Country Weddings in
Southern California
By Joan Burns, Event Planner Extraordinaire

Creating a Country Wedding with a Western Theme is an easy chore in Southern California. While most people  think of beaches, palm trees and big cities when they think of Southern California, if you have a little cowgirl in you, Southern California has many ranches and farms that will allow you to have an old-fashioned Western wedding.  Most have beautiful views and well groomed areas for the ceremony and the reception.  You can even have horse and carriage rides for your guests or perhaps for the Grand Entrance. Private ranches also have the convenience of being able to offer menus from simple to elegant.  If horses are special to you, a Southern California Ranch can bring all of this to your special day.

Throughout the area there are historic ranches, some with Spanish influence and some with the reminders of gold miners and settler making their way to the west. Southern California has towns that have preserved the Western Way of life where you can have your ceremony in a small park and your reception at the “saloon”.  You may consider a ranch with a large barn to house the dancing and food and beverage for your reception while guests enjoy horseback riding.  Your imagination can be your guide.

Southern California offers some great caterers that actually do a Chuck Wagon menu. They bring in a real chuck wagon and your guest are given the opportunity enjoy a BBQ fit for the best cowboy or cowgirl.  It is a special treat to serve the dinner around fire pits if allowed or maybe tables with old fashioned lanterns on them.

Country Weddings definitely give a call to the outdoors.  County and State Parks offer spaces that you can transfer into beautiful wedding and reception sites.   Bringing in hay bales to sit on and using red checkered table clothes on existing picnic tables will help to create the theme.  Find out if they have a solid space for dancing or if you have to bring in a dance floor.  No country wedding is complete without some line dancing to engage the wedding party and the guests! 

Some other ways to create your theme might be toy sheriff’s badges with the guest’s name painted on for place cards if you are assigning tables.  Favors might be small good luck horseshoes with tags tied on them declaring the bride, groom and the date.  Wildflowers can make simple centerpieces and bouquets.

Perhaps you wish to have the American Indian influence for your wedding.   Using an Indian prayer in the ceremony or having an authentic Indian shaman might be considered.  The fabrics and colors of the Native Americans can easily be used on tables and as décor.  Using sage and other native plants and herbs make great table decor and wedding favors.

No matter if you are celebrating the Wild West, the days of the Gold Miner or just the elegance of 1800 Western Charm, Southern California has many sites and venues that can bring your Country Wedding to reality.

Big Blend Radio - Joan Burns was a featured guest on Creative Celebrations party planning radio on June 14, 2010. To listen to the entire show, please click here. To listen to Joan's interview please click here.