “lounge-like” venue and this met my expectations 110%. The decor is asian-inspired, with funky seating areas, a bambou tunnel separating the main dance area from the more private Bambou Lounge and outdoor patio. Retro-brides would love this place. I loved how everything was set up (from the bars, the lounge seating, and even the restrooms! Ha ha! Gotta make sure the restrooms are fun too! While in CA I filmed everything so when I got back to Mr. Oceanside, unfortunately he thought it looked too “clubby”. It’s still on the table since our #1 venue is still up in the air with their pricing menus and all, so we’ll see!
So isn’t it funny the places you think will be your least favorite end up being the one you love and the one that was your favorite didn’t quite meet the mark!? Well unfortunately that was the case for Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach. Now do not get me wrong- this place is AWESOME! If I only had about 50 guests and my ceremony location was a little closer to Manhattan Beach then this would be my venue for sure. They offer several different “spaces” of the hotel you could use. The middle courtyard area can be used for ceremonies as well as a reception, the lounge/bar area can also be used for a small cocktail style gathering, and the sky deck (poolside) can be used for a reception. I was only interested in touring the Sky Deck because it had an ocean view and it was poolside- the makeup of my perfect venue! The area unfortunately does not have much seating space and its slightly smaller than expected. The upside is the modern, “chic” decor is great and would not take much decorating. Poolside lighting is already in place and space heaters would also be available since it does get chilly at night because of the ocean breeze. There are plenty of plants around the deck so again this would cut down on flower decorations and centerpieces if a bride was trying to save money. It’s within walking distance to the Manhattan Beach Pier so if your guests stayed in the area there would be plenty to do, lots to see. They do offer guests a 10% discount on their rooms (which are gorgeous by the way!) With the food and drink package options you really could really stay under $8000 for about 80-100 people. That’s a GREAT deal for the area. I can also give their food two thumbs up! We got to the hotel a little early before our appointment so had lunch out on the patio at their restaurant. Between my mom, friend, and I we all had something different and we agreed the food was great! So anyway, again don’t give them a bad rating at all. Unfortunately just for the number of people we’re expecting and the location it won’t be a match for us this time. I’ve attached some of my own pics I took of the hotel on my trip out there!
The Norris Center Pavilion is in Rolling Hills Estates and is only about 5 minutes away from the Wayfarers Chapel where we’re having our ceremony. June, the facility wedding coordinator is such a sweet lady and had all our questions answered before we could ask them! The room is a traditional banquet style setting with an adjacent outdoor terrace. The lobby and bar area at the front of the building can be used for the cocktail hour. There is a big water fountain in the front of the building (very pretty)! The facility was great overall and the price was right on target with our budget. They have a list of 10 caterers who they partner with and as long as you stick to one of them there are no additional charges outside the site fee. Unfortunately with us targeting a Thursday wedding date, they are not available on Thursdays since its also serves as a dance theater during the week where they hold dance classes and such. It also does not really have a view of anything but the hill that backs up the facility and I’m really going for a city or ocean view if possible. I ranked them #4 out of my 5 venue visits only because again, I just want something “different” and outside the typical banquet room reception. If anyone wants more details I have a spreadsheet and other info I can share! You can find pictures of the pavilion I posted previously here.
The view of the Long Beach Pike and Shoreline Village from the Queen Mary were awesome! Unfortunately we were unable to view my room preference, the Verandah Grill ballroom, due to a business meeting running a little long. We did see a few of the other ballrooms. The Queen Mary offers great rates and low food and beverage minimum. The negative for us was the lack of upkeep of some of the walls, floors, and restrooms we did see. Now keep in mind the ship is over 70 years old, so naturally thats what we’d expect to get I guess. If you want to give your guests a little taste of history, this facility just might work well for you. It is a beauty!
So I’ve returned from a very exhausting, but FUN trip to California. It was much needed because I HAD to see possible reception venues and hopefully book one soon. This living across the country from the location I’m getting married thing has been challenging! I’m waiting for final pricing and package options on one of them so unfortunately I still can’t make a decision for another 2-3 weeks. 
Oh well. In the meantime, I’ll feature the 5 I did tour for anyone else looking to get married in southern California. We toured the the Norris Pavillion, Queen Mary, Shade Hotel, Avia Hotel, and V20 and of course stopped by the beautiful chapel we have confirmed, the Wayfarers Chapel.
So Mark & I are in serious need of a vacation. We were just reminiscing last night about our first trip together about 2 years ago. We went to Ocho Rios, Jamaica for about 5 days and had a great time! We went jet skiing, took a tour of Bob Marley’s hometown, and went shopping in one of their districts without our tour guide! We like to be a little adventurist! These are some pics we took while staying at the Club Hotel RIU. Although we had only been dating a few months then, we talked about one day having a destination wedding! It’s super affordable since it’s an all-inclusive resort. Some all-inclusive hotels charge you little to nothing to host your wedding there. It was so beautiful and we’d love to visit again in the future. Any others out there feel like it will be forever before we can go somewhere fun and relaxing again?!? Since we’re doing some serious saving right now for the wedding, we know we can’t splurge on much else. Oh well…until the honeymoon, I guess we’ll keep on reminiscing!
Category: Beach Weddings, Ceremony Site, Destination Wedding, Honeymoon, Oceanside View, On a Budget, Travel, Venues, Weddingmoons
Tags: All-Inclusive Resort, Beach Wedding, Destination Wedding, Jamaica, Ocho Rios, RIU Hotel Leave a Comment
