Santa Barbara, with its sun-drenched beaches, charming Spanish architecture, and lush gardens, offers a breathtaking backdrop for a wedding. Whether you’re dreaming of a glamorous beachside affair or a quaint, rustic celebration, this Californian coastal city has a venue to match your vision. Here’s a look at four of Santa Barbara’s most enchanting wedding locations: Rosewood Miramar Beach, Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, San Ysidro Ranch, and the Santa Barbara Courthouse.

Rosewood Miramar Beach: Coastal Elegance at its Finest

If your dream wedding involves toes in the sand and an ocean breeze, the Rosewood Miramar Beach is a match made in paradise. Nestled on a pristine stretch of Montecito’s coastline, this luxurious resort combines coastal charm with opulent amenities. Imagine exchanging vows on the beach with the Pacific Ocean as your backdrop or under a beautifully draped canopy in the lush garden.

The Rosewood Miramar offers a variety of stunning spaces for your celebration, from the sophisticated Miramar Ballroom to intimate outdoor settings. Their dedicated wedding team ensures every detail is perfected, from bespoke catering options to personalized decor. Plus, the resort’s elegant accommodations provide a perfect retreat for you and your guests to relax and enjoy after the festivities.

2. Inn at Mattei’s Tavern: Rustic Charm Meets Modern Luxury

For a blend of rustic charm and modern elegance, the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos is an idyllic choice. Originally a 19th-century stagecoach stop, this venue has been lovingly restored to offer a unique and intimate setting. Surrounded by rolling vineyards and historic buildings, it provides a picturesque and romantic atmosphere.

The Inn features various event spaces, including lush gardens and a charming courtyard, perfect for an outdoor ceremony or reception. The venue’s restored tavern and cottages offer a cozy yet sophisticated ambiance, making it an excellent choice for a wedding that feels both personal and luxurious. The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern’s exceptional service and culinary delights will ensure your celebration is memorable.

3. San Ysidro Ranch: A Historic and Intimate Haven

If you’re seeking an enchanting and historic venue, the San Ysidro Ranch is a top contender. This secluded gem sits on 550 acres of stunning grounds, including picturesque gardens, olive groves, and mountains. It’s a place where timeless elegance meets natural beauty.

The ranch’s diverse event spaces, such as the charming Garden Lawn or the intimate Sycamore Grove, offer versatile options for both ceremonies and receptions. The San Ysidro Ranch’s rich history and luxurious accommodations make it a magical location for couples wanting a blend of sophistication and tranquility. Plus, the ranch’s renowned dining and personalized service ensure a wedding experience that’s both elegant and heartfelt.

4. Santa Barbara Courthouse: Historic Grandeur in the Heart of Downtown

For a wedding with historical grandeur and architectural splendor, the Santa Barbara Courthouse is unparalleled. This iconic landmark, with its Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, provides a dramatic and beautiful setting for your ceremony. The courthouse’s stunning murals, intricate tilework, and lush gardens create an ambiance of old-world charm and elegance.

The venue offers several spaces for your wedding, including the lush Sunken Gardens and the ornate Courthouse Mural Room. Its central location in downtown Santa Barbara also makes it a convenient choice for guests. The courthouse’s rich history and striking beauty will add a touch of timeless sophistication to your special day.

5. Hotel Californian: Contemporary Luxury with Mediterranean Flair

For a wedding that blends modern sophistication with Mediterranean-inspired charm, the Hotel Californian is a standout choice. Located in the heart of Santa Barbara’s vibrant Funk Zone, this chic hotel offers a stylish and contemporary setting that complements the city’s historical elegance.

The Hotel Californian features a range of versatile spaces, including the stunning rooftop terrace with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains, perfect for an al fresco ceremony or reception. The hotel’s lush courtyard, adorned with vibrant tilework and elegant furnishings, provides an inviting and intimate environment for your special day.

Guests will appreciate the hotel’s luxurious accommodations, which blend modern amenities with a nod to the region’s Spanish heritage. The on-site dining options are exceptional, offering a range of gourmet experiences that can be tailored to your wedding needs. With its sophisticated design, personalized service, and prime location, the Hotel Californian ensures a memorable celebration that captures the essence of Santa Barbara’s charm.

Choosing Your Perfect Venue

Santa Barbara offers an array of breathtaking venues, each with its own unique charm and character. Whether you’re drawn to the coastal elegance of Rosewood Miramar Beach, the rustic allure of Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, or the historic romance of San Ysidro Ranch, the Meag Breanne Events team will help you find a location that perfectly captures the essence of your love story. Each of these venues provides not just a backdrop, but an experience that will make your wedding day truly unforgettable.

All photos by Olivia Marshall Photography

I had so much fun planning and designing my 33rd birthday party! The design itself was inspired by the Stradley Davidson napkin linen — I just loved the pattern! From there, I started to build out the moodboard full of colorful florals and fun details like the custom disposable cameras and the wine charm place cards. Katia of Muse Floral Co. did her thing as usual and produced the most stunning arrangements and Carly of Lovers For Life Events created the cutest hand drawn invitations and menus customized with each guests’ name. The icing on the cake (literally) was the beautiful cake by Natalie of Natty Cakes — not only was it beautiful, it was delicious too! Last, but not least, huge thank you to Olivia Marshall for capturing the event!

Planning and Design: Meag Breanne Events

Photography: Olivia Marshall Photography

Floral Design: Muse Floral Co.

Stationery: Lovers For Life Events

Cake: Natty Cakes

Napkin Linens: Stradley Davidson

This bridal shower brunch was so fun to design! So many of my favorite things were included — fun colors, beautiful florals (and a lot of them), custom paper goods, and cute cocktails! Whether you are having 6 people or 60 people, have fun with your bridal shower and make it your own! Just because it’s bridal, doesn’t mean it has to be all white.

Photographer: Olivia Marshall Photography

Floral Design: Muse Floral Co.

Paper Goods: Bryker Design Co.

Planning and Design: Meag Breanne Events

Rentals: BBJ La Tavola, Bright Event Rentals, Theoni Collection

I was thrilled when my sister asked me to plan and design her second baby shower! We both loved the look of a checkerboard pattern and scalloped details so that is essentially what became our theme. I like to think of themes and details that are not the normal go-to’s and I believe that anything can be a theme whether that be a pattern, an object, or a color palette.

We decided to go all out on a welcome table which is a great way to elevate any event if you are not wanting to spend on decorating an entire house or location. We worked with my fav, Bryker Design Co., to create custom details like signage, the matchboxes, and drink stirrers that matched the Papier guest book perfectly. We also added florals from Heritage Florals, the cutest bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes, and included a mimosa bar where we used cute decanters for the juices (also, if you haven’t had a guava mimosa, you need to try one asap!).

The sprinkle was a success and everyone had a great time celebrating Maddy and the newest member of the Rause family! Huge thank you to Foxtail for photographing all of the sweet details!

As a planner, I thrive on the opportunity to infuse creativity into traditional wedding elements. In a world where guests often attend numerous weddings, there’s a genuine excitement in presenting them with something outside of the norm. I also love finding elements that can be used outside of just the wedding day.

Here are a few things I have been loving lately!

Scalloped Baskets — These could be used for the welcome table in place of your traditional card box

White Footed Bowl — Another great piece to house anything on your welcome table and can also be reused in your home post wedding!

Shell Champagne Bucket — How fun would a couple of these be at a coastal themed cocktail hour?!

Frames — I have been loving these squiggly frames which can be used for any of your wedding signage

Lamps — Mini lamps are such a great (and cute) way to create a nice ambiance during you reception

Non Traditional Guest Book — Whether it be a nice coffee table book, your favorite cookbook, or a picture book…guests can sign anything you want! It doesn’t have to be a book full of blank pages

Nice Toasting Glasses — You can pull these out for every anniversary as a nostalgic item from your wedding

Custom Matches — Anything custom is so fun to design and so fun to hand out to guests that they can keep (and use) after the wedding

I hope this list was helpful and I hope you have an amazing wedding filled with the most special details!

Hosting around the holidays is one of my favorite things to do! Although most of my events throughout the year are weddings, I also love planning and designing parties as there are really no rules and I can let my creativity run wild.

To kick off the festive preparations, I always create a mood board. This year, I decided to break away from the traditional red and green holiday palette. A stunning velvet caramel brown linen from BBJ La Tavola caught my eye, setting the tone for a unique color scheme that embraced shades of brown, peach, pink, and gold. Inspired by the current trend of bows, I envisioned a cocktail lounge-style ambiance, and that’s where the stylish lamps made their entrance.

No party of mine is complete without the perfect blend of florals and signage. So I knew I had to reach out to my go-to collaborators, Alison from Good News Flowers and Ali from Bryker Design Co. Emphasizing the importance of trusting your vendors, I handed them the mood board, color palette, and theme (“chic-mas”) and let their creativity flourish. As always, they both delivered something truly extraordinary.

Among the highlights of the soirée was the welcome drink featuring personalized name cards on each champagne glass. This detail not only added a touch of sweetness but also proved practical for those meeting for the first time. The welcome drink also streamlined the beverage options for the evening, as most guests opted for champagne throughout the party.

It’s not too late to host our own holiday chic-mas party! Start with a mood board, choose a color palette, and start thinking about creative details to make the party uniquely special to you and your guests. OR just hire a planner to help you out :).

Planning and Design: Meag Breanne Events

Photography: Olivia Marshall

Florals: Good News Flowers

Signage and Details: Byrker Design Co.

This New Years tablescape design is definitely one of my favorites from the year. I love working with color and in my opinion, the more sparkle the better!

I have always wanted to throw an iridescent themed event and when I saw the beautiful glassware from Anthropologie, I knew it would be perfect for a New Years Eve party! I also thought it would be a fun way to change it up from the color palette I typically see around New Years – black, silver, and gold.

Jacci from Poppy Cart absolutely killed the florals, I mean look at that giant hot pink peony and those purple roses – so fun! We used a velvet linen from Amazon, colorful linen napkins from Hostess Haven, and then finished the design off with confetti, glitter, tinsel, and of course, giant disco balls.

Happy New Years everyone!!

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Photography: Olivia Marshall

Florals: Poppy Cart

Glassware: Anthropologie

Napkins: Hostess Haven

Holiday entertaining is in full swing and hosting is one of my favorite things to do! So, today I am sharing some of my go-tos when it comes to hosting and I’ll give you a hint…Trader Joe’s is my best friend!

I like to start with the decor and I always look for one piece that inspires the rest of the design. For this table design, I LOVED the plaid green tablecloth from Zara Home…clearly I am all about the plaid lately for those of you who read my last blog post. I added a shiny gold charger, fun glassware, and sprinkled in candles for ambiance. Then, I finished it off with garland, berries, and pinecones from Trader Joe’s. You could also add in a few pomegranates if you like a bit more color.

Next up is the food! I usually like to do apps vs. a full meal especially if I am having a good amount of people over so the first thing I put together is a big cheese and charcuterie board. Anyone can make one of these look pretty and it is always a crowd pleaser. I start by placing the cheeses first and I always include Unexpected Cheddar, Cheddar Cheese with Caramelized Onions, Boursin, and Double Cream Brie with Truffles…so good!! Then, I fill in with Prosciutto, Calabrese Salame, and Capocollo. I also get olives, marcona almonds, jams, and crackers to fill in the holes and voila!

In addition to the board, I always like to have a few sweet items (these cookies are the BEST), some veggies, fruit, and maybe a warm appetizer if I have the time. You don’t have to over do it on the food, I promise there will be enough! I often find that people stress and over-buy but then they end up with so many leftovers at the end of the night.

Lastly, my favorite…the drinks! Variety is key, but again, no need to over do it. I like to fill a big champagne bucket full of options, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, to include champagne, wines, sparkling water, and belvoir juices. I always like to include some fun items on the side like sugared cranberries and glittery ice cubes!

And that’s it! Now, go call up your friends, make a Trader Joe’s list, and have yourself a fun holiday party!

Photos by: Olivia Marshall

Fall is such a great time to gather friends and family together and I love creating fun tablescapes that will elevate the overall experience and also make my guests feel special. I believe that anyone is capable of creating a beautiful design, you just have to know where to start!

Start by looking through the things you already have like your dinnerware, flatware, and glassware as often times these can be repurposed no matter what season you are in. I always like to do a fun specialty cocktail so you may have to purchase appropriate glasses if you don’t already have them, but in my opinion you can never have enough glassware!! Don’t tell my husband…

From there, you will want to think about the things you may need to get based on the season or occasion. I like to find one piece that will really inspire the whole design to get me going. For this shoot, it was the fun plaid napkins. The color and pattern was perfect for fall and inspired the rest of the items we used — candles, table linens, and the fun dried citrus place cards from Katie at Citrus and Poppy (Etsy is a great resource for things like this). The most important (in my opinion) and final piece to bring everything together is the florals. We worked with Jacci from Poppy Cart and she created a beautiful centerpiece full of fall colored roses, chamomile, and pretty leaves.

I hope this inspires you to get creative and have some fun putting together a beautiful tablescape for your friends and family!

Photography and Styling: Olivia Marshall Photography

Florals: Poppy Cart

Place Cards: Citrus and Poppy