What a wonderful day we had yesterday 12/3/12 at Big Corona State Beach in Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach, California.   This gorgeous Argentina lady with roots in Croatia re-married the father of her children.  They were originally married in 1999, ran into some trouble in the marriage, got divorced and when the dust settled and they started living their lives apart, they realized that they didn't want to be apart, they didn't want to be with anybody else.  They wanted to be together!  So we did the reconnection, the reunion, the re-establishing of their marriage and their family at the beach.  It had been raining all morning, and I told God that we had to have all the rain over by 2:00pm!   And as I drove to the beach, the clouds parted and the sun came out and we had a beautiful day for the celebration.    

Anywhere in the world!

After 18 years of marrying couples at the beach in Laguna Beach, I have decided that it really doesn't matter where you are born or where you live when it comes to finding that perfect person to live with for the rest of your life.  I have married couples who have gotten together from the four corners of the earth.   Today's couple met on-line first.  She lived in the Ukraine and he lived in southern California.  He flew to the Ukraine to meet her, ask her to marry him and voila!  Here are the pictures.  She left her family, friends and job to come to the U.S. to marry her man and she will live here.  Fortunately, in Orange County, there is a church of Russian speaking people.   The pastor did the ceremony in Russian and they had an interpreter who also spoke the ceremony in English.   Two ladies from the church helped her get dressed and did her hair and make-up.   She was a very happy bride! 

Sunsets in the Pacific Ocean

See the gorgeous golden light in this picture?   This is the light at sunset at the ocean.

In this bigger picture, see how it really is "dusk."  That is the time just before the sun sets and we get that gorgeous golden light.   You would want to have all of your other pictures taken by the time we get to dusk.  So if you are planning a beach wedding at sunset, you would need to have your ceremony time at the minimum 1 1/2 hours before sunset and it is better to have the ceremony set for 2 hours before sunset.

It is that time of year now in Southern California when we are having the sun set in the ocean!

In the summertime, it sets behind the cliffs.   So take a look at my fantastic winter beach wedding packages at www.marcyann.com and give me a call at 949-433-3129!!!

cheap, inexpensive, affordable, elegant

I was researching various keywords on google today to see how my web pages www.marcyann.com and www.allcaliforniabeachweddings.com come up in preliminary searches.  In most keyword searches, I still come up on the first page of google, Thank God!.  But it was interesting to see what came up when the keywords "cheap" and "inexpensive" or "affordable" were used.   To me, the word "cheap" sounds cheezy - not something you would want for your wedding!   I think you can have an affordable or an inexpensive wedding without being cheap.   In considering a "cheap" wedding, I would just go to the courthouse.   Most counties in California, and I think in all of the 50 States,  offer a 5 minute I Do Ceremony for somewhere around $35.00.  You can even have a few guests and wear a wedding dress.  And then you could all go out to dinner afterwards, maybe someplace where there is music and dancing and celebrate.  The places that were listed under "inexpensive" and "affordable" in Orange County California were a joke!   Most of the venues that were listed all start around $25,000 and go up from there.  Perhaps $25,000 is considered "inexpensive" these days.  So I guess my under $1,000 on-the-sand beach wedding would probably be considered cheap!   Definitely inexpensive and affordable.  My gazebo wedding at $795.00 offers the exact same view as the "affordable" venue down the street that starts at $7,500.00 just to stand on their deck!   So, I guess my mother is right.  She always said that how a person thinks about something is dependent upon their teaching, their beliefs and their experience.  I remember when my husband was in law school and I was working to support us, and the girl I worked with's husband was also in law school.  And one day she said, "Oh my gosh, we are under $100,000 in the bank!"   She said it like they were practically bankrupt!  Wow, my husband and I would get down to $1.25 cents in the bank before my next pay check!   So, it's all according to what you are used to.  Like I said, for some, a $25,000 wedding would be cheap and for some it would be expensive.   I specialize in simple and very inexpensive beach wedding ceremonies and I consider them elegant! 
Perhaps I should say on my web sites:    
elegance is not cheap but it can be inexpensive and affordable!     
xoxoxoxox
Marcy Ann   
949-433-3129.   

BAREFOOT IN MINK at Laguna Beach

Take a look at the slide show prepared by my photographer
Shanda @ Ace Photography -

The Father of the Bride

When a bride gets married, she is usually given away by her father.  This is an old, old custom that needs a little updating for the 21st Century.   In the olden days, the bride's husband was chosen by her father.  He had made a deal with the father of the groom.  It usually involved getting some land so that's how the word "husband" came about.  A "husband" is a keeper of the land or farmer and the woman went with the land, so she was husbanded!   Can you believe we still call the man a "husband" today?  I think we need a new name - like Partner for Life or Significant Other or "My Man!"    But what happens if the bride's father isn't in the picture, or he has passed?   I have had bride's given away by:  step-fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, grandfathers, children, bosses, best friend, and many have just walked alone down the aisle.  Yesterday, I had a beautiful wedding at the ocean in Laguna Beach.  The bride's father had passed and her step=father walked her down the aisle, but she had a beautiful flower memorial placed at the head of the aisle in remembrance of her Dad.      

love at sunset

This is the perfect beach wedding senerio -  2 people - very much in love - being married with their bare feet in the sand at sunset  and then cutting the cake & having their toast together on the sand.   They stood in the heart to say their vows and then I spread out the sand colored tablecloth for the cake cutting.  

Here is the personal statement the bride made to the groom:

Who could imagine that together we would transform our lives into this wonderful adv enture?  An advednture that has become a living dream.  We came a long way, making every second count.  We have grown together and learned from each other, spending time together, going to the movies, watching TV and missing you while you're at work, enjoying and sharing your happy days and supporting you in the bad ones.  Understanding our misunderstandings and resolving our differences because we care.  Making you smile with my silly ways.  It's been all a wonderful adventure and now after seven years of living this wonderful dream with you, w3e are taking this big step, our hearts will become one:  one life, one soul and one love.  A love so valuable that no treasure can compare, a love so strong that no person in the world can tear us apart.  I will always love you and I am ready to be your wife - to protect you, to respect you, to take care of you, to support you, to be always there for you and I give all of my heart and love to you.

We get the sunsets in the ocean in southern California from Oct. 15th to March 15th.

12 foot waves April lst, 2012

Darling "beach" shoes!

Here Comes the Bride!

My beach bride's nephew's carried signs that said

Here Comes

The Bride

So Cute!

Transportation for a beach wedding

To give your guests the best experience going to your beach wedding, bring them to the beach in a party bus!

Also, the wedding party can arrive in a hummer.

This is a picture of my wedding yesterday April lst, 2012.

Marcy Ann

949-433-3129

Best Dates for On-The-Sand Beach Wedding

Hi Ms. Beach Bride, I have checked the tides for 2012 and here are the best dates for a wedding on the sand: 
April 6th or 7th
April 20th or 21st
4:00pm  May 4th or 5th
4:00pm May 18th or 19th
May 25th or 26th
June 8th or 9thy
June 22nd or 23rd
July 6th or 7th
July 20th or 21st
August 3rd or 4th
August 14th or 18th
Sept. lst or 2nd  4:30pm
Sept. 7th  5:00pm
Sept. 8th  6:00pm
Sept. 14th  4:30pm
Sept. 15th   3:30pm
Sept. 21st or 22nd 5:00pm
Sept. 28th or 29th  3:30pm
Laguna Beach has the prettiest beaches but they are small so they wash out at high tide.  We have high tides at the full moon.   If you have handicapped, wheelchair or elderly, the best beach is Picnic Beach as it has a ramp for people to get down to the beach.  There are 26 steps to get down to North Main Beach or Diver's Cove beaches. Laguna does not allow chairs, but most people who live in California have a beach chair, and guests can bring their beach chairs if they need seating.    Laguna Beach is the ONLY City that allows weddings on the beach in the summer months of June, July or August.   These are the busiest months as Laguna Beach also has the Pageant of the Masters during July and August.   Beach permits are non-exclusive use of the beach but it will guarantee that there will not be another wedding at your permit time.   If I was a beach bride, I would be very unhappy if I got down to the sand and there was another bride there having her wedding, too!    All eyes should be on you and only you!  And everybody at the beach will also be watching you walk down the aisle.    

Beautiful Bride at the beach January lst, 2012   80 degrees in Laguna Beach!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Mia and Michael and Caleb are starting the New Year as a family with proud grandparents and aunts and uncles!