Weddings by the Santa

Dearest Alma Rose,

I hope this message finds you well! Aaron and I are still a-glow after our special weekend in Santa Barbara. I did NOT want to leave on Sunday! We stopped by Butterfly Beach on our way out of town and my, what a special place. Hopefully we can return each year on our anniversary.

Thank you so much for being a part of it. You and yours took such good careof us on what is the most memorable day to date in our lives. Thank you, thank you, thank you! We so look forward to seeing the pictures - you twodid a fabulous job with them!

You can rest assured I will be referring you to anyone that asks! I already need to send your info to one person - I hope I can send more loving people
your way.

Wishing you all the very best with love,
Mrs. Jessica von Hungen
(Gosh I love the ring of that! lol)

Dearest Alma Rose & Orwin,

There is nothing ordinary about a angel that makes dreams come true. Neither Gary or I could have orchestrated, designed or planned a more intimate, loving and joyful wedding ceremony as you did for us in just a day and a 1/2. My hearts longings have been fulfilled by the loving words you spoke to us, the blessings you gave and the vows we made to each other. Each time we view the pictures by Orwin, we feel we are back on the beach, feeling & experiencing the moment all over again.

We especially want to thank you for opening your home to us and sharing some of your life stories. Gary really enjoyed visiting with Orwin and I with you. You two are an exceptionally creative, loving, giving and kind couple. I hope one day, Gary and I can touch others lives as you have ours.

Much love and many thanks wrapped in big hugs,

Gary and Valerie

Dear Alma Rose,

Thank you eternally for helping us to create a special day and a wonderful memory of our wedding that will last forever. Since the day that you married us on Butterfly Beach in Santa Barbara, our love for one another seems to grow stronger and stronger. I will be forever grateful to you for making our wedding day such a special occasion.

All of our friends and family we so overjoyed to hear the news of our marriage and have all congratulated us for tying the knot in a very special way.

Once again thank you for all that you have done.

Many thanks,

Anna

Hi Alma Rose,

Matt and I just want to thank you for performing our wedding ceremony and supporting us through the process. Our wedding turned out to be more beautiful than I had ever imagined, and it is in part thanks to your loving guidance during the ceremony. It was wonderful working with you on such an important event and so many guests commented on the ceremony. We received the photos and they were beautiful and the perfect compliment to our happy day. Thank you both so much for all your help. If you are ever in the mood for pizza give us a call, you are always welcome.
Best,
Ixchelle and Matt

Dear Alma Rose,

Sheldon & I would like to express our deep thanks for your advice and orchestration of our wedding by the sea on beautiful Sandy Beach last week. We were happy that we opted to visit you in Santa Barbara in March to discuss all the plans in person. You prepared us well.

I didn't think that the setting (sun fading in the west at 4:30 P.M. and waves crashing on shore) would really impact the romance of the moment that much but it surely did. YOU picked the perfect spot.

We liked the wording of the vows, our exchange of rings and then finally, words from the heart. Who would have guessed that my macho CPA husband would attempt song/reading of Frank Sinatra's ....Fairytales can come true, it can happen to you...

The professional and experienced handling of the photos (mostly candid, which we like) and taking thereof was also special. We will cherish them for years to come.

Marriage is a serious union and can happen at any age. You obviously take that approach with your clients. Please feel free to use me/us as a reference.

Best regards,

Nancy Rossman Epstein

Hi Alma Rose,
Hui and I received the photos from you. They are beatiful! We love them! We would like to thank you again for the assistance and touching words you gave us a week ago in Santa Barbara, and wish you a successful career as wedding officiant as more years coming. -Qi and Hui

Alma Rose (otherwise known as AR to me…)

Thank you, thank you!! Where do I begin? September 2008 marked the 60th anniversary of my birth, and with that, a group of my friends, and my partner of over 30 years, decided to celebrate it in style with an Alaskan cruise, departing in September from San Francisco.

With cruise and plane tickets in hand, the California Supreme Court ruled that same sex couples could marry in the state. Wow, what news. My partner and I decided that 2008 would be the year we would take the “plunge ”and we would do it in California Once we decided to “do it” in California, the next questions were “where and when?” Since the ship was leaving and returning to San Francisco, San Francisco City Hall was an obvious choice. Once I looked into the location, I thought it might be a little too sterile, but what could be our next choice? I was planning on meeting with an old college roommate in Santa Barbara after the cruise, so decided to look into venues in the Santa Barbara area. My first choice was the county courthouse, having remembered its beautiful setting when I was a student at UCSB so many decades ago. Researching the courthouse site, I came across your website of weddings by the sea, and I was hooked! I asked you if you performed same sex ceremonies, and you instantly responded that you were so ecstatic of the court decision, and you were sooooooo welcoming!! Over these past few months you have become my friend, my confidante, and last but not least our officiate. Thank you. Throughout the entire process you have been a calming, thoughtful presence, tempered with humor. You have gone the extra mile for us…especially when it came time to find a place for all of our leis for the ceremony…you volunteered your guest home and home sitter (who I affectionately call Kato) to take care of the flowers. You all did a fantastic job. You were so flexible as we alternated between ceremony sites, trying to accommodate guests with mobility problems. The memorable words during the ceremony will live with us forever. Thank you. Orwin’s photos are such a great memory…thank you for orchestrating the scenes. Although I like to think that you were responsible for the fantastic weather, I’m not so sure…but thanks for the great weather and the full moon…what an extra added attraction.

The bottom line is, AR you did a fantastic job, and I would do it again with you. Thank you for everything…maybe we’ll see you for an anniversary celebration!!! KL

Alma Rose:

The ceremony was beautiful - everyone loved it. The ceremony and your kind words at the end of the ceremony had many of our friends and family thinking we've known you for years. Thanks again for helping make this a truly memorable day!
Regards,
Dyan and Josh

Hi Alma Rose,
I just wanted to thank you again for making Saturday so wonderful. I
have heard nothing but compliments from all that were able to join
us. And even though the tides were not cooperating it was certainly a
perfect day. I can't wait to see the photos!

Thanks to your husband as well!
Kelly and Jeremy Johnson

Hi Alma Rose –

I just wanted to say thank you so very much for such a beautiful wedding. The set up was so pretty and I really enjoyed the vows and poems you used. And a big thanks to you and your photographer for taking so many pictures with attention to detail. I can’t wait to see how they turned out. You seem to enjoy what you do. A rarity these days!!

Best regards,

Sarah and Jeremy

Alma Rose,

Thank you for everything, the ceremony was so beautiful. We still feel as if we are still on our honeymoon.

We went to San Francisco for our honeymoon! It was beautiful and we had good weather, 70 degrees with 7mph winds, not very winding at all... in fact we got sunburned. We would wake up early and then come home late. We ate seafood everyday. We really enjoyed ourselves and look forward to going again very soon.

You truly are the best and we truly are happy about the ceremony.

Crystal & Chris

Alma Rose,
Good morning. I'm e-mailing to say thanks again (muchas gracias) for marrying us. It was too nice and sweet of you accommodating us so late ('cause Fernando had to work) and still making the ceremony and pictures so special. Please tell your hubby thank you for taking all the wonderful pictures. We both appreciate it.

I'd like to ask you to mail me a few business cards and maybe a few brochures. We are giving your information to two couples.

Thank you again so much; you're beautiful!
Love,

Jeannette and Fernando

Good evening,

Sue and I wanted to say thank you again for performing our commitment/wedding ceremony. When we started looking for somebody to perform a ceremony that would be special to us, we had no idea how lucky we would be to meet you. The ceremony you performed was beautiful. We both loved the words you spoke, the blessing of the hands, and the wonderful vows we said to each other. It was a very extraordinary evening for us and we are delighted you were a part of it.

We also wanted to say thank you, to both you and Orwin for taking such amazing pictures. We were simply stunned when we loaded the disk into the computer. The different angles and shots that were taken gave us such a variety of beautiful pictures to choose from. We keep looking at them over and over again, smiling every time. We also enjoyed the extra pictures of the house and surroundings; the close-up pictures of the flowers and fountain were a very nice bonus.

We will never forget either of you, and will think of you the next time we mix an “Almatini” …

Take care,

Angie & Sue

Hi Alma Rose,

Thank you for our making our wedding ceremony so memorable.

I was very pleased that we did the photo session first before the ceremony. I wanted my guests to enjoy the courthouse and it was wonderful that they got to join us as we took beautiful photos around the courthouse.

I hope you and your husband are enjoying your tour of Europe.

I look forward to receiving our pics.

Warmest regards,

Anna & Dusan

Alma,I just wanted to thank you again for marrying us a year ago from today! It was the BEST day of our lives.!
With Love,
Max & Jessica

Hi Alma,
Thank you so much for making such a beautiful ceremony for us! It was so special and meant so much to us. We made wishes and tossed our sand dollars into the ocean in Carmel on our honeymoon. We are home now and I wanted to check in with you. When can we look forward to receiving the CD with all the pictures? Can't wait to see them!
Thanks!
Tracy and James

Second testimonial…
Wanted to let you know we received the pictures and are very happy with them. There are lots of great shots - now comes the hard part of making up an album.
Thanks again!
Tracy

Hi Alma,

I want to thank you for making our day so special. I will always remember you and how happy you made us. You are a special person because you are in the business of making people's dreams come true and if there is anything I can ever do for you; I will be happy to help in any way.
Thanks,

Thacker-Mejia

Hi, Alma Rose,
We just wanted to confirm that we've received the wedding photos, and we
couldn't be more pleased with them. They are absolutely beautiful and
perfect in every way. Many thanks again for helping make our wedding day a
special and memorable one.
Denise, Jill and Jamie

Future Brides and Grooms,
My husband and I live in Las Vegas so we wanted to get married anywhere but Las Vegas. While searching the internet for beachfront wedding information, we came across Santa Barbara Wedding Site and consequently met Alma Rose. After reading the wedding packages, we decided on the Romantic Getaway package. I was looking for something non-traditional and more spiritual rather than religious. We set our date, February 29th, 2008. When the day came, we gathered our immediate family and headed to Santa Barbara. When we arrived at Butterfly Beach, it was absolutely breath taking. Alma Rose arrived and took over. My bouquet was absolutely beautiful. I requested tropical flowers to go along with our beach wedding theme. I also ordered additional flowers for my flower girl and ring bearer. They were beautiful as well.

Once the paperwork was complete, the ceremony began. It was absolutely perfect. Then came the unity sand ceremony. This is where we each poured a different color of sand into a heart shaped vase. Alma Rose explained that just as the sand, our lives could no longer be separated. That keepsake is now my most prized possession.

During the entire ceremony the photographer was shooting tons of photos. We received the DVD about a week after we got home and I was pleasantly surprised at not only the quality of the photos, but the number of pictures taken. Some of the shots were very unique and printed absolutely beautifully!

This was a day I will never forget. Living in the wedding capital of the world, I have been exposed to my share of weddings. I wouldn’t have changed a thing! Alma Rose made it so easy, stress free, romantic, beautiful, and personal. Although we had close family and friends there, I felt as if it were just the three of us. I would recommend Alma Rose to anyone and everyone looking for a unique and romantic ceremony.

Lynn F.

Dear Alma Rose,
Thank you so much for your kind words and the beautiful ceremony you put together for Michael and I. We could not have asked for a more perfect day. Your beautiful personality and calmness kept things on track with no worries to be had.

I will recommend you to anyone who needs an officiant for their ceremony. Thanks again.
God bless,
Elena and Michael

Dear Alma Rose,

Let me first start by saying that I am always a little skeptical when I read testimonials. I sometimes think to myself, "Hmm....are these real or all they all made up?" For any of you reading my testimonial right now, please know that everything you have read about Alma Rose on her testimonial link is 110% correct. Alma Rose, words will never be able to express how pleased we are with the way everything turned out last weekend. Even when things got a little stressful right before our ceremony due to unexpected time constraints at the Courthouse, and the windstorm, you and your hubby remained calm and got us through it. Our ceremony was absolutely beautiful. The script that you have put together for your ceremonies is one of a kind. As you and everyone could tell, this was a very emotional day for me and I still tear up when I think of the beautiful remembrance you did for my father, the blessing you did for our daughter that will be born in February and the blessing of the hands...."These are the hands of your best friend, holding yours, on your wedding day.....these are the hands that countless times will wipe the tears from your eyes....and lastly these are the hands that when wrinkled and old will still be reaching for yours." I will NEVER forget those words for as long as I live.

I thank you for making our day perfect. Our friends and family are still talking about how touching the ceremony was. People who have been married for years went home that night feeling like they walked away from our ceremony loving each other a little more!

We received the picture CD today and the pictures are beautiful. So many moments were captured that I think that people who weren't even at our ceremony will be able to see the love, the emotion and the story of our ceremony.

I hope we will keep in touch. You and your husband were an inspiration to us on our wedding day.

Love,

Shari and Manny

Dear Alma Rose,
It is we that owe you special, heart-felt, and sincere appreciation. You made this whole thing happen the way we had envisioned. Your blessing, inspiration, and care for our desire made our wedding a truly memorable experience.

We just returned from our honeymoon today, and now have a chance to open the wedding gifts. What a fun thing to do to think of our special day once again!

We have received some photos from friends and will be able to send you some good shots in a few days. It will be our pleasure if you are able to share our special day in your Magazine.

Thank you again and we'll be contacting you soon.
Greg & Yukari

Hello Alma Rose,

Wow! You blew away my expectations in ways that I have a hard time verbalizing. We held our ceremony at the White Jasmine Inn/SB, as you might remember. If I’d said it once I’d said it 50 times. “It’s going to be a short, very short, just the I Do’s” and did you prove me wrong.

Alma, you brought so much love to our ceremony. “Marriages are created in heaven and consummated on earth”, your website states it, and you had everyone in attendance, falling in love, all over again. We’ve both been married before and agree that you added the special touch, that we feel our relationship has. Jon and I are soul mates. Every word you spoke was just so amazing. I am glad that we have a video tape of it, it is my favorite DVD in our video collection. How many couples say that about their over priced, too big and too stressful weddings? We wanted simple. We wanted the focus to be on the act of our marriage, not of the accessories etc.

I find myself, through out my days, day dreaming back to that day, that moment in the gazebo where I felt so many arms around us, sharing our beautiful moment with us. Just know that you will be with us in our journey, this incredible journey that is filled with such unknowns and such excitement.

You truly have a gift that we are so thankful and blessed that you shared that with us. For that we “THANK YOU!”

Kind Regards,

Shaun and Jon Skerbitz

Alma Rose,
Sean and I want to thank you and your husband for
taking such beautiful pictures of us we especially
enjoyed the ones of the parents kissing me and the
moms kissing sean.We appreciated the lightheartedness
that the ceremony gave which reflects both of our
personalities.We want to tell you again of all the
nice compliments on how lovely the families thought
the ceremony was.We both couldn't be happier with how
the day turned out.

Many thanks and best wishes to you !
Mr.+ Mrs. Sean Kerutis 7/7/07

Hi Alma Rose,

Thanks so much for being an important part of our wedding, we're so lucky to have you, we really loved the beautiful words you presented at our ceremony, your research was well worth it!!! Thanks for the kind words, it really made my day even better, we're on our honeymoon this week, and will get back in touch with you on Friday.

Talk to you soon!

Jessica & Erik

Hi Alma, we wanted to "Thank You" again for everything. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! Also, we just received the pictures and certificates. "Wow" we were blown away by how well the pictures turned out. Viewing them made us feel like we were there all over again and it
brought tears of joy to our eyes all over again! Thank you so much!
Rod and Ruby LeMond

Hi Alma Rose,

Tassos and I wanted to thank you again for providing a memorable and special ceremony. It was everything we wanted and more. The restaurant right there on Butterfly Beach was awesome!!! We had a great time.

Please let me know if there is anything we may have missed or any information you may need.

We may be back to renew our vows someday and we would stay in contact to have you perform the ceremony :)
Sincerely,
Dr. and Mrs. Tassos & Maria

Dear Alma,
Thank you so much for a perfect day. We both were very pleased and grateful that you were able to do our ceremony as spontaneous as we are. Bruce said that no one more perfect then you could have done this for us because yours and my personalities are from the same place. He calls me "rainbowie", so thanks for riding on my rainbow with us.

Bruce was so cute because he had to keep fiddling with my necklace and stuff because he was getting choked up. Please thank your wonderfully kind husband for the pics. They were exactly how I wanted them, spontaneous and natural.

Love,
Belynda Greenhut-Brownfield

Dear Alma Rose,
Thank you so much for officiating our ceremony! We appreciate all that you have done for us. You are such a beautiful person inside and out! We feel so honored that you have done this for us! Thank you again for everthing, we feel fortunate to have you in our lives.
Love,
Tiffany and Diane (gay commitment ceremony)

Hello Alma Rose,
We were your June 17th wedding at the SB Zoo. We just wanted to thank you for such a beautiful, personalized ceremony. You really made ours do special. We wish you all the best - you are wonderful at what you do!
Love,
Stacey & Adrian Giese

Alma Rose,
Thank you so much for the beautiful ceremony. W loved everything about it! The bouquet and the sand ceremony were perfect. Your vows and personality really fit who we are. And the pictures...they are amazing! Thank you for such a personal and romantic ceremony that we will remember for the rest of our lives!

Like my wife said, you guys have ready turned our wedding day into something really special. It was very simple but full of emotions and love...just what we wanted. Give a big thank you to your husband for the pictures, they are amazing. I wish you the bestto you and your family.
Take care,
Alvaro and Lindella

Alma Rose,
Jason and I would like to thank you for giving us such a beautiful ceremony. Our ceremony exceeded all of our expectations. We are still talking about how beautiful it was.
Thank you!
The Stutz's

Alma Rose,
Thank you for making our day so special. We really appreciate your kindness.
Love,
Sylvia and Sonia (gay commitment ceremony)

Alma Rose,
Thank you so much for the beautiful ceremony at Gainey Vineyards. I can't wait to send you the pictures! We just watched the videa of the ceremony and it was so pretty!
Take care,
Holly and Tom

Alma Rose,
Thank you! That was such a beautiful ceremony. I couldn't have dreamed of a more beautiful wedding! I wouldn't hve wanted anyone else. It was such a pleasure meeting you and having you marry us. The pictures are wonderful!

Again, thank you for everything.
Mr. & Mrs. LJ and Jacqueline Halle

Alma Rose,

Veronica and I both want to thank you and the photographer SO MUCH for yesterday!!! We enjoyed meeting y'all and appreciate everything y'all did to help make it our special day. We can't wait to see the photos! :) Again, thank you very much!

David and Veronica

Dear Alma Rose

I wanted to thank you so much for making my friend's wedding ceremony so wonderful. I think it was very worth for them coming to the U.S. Having a wedding ceremony on the beach is a little bit unusual in Japan. To tell you the truth, I was nervous. However, the wedding site, decorations, and your efforts such as making a bouquet with sunflowers even though they were out of season, all of above, made it very beautiful and memorable. They got to do what they wanted to do and they liked a sand ceremony very much. They were really happy and will be smiling again watching their DVD...

Thank you again,

Ai Mullikin

Dear Alma Rose,
Greetings from the UK - we have returned after a lovely time in California and seem to have bought back a bit of nice weather with us!

We had a lovely time and the ceremony that you took was absolutely wonderful although seems like a long time ago now. We have just been looking at the photos and it reminds us of how perfect the day was - thanks.

Tim and Caroline (UK)

Hi Alma,

We can't view the file here in Italy but will next week in Greece. We can't wait to see it and see the two of you in Greece. We look at the pics all the time. You and your husband really made it a very special and romantic day for us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! It truly was spectacular!!!!

Chez and Andrea

Hi Alma Rose,

Michael and I wanted to thank you again for the very special wedding ceremony you performed for us this past Saturday. All of our guests commented on what a wonderful job you did. Many, many, many, many thanks!!!

Best,

Sonya & Michael

Dear Alma Rose,

Well it's a year today, we are celebrating our 1st anniversary! Just wanted to send you another "Thank you" and let you know we still think about our beautiful ceremony you performed for us on this day last year. We hope you and your husband are doing and still performing beautiful ceremonies!

Thanks again

With Love,

Mr. & Mrs. Trimble February 14, 2006

Hi Alma,

Both Aaron and I wanted to say thank you very much for the wonderful ceremony last Friday. It was wonderful, and you were so flexible regarding the timing and the location. I want to offer our sincere thanks to you and your husband for creating such a wonderful ceremony for Aaron and myself. It is a day that will live forever in our memories.

Thank you again!

Aaron & Danielle Backer

Dear Alma,

Thank you for our beautiful wedding Saturday. We had such a good time and having you perform the ceremony made it perfect. You are a lovely person.

Fondly,

Gail Gonzales

Dear Alma Rose,

Don and I would like to thank you for a wonderful wedding ceremony. We have looked at our pictures fondly over the last month. We thank you for your personal touch!

Love,

Don and Lynette

Alma Rose,

You made our day very beautiful, our heart very glad. Thank you so much. The ceremony was beautiful. We appreciate your words of encouragement. Thank you for being part of our day.

Matt and Dolly

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