Whimsical Backyard Wedding at the Sanctuary Estate

Alison and Andrew booked their venue with Estate Weddings and Events almost a year to the day before their wedding date. They chose the stunning Sanctuary Estate in Rancho Santa Fe, California. This San Diego-area property sits on 3.7 beautiful acres of park-like landscapes. The lush gardens, manicured lawns, water elements (including a pond with a dock) and shade-giving trees create a tranquil and attractive environment. The setting makes Sanctuary an ideal estate for both wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions.

The couple is from New York, so they had to fly out to San Diego once to take care of all the preparations. They packed most of their local wedding planning into about three and a half days! As anyone who has ever been involved in planning a wedding will tell you, that is not a lot of time. It's pretty impressive that everything came together so perfectly on the big day.

Alison has a great sense of humor and had a fun time designing the day-of paper items and event signage. There were hilarious bar signs, cute food station signs, and other little details that really helped give the entire event a very personalized feel.

The couple’s wedding ceremony was very special. Their young son even took part. He walked down the aisle with Andrew. Both father and son were in matching tuxedos.

Over the course of their relationship, Andrew introduced his love of travel to Alison. To highlight this, they named each table after a travel adventure that they had shared during their relationship. This was another way that they were really able to personalize the celebration.

The dinner menu was completely customized, and it was a lot of fun to create. The menu was designed around the concept of Andrew and Alison being the “perfect pair.” Each food item at each station had its own drink pairing. Some of the combinations included tacos and margaritas, sliders and beer, salad and agua de fruitas, and sushi and sake.

Both Alison and Andrew had a few surprises for each other. During the reception, Alison surprised Andrew with a serenade. She sang the song “Bright” by Echosmith, accompanied by the live band. Her rendition brought tears to the eyes of many (including Andrew).

Andrew had a surprise up his sleeve as well. As the couple drove away at the end of the night, there was a small (non-aerial) fireworks display that created an "arch" when the couple's car passed the Sanctuary's gate.