Today marks the first “monthiversary” of the happiest day of my life, the wedding day between myself and Ainslee. Although this blog is primarily dedicated to real estate, we do want to take a moment every now and then to write about non real estate related topics that may be of interest to the residents of Ventura County. Since wedding planning can, at times be very stressful, we thought we would take this opportunity to write about the venue we used and some of the vendors that provided services to make our night exceptionally memorable. Ainslee did a wonderful job planning our wedding and the night went off without a hitch, thanks in no small part to the awesome work of our vendors. Hopefully, this post will aid any couples looking for referrals to use for their special day.
Sterling Hills Golf Club and Wedgewood Banquet Centers
The venue for our wedding was Sterling Hills Golf Club in Camarillo. Wedgewood Banquet Centers has special event venues up and down California, as well as parts of Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada. They offer all-inclusive package options that can be customized to fit your wants and budget. Unlike many “package deals” you find in other industries, you are able to remove and add items to your package without hassle. You are able to choose their recommended vendors for flowers, cake, DJ services, etc., or you can find and use your own. And with the ability to change options up to 10 days prior to the wedding (make sure to check with their current policy), you never feel like you are “stuck” with anything that you may want to change, even at that last moment. The venue of Sterling Hills Golf Club is very beautiful and the Wedgewood wedding coordinator and food service was top notch. On top of all of the great service, the best part may have been that Wedgewood Sterling Hills was thousands and thousands of dollars more affordable than the other venues we considered, without compromising our overall vision and standards.
Officiant – Reverend Ken Craft
Wedgewood Sterling Hills offered a couple of officiants that they recommend and the first one we met was Reverend Ken Craft. During our initial meeting, we knew that our search had ended there. We were sold! Reverend Ken is very easy to work with and made what could have been an uncomfortable meeting as easy and relaxed as it could be. After asking me and Ainslee several questions and getting to know us for a few minutes, he put together a mock ceremony for us on the spot. He was able to retell how Ainslee and I met better than we could ourselves. Besides his welcoming personality, his smooth and natural delivery makes it a no-brainer that he is a top choice. And of course, his performance on our wedding day was as great as we expected it to be. For more information about Reverend Ken Craft and his services, you can find him at Dream Day Weddings.
Photography – Anderson’s Photography
We chose Pat and Sharon from Anderson’s Photography to capture our special day. From being there to capture Ainslee and the bridal party arriving, to the ceremony itself, and all the way through the reception, Pat and Sharon provided a full day’s worth of service. Aside from being very personable and cordial, Pat and Sharon were there almost everywhere we turned to make sure that they did not miss any special moments of the evening. We are still going through the 1100+ photos they took for us, but all of them so far have been amazing. Not to mention, they were able to take what may have been the most spectacular photo of the ceremony. Not only from a business perspective, but also personally, we are grateful that Pat and Sharon were there to share and capture our special night. To find out more about their services, they can be found at Anderson’s Photography.
Flowers – Yamaguchi Nursery
Flowers for our wedding day were provided by Yamaguchi Nursery in Santa Paula. With a friendly staff (say hi to Susie!) and some of the best prices around, Yamaguchi Nursery provided all of the flowers we needed to make our venue extra beautiful. While other flower vendors are only able to show you examples of their works through photos, magazines or websites, Yamaguchi Nursery builds mock centerpieces and bouquets for you to tweak and change right there on site during your appointment. This made it much easier to visualize what we would be seeing on our actual wedding day. And on that day itself, all of the flowers, bouquets, centerpieces, etc., in addition to being absolutely stunning, were at the venue and in place right on time, prior to us arriving. For contact information and reviews about Yamaguchi Nursery, you can visit their Yelp page.
DJ – Pablo Flores
When it came to choosing our DJ, we just wanted to make sure that the person was easy to work with and would not try to make the night all about him. So we went with one of the DJs recommended by Wedgewood Sterling Hills, which was Pablo Flores. He gave us a workbook consisting of a few pages with different options that can be included or excluded from the reception. After picking and choosing which ones we wanted, we then were able to pick songs for each item. When it came to our reception, Pablo was a great MC who made sure that we stayed on schedule by reminding us what items we still had left to do, yet allowing us the freedom to do them at our own pace. He also kept the dance floor the place to be all night by gauging our guests and knowing exactly what kind of music we all were into. If you are interested in contacting Pablo Flores, you can reach him at pabloflores26@rocketmail.com or (805) 816-5680.
Cake – A Gift of Taste
Our cake was baked and delivered by Cris Powers at A Gift of Taste in Oxnard. From the moment we visited their bakery and sampled their different flavors, we knew that we had to choose them. With a wide variety of flavors and designs to choose from, there was truly a cake that anyone would love. They designed and baked our cake to fit the headcount that we gave them, and there was definitely more than enough to go around. In fact, we were even able to bring home the whole top tier of our cake to be frozen and enjoyed every month until our one year anniversary. More information about A Gift of Taste can be found on their website.
Photo booth – Booth Twenty Four
When Ainslee mentioned that she wanted to have a photo booth at the wedding, I was very skeptical. It wasn’t until a coworker mentioned how good of an idea it was when someone had a photo booth at a wedding he attended that I agreed to have one at ours. I still had reservations about whether it would be a success or not until Ainslee and I walked into our reception and sat at our table and I looked over and saw that there was a line to use the photo booth. Equipped with silly props for the guests to wear and use, the photo booth was one of the main highlights of the reception all evening long. Owner Cynthia Freed was able to provide us with many options that fit our vision perfectly and it was incorporated very well into the room. We were also provided a flash drive of all the pictures taken at the booth the following week. Although I was a non-believer at first, I am now sold on the idea of photo booths at weddings. Everyone enjoyed it, from young to old, and we are still being told by people that they wish they had taken more pictures in it. To find out more about photo booths and the vendor we used, they can be found at Booth Twenty Four.
Hair and Make-Up – Skin Deep MUA
Hair and make-up services were provided by Jazmin Hodges from Skin Deep MUA. She also employed an assistant, Carly, due to the large bridal party and services needed. Jazmin and Carly were on time and made the whole bridal party look flawless using their airbrush products and professional skills. Ainslee and her bridesmaids were very pleased with Jazmin and Carly’s professionalism and timeliness. Jazmin and Carly can be contacted through Skin Deep MUA.