Autum and Efren got married at a location that I absolutely love, Coronado Community Center. There are a few reasons why I love this venue:
1. Since it is a community center, you have to bring in your own vendors (caterer, beverage, décor, etc). This is wonderful for those couples who want to bring in their own elements and can also help save you money.
2. Location, location, location! You have beautiful views of the Coronado Bridge, Glorietta Bay, and San Diego skyline. It also has the perfect spot for an outdoor ceremony on a grassy lawn and an indoor reception in the Nautilus Room (max guest count 250). You are also right near Hotel Del if you want to those sunset pictures on the beach.
3. Versatility of the venue. You can really create “your wedding, your vision, your dream” at this venue since the reception room has neutral colors and the ceremony is on an open grassy area AND you can bring in your own vendors!
Since this venue is so popular, the dates do get filled up fast (up to 1.5 years in advance) so make sure to call early to check on the availability.
When Autum and I met a few months before their wedding day, I immediately fell in love with her ideas for her fall wedding. She had all the perfect fall colors picked out (dark purple bridesmaids dresses with oranges, reds, and yellows for the bouquets and flowers).
Autum and Efren had a large bridal party (9 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen)! Carrie McCluskey did a great job capturing all of them in the photos!
I loved all the décor elements that Autum added to the ceremony and cocktail site. We used small flower arrangements hanging from the chiavari chairs and later moved them to the dessert table after the ceremony was complete to make double use of the flowers. We also hung paper lanterns of all sizes from the existing hanging arbor to add a nice touch.
I love this picture that Carrie took of me lining up the bridal party. Usually I'm never in the photos, but I had to add this one. Too funny!
I just love this ceremony site! Look at that view!
One of the bonuses of the Coronado Community Center is that it is located near Hotel Del. During the cocktail hour, Autum and Efren snuck away in the limo for some sunset photos. I just love these photos of the two of them…so romantic!
A brilliant idea Autum had in order to help save costs was to use the bridesmaids bouquets as centerpieces on some of the tables. Since there were so many bridesmaids, it worked out perfectly that she could use all of their bouquets for the low centerpieces and then had tall centerpieces that matched the bouquets for the other tables. Mae Chan Floral did such a beautiful job on all of the arrangements!
Blake from Pro Motion Entertainment did a great job uplighting the room in purple and gold colors. As you can see, uplighting can really change the look of a room.
For dessert, Autum and Efren decided to do a dessert bar, with a small cake to cut for the traditional cake cutting. The cake only had about 20 slices, but there were plenty of other delicious options for dessert. The guests absolutely loved the selection of desserts prepared by one of my favorites, Sumi’s Oven. There were vanilla cake pops, mini cheesecake squares, mini salted caramel mousse cups, and mini tiramisu cups. I love this dessert bar idea as it really opens up the options for sweets for your guests, plus they can have a little bit of everything.
Thank you to all the wonderful vendors for helping make this wedding so wonderful for Autum and Efren! They were such a wonderful couple to work with from the very beginning and I wish them many years of happiness and love!
Venue: Coronado Community Center
Photography: McCluskey Photography
Wedding Coordinator: Sweet Blossom Weddings, LLC
DJ, Emcee, and Lighting: Pro Motion Entertainment
Caterer: Coast Catering
Baker: Sumi's Oven
Florist: Mae Chan Florals
Rentals: Raphaels Party Rentals and Crown Rentals
