The Half Moon Bay Coastside is a small, quiet, beautiful community situated on HWY 1 just 30 miles south of San Francisco. Not only is it a great location for a wedding ceremony and reception, but also provides many features and activities for a very special honeymoon.

With its easy access to many beautiful beaches, several excellent restaurants for dining, bed and breakfast locations overlooking the ocean and many other activities you will be sure to have a special honeymoon without having to travel far.

A few of the beaches which are sure to please are Montara State beach, the Miramontes Point Rd beach, the beach area near the famous Mavericks surf location and the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.

Some of the lodging locations with views of the ocean from your room or balcony are the Beach House found at www.beach-house.com, the Cypress Inn at www.cypressinn.com and Landis Shores at www.landisshores.com

Many other activities are available to entertain you all within a short drive –

Horseback riding, whale-watching, sport-fishing, shopping in quaint downtown Half Moon Bay, golf, a visit to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve tide pools, walking through Princeton harbor, a trip to the Point Montara and Pigeon Point Lighthouses and a visit to the Ano Nuevo State Reserve for a guided elephant seal tour or just spending time relaxing on the beach.

For more information on restaurants, lodging locations and activities the Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce website at www.halfmoonbaychamber.org is a good resource.

There are many musicians available for wedding ceremony music. But few are as special and as well trained as the classical, acoustic guitarist, Richard Patterson.    

Richard Patterson is available for wedding ceremonies and has a broad repertory of musical selections to choose from.  He has enjoyed a career performing with groups and as a featured soloist in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.  He lived and studied the guitar in Spain and upon returning to the United States was signed by Columbia Artists for several years on national tour and performs more than 70 concerts a year on University campuses and in major concert halls throughout North America. Richard is a recording artist and his compositions and arrangements are heard in feature films and on television and radio.

His education includes a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Studio Performance from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Masters Degree in Music from San Francisco State University.

 Richard’s deep understanding and admiration for the music he performs, his remarkable career as an artist, plus his special style and performance abilities make him an excellent musician for any wedding ceremony.

For more information or to book Richard for your wedding, please call 650-726-2513. Listen to him playing in the background at www.hastingshouseweddings.com, a wedding ceremony location he co-owns with his wife.

A wedding ceremony program order basically has just four major elements. You can add things like readings, prayers, a Unity Candle Ceremony, and other elements where they seem appropriate within the basic structure.

First, your wedding ceremony begins with how you want the wedding party to proceed in to where the ceremony actually takes place.

The traditional approach is for the men in the wedding party to proceed in from the side and the women proceed down the aisle with the bride entering last. The bride may enter by herself or be escorted by her father or some significant person.

Once the bridal party is assembled, usually the officiant will welcome the guests and give a short talk to the bridal couple. This part of the wedding ceremony program can be religious, secular, or can be a ceremony that combines the religious and the secular.

Next is the exchange of vows and rings. There are two different approaches to wedding ceremony vows. One type is where the officiant asks you a series of questions  to which you reply “I do.” In the second, the couple reads their vows or is prompted by the officiant to share significant words of commitment.

The wedding ceremony program concludes with the pronouncement of you as “husband and wife” and an introduction to the guests. The introduction can be something like, ” Ladies and Gentlemen I’d like to introduce to you, George and Mary, husband and wife.” Or “Ladies and Gentlemen I’d like to introduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. George Henderson.

Here is an example of a Wedding Ceremony program order from Weddings By The Sea. There is also a link on that the Ceremony page to a page of additional wedding vows.