In a traditional American wedding, the bride and groom cut the first piece together.  This is a great photo op.   The bride places her left hand over the groom’s hand (so you can see her ring a.k.a. – “bling”), and they cut the slice together from the bottom tier. Once a small triangular wedge is cut, the bride then takes the cake server and works together with her husband who is still holding the knife on working that piece out and onto a small plate.  Some say that this is the first task that they will need to accomplish together as husband and wife.  They share this first slice by feeding it to each other…  Or sometimes smearing it on each others' faces.

The photographer will probably cue them on where to stand for the pictures while cutting the cake and feeding each other.

These photos were taken by John & Max Mills (www.millsphotography.com).

This was one of my favorite couples.  The bride was the sweetest most genuine person I think I have ever encountered!  And they made the perfect cake-cutting models.

Photography By: Scott A. Nelson Photographers
Phone: 949.258.4365
Website: www.scottanelson.com

Pictured below is a Rose Ceremony. The rose presentation can be done many different ways, but is usually done at the beginning of the wedding ceremony after the presentation of the bride. Both the bride and groom, together give a rose to each mother. The symbolism is a joining of two unique families who stood separate until this moment.

Photography By: Scott A. Nelson Photographers
Phone: 949.258.4365
Website: www.scottanelson.com

Here is a Beach-Themed wedding that I recently helped produce here at La Venta. I thought the colors they chose worked perfectly together to create an elegant look. The couple incorporated the theme into several aspects of their event starting with the invitations printed on sand colored paper with aqua writing:

A very subtle hint of the beach theme was put into the bride’s bouquet which had a small shell in the middle:

Their placecards were displayed in a beautifully presented sand box with each card on a separate shell – very cute!

The ballroom was adorned with white Chinese lanterns with an array of shells hanging from them like wind chimes:

Even the flower girl basket and ring bearer pillows were decorated with shells:

The colors they chose for their linens and centerpieces worked perfect with the beach theme. They did a tan khaki overlay with pastel pink napkins. One shell was placed on each of the napkins. The centerpieces were gorgeous. They were displayed in a wood box with a strip of birch wrapped around it and an aqua colored ribbon.

And here is the happy couple themselves! I just had to post this picture. I thought it turned out so cute!

The answer: La Venta Inn. Everytime we have a big rain, the view here at La Venta is AMAZING after it clears! Here is a photo taken from my iphone...

What a cute idea for table assignments!  Kami and Telly love their college basketball, and came up with this very clever way to incorporate this into their wedding.  Each table was named after a certain college, and for the placecards- each guest was given a ticket which had the name of the table which they were assigned.

Grooms Cake:

To keep with the college basketball theme, Kami surprised Telly with a grooms cake in the shape of a basketball with the Cal State logo.  The groom was quite impressed with this clever surprise by his bride.   
Photos by:  John & Max Mills  (310.645.5766)  www.millsphotography.com