The Central Coast is replete with fantastic venues for weddings and elopements. Santa Margarita Ranch is one of those special places; though not on the water, it’s close enough to the coast to be considered “central” to our wedding community. Contact: ...

Olive Tree Officiant, Reverend Ric Latendresse. As a Wedding Officiant / Minister / Celebrant of Olive Tree Officiating for many years, I have performed countless weddings, elopements, and directed rehearsals which ensure that my clients receive the highest level of service.  Priding myself on friendliness, joviality, and professionalism, I am confident and capable of rolling with the punches and solving any roadblocks to my client’s ultimate satisfaction. Traveling the CA Central Coast and beyond, I love performing weddings and attending to the needs of each couple. Every ceremony is custom written to suit their individualized needs, wishes, and desires of the wedding couple, for a perfect wedding ceremony. Featured Photo By,  Tim Latendresse Contact Olive Tree Officiating to book...

 A wedding on the coast is the best! Bob and Julie had one of the best we’ve been a part of and there are reasons for calling it, “the best.”    Wedding at High Noon. A noon beach wedding may be difficult to achieve during some parts of the year. In the Central Coast they’re pretty easy to make happen. Bob and Julie got a perfect morning, light wind and an idyllic setting on the bluffs at Montana de Ora State Park. They were smart, they scouted the spot ahead of time. Wedding Preparation. Beach wedding preparation with Bob and Julie was easy. They knew what they wanted and we got it done. Their enthusiasm and attention to detail made the planning process easy and fun. I wish them both the very best. Featured Photo: Cassie Cano Contact: ...

Erin is a one of a kind officiant: sweet, humble, capable, well-spoken and kind-hearted. Erin is experienced and able to perform all kinds of ceremonies in and around the Central Coast. In the world of wedding officiants, there are many who shine. Then there’s Erin! Her caring and attentive disposition is matched only by her professional attention to detail. She is experienced in performing weddings and elopements and is available for any and all kinds of ceremonies. Contact:   Erin@OliveTreeOfficiating.com   Olive Tree Officiating partners with the Goves on Hwy 41 in their beautiful Olive Tree farm , located in Templeton, California! What a beautiful venue and couple!  ...

Sometimes money isn’t the problem even though money seems like the problem. Sometimes we just can’t seem to figure out what the root of a problem in our marriage is so we bring up another, different and just-as-irritating issue. Money gets a bad rap in a relationship. Money is blamed for problems that come up that have nothing to do with money. Money isn’t always the root of our relationship evils even though we try to blame it. Matt and Sarah will provide us with a real life example of how money-talk isn’t always what needs to be talked about. Matt goes out with his two buddies once a month to play music. His wife is happy to see him go because she knows how much he loves music and his buddies. However, she does not condone Matt’s drinking and driving. Regardless of how much he reassures her that he hasn’t had too much to drink, she grows more and more irritated that he goes out each month. She finally says, “I wish you wouldn’t spend so much money on beer!” Matt responds, “What? I hardly spend anything on beer! What about those new shoes you just bought? They we’re like $200!” Freeze! What’s going on here? Can you see the deception? Can you see how things aren’t as they seem? Matt and Sarah are fighting about money when the underlying fears they have are about other things. Matt is afraid of losing his friends and freedom and Sarah fears for her husband’s life. Both are valid fears. Neither of them are addressing their fears directly. Instead they have brought an unnecessary third party – money, into their conflict. The problem is, their frustrations don’t have anything to do with money. Until Matt and Sarah make their true reasons for being irritated known, they will continue to bang their heads against the “money-problem,” and wasting time trying to come up with “solutions” that don’t address the real issue. Money becomes a convenient excuse, a kind of cork-board on which we pin all of our relational fears. This happens when we don’t address our spouse’s irritating behaviors head on. Matt may admit, “Yes. I spend too much money on beer.” That admission doesn’t mean Matt’s going to stop drinking and driving. He doesn’t think there’s a problem and Sarah hasn’t directly told him that she is afraid. Conversely, Sarah might acknowledge that she has bought several pairs of expensive shoes. Admitting this won’t address Matt’s fear that she doesn’t like his bro-time. Both Matt and Sarah are using money to manipulate one another and it won’t work because the root issue is not about finances. Without realizing it, couples frequently miss talking about the...

BANG! The wedding ceremony planning begins! The racers were off. Each stride brought them closer and closer to the tape. The final line was just within their reach. They pushed with every fiber of their being, stretching to close the gap, straining and heaving as though held back by some invisible force.  SNAP! You’re there. You’ve made it! The tape broke and the winner was crowned! Does this describe your marriage? Do you resonate with rushing to either the starting line to ‘get this thing going’ or heaving toward the ‘finish line’ as though your wedding day were just the “starting gun” that began an emotional marathon we need only survive? The expectations for planning your wedding ceremony might kill you if they aren’t properly managed. Part of the problem with societies conception of marriage is connected to the negative ways we characterize marriage. Our collective thoughts on marriage are either negative i.e. battle field, or war zone or exhausting i.e. race, journey etc. We need to think about our marriages as experiences composed of more than just impossible encounters with reality that end in trivial rewards. Your wedding ceremony planning should incorporate your beliefs just as much as your wedding itself. Buddhist and Christian beliefs about marriage emphasize cooperation and mutual service. Christianity works on the moral of “love your neighbor as yourself.” Buddhism functions by the principle of practicing compassion toward all sentient beings. Marriage, in both religions, is a practicing ground in which the bride and groom give and receive the loving benefits of cooperation and affection that only an intimate lover can provide. In these systems of belief, neither the wedding day nor the day your partner passes, are adequately characterized as a “race.” There are no onlookers, no crowd cheering you on. Everyone present is engaged in the act of showing compassion to one another. There is no track, since the path of learning to love others is never linear. Rather, marriage is an unknown, day by day unfolding of the needs of others and how we might meet them. The behaviors you exhibit under pressure, the way you act on your beliefs during the wedding ceremony planning will follow you throughout marriage. Day-one, your wedding day, is not the beginning of your life-together with the one you love. The wedding day is one of many expressions of love given between lovers that communicates the reality of present love and creates hope for a loving future. As your wedding day approaches, or if you’ve been married for decades, let go of unhelpful perspectives of your marriage and re-learn the simplicity that today is the day for you to practice loving your neighbor, your spouse, your lover.   Contact: Ric Latendresse...