La Jolla's Historic Darlington House

La Jolla has many beautiful locations for weddings, including the La Valencia Hotel, The Grand Colonial Hotel, the La Jolla Woman's Club, The Museum of Contemporary Art, the Beach and Tennis Club, and The La Jolla Country Club. Couples who want to hire their own caterers will want to consider the lovely an historic Darlington House. A historical landmark,the Darlington House was built by a railroad tycoon in 1928. Located at 7441 Olivetas, La Jolla, CA 92037.

I love working as a photographer at the Darlington House. The staff kindly reserves me a parking space, which is convenient because parking is tight in the neighborhood. The environment is interesting and diverse. And the beach is only two blocks away so if the weather is good I can walk my clients down there for some romantic shots.

Most couples choose to have both their ceremony and reception there, which means that there's no need to drive between locations, so my time is better spent taking photos. The Alhambra "Moorish" decor is very hip and provides a nice ambiance. Plus the volunteers who manage the estate are very sweet. For more information regarding having a wedding or other event at the Darlington House, please call Terri Sparks at (858) 454-7625

A Spectacular Grand Del Mar Wedding

On August 8th I was thrilled to photograph the wedding of two of Del Mar's top financial planners - Chris Franke and Marly Merenda. For their special day Chris and Marla chose Southern California's newest landmark - Doug Manchester's Grand Del Mar Resort. Elegant and spacious - The Grand Del Mar looks like a monarch's palace from the renaissance. With croquet lawns and its own chapel, the Grand Del Mar cannot be overlooked. In terms of opulence it can be compared to the Ritz Carlton or the St. Regis Hotel, in Laguna.

Chris and Marly invited 125 of their best friends, clients, and family to celebrate with them. The weather was spectacular and the hosts served both ice tea and lemonaid before their ceremony on the croquet lawn. The couple had asked Mike McClenahan, the handsome minister from Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, to officiate. After the ceremony guests enjoyed cocktails on the balcony of the grand ballroom while I led the wedding party and family around the estate shooting formal portraits. The reception was fabulous, the guests enjoying martinis and a dinner of filet mignon.

Beautiful Beach Weddings in San Diego

It should be no surprise that San Diego offers some of the world's most beautiful wedding locations. But what is surprising is that many of these locations, in parks, plazas, and on beaches, can cost less than $100 to use. True there are downsides, but for the price of a permit San Diego has dozens of great wedding locations. This article will discuss my experience, both positive and negative, with San Diego's outdoor (public) locations.

A quick visit to the City of San Diego's website:
http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/general-info/bestsites.shtml#weddings gives a truckload of information for anyone planning a wedding within the city limits. This includes Balboa Park and all of the cities beaches. Permits for weddings in Balboa Park are only $49. However there are other costs associated with outdoor weddings.

The first is seating. You'll need to rent a seat for each of your guests - provided they're going to sit down during the service. Pay close attention to the direction that your seats will face. You may want the ocean behind you as you exchange your vows, but at 5pm it's possible that the setting sun will completely blind your guests. Many couples angle their seating towards the southwest or northwest to minimize this problem.Classic Party Rentals is one of the most popular rental companies. Call them at (858) 496-9700.

Another often overlooked necessity is a reliable PA system. Depending on the size of your wedding most ceremonies will need a good PA system so that your guests can hear whats going on. This is especially true at the beach, because the wind and waves pretty much drown out all conversation. I recommend hiring a DJ who already owns a portable PA system and speakers, and who will be responsible for its operation.

I have photographed several beautiful beach weddings in Coronado which were impacted negatively by the military aircraft flying overhead, on approach to North Island Naval Air Station. The jet engines are ear piercing, and to make matters worse the radio communications between the jets and the tower often interfere with the PA systems used during the wedding. For this reason I highly recommend using a professional DJ who uses SHIELDED wiring in his system. The audio/visual staff at the Hotel Del Coronado use this type of wire and they have no problems.

A tent is often an intelligent thing to set up for outdoor weddings - even if it's not cloudy or raining. The sun can be quite powerful and a tent or shelter can shield your guests from its power. A podium will greatly help your minister, and it also establishes the "altar" area where you and your fiance will exchange vows.

Inn at Rancho Santa Fe Wedding

My clients Casey Brush and Matt Sousa recently tied the knot at one of San Diego's hidden treasures, the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. Built in 1924, the Inn is rich in history and tradition and is an excellent example of Spanish Colonial Revival-style architecture. The lush, twenty-three-acre property has winding pathways dotted with Spanish-tiled cottages and is anchored by an original historic main building with a richly appointed living room and cozy bar.

I started photographing the girls as they prepared themselves in the Croquet Cottage, which is right next to the Croquet Lawn where the wedding ceremony was being held. It was great hanging out with Casey, her young bridesmaids, and both mothers, as they helped Casey get into her wedding dress. It's always more fun to photograph women getting dressed than men. Men do not help each other while they're dressing. But for women it's like a party. I recently arrived at a bride's suite at the Hotel Del, and the bride and her friends were drinking Champagne and watching Spongebob Squarepants on a wall-sized flatscreen TV. Men would never do that!

At 5 pm Mr. Brush escorted his lovely daughter down the aisle. The 100 or so guests whipped out their digital cameras, cellphone cameras, video cameras, iPods, tripods, monopods, sauropods, and every type of disposable camera. Then they jumped up to capture the bride being walked down the aisle. But I was prepared for all of that. Every successful wedding photographer has to cope with other people taking pictures. Every guest with a new photo gadget has to try them out at their friend's weddings. I once had a bus load of Japanese tourists run over and surround my bride and groom while I was shooting their portraits. The Japanese were thrilled with this big opportunity. They smiled, bowed, and then took hundreds of photos of the lucky couple. I grabbed a couple of them and had them pose with the bride and groom. It was hilarious.

Anyway Casey and Matt's ceremony was under a giant tree on the Croquet Lawn. It was a very religious affair, with both the minister, the groom's father, and grandfather delivering sermons. It was great that the family participated in the proceedings. An artist had been hired and he was busily sketching on his canvas, the oils to be added during the reception.

Afterwards the newlyweds and their guests enjoyed cocktails on the Azalea Lawn. The dinner was served in the Azalea Ballroom, which was beautifully appointed. The artist's large canvas was displayed and everyone loved it, since it showed the couple being married beneath the Inn's beautiful tree.

• Contact the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe at (858) 756-1131
• Contact photographer Robert Marcos at (760) 504-4787

Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church

Founded in 1906, Mary Star of the Sea is La Jolla's most charming Catholic church. Located at the corner of Girard Avenue and Kline, the church is right downtown and is conveniently accessed. The sanctuary feels light and welcoming. An interesting abstract of the virgin Mary dominates the altar and overhead an array of large wooden beams crisscross the ceiling.

Photographers are happy to find that the church has more relaxed photography regulations than other churches. However the priest performing the ceremony always has the final say in such matters. As an experienced wedding photographer I have photographed a dozen or more weddings at Mary Star of the Sea. The church and its staff are lovely and accommodating. After the ceremony it's a short walk to La Jolla's most popular reception sites; the La Jolla Womans Club, the La Valencia Hotel, the Grand Colonial Hotel, the La Jolla Cove Suites, the La Jolla Country Club, and the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.

Mary Star Of The Sea Catholic Church
Pastor: Msgr. Edward Lyng
Address: 7669 Girard Avenue, La Jolla 92037-4480

Phone: (858) 454-2631
Website : www.marystarlajolla.org
Email: marystarlajolla.org

Daily Mass: M-F 8 am
Sunday Mass: Sat. 5, 6:30 pm (in Spanish)

A La Quinta Resort Wedding

La Quinta is a cute desert community about 30 minutes to the east of Palm Springs. Surrounded on three sides by the Santa Rosa Mountains, La Quinta is the home of the La Quinta Resort and Club, PGA West, Traditions, and other exclusive clubs. I know a lot about the area because I bought a house there three years ago when real estate prices had skyrocketed on the coast.

I found the La Quinta Resort and Club to be more of a sanctuary than a golf club. It is tranquil and serene. They have private bungalows similar to those found at the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles. The resort is sprawling, and includes a five-star hotel, condominiums, timeshares, and private homes. I would guess that it's about three miles square. And it backs up into the mountains on two sides so it enjoys a high level of privacy.

I was hired last year by Ron and Linda Cohn, restauranteurs from San Diego, to photograph their son Jeremy's wedding. The Cohns are a lovely and generous family who could have chosen any location in the world for their son's wedding, but they chose the La Quinta Resort. They brought some of San Diego's best talent out, including Kathy Wright of Kathy Wright & Company florals, and Randy Stubbs of Silver Star Video. About 150 black-tied wedding guests attended the traditional Jewish ceremony, which according to Jewish tradition couldn't begin until the sun had set behind the mountains. The reception was held in the Frank Capra ballroom, which was lavishly decorated by Kathy Wright. I was almost overwhelmed by the rich colors. Each table had a big "tree" of flowers coming out of a three-foot square patch of trimmed wheatgrass. The live band played until midnight, and the guests enjoyed a 5-star dinner prepared by the catering staff of the La Quinta Resort.

• For more information please contact the resort's catering staff at (760) 564-5773 (or) by email: weddings@laquintaresort.com

• Photographer Robert Marcos (760) 504-4787

• Florist Kathy Wright at (619) 299-2520

Mark & Kim's La Valencia Wedding

Yesterday I photographed a terrific wedding at La Jolla's crown jewel, the La Valencia Hotel. Since their lavish opening in 1928, the hotel has attracted the wealthy and celebrated. Many of their autographed pictures hang to this day in a alcove just off the main lobby. But famous or not, present day visitors to the hotel enter as guests, and leave as devotees.

The wedding of Mark Colton and Kim Salicos (a Jennifer Aniston look-alike), was stylishly coordinated by Diane Kern. It was a midday affair, so I arrived in the bride's suite at 10:00 am. I met everyone and I went right to work photographing the girls having their makeup and hair done. Historically I've been terrible with morning shoots, but the girls were having so much fun, watching cartoons and drinking champagne, that I couldn't help but get charged up from their energy, (not to mention Kim running around the room naked).

Kim had told me during our consultation that she hates having to smile, or rather, she hates her smile. Although tremendously attractive she maintains a "poker" face at all times - except when she's laughing. We talked about this and I told her that I would encourage her to relax by taking deep breaths. I also knew from experience that she would be better off photographed spontaneously, in other words not posed. This turned out to be the case.

Although it was foggy all day long, the hotel's garden was blooming with geraniums and bouganvilla. So there was no lack of color. David Cannon, the videographer and I were grateful for the cloudy weather, because it provided soft diffused light and kept the temperature down. At weddings, men are always hot and women are always cold. It's the attire we have to wear, women in light silky things and men in heavy black tuxedos.

At 11:00 am Mark and Kim met to exchange gifts. Mark gave Kim a diamond necklace. Kim gave Mark silver cufflinks - something he desperately needed since his shirtsleeves were dangling outside of his tuxedo jacket. We took few romantic pictures then I ran down to the garden to prepare for the 11:30 ceremony. I love the La Valencia for it's charm and old world charisma. The hotel garden was packed when I arrived. It was a struggle but I managed to shoot some dramatic panoramas of the ceremony from the restaurant's overhead balcony, (something I knew about from experience). However I was not able to shoot the couple straight-on since the minister had them turned towards him, and there wasn't an inch of space for me to reposition myself, (without disturbing the ceremony). So I settled for long telephoto shots of the sides of my client's heads as the recited their vows.

This illustrates a common problem. "Should the photographer disrupt the ceremony in order to capture a once-in-a-lifetime photograph"? Many photographers do, and they are blacklisted from many churches because of it. I do not, but I understand and agree with the motives of those that do. It's my opinion that nothing should disrupt the sanctity of a wedding ceremony, and my opinion has been tempered by many negative experiences. Nothing ever goes perfectly but I feel that's it's my job to help things flow as smoothly as possible, and to help the ceremony by shooting as silently as possible.

After Mark and Kim's kiss we gathered the relatively few relatives and shot some group formals. As quickly as I could I moved to a more intimate spot on a terracotta walkway, under a long palm branch. I let the palm arch across the top of each shot, to add a little asymmetry. The other nice thing about walkways is that they're narrow, so the people in the shots really have to get into tight groups.

Since it was lunchtime my clients nixed the traditional cocktail reception and had their guests walk directly into the Veranda Room where the buffet would be served. Spencer our DJ was set up and he was playing the Rolling Stones - apparently our client's choice since a DJ would NEVER plays rock music during lunch.

At 3pm the affair ended and Kim, Mark, and I walked down to the La Jolla Cove for some romantic shots at the beach. It was my favorite time of the day because we were free of the crowd and I was able to choreograph some spectacular shots of the couple on the rocks above the ocean. They were a handsome couple and very much in love. They reminded me of why I love being a wedding photographer.

• The La Valencia Hotel is located at 1132 Prospect Street, La Jolla, California, 92037. Telephone (858) 454-0771

• Diane Kern of Exclusive Designs and Events may be reached at (858) 485-6843

• Photographer Robert Marcos can be reached at (760) 504-4787