Kaitlin Kolvet, one half of the mother-daughter team at La Fete Weddings, has planned more than 250 weddings across California, with a focus estate weddings on the American Riviera, the coastal area near Santa Barbara, California. We chatted with her to get the details on all things wedding planning along this stretch of the West Coast.
What’s special about a wedding in Santa Barbara?
Santa Barbara is known for the most incredibly beautiful views that Southern California has to offer. Known as the American Riviera, there truly isn’t a bad place in this area to host a wedding. The local hotels have classic Spanish-style architecture and the private estates can offer 360-degree views of the mountains, Pacific Ocean and Channel Islands in the distance. Last but not least, the charming 75-degree weather that lasts throughout most of the year creates the perfect environment for hosting an outdoor wedding. Aside from the temperate climate, Santa Barbara is also known as wine country and boasts some remarkable local wines as well as fresh farm-to-table dining.
What style of weddings do couples prefer in Santa Barbara?
Because Santa Barbara is so naturally beautiful, we find that our clients want to work with the relaxed, beach town-style that this region offers. We pride ourselves on creating effortlessly, casual yet elegant weddings that tell a story about the couple getting married. We want each wedding to feel like an extension of the couple and reflect the natural beauty of Santa Barbara. We love designing outdoor spaces with fabric draped canopies or cabanas that offer the guests a place to stay shaded from the sun, yet still offer a romantic decor element that matches the style of the venue.
What details do couples typically include in Santa Barbara destination weddings?
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Santa Barbara is home to some incredible farmers market-style produce, and as a result we are working with tons of local caterers who use the freshest ingredients in the foods that they serve. We are often serving a lot of local Santa Barbara County wines too.
What’s challenging about planning a destination wedding in Santa Barbara?
When guests are traveling from out of town, they will typically will fly into LAX and often times the guests will complain about the traffic on the drive north. If timed correctly the drive can take around an hour and a half. But if guests fly in during rush hour that can turn into a grueling three-hour drive which can start the trip off on the wrong foot. We encourage our clients to mention this on their wedding website so that their guests can plan accordingly.
What is one logistical note couples need to know about planning in Santa Barbara?
When planning a wedding on a private estate there are a ton of logistics involved so that the surrounding neighbors are not impacted. This means being mindful of the noise restrictions in town. All amplified music must be cut off at 10:00 p.m. to avoid complaints unless the property will allow you to go later. Many of our clients have a hard time accepting the 10:00 p.m. cut off time and would like their party to go later into the evening. For these events, we will transport the guests to a nearby after party venue where the guests can enjoy late night snacks, a full bar, new party atmosphere and a DJ to keep the dancing going until 2:00 a.m.
What’s the one thing you can get in a wedding in Santa Barbara that you can’t get anywhere else in the world?
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We find that most of our clients are looking to give their guests an experience unlike any other wedding they have attended in the past and they want them to feel the “Santa Barbara lifestyle” within one weekend. We encourage all of our clients to list the incredible places their guests can visit during their down time surrounding the wedding. This includes wine tastings in The Funk Zone, an urban wine trail, or taking a wine tour to the Santa Ynez Valley to visit the local vineyards and to get out on the water. Whether you plan a sunset sail happy hour on a local charter boat or simply rent kayaks and paddle boards, the views looking back at the coastline are breathtaking.
