One of the best venues in Santa Barbara, Fess Parker's Doubletree is right across the street from the beach and palm trees. The large outdoor rotunda, architecturally beautiful, is great for a large wedding and reception. Photographically, this hotel and the surrounding area has a lot to offer.
The rooms are perfect for getting ready shots, with ocean views and balconies. The lobby is large and well decorated, and then there is a huge lawn in front for formals. The rotunda, with its series of arches and red tile, is such a nice background to ceremony and reception pictures. And of course, a quick run across the street and you're on the beach.
If you dont have a large wedding, or otherwise dont want to use the rotunda, you can have the ceremony on the beach and then the reception in one the ballrooms. And even if you dont have your ceremony here, you can get ready in one of the ocean-view rooms and do some pictures on the property.
This hotel has been a Santa Barbara landmark for many years (when I was in college it was called the Red Lion). Photographing a wedding on the property is truly a great opportunity.
Bridal dress hanging in the window of one of the suites.
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The bride takes a break on the balcony to catch up on some reading.
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The guys prepare for the ceremony on the lawn in front of the hotel.
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Ceremony in the rotunda, shot with a fisheye lens.
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Beach ceremony, with the hotel in the background.
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Briday party not-so-formal shot in front of the rotunda.
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The top of the rotunda (where they do the cocktail hour), has great views of the area.
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The Spanish architecture of the hotel looks great in black and white.
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First dance in front of one of the many windows looking over the ocean.
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The rotunda has excellent potential for additional lighting between the archways.
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