We provide our services in San Luis Obispo County and Santa Barbara County. That includes Santa Barbara beaches, Los Olivos and Solvang wine area, Pismo Beach, Shell Beach,  Morro Bay, and Cambria. We have a variety of different locations to choose from.

Sooner rather than later is always the best. However, if we are available, we can put together a wedding ceremony same day or within 24 hours. We understand elopements can sometimes be very last minute so we will do our best to work within your timeline.

Yes! We actually encourage couples to find ways to make the wedding more of a representation of themselves. If you wanted to add a few sentences to the ceremony or even write your vows, we can add those special touches. Also, some of our extras like a shell ceremony or involve friends and family in your ceremony can  make the day more personal for the two of you. For the flowers, you can choose your colors and style or a customized bouquet.

We coordinate the wedding and work with you during the planning process to make sure all the things you need are handled. We take care of any permits that are needed, provide the extra services requested, have our minister and photographer ready, and even pick up your flowers. The only thing the two of you need to be responsible for is making sure you show up on time and that one of you brings the marriage license for the minster to sign and file with the city.

I’m sure we all wish it would rain in California…just not rain on our wedding day!  Unfortunately, we cannot be in control of the rain. I even think I heard somewhere that if it rains on your wedding day that is considered good luck. We can  go over a plan b, but changes would need to be decided quickly and extra fees may come up with a new location.

We take care of filing your wedding license for you, however  you will need to go down to one of the California City Halls to get your wedding license. If you are visiting from out of state, the closest place in San Luis Obispo County is the City Hall in San Luis Obispo. You can also choose to get your wedding license the same day you get married. Just allow some extra time for the paperwork. Once you get your wedding license, make sure to bring that with you to the ceremony.

See our blog post here, for more information.

Yes, California law says you only need one witness, besides the minister, to sign the wedding license. If you do not have a witness, one of our staff members that day can witness your wedding.

Once you have finalized your wedding date, we require a deposit to hold the wedding date. The deposit acts as the first payment. The rest of the payment is due a few months before the wedding and sometimes divided into 2 payments. The deposit is non-refundable and will secure your wedding date. The deposit is applied to the final payment.

Nope, the contract and deposit info are all done electronically.  An interesting fact is that we only meet about 5% of our couples before their wedding date. We are really good a working with couples who don’t live locally!

Some locations have limits on time and others don’t. If your location requires a permit or venue fee, most of the time you are limited to the time you can stay out there.  Let us know in the planning stages if you are planning to stay at the location after pictures are taken. That way we can make sure you have enough time.

Since the weddings we perform are small, a rehearsal is many times not needed. However, we can add a wedding rehearsal on to your package.

About half the weddings we do are ones without chairs. Guest gather around the couple on either side of the aisle and watch the ceremony.  The ceremony is around 15 minutes so the guests aren’t standing for too long.

When we say small weddings, we like to keep the number of guests to a maximum of 50. However, most of our weddings are around 24 guests. If you are planning a larger size wedding, please let us know so we can work around the extra guests. Sometimes it is as easy as adding extra chairs and an assistant to coordinate guests. But, remember, if you prefer, it  can just be the two of you.

We understand that you might have a personal relationship with your own minister, but our packages are created to work with all of our staff.  We have a great team and all work very well together!  If you want your minister to be part of your ceremony, how about involving them in giving a talk about the two of you or maybe even a blessing over your marriage.  Having your minister officiate the whole ceremony doesn’t work well with the flow of our services and our vision for your wedding.  The same is for the photographer – as we use our own photographers for the ceremony.  If you friend is a photographer and you are inviting them to the wedding, please let them enjoy the ceremony as your friend and not as the  main photographer. You can use your friend to take getting ready pictures or detail photos at the ceremony and reception.

The quickest way is through email at hello@coastalcaliforniaweddings.com. Once we get closer to your wedding date, we will make sure you have our contact phone number for any last minute changes. You can also text me. I answer texts and calls between 9:30 am and 5 pm. I know people sleep in or work night shifts so I try to be considerate of times. I may call or text back after 5 pm but no later than 7:30.

I pride myself on offering cost effective, budget friendly weddings for couples and have taken that into consideration when coming up with the pricing of each package.  Each wedding is special and it takes time to plan all the parts of the ceremony.  I truly value the work I do an don’t offer any discounts. We do have some mid week packages that are available at a lower rate.

It is best to arrive already dressed and ready to go.   A few of the locations have bathrooms and the garden location has a changing room for brides.  Other locations have hotels steps away, so the couple can get ready at the hotel and walk to the ceremony.

Some locations like the gazebo, winery, and ocean front location are a little more private.  a Other locations like the beach are a little more open to the public (the beaches are not private beaches to there is the risk that there might be people there). We do know some off the beaten path beach locations were there might not be as many people out.  We try to take photos from different directions, but there might still be people in your photos.

It depends on the beach.  Some beaches require them and others don’t.  Let us know what beach you are interested in and we can give you more information.

We love have pets at weddings!  Most locations like the beach, cliffs, and gazebo allow pets. Your pet just needs to be on a leash and your need to clean up after them.

San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria are the closest airports.  Larger airports like LAX and SFO are about 3 hours away.  San Luis Obispo flies to Denver, Phoenix, and Seattle and San Francisco.  Santa Maria flies to Las Vegas on certain days. Santa Barbara flies to Denver, Seattle, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Portland, and San Francisco.

We take credit card, debit card, PayPal and cash (for all payments except the final one).