Our Wedding Guide for a Changed World 

Pandemic Pivots, Creative Trends, Kamala Harris’s Courthouse Ceremony, and Santa Barbara Vendor List

By: Emily Cosentino Lee and Terry Ortega | Published February 11, 2021

As if planning a wedding weren’t challenging enough… there wasn’t a how-to guide on planning a wedding during a worldwide pandemic. For many couples, prior to COVID-19, the steps to legalize your union were a given: Get engaged; set a date; make a guest list; book the location, food, flowers, and photographer; and plan the parties — so many parties. It’s been almost one year since the betrothed have had to scrap huge ceremonies, receptions, and celebration parties and reimagine their special day on a smaller scale with social distancing, masks, and hand sanitizer readily available, or plan an entirely virtual event.

This year’s couple on the cover, Emily Cosentino and Jerry Lee, faced that challenge head-on. Their story, “From Plan A to Z: A Bride and Groom’s Pandemic Pivot Saves the Date,” gives a firsthand account of how they came out of the experience closer and more aware of what a wedding day is really all about.

The Independent’s Annual Wedding Guide has always taken a look at the wedding trends around the country, and this year has been no exception — though it has been a very exceptional year. Many of the new and creative ideas that brides and grooms have invented for the pandemic may, in fact, become traditions in years to come.

And we are happy to include a reminder that Santa Barbara has been the wedding destination for many famous couples, including our new vice president and the second gentleman, who married at the beautiful Mural Room in our Courthouse, itself a national treasure.

Be assured, tying the knot in front of family and friends is possible with some creative adjustments. However your big day materializes, let this year’s complete Wedding Resource Guide and list of vendors — who have felt the pandemic’s pinch like few others — help you create an extraordinary experience that is as unique and special as you are. Here’s wishing you fulfillment of your every dream!

Look for information on how to be listed in next year’s guide in our paper in early January 2022. Listings are user submitted and do not automatically roll over from the previous year without verification. —Terry Ortega