Our Island Wedding, Part II

This blog entry is a continuation in a series about our wedding on Catalina Island. Read the previous entry here.

One of the best things about our wedding (if I may say so myself) was the itinerary we set out for our guests. There were a total of 4 days in our itinerary in which we loosely listed where we would be. Guests were welcome to join us, or were free to wander and enjoy the island on their own. If a guest is travelling far to attend a wedding, they usually want to maximize the amount of time they have with the bride and groom. That was why we arranged for 4 days of casual kicking back with which to socialize with our guests.

Every morning, as part of our itinerary, Mark and I had coffee at our favorite cafe on the island, C.C. Gallagher's. Family members, coworkers and friends co-mingled over their morning lattes. It was stimulating (and a bit stressful) to see all the important people in one's life thrown together in this casual setting and left to their own devices to start conversations.

Coffee at C.C. Gallagher's

In place of a "rehearsal dinner" (a rehearsal dinner wasn't really necessary since we had no wedding party or anything to rehearse!) we had a beach barbecue. The barbecue was at the Descanso Beach Club, a wonderful beach with tiki torches, a bar and a grill where you can buy and grill your own meat. All guests were invited. Seated on the sand, with the music playing softly in the background, and with the mountains rising steeply around, one felt transported far far away from everyday life.

Guests Grilling Dinner at Descanso Beach Club

As mentioned in the previous wedding blog entry, we concluded each night at the El Galleon, a famous Catalina Island bar. This occurred even on the night of our wedding. Everyone kicked back with their beers, looked through the songbooks, and chit-chatted. Occasionally, some brave guests mounted the stage to sing. It was brilliant.

Singing Along to Karaoke at El Galleon

The town of Avalon on Catalina Island is so small, that even when no event was outlined in our itinerary, we would still bump into our wedding guests on every block.

Olivier, Coco, Kurt and Mark sharing coffee

In their off hours, the guests took advantage of being on a beautiful island to explore. Some of the more athletic visitors rode bikes up a steep road to enjoy the harbor views.

Johnny, Javier on their Bike Ride

Guests Relaxing at the Beach House

Other guests took advantage of their off hours to relax and enjoy the ambience of the Beach House, the site of our wedding.

To be continued...