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Weddings

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Event Coordination
Photography and Videography Services
Understanding the Couple's Vision
Stress-free planning

About

Weddings by the Sea is a boutique wedding studio based in scenic Santa Barbara, California. For over 15 years they've specialized in intimate destination weddings, elopements, engagements, and vow renewals. Catherine Forester, owner of Weddings by the Sea is a wedding planner and notary public. She can plan/design a wedding ceremony and issue marriage licenses. This makes Weddings by the Sea especially unique and one of the few wedding companies in California that can easily provide multiple services. Weddings by the Sea has created beautiful and memorable wedding experiences for hundreds of couples at many stunning historic and coastal locations in Santa Barbara. They have won the WeddingWire’s Couples’ Choice Award eight times.

Facilities and Capacity
Weddings by the Sea utilizes several gorgeous locations for wedding ceremonies and vow renewals. These include the Santa Barbara Beachfront, historic Santa Barbara Courthouse, lush sub tropical gardens such as Alice Keck Memorial Garden, and private venues. Packages are designed to accomodate from 2 - 50 people. Santa Barbara offers a variety of locations with incredible ambiance and spectacular views, providing couples with the intimate destination wedding of their dreams.

Services Offered
Weddings by the Sea offers comprehensive packages that streamline the wedding planning process and service all of the wedding essentials needed for your coastal ceremony. They offer a team of professionals that include wedding coordinators, photographers, officiants, florists, and musicians. Wedding packages can be customized to fit your indivdual style and vision. They also offer several a la carte wedding essentials. Services include:

  • Confidential marriage license
  • Event design
  • Wedding ceremony coordination
  • Officiants
  • Photographers
  • Live music
  • Chairs
  • Floral Design
  • Decor - including wedding arches and arbors
  • Site crew and setup
  • Woman-owned
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Frequently asked questions

Do you offer an hourly rate?

Yes

What wedding events do you provide services for?

Ceremony

What wedding planning services do you offer?

Partial Planning

What weddings do you have experience planning?

Civil
Cultural
Destination
Elopement
Eco-Friendly
Non-Religious
Religious
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4.8 out of 5 rating
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2024 Winner
230 Reviews
  • Quality of service
    4.9 out of 5 rating
  • Average response time
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4.8 out of 5 rating
95% Recommended by couples
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Review summary

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Weddings By The Sea is highly recommended by multiple reviewers for their exceptional and flawless wedding planning services. Catherine Forester and her team are praised for their attention to detail, coordination skills, and creative flair. They are described as professional, organized, and responsive, making the planning process stress-free. Reviewers appreciate the beautiful ceremony setups, stunning locations, and personalized touches that made their weddings magical and memorable. Overall, Weddings By The Sea exceeded expectations and delivered unforgettable experiences for couples.

Review summary

Powered by AI
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Weddings By The Sea is highly recommended by multiple reviewers for their exceptional and flawless wedding planning services. Catherine Forester and her team are praised for their attention to detail, coordination skills, and creative flair. They are described as professional, organized, and responsive, making the planning process stress-free. Reviewers appreciate the beautiful ceremony setups, stunning locations, and personalized touches that made their weddings magical and memorable. Overall, Weddings By The Sea exceeded expectations and delivered unforgettable experiences for couples.

Brianna
Brianna M. Sent on 12/27/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Weddings By The Sea was the best decision!

Choosing Weddings By The Sea was the best decision we made for our big day. Their attention to detail, seamless coordination, and creative flair turned our dreams into a stunning reality. From start to finish, they orchestrated a flawless celebration, leaving us with priceless memories of a perfect wedding. If you're looking for a wedding planner who goes above and beyond, Catherine Forester is the one!






G
Gaelen Sent on 05/22/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Great experience

Catherine was so accommodating and helped to make our day perfect! Everything went so smoothly and she was always responsive/answered any questions we had. The photos also turned out beautifully! Can’t thank the amazing team enough!
N
Naomi F. Sent on 05/13/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Dream Elopement Experience

We recently had the pleasure of working with WeddingsByTheSea to plan and execute our elopement, and we couldn't be happier with the exceptional service and unforgettable experience they provided. From start to finish, they demonstrated a remarkable level of professionalism, expertise, and genuine care that made our special day truly magical.

First and foremost, Catherine's extensive knowledge of wedding planning and coordination is evident in her attention to detail, creativity, and ability to bring ideas to life. She listened to our vision and desires, providing valuable insights and suggestions while always respecting our wishes. She was very organized and coordinated and at the time of the event everything ran so smoothly and seamlessly and I didn't feel worried or stressed about any of it.

In addition to Catherine, our officiant Wendy did such a great job with our ceremony. We both felt like she brought a calming, peaceful presence to our ceremony and spoke the words better then we had hoped for.

Lastly, Bex our photographer was absolutely amazing! She kept us on task and on schedule for our photos, told us what to do and made it fun and our pictures turned out amazing. I was able to correspond with her prior to the event and we shared a Pinterest photo board so that she could get an idea of what I was hoping for. She did a fabulous job capturing the feelings of the photos I was hoping for. She was so much fun to work with and I highly recommend her to anyone that wants great photos.

WeddingsByTheSea truly exceeded our expectations in every way possible. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and genuine care will make your special day an unforgettable experience that you will cherish forever.

Thank you, WeddingsByTheSea, for making our wedding day the most magical and memorable day of our lives!

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Awards

230
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2024 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2023 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2022 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2021 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2020 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2019 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2015 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2014 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2011 Winner

Professional Network & Endorsements

4 Endorsements
Divine Bits of Beauty Ceremonies Divine Bits of Beauty Ceremonies Wedding Officiants

It is truly a pleasure to work with Catherine and her wonderful team at Santa Barbara Weddings By the Sea. Catherine is warm, professional, talented, creative and attentive to detail. She is a natural at creating extraordinary and beautiful events and is able to bring the visions of every couple to life with ease, grace, and efficiency. Catherine has a dedicated team of reliable and highly skilled individuals, who bring integrity and talent to each aspect of the ceremony. Planning a wedding in Santa Barbara could not be easier!

My Generation Weddings My Generation Weddings Wedding Officiants

Kim works with couples to plan weddings which are perfect for them. Her attention to detail, speedy communication, and reassuring demeanor help guide couples through the process of realizing their dream wedding. I have officiated weddings for her many times and I am always impressed by the wedding moments she helps create, how comfortable each couple is on their wedding day, and how beautiful the ceremonies are. Kim does a fantastic job! I highly recommend Kim and Weddings by the Sea for any couple looking to get married in the Santa Barbara area--you'll be glad you did! – Dusty Hoesly, My Generation Weddings

White Doves Los Angeles Southern California White Doves Los Angeles Southern California Wedding Rentals

I can't say enough about how impressed I am with the service, quality and knowledge of The Weddings by the Sea-Santa Barbara. The service is friendly, accommodating and professional. I highly recommend Them!

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