A Catalina Island Wedding

Copy of Catalina Island RW - Kevin and Gina - Blog

A Catalina Island Wedding

CATEGORIES

September 9, 2022
Words by Kate Darnell
Photos courtesy of John Robert Woods

Kevin and Gina had their Catalina Island wedding on a sunny September day. Thanks to Lovelyfest, we have the special honor of sharing their picture-perfect day with all of you. To get the full scope of the day and all the gorgeous decorations and details entailed with it, we have shared our interview with the couple! (See below.)

Q: Why did you choose to do a destination wedding? Did you run into any issues specific to this destination and how did you resolve them? How did you find your venue and why did you choose it?
A: “Gina started visiting Catalina in 7th grade for camp and fell in love. She always dreamed about finding a private beach on the island and having an outdoor wedding. She found Descanso Beach Club before it had even transformed into a wedding venue. Shortly after we started dating, we had traveled to Catalina on a trip and had a wonderful, refreshing trip. We wanted our guests to feel like they were on vacation too, even though it’s a short hour boat ride from the mainland.

We are unaware of any issues specific to the destination. If there were any, our amazing wedding planner resolved it without us knowing!”

Q: Tell us about the décor and extras. Any DIY projects? What special elements did these bring to your wedding day?
A: “We wanted our décor to be beachy and unique. We love mid-century design but didn’t want it overly kitschy. We also love tiki bars, especially Frankie’s in Las Vegas. Lovelyfest created a custom sign to welcome our guests to the wedding, along with a tiki-style guestbook. Our wedding favors were tiki mugs and Lovelyfest hit it out of the park with the display. Lovelyfest also incorporated the theme throughout, from personalized napkins to the table settings and the ceremony seating!”

Q: Describe your ceremony. What traditions did you incorporate and why were they incorporated? How did you do things to fit you and your partner?
A: “We wanted our ceremony to be completely personalized so we wrote the ceremony from start to finish, including our vows. We incorporated sentimental songs, such as “You Put the Flame On It” by Charles Bradley and “Lava” from the Disney short. We had family do readings from novels (as Gina loves to read) and incorporated verbiage from Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decision making same-sex marriage legal. We chose a secular humanist as our officiant.”

Q: What helped you the most while planning from afar? Did you do any pre-wedding site visits?
A: “Obviously, the fact that we had an amazing wedding planner was the number one thing. They were able to work seamlessly with the Catalina Island Company’s team. It also was helpful that we were very familiar with the island so anything that popped up (how far is this hotel from the venue, what’s the best way to get from point A to point B, etc.) was easily addressed.”

Q: Overall, do you have any special advice you would like to share with our readers to help prepare them for their day?
A: “Get yourself an amazing wedding planner who communicates with you, is calm under pressure and has experience in destination weddings. We were so confident with our team which made the planning and wedding a breeze.”