Candace, like many other brides sent me an inquiry via email one day a few months ago. It went something like this: “we decided only about a week ago to elope in San Diego. However, it has turned into a very intimate ceremony with only our immediate families. We don’t have a ceremony location yet, but probably somewhere on or close to Mission Beach – unless you have suggestions!” Sweet unsuspecting Candace… she had no idea how much I love intimate little weddings and the idea of getting to help pick the location? Bonus!
Candace and Matt selected a big flat rock a the foot of a steep staircase right on the beach in Birdrock (La Jolla, San Diego). It was STUNNING. Seriously, the best weather, perfect low tide, hardly any wind and a gorgeous sunset. Add to that the making of a new family and it was about as perfect as it can get.
Flowers by Adrianne Smith Floral Design
I asked Candace to tell me a bit about their wedding planning and why they chose a weekday, what a nice response!:
“We chose San Diego immediately when we got engaged in February of 2010. At the time, we were LDS (Mormon), and I think it was the exquisite temple that sparked our interest in having a destination wedding. However, we had also decided that we wanted to have a ring ceremony on a beach. I’ve had dreams for a wedding near the ocean since I can remember. I haven’t been to San Diego since my eighth birthday, but from what I remember, and the pictures I’ve seen, etc., it was just perfect for what we wanted. Fresh ocean air, DIVINE weather always, perfect beaches – just purely romantic scenery all around. My dad convinced us to have a Nebraska wedding though, but we still planned on honeymooning in San Diego. Months passed, and – perfect timing – we decided to postpone our wedding three weeks before the big day. It was nightmare, honestly. We were wondering if we were still going to get married for a while, and then we came to the conclusion that Mormonhood was not for us, and we tried to find our footing again. Still looking around Omaha, we had a hard time putting something together. Soon it was summer, and nothing was happening, so we decided to elope. I was unbelievably excited. It was so relieving to have something planned that was so concrete, yet illusive in a “from a chick flick” kind of way. My parents were still very freshly-wounded from our decision to reject and leave the religion they had taught me, and I knew no one would approve of us getting married outside of the temple. My brothers, I figured, would be especially unpleasant if they HAD to attend to my “civil” marriage, and plus, by this time, we had been through the ringer. (Sorry… I’m making this long and complicated – but you asked!) Eventually I told my mom and I could tell she was heartbroken that she wasn’t invited, so we broke down and invited our families (plus my BFF). And that’s about it!
We chose Tuesday for a few reasons. It was incredibly convenient! We had more flight options, better hotel and other rental rates, and I knew we’d have a better shot at finding the noteworthy vendors we were hoping for, especially because we planned the entire ordeal in about two weeks.”
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