The Dessert Bar!

Posted on June 29, 2021
in Updates
by lcr

Let Them Not Eat Cake.

There is a whole world of dessert options beyond traditional tiered cakes to explore for your wedding. Dessert bars in particular offer long-term snacking compared to active stations like the S’mores, Ice Cream Sundae, and Churro stations that we provide. These dessert bars are perfect for couples who want to keep their guests on the dance floor and want to appeal to the largest crowd. Check out these mouth-watering options below for your own sweet, sweet inspiration!

Gipe Photography

Dessert trends have been pointing away from classic tiered cakes, with their overly sweet or inaccurate amount issues, and towards experimenting with smaller portions or varieties of treats as options for guests.

Anastasya Photography

Donuts, in particular over the last few years, have rocketed off the charts in popularity!

Honestly, who can resist fried dough covered in sugar?

Gipe Photography

Cupcakes offer options for your guests’ special dietary needs as well!

Instead of ordering one layer of cake hoping and worrying about anybody’s allergy restrictions, ordering cupcakes allow for specific numbers of different flavors to please everyone.

Anastasya Photography

Your favorite treats to go–such as cookies, brownies, lemon bars, and any other sugary concoction are perfect for guests to snag from a dessert station on their way to the dance floor.

Krissel Rivas Photography

Snag your favorite candies in bulk to share with your guests. They can make little to-go bags of their favorites to take home. A healthier version that we’ve seen of this dessert station option is a trail mix station!

Acqua Photo

Choose your favorite treats and go wild! We love seeing couples get creative with their choices.

Gipe Photography

Just ask our coordinators for ideas on how best to display all of your treats!

 

 

Leo Carrillo Ranch Coordinated, Managed, and Catered by Personal Touch Dining.

Unity Ceremony Inspiration!

Posted on June 22, 2021
in Event Tips
by lcr

Add Your Unique Touch to This Unforgettable Moment

A unity ritual is certainly not required by any means. Still, there may be a ceremony option that’s the perfect fit for you and your partner, whether you’re looking for something religious, historical, or secular.

Carissa Woo Photography

What Is a Unity Ceremony?

A unity ceremony is a symbolic ritual woven into the wedding ceremony. Among the most common unity ceremonies are handfasting, circling, and the lighting of a unity candle.

One of the most meaningful choices you’ll make is what will be included in your ceremony! Friends, Family, and Coordinators will all be asking what you’ll do to personalize your wedding ceremony. Unity ceremonies are meaningful rituals performed during your wedding to represent becoming a union. Often, a unity ceremony allows other family members to participate and further its meaning and representation of two families joining together. It may also be the perfect way to celebrate your and your partner’s heritage with tradition.

Lighting a Unity Candle

This is definitely one of the most common unity ceremonies performed. The candle-lighting ceremony usually involves the couple lighting one large candle from two smaller family candles. Traditionally, the smaller candles are lit by each of their mothers, representing the merging of two families.

Michelle Dudley Photography

The Lasso Ceremony

Also called “el Lazo,” this ritual—traditional in Mexican, Filipino, and Spanish cultures—occurs after the vows have been said. At that time, the officiant (or whomever the couple has designated) drapes a floral garland or rosary around the couple, twisting it into an infinity symbol. At the end of the ceremony, the bestower of the lasso removes it, and the couple saves it as a symbol of their love and unity.

Anniversary Time Capsule

The time-capsule ceremony is a reminder of the durability of your love and the lifetime commitment of marriage. During the ceremony, all of these tokens of love are sealed up in a box, and the couple can open it on their five-year, 10-year, or 20th anniversary. The time-capsule ceremony can also include friends or family invited to bring photos, letters, or keepsakes to seal in the time capsule.

Before the ceremony, the couple should gather important mementos from their relationship: ticket stubs, hotel room keys, notes, and cards. In addition, each should write a love letter to each other.

Vee Taylor Photography

Wash Each Other’s Feet

While this ceremony has Christian roots, washing the feet is a symbol of love and humanity–we find that purpose is truly universal. It serves as an act of caregiving to symbolize your devotion to each other.

Pouring Sand

This is such a fun ceremony idea for a nautical or beach wedding, but any wedding theme can certainly utilize the concept for any wedding theme. The couple takes turns pouring colored sand from personal vases into another vase, where they blend their sand to make a beautiful display. This is one of the best unity ceremony ideas for blended families, as children can also add sand to the family vase.

Wine or Beer Pouring

If you’ve ever stumbled upon the perfect red blend wine that you couldn’t get enough of, this is definitely the unity ceremony for you. The couple chooses two different yet compatible wines, pour them into a glass to create a perfect blend, and then drinks the blend together. Beer can also do this, or it can be done with tea for a dry wedding.

Tree Planting

This is such a sweet ceremony option for a woodland-themed or garden-inspired wedding. This creative nature-inspired idea is to plant a tree together, adding soil (perhaps gathered from both of your hometowns) to a pot to symbolize your union. Like the tree, your relationship will need love and care to grow and bloom.

Wine Box Ceremony

Some things get better with time, like the perfect bottle of wine. And what better way to plan for your anniversary than to bring a love for wine into your ceremony? For the non-religious wine box ceremony, the couple selects a wine that can age well. During the wedding, the couple places the bottle of wine in a box and closes the lid, sometimes including other notes or objects. Once sealed, the box isn’t opened until a specific date chosen, such as a 10th wedding anniversary.

If you choose this unity ceremony option, be sure to consult a wine steward or another knowledgeable wine expert on the best wine to tuck away. Often, white wines don’t age as well as reds. You’ll want to make sure you choose something that can still be enjoyed when you choose to reopen your box.

Religious or Cultural Tradition Blending

Intertwine heritages, cultural backgrounds, and religions through unique blended ceremonies. Many cultures incorporate their good wishes on the happy couple through ancient traditions. Please bring them to your ceremony with pride!

Your imagination is the limit!

We’ve seen glass beads be used instead of sand, which is then sent to a professional to be transformed into a one-of-a-kind glass vase or bowl. From Hand-fasting to releasing floating lanterns, ask your venue or event coordination team what they’d recommend!

Happy Father’s Day!

Posted on June 19, 2021
in Bridal Party, Holiday
by lcr

“Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, storytellers, and singers of song.” —Pam Brown

Francis Ralph Potograpiya

“He never looks for praises.
He’s never one to boast.
He just goes on quietly working
For those he loves the most.
His dreams are seldom spoken.
His wants are very few,
And most of the time his worries
Will go unspoken, too.
He’s there –a firm foundation–
Through all our storms of life,
A sturdy hand to hold onto
In times of stress and strife.
A true friend we can turn to
When times are good or bad.
One of our greatest blessings,
The man that we call Dad.”

 —Silent Strong Dad, by Karen K. Boyer

 

Thanks to all the proud Dads who have graced our historic halls with their endless support and devotion.

Francis Ralph Potograpiya

We hope you feel appreciated by all of us at Leo Carrillo Ranch, and we wish you all a fantastic Father’s Day!

 

 

Enthusiastic Client Review!

Posted on June 8, 2021
in Review
by lcr

Another “Great Wedding Experience!”

We strive to make your wedding day as effortless and stress-free as possible. As an all-inclusive venue, all the little details are taken care of, so you can focus on the fun stuff! For all the charm our historic ranch naturally has, it’s surprisingly flexible enough to be transformed into the perfect fit for your unique personality. Just ask Meagan!

 

 

Check out all the gorgeous details of Meagan and Chad’s Romantic Greecian Ranch Wedding on our blog!

 

Our Favorite Seasonal Cocktails | Early Summer Sippers

Posted on June 1, 2021
in Event Tips
by lcr

The Perfect Refreshing Summer Cocktails!

With the start of June, we can officially say Summer is upon us. Although the mornings are clouded in the signature San Diego “June Gloom” that lingers until mid-afternoon, by the time Happy Hour rolls around, the sun is out! That’s when a chilled beverage is exactly what we need. We’ve gathered a few of our favorite summer-inspired cocktails that should put anybody in the right headspace to enjoy a classic San Diego summer.

Green Tea Sangria

green tea sangria with lemon and mint

 Author Brewing Happiness

Refreshing, subtly sweet, and flavored with lemon and mint, this is a cocktail even grandma would approve of. 
This is a cocktail meant for those lazy Sundays where a spiked iced tea might be ok to start enjoying way before 5 pm. The prep time might take a bit from start to finish, but the effort is minimal, which is our favorite part. Brew this sangria up at your leisure in the AM, and it’ll be ready by the early afternoon. Just in time for your guests to arrive for “Sunday Funday.”
(Servings 4 -5)

Ingredients

  • 1 bottle white wine (We suggest using a Reisling)
  • 4 cups water
  • 6 bags green tea
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 3 lemons, sliced
  • 20-25 mint leaves

Instructions

  1. In a large pot or kettle, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
  2. After boiling, take off heat, and add in 6 green tea bags. Let steep for 5 minutes.
  3. Remove tea bags, and stir in 1/3 cup of honey. (Let cool for 30 min-1 hour before mixing sangria.)
  4. When the tea is slightly cooled, add it to your pitcher along with 1 bottle of white wine, lemon slices, and fresh mint leaves.
  5. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours before serving!

Strawberry Basil Gin Jammer

Who would’ve thought to put jam in a cocktail?
Late spring to early summer is strawberry season here in San Diego. At the beginning of June, we’re about neck-deep in the delicious stuff and just had to include a strawberry-inspired drink to this list. This tasty beverage is perfect for those summer outings at your favorite picnic spot. Or those days when you need to satisfy a sweets craving but have no juice in your fridge. Muddled strawberries, basil, and a healthy glob of strawberry jam are all you need to complete this refreshing, picnic-perfect drink!

Ingredients

  • 2 fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 3-4 fresh basil leaves
  • 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
  • 2 ounces gin
  • More whole strawberries for garnish (if desired)

Instructions

  1. In a rocks glass, muddle the strawberries and basil.
  2. In a cocktail shaker filled with about ¾ cup of ice, combine the strawberry jam and the gin.
  3. Shake vigorously for about 20 seconds and then pour contents of shaker (including ice) into the rocks glass.
  4. Garnish with a fresh strawberry and enjoy.

 

Tequila Mockingbird

Tequila Mockingbird cocktail on yellow-and-white-striped surface

Author: Liquor.com, Image: Tim Nusog.

A book, a pun, and–most importantly–a cocktail with many surprising variations.

If you were to google how to make a Tequila Mockingbird, you’d find around four or five completely different recipes that all claim to be the same drink. This spicy margarita variation is our favorite and screams summer with its watermelon base. It’s easy to make, and prep only requires slicing up a few ingredients! We can see this enjoyed by the pool or even at an upscale summer bbq. Book lovers and mixologists alike will rave about this one.

Ingredients

  • 1 slice jalapeño
  • 3 watermelon cubes
  • 2 ounces silver tequila
  • 3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
  • 3/4 ounce agave syrup

Instructions

  1. Muddle the jalapeño slice and watermelon cubes in a shaker to extract the juices.
  2. Add tequila, lime juice, agave syrup, and ice, then shake until well-chilled.
  3. Fine-strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.

 

What are some of your favorite summery cocktails? We’d love to add them to our list!

Check Rates & Availability