Betwixt Photography – Cynthia Zatkin Events

Journey of Love: A Prado Wedding

The Prado at Balboa Park is truly one of my favorite San Diego wedding venues. The Spanish style architecture of the Prado and surrounding museums makes the entire area a wonderful backdrop for any wedding–and offers such amazing photographic backdrops! I definitely have a love affair with Balboa Park for weddings! Katy & Dan fell in love with the Prado from the moment they saw it and decided it was the perfect place for their San Diego wedding! They decided to begin their day with their ceremony at less known part of Balboa Park, the Administration Courtyard Lawn. It is a large, secluded area (which present writer happens to love since she also got married there!) just across Park Blvd from Balboa Park proper.

Katy chose yellows, whites, and purples for her wedding colors. The bridesmaids wore purple dresses and carried yellow and white flowers. Katy loved that contrast! For the rest of the ceremony, we opted for yellows and whites alone. We decided those perfectly created a garden look. Then for the more dramatic Prado reception, we brought in lots of purples and accented it with gold. The look created was rich and dramatic. Katy and Dan also decided to bring in a touch of an old world travel theme. Dan had been in the military and had traveled for much of their courtship. Instead of sending emails, the two of them wrote actual letters to each other througout his stints away. Those letters, and all the places they traveled around the globe, inspired our decor. Luggage tag seating cards led guests to their tables and additional tags, hung on each chair, assisted guests in finding their seats. Pink Star Design created these and postcard table numbers, featuring vintage sketches of places Dan had been or favorite spots the couple had traveled to together.

We also used tons of candles and vintage suitcases to add to the romantic setting and old world sense. And for all the children, the mother-of-the-bride set little suitcases at each of the place settings filled with crayons, stickers, and other treats. This idea is a really fun way to keep children entertained during a reception and to help them feel special!

“To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with.”–Mark Twain. Katy & Dan definitely reached the full value of joy!

A Whimsical Prado Wedding

Tammy and Tad had a gorgeous wedding at the Prado in Balboa Park, San Diego, CA. Tammy loves Anthropologie and was inspired by the store as she dreamed up her decor. She added creative, eclectic, personal touches to showcase her own sweet whimsical style (check out the teal shoes!) and to tie in her and Tad’s mix of Thai, Chinese, and Japanese traditions. Tammy commissioned her nurses in her office to assist her with making 1000 origami cranes that we hung in strings from the Prado’s balcony. It’s a cultural tradition for Japanese brides to make 1000 paper cranes for their wedding day to represent their hope for a happy marriage.

The bridesmaids attire consisted of gray dresses, teal shoes, yellow bouquets…and these fantastic yellow balloons! Tammy loved this idea and had the balloons delivered to the Prado as a perfect prop for some of her photos. The wedding began with a traditional American ceremony (where Tammy wore a gorgeous white gown with teal shoes) and then proceeded to a Thai ceremony, known as a sinsod (which of course included an outfit change!), in which the couple are interlinked by their elders and community. For the Japanese side, Tammy (and her nurses) made 1000 origami cranes that were used as seating cards and which we strung from the balcony during the cocktail hour. She added Japanese tea tins to further incorporate a little Japanese culture in a nostalgic way. Tammy wanted a whimsical garden feel to her decor so we focused on bird cages, natural wood, and lots of candles to create natural light. Check out the bird bath cake table that Chris, from Indulge Flowers created! I am now completely over standard cake tables. The bird bath was amazing! The centerpieces were a mixture of bird cages, wood lanterns, and these amazing ginormous trees!

During the reception, Tammy & Tad further honored Tammy’s Chinese side by doing a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. The newlyweds served green tea to their primary family (which involved another outfit change!). At this point Tammy had, yes, count them, three dresses (each of them unique and gorgeous on their own). And then she added a fourth! Tammy finished the evening in a tea-length 50’s style dress which perfectly accented her and Tad’s choreographed swing “first dance.” We heart Tammy & Tad and are so inspired by Tammy’s love for nostalgic details and whimsical touches!