1. Real Weddings

Michele & Scott: A Formal Wedding in Dana Point, CA

How many couples can say that a 10-year-old matchmaker is responsible for bringing them together? Such was the case for Michele when her colleague’s s

How many couples can say that a 10-year-old matchmaker is responsible for bringing them together? Such was the case for Michele when her colleague’s son, a precocious young baseball player, set her up with his baseball coach, Scott. Luckily, their meeting was a home run. The Bride Michele D. Johnson, 33, attorney The Groom Scott D. Wallis, 30, baseball instructor The Date May 21 With a ring burning a hole in his pocket, Scott took Michele to an Angels game and then to the restaurant where they had first met. There, on the bench outside, he dropped to his knee and held out a ring.

Because the ceremony took place a third-mile down the beach from the parking lot, the couple wanted guests to enjoy the ocean views for as long as possible, and held an hour-long lawn reception. Guests stayed cool in the heat with the help of sugar-rimmed lemonade, tropical iced teas, and virgin mai tais.
Michele looked resplendent in a strapless, off-white, Vera Wang gown with a dropped waist, delicate beading, and three layers ending successively along the chapel-length train. Though she went barefoot for the ceremony, she slipped into crystal-studded Manolo Blahnik flip-flops for the reception.
“The tropical beach theme was carried through in the flowers with orchids, white calla lilies, and pale roses,” Michele says. She carried a bouquet of blush, peach, and white roses, along with white calla lilies wrapped with tropical reeds and cascading orchids.
A handsome little ring bearer, dressed in a black suit and a white shirt and tie, carried the rings on a large seashell in lieu of a pillow. Like the rest of the groomsmen, he went sans shoes.
The ceremony was held on the North Shore at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point, California, a county beach
The reception unfolded in an outdoor art gallery, where guests were seated at a variety of round and rectangular tables. In addition to the stars and full moon overhead, an abundance of twinkling lights accented the space and added more light.
When guests arrived at the reception area, they were directed to their tables with the help of “messages in a bottle” that had been arranged amidst sand and shells. Each table was named after a town that held special meaning to the couple.
Thatched stand umbrellas provided shade at the lawn reception, above tall cocktail tables covered with off-white linens and single calla lilies. Two clotheslines also decorated the space, strung with eight-by-ten photographs of the bride and groom from their childhood.
Being the stars they were at their wedding, Michele and Scott autographed baseballs for each guest and wrapped them in clear plastic candy bags, tied off with dark brown and off-white ribbon. The baseballs, provided as a wedding gift from Scott’s baseball training facility, were also customized with the couple’s names and wedding date.
Bamboo chairs, arranged in an arc, set the tone for a tropical-inspired wedding. Iron lanterns and scattered white rose petals denoted the aisle, while a garden trellis covered with tropical blooms and flanked by tiki torches served as the altar. The site faced the waves of the Pacific Ocean just before sunset.
A guest book and bamboo basket filled with gel pens were placed off to the side for guests to write well wishes for the couple. The book cover was decorated with the couple’s names and a picture of them on the beach.