Avila Beach Small Wedding
- Avila Beach Small Wedding
Travel off Highway 1 and head West to get to the little town of Avila Beach. It’s hidden away and right around the corner from Pismo Beach.
When you take the road to Avila Beach, you’ll first pass by the Avila Valley Valley Barn. I’ve been going to the barn for the past 25 years. They have the best homemade pies and scones. There is also a selection of local fruits and vegetables and a gift store packed with more local goods, gifts, and books and toy for kids. Speaking of the kids, the barn also has a variety of barnyard animals that you and your children can feed. The animals include goats (even baby ones!), mini horses, cows, llamas, chickens and more. The Avila Barn is a great place to stop when you are headed into the town.
On the side of the road to Avila you find Bob Jones trail. This trail, along a stream and besides trees, is a nice stroll to the beach. Stop at Woodstone Market for breakfast or lunch. They have a nice outdoor seating space and they are located right next to the trail.
My favorite place for lunch is Merseas. It Is located on the pier that’s near where the fishing boats are. The restaurant is right towards the end of the pier and has outdoor seating and views right on the water.
If you are bringing your fur baby’s to your Avila Beach small wedding, Avila Beach has a dog friendly beach. It’s located away from the main town, but has a long stretch of sand for your dogs to run off the leash.
For your wedding ceremony, we like either the right side of the pier or left side of the pier, in town. There is a permit fee for Avila Beach weddings. We can help with the permit process and advise on the price.
For the right side of the pier, you are close to the Lighthouse Suites and pictures would happen under the pier. For the left side of the pier, the white cliffs and blue ocean become more of the backdrop. We had a beautiful Avila Beach small wedding as our last wedding of 2021. They had their ceremony on the left side of the Avila Beach pier. Read more about their romantic Avila Beach small wedding with close family. Meet Lisa and Ron.
Lisa and Ron - Sometimes life gives you a second chance at love. And that is what happened with this sweet couple we married this past December in Avila Beach. They had met in high school, but the timing just wasn’t right. So, their paths went in different directions. Fast forward, and their paths crossed again, and this time fate was on their side. On their first family trip to Cancun, even though the trip was filled with trials and tribulations, the couple was able to wake up smiling and happy to enjoy another day. From that trip, they learned that they could get through anything, as long as they were together.
So, they were happy to seal that togetherness with a small, intimate small wedding ceremony on the beach in Avila. The sky was an amazing blue, with beautiful clouds and warm sun. And, since the wedding took place mid-week, they had the beach all to themselves.
For this secluded wedding, the couple was surrounded by close family members. The bride’s son, with a tear of joy in his eye, walked his mom down the sandy path to her smiling husband-to-be.
To pay tribute to deceased members of the family, the couple decided to give each person attending the wedding a rose to be placed in the spot where the couple said their vows. The couple chose real roses that would be washed out to sea with the tide, returning to nature.
The bride had two adult children in attendance, and the groom had one. To join the families, the couple decided to incorporate a shell ceremony after their vows to represent the blending of the families. The adult children joined the couple and each were given a shell to hold. Each person made a wish for their future as a family. The shells were then placed in a glass container to create a keepsake of this joyous occasion.
I really liked the small gathering of family members, the tribute to the family members who were looking down from heaven, and the shell ceremony to signify the blending of the families. And, I especially like the time and effort the groom took to write about the qualities he cherished in his wife. We often encourage the couple to give us information so that we can make the ceremony more personal. Many times, the couple will write a little about the qualities they cherish in their spouse, but this groom went all out. Though he struggled at first about what to say, after some thought (and the threat of being in the dog house), he wrote the sweetest tribute to “his special lady”, and his words were spoken from his heart. From her leadership to her outgoing personality, her qualities as a good listener, an excellent advisor and loving mother, and her ability to be his rock, he was able to express why she is such a remarkable person. The couple also shared a toast at the end.
From the beginning of the guests gathering for this Avila Beach small wedding, to the secluded beach, the cheers from the family as the couple was pronounced husband and wife, the wedding was filled with laughter, tears, emotions, and lots of love – the perfect ending to our 2021 wedding season!
