It’s been the perfect wedding day: a beautiful ceremony, friends you haven’t seen since before the plague, and fantastic music to rock out to on the dance floor. So what else could this dream day need? A Late Night Snack in the form of your favorite late-night, greasy, or comfort food to help re-energize your party!

Donuts and Ice Cold Milk

Assorted Donuts with 2% Milk.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches

Spread on Wonder Bread, Served with Chocolate Milk.

All-American Sliders

Mini Sliders with American Cheese, Secret Sauce, and a Pickle.

Mini Tacos

Topped with Fresh, Home-Made Guacamole and Cilantro.

Custom Snacks Available upon Request!

As we discussed, dessert bars are fantastic for groups who want a little something sweet on the go. However, a dessert action station is raising your dessert bar to the next level! These stations focus on one type of dessert and offer countless topping combinations to delight you and your guests. From Icecream Sundaes with all the toppings to roasting your own S’more, these stations elevate the feel of your event and provide the perfect cherry on top of your perfect night.

S’mores

Graham Crackers, Marshmallows, Chocolate Bars, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Guests of all ages love this station. No matter the time of year, everybody is ready for a S’more! You, too, can delight in roasting your mallow to perfection and then deciding between a peanut butter cup or a hearty chunk of milk chocolate to finish off your summery sandwich.

Sundaes

Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream Topped with Your Choice of Chocolate Sauce, Strawberry Sauce, Nuts, Candies, Sprinkles, Whipped Cream, and Cherries.

Icecream is a rising trend for couples who’d rather go the creamy dessert route over the cakey ones. At this station, all the classic toppings from nuts to strawberry syrup are included! See something missing? It’s no trouble to customize your toppings selection to fit your unique tastes.

Pie A la Mode

Sweet & Tart Cherry and Apple Oozing with Cinnamon, Served with Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream.

The Pie A la Mode station is definitely a crowd favorite during our Autumn weddings and festivities. Served with a heaping scoop of ice cream on top, this station brings about a heartwarming feeling that guests go crazy for!

Churros

Crispy Churros Cooked on Site Dipped in Cinnamon & Sugar, Served with Chocolate Sauce, Carmel Sauce, and Whip Cream.

By far our most popular station here at the Ranch, the Churro Station is the perfect dessert to complement our Spanish heritage and style. Fried on-site, these crispy treats taste best topped with caramel, chocolate, and a healthy heap of whipped cream!

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.

True Photography

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.

Morgan McCanne Photography

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.

Korina Moore Photography

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.

True Photography

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.

Michelle Flores Photography

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!

Tayler Ashley Photography

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!

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

 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

Author: CaliGirl Cooking

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

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.

The paramount decision between farm tables and classic rounds with linens has plagued couples and event designers for time and memorium. Linens offer infinite options to help create the perfect tablescape and overall event look. On the other hand, farm tables can be just as versatile in their look depending on the rest of the decor.

Photos by Vafa Photography

For years, round and rectangular tables were the standard, and the linen industry ruled with an iron fist! 

Not without reason, either. The draw toward tables with linens is that of a clean-cut, classic look, and they happen to come in every shade of your imagination. Through shade, texture and layering, you can make your dream wedding or event come to life. The options and combinations are quite literally endless, so if you know what you want, little can stop you.

The choice of table shape includes more factors than you might guess. Round tables are especially convenient for social gatherings, allowing guests to talk freely without straining necks and voices. No longer are we restricted to a forced conversation only with the person next to us, because everyone faces the same center point! As a result, the centerpieces for circular tables can be tall, glorious works of art or smaller, cute, and more cost-efficient! Round tables are also easily maneuverable in irregular-shaped spaces (which happens to be the case with our reception area here at Leo Carrillo Ranch).

No respectable event allowed tables to go unclothed. It was indecent! Imagine naked tables all over your wedding, bare legs out for the world to see!

Scandalous.

The Rustic look, with all its wood and naked tables, didn’t become a trend until couples started wanting more to their weddings than hotel ballrooms. Couples began to desire less of a “big white wedding” look and sought something more tailored to fit their personalities. These farm tables appeal to those looking for something casual yet high-quality to carry the importance of the occasion.

The rustic look is growing in popularity to this day. Event planners and Pinterest personalities alike are discovering the untapped potential for these wood canvases. In places where outdoor events are available most of the year, they’ve become a standard!

Soon, a new generation didn’t mind these barbaric clothless tables. They were charming, simple, craftsman works of art. They had begun to appreciate the freedom that comes with a good glossy stain and not much else.

While farm tables grew in popularity, the divide between rustic and contemporary also expanded. Couples and wedding planners were tasked with exploring this new event motif while still trying to appeal to an older generation with traditional wedding ideas. The next hurdle became organizing these events with polar opposite visions and expectations battling for dominance. People had to decide: follow the traditional classic look of tables with linens, or embrace the new picturesque look of bare farm tables.

So the feud began…

Until someone discovered in a burst of inventive brilliance…

… why not have both?

Finally!!

In a stroke of genius, someone combined the two in the ultimate compromise. The final product is called Rustic-Chic (or Boho-Chic depending on the amount of pampas grass in the rest of the decor). The look is well-rounded, regal yet approachable, clean yet quaint. It melds the best of both worlds and can transform the layout of any event.

Where will your loyalties lie?

Ask our Event Coordinators to help you decide which style best fits your function when planning your next event at Leo Carrillo Ranch!

Thanks to Vafa Photography for the visual aid to this story!

And huge thanks to Personal Touch Dining for the Coordination and Management of our venue, as well as the phenomenal food quality and selection!

Summer 2021, we’re seeing so many ’70s flashbacks that we’re starting to find pampas grass in our dreams! Our Ranch has always attracted the boho-chic couples, but this year they’re going bigger than ever before. There’s no holding back on the fabulous decor and ingenious DIY creations we’ll see amidst our historic charm. From Mid-Century, Boho-chic, even a little bit of disco, we’re feeling these inspired designs.

Neon Letter Signs

Logan Cole Photography

We’re seeing these custom-made neon signs everywhere in our summer wedding plans. A little nod to the disco age during the 70s, neon signs can be integrated into ceremony backdrops, welcome signs, and even bar decor. The best part about these neon signs is that couples can keep them and reuse them as fun decor in their home!

Color-Block Backdrops

These backdrops are the most popular ones for now, and the best part is that they’re super DIY friendly. Color block cardboard or plywood backdrops with laser cut or without, with some abstract prints or without them. The colors are traditionally orange, rust, red, yellow, ocher, burgundy, and other warmer desert shades, but we’ve seen ones with all colors. Toss around some candles and large bundles of florals to match your overall decor, and you’ve got a look that professional designers crave!

Wedding Arches

There are so many sub-categories of “70’s Boho” wedding arches. We’ve done gorgeous arches of macrame, fringe, greenery, dried and fresh blooms, and pampas grass is sky-rocketing in popularity. Recently, the geometric designs have really taken off as well, and we love the idea of a triangle wooden arch. You can skip all the macrame and fringe stuff, sticking to a more traditional floral design too! Creating a bold arch or altar with flowers in bright colors (orange, rust, yellow, red, burgundy, of course) and some dried blooms and bright leaves among your greenery can still fall into the 70’s vibe,

Vibrant and Colorful

Photo Credits: via Gather Design Company, Photography: The Ganeys /

If you haven’t picked up on the proper 70’s color scheme yet, vibrant colors are some of the most popular hues for Summer weddings. Brilliant blooms in corals, oranges, and yellows, have always been an exquisite accent pallet to our gorgeous sunsets, blue barn doors, and white-washed walls. You can spin these colors however you feel, whether you’re looking for inspiration to keep things fresh with vibrant and tropical color combinations or want something classic with romantic pastels and modern neutrals. It is easy to bring your ideas to life, and the 70s were all about vibing with what feels right.

Welcome Boxes

Photography- True Photography Welcome Box- Personal Touch Dining

There are so many welcome gifts that have become a new standard for couples to give–and generally have available– to their guests now. It seems like it’d be odd not to offer cute personalized hand sanitizers and optional masks, but what about programs and take-home favors too? Instead of assuming your guests have space to fit all these fun trinkets into their pockets, a box filled with everything they could need from the start is the perfect solution. Guest-centered details like this are blowing up in popularity since so many weddings have been downsized. As a wedding favor that they can actually use at the wedding, these boxes act as a thoughtful way to make your loved ones feel that they’re cared for on your wedding day.

Looking For More Inspiration?

Check out our Instagram and Pinterest!

From trade shows and corporate meetings to weddings, a comfortable lounge area can be beneficial in various ways. They offer an oasis to your guests, particularly if your event involves a lot of walking or standing, but they can also be an excellent meeting point for attendees to network. Creating a relaxed or informal moment during an event can be more conducive to starting a conversation and getting things flowing.

Hot Spots

Create a variety of matching locations for your attendees to chat comfortably in smaller groups. This layout is ideal if you have a lot of space, and it can be more luxurious than offering just one lounge area.

Plum & Oak Photography, Lounge Furniture: Folklore.

New Hollywood

Old Hollywood glam mixed with the latest fashions is always a hit with guests. This themed lounge is effective, creates an immersive experience, and looks welcoming.

Tayler Ashley Photography, Lounge Furniture: Folklore.

Wide Open Spaces

An open layout such as this makes for fluid mingling allows attendees to sit without cornering themselves off from the rest of the event. This is particularly good if there is something to watch on a stage or pay attention to, and these low tables make resting drinks easier for a more informal atmosphere.

Holly Ireland Photography, Lounge Furniture: Folklore.

Networking Stations

Although originally used for a wedding, this layout would also suit a corporate setting. Add a lounge to your corporate meeting or conference for a welcome break, as well as a way to promote continued conversation throughout the day. The combination between stools and rattan chairs provides a seating option for everyone.

True Photography, Lounge Furniture: Folklore.

Vintage Elegance

A popular trend as of late is creating a traditional lounge space in different settings. For example, it would be suited to an old-style English living room. However, it has been adapted to create an outdoor event lounge looking like the Beauty and the Beast library has inspired it.

True Photography

In-Tents!

Give your event a luxurious vibe by providing themed tents dotted around the venue. This wedding example provides more options for guests to sit and relax if they want to get up from the tables without making them wander in this outdoor setting.

Clifton Photography

See something you like?

Reach out to our talented Event Coordination Team to set up your ideal event lounge!

Wedding planning can be exhausting, and one of the hardest parts is the seating chart. After worrying about where and how your guests will be sitting, some couples forget to seat themselves!

Choosing whether you want to sit close to your bridal party and family or on your own throne as wedding royalty can be a tough choice. The decision between a Head Table and a Sweetheart Table comes down to preference and logistics, but if you and your honey aren’t particularly swayed in one direction over another, here’s some detailed information about both options to help you decide.

In Part One of this topic, we discussed all the perks of a Sweetheart Table over a Head Table. Now it’s time to fully explore the benefits of this grand feasting table design to see if it’s right for you!

Head Tables: For Your Knights and Ladies In Waiting

As mentioned before, Head Tables can come with their own difficulties, but with an appropriately sized bridal party, they can be a perfect fit! Medium to small-sized bridal parties (4-10 people total, including the Bride and Groom) are what Head Tables are literally built for.

Photographer: Photo by Chana and Don, Florist: Splendid Sentiments.

Modeled After “High Tables” from Medieval Feasts!

Royalty kept only the most trusted people close to them at meals. Without getting too into the history, it was a matter of safety and propriety, which determined where guests were seated. So today, we seat those that the Bride and Groom want to honor closest to them for their friendship and loyalty in their lives. Usually the Best Man and Maid of Honor, these people have helped support the happy couple throughout their relationship and wedding planning mayhem. Placing them next to the newlyweds as a way to honor them give them the thanks they deserve seems only natural.

Photographer: Photography by Joshua Killeen, Florist: The Flower Shop Encinitas.

Family Matters

Family is an enormous part of weddings, and we wouldn’t want anybody to feel left out. Some couples stick everybody who was part of the processional of their ceremony at one table. Meaning the happy couple, the bridal party, all parents, and any other significant members all come together again, essentially creating an XXL Head Table. Here the love birds can be in the thick of all the fun, and surprisingly, it works out flawlessly! Their bridal party, full of people practically family to them already, is sometimes too big. It makes sense to be with them in the middle of the festivities. Your family and closest friends are all going to want to talk to you anyway; you might as well join them so everyone can be able to sit and chat!

Photographer: Vafa Photography, Florist: Haystack Floral.

Tired Of The Spotlight?

Let’s say you don’t particularly care for the spotlight 100% of the time, and you want to be seated with your family. We suggest trying a Family Table. Introverted and family-focused couples love this option, especially when so much stimulation over the course of the day gets to be too much. The extra support you’ll receive surrounded by those already begging at the chance to help will be a relief. This option is also smart for pinching a few pennies since you won’t need to order extra tables and decorations!

Photographer: Gipe Photography, Florist: Huntress Florals.

Now that you have all the information, good and bad points, make a choice!

Just remember to be true to what you and your significant other want.

Thanks to all of the amazing photographers mentioned above, whose pictures we used to make this collaboration, and all the Florists who help inspire us with these beautiful arrangements!

Wedding planning can be exhausting, and one of the hardest parts is the seating chart. After worrying about where and how your guests will be sitting, some couples forget to seat themselves!

Choosing whether you want to sit close to your bridal party and family or on your own throne as wedding royalty can be a tough choice. The decision between a Head Table and a Sweetheart Table comes down to most couples’ preferences or logistics. If you and your hunny aren’t particularly swayed in one direction over another, here’s some detailed information about both options to help you decide.

Photographer: Plum and Oak Photography, Florist: Native Poppy.

Sweetheart Tables

A Sweetheart Table is exactly what it sounds like: a table meant for only the “Sweethearts,” aka the Bride and Groom. It will be one of the few designated places you and your significant other will be able to–frankly–escape the hordes of your adoring fans. There won’t be many moments over the course of the night where the two of you will be able to have private moments to yourselves, and having a designated seat away from the crowd might be exactly what you need.

Photographer: Elizabeth French Creative, Florals by a family member of the Bride.

A Remote Island Getaway

This table acts as a liferaft in the sea of your enthusiastic family members and will become your perching place for those few precious moments that nobody needs you for anything. Plus, everything on the table only comes in two’s, so you can afford to decorate! Without worrying about making 100+ copies of everything and buying in bulk, you can customize your special space all you want. Make it look like the table of your wildest dreams! (Or your wildest Pinterest boards…)

Photographer: By Amy Lynn Photography, Florist: KO Floral Designs.

No Need to Have Your Friends on a Leash!

Having your own table also grants your bridal party the freedom to mingle and pursue their own agendas throughout the night without feeling like they have to ask permission to leave the table. Most bridal party members will also be bringing a date, and they’ll want to be seated close to them. The Sweetheart Table keeps your honored friends out from under the spotlight and can entertain your other guests.

Photographer: Jordan Galindo, Florist: Layered Vintage.

It’s All About The Numbers.

Speaking of bridal parties, have you considered the size of your whole crew? Plus their dates? If you plan on seating only the designated bridal party with you, hopefully, their “Plus Ones” know somebody else to sit and talk with at their tables…

In general, extensive bridal parties tend to look a bit excessive if they’re all seated away from the rest of your guests at a Head Table. A group of people over twelve thick is tough to seat properly, especially if they’re all looking out in the same direction since you wouldn’t want anybody’s back to the rest of your guests. That can mean your head table is now around eighteen feet long! (If you want to talk to the ones at either end, start practicing your smoke signals now.) In this situation, unfortunately, those whom you wanted closest to you can end up not being the most remote.

Photographer: Gipe Photography, Florals by the Bride and Groom.

Musical Chairs

Think back to other occasions where a large group of friends and family got together at a restaurant. One of the biggest seating issues is making others have to get up or scoot their seats in every time you need to get up. Honestly, at your wedding, you only get to sit and relax for a total of about 45 minutes, if you’re lucky, and the toasts are long. You’re going to want every second of that seated peace enjoyed.

This seat-shuffling issue is removed by having a Sweetheart Table. It also makes you seem more approachable to your guests. Nobody wants to cause an inconvenience by imposing themselves on someone else’s space. By removing additional bodies, a direct line of traffic can form between your excited guests to you. Thus, creating a quicker flow of interactions and a more time-efficient process for the event overall.

Photographer: Shelly Anderson Photography, Florist: I Do Flowers For You.

Sentiments and Symbolism

Sitting at a Sweetheart Table can also be the first gesture a couple can make together in their married lives. It can signify that they are a single united entity forging a future path of their own. Many couples choose this option for that reason and the privacy it allows as well. Whispering sweet nothings in the ear of your freshly wedded spouse, without worrying about an audience, can keep the romance alive on such a crazy day.

Photographer: Lauren Scotti Photography, Florist: Siren Floral Co.

Still Can’t Decide?

With all of this said, the idea of a Sweetheart Table doesn’t sit right with some couples. They want their bridal party right at their sides, or they love the thought of a Head Table’s ability to make a bigger design statement.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 coming next week, where we’ll explore the other side of this decision and all the Head Table benefits!