Adam and Rebecca see their home being in two places, so when it came time to choose a location for their destination wedding they were split: stay in Australia where Adam is from and the couple lives, or go to America where Rebecca is from and her family lives.

Rebecca knew it would be difficult to have her wedding and not be surrounded by her family and friends, so the couple chose to tie the knot in San Diego, California.

The couple and their friends and family pitched in to make sure the special day was a personal as possible. From the flower hoops hanging over the head table, to the homemade jam as the guests wedding gift, special touches covered the wedding.

Both the bride and groom also handwrote letters thanking each of their 145 guests and vendors for coming to their wedding, denoting how much the guests meant to them. They used these cards as a table place holder

The grooms brother also pitched in, hand-making the arch for the wedding day from an aspen tree in his backyard. He also made the wooden stumps that lined the aisle out of pine tree.

The bride’s sister made jalapeno, raspberry, strawberry and blackberry jam from her garden for the guest’s gifts.

The bride and her uncle co-wrote a song to be used as the first dance for the happy couple, which made a special moment even more personal.

Keeping with the spirit of unique and special touches, with a bridal party from all over the world they knew it was important to highlight each of the countries represented. Therefore, when they danced in, it was with props to their countries songs. The Americans rocked out to Born in the USA, the Australians stood out with Come From a Land Down Under and those from New Zealand made a scene with Slice of Heaven.

One of the most impressive parts of these very personalized, unique wedding was that it was done with no extra help from a wedding planner. In fact, one of the reasons they chose Marina Village as their venue was because the couple was able to hire whichever vendors they wanted. Of course, the beautiful view over San Diego Bay was a bonus.

One might think that planning wedding would be difficult, especially from across the world. While the bride says she lived off her email and sometimes had to wait a day for responses due to the time difference, she also says that in the nine months she had to plan the wedding, she could’ve been done in four!

When the big day arrived, the bride’s organization helped everything run smoothly. She had a notebook with all the information about the wedding that she gave to her friend in case anything went wrong, and everyone had individual folders for their duties the day of the wedding.

Many of their guests even arrived in the location a week before the wedding, and while their days were free to enjoy and do what they wanted, at night the couple had events planned out to make the most of everyone’s stay. From country line dancing and a night out in the city to taco trucks and welcome dinner for those coming from Australia, the whole week was a fun event!

Being the one time that both the bride and groom’s family will all be together in one place at the same time, the bride says the week was special. She advises destination couples planning their weddings to make the day as personal as possible — the extra effort pays off in the end. 

Vendors: Photographer: Ryann Lindsey Photography, Florist: Hidalgo Flowers, Stationery: Paperless Post, Cake: Homemade from Aunt Loie, topper from grandparents wedding in 1952, Hair and Makeup: Heather Molchanoff (Hair) and Holly McNutt (Makeup) @ Hot Seat Salon, Gown Designer: Martina Llana, Groom’s Clothing Designer: Menzclub, Bridesmaids/Groomsmen’s Clothing Designer: Asos, Nordstrom, David’s Bridal, Sheike, Menzclub, Videographer: At Last Wedding Films