Manning Park

Welcome Barbeque

Leadbetter Beach

Beach Day Send Off

Wedding Day

Presidio Chapel at El Presidio de Santa Barbara

Ceremony

Casa de la Guerra

Reception

Dargan's Irish Pub & Restaurant

After Party

Our Wedding

Join us at picnic spot A/2 at Manning Park in Montecito for games and BBQ dinner. There's large shady lawns and a playground for the kids. Getting there: The northbound highway 101 on and off ramps at San Ysidro will be closed so you'll need to get off the highway 1 exit earlier. Google maps are navigating around this closure but more information can be found <a href="https://www.edhat.com/news/highway-101-montecito-construction-starts-in-june" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here.</a> Parking: You can park at any of the parking lots - either the first one as you enter the park or continue over the small bridge and weave your way down the hill. Area A/2 is located at the bottom of the gully, so wherever you park, you'll want to walk downhill until you see us.

Attire: Formal/cocktail. Short dresses ok, ties optional, but a step up from a sundress or polo. We encourage you to keep it classy and have fun dressing up! It'll be warm but cool off in the evening. Transportation: We recommend uber, lyft, taxi, or walking to the ceremony location. Driving your own car will also work. We'll walk between the ceremony, reception, and after-party venues - they are all within a 5 min walk. Parking: You can park at no cost at the two adjoining parking lots on the corner of E Canon Perdido St and Anacapa St. Please pick up your car by 8am on Sunday. Please take a taxi or uber home if you had that extra margarita!Navigate to 902 Anacapa St and enter off either E Canon Perdido or Anacapa. Late night @ Dargan's: We've reserved a few tables on the "stage" and will have some late night snacks (sliders, wings, fries, etc). Cash bar and you can order any additional food until 12:30am.

A casual affair - join us for a quick coffee before your flight or drive home, or stay for a day at the beach. We'll serve coffee, mimosas, breakfast burritos, and fruit (and whatever beer or wine is left over from the night before). The nearby Shoreline Beach Cafe also serves food if you get hungry later on.We'll have a couple tables, but recommend bringing towels, umbrellas, beach shades, hats, swimsuits, beach games, and anything else you'd typically want for a beach day. Getting there: Take a right when you enter the Leadbetter Beach parking lot and we'll be at the middle of the picnic table area. The beach parking lot may fill up as it's a popular &amp; central beach. We'd suggest carpooling, taking an uber, and/or leaving some extra time to find parking.

Event Details

The OctopusIt all started the summer of 2015 in San Francisco. Juan was the former-bus driver, clarinetist, and line cook, and now an HR consultant. Lizzie was the sustainable building engineer who escaped the city to ski and rock climb. While some theories suggest the two ran into each other at prior events, the first memorable encounter was at a house party at 1042 Divisadero, where some mutual friends lived. Lizzie had found an octopus hand puppet lying in the living room and proceeded to amuse (annoy?) everyone with her newfound knickknack. Juan was more amused than annoyed and thus started their goofy, shenanigan-filled adventures. It wasn't until several months later, however, when their paths would cross again...&nbsp; The Cigar BarThe two again ran into each other at their friend's birthday at The Cigar Bar, which had a live salsa band blasting old Cuban tunes in a room filled with dancing and mojitos. Juan asked Lizzie to dance, she accepted (woot!), and Juan was thrilled to learn that Lizzie knew how to salsa dance.&nbsp; The First DatesFor their first dates, Juan took Lizzie on a wild array of fun filled adventures, driving up and down the pacific coast in Juan's black convertible (which he dearly misses) and packing too many events into a single day/night. Lizzie took Juan backcountry skiing in Yosemite, weeknight camping in Marin, and rock climbing in Tahoe. On a drive out of the city, we decided our adventures were a tv show we'd watch and so each subsequent adventure was a new of the "Lizzie and Juan Show". Juan even wrote an intro jingle. We're excited to share this episode ("The Wedding") with all of you! The ProposalYears later, Juan planned a proposal to include elements from their first dates: wine &amp; charcuterie after hiking up Buena Vista park, sitting at the bar at Finnegan’s Wake in Cole Valley, and dinner on the waterfront. As they were watching the sunset over the city, on October 6th 2021, Juan pulled out the original octopus puppet, which he'd stolen from his friend's house years ago for this purpose. Lizzie found a ring in the tentacles and said yes.

Our Story

Los Padrinos de Boda

Similar to godparents for a child’s baptism, many latino traditions involve godparents for a variety of important life events. The madrinas and padrinos “de boda” offer the couple advice as they enter into marriage and help sponsor certain aspects of the wedding. Padrinos are typically respected members of the community and it's seen as an honor to be asked.Lizzie and Juan are very proud and grateful to have two sets of padrinos: Mayda and Ronald Montomery (on the left below)Mayda is Juan’s cousin on his father’s side Rosemarie Rinn and Dennis McKearin (on the right below)Rosemarie or "Ree" is Lizzie’s aunt on her mother's side

The Palpa

The gift-giving ceremony, known as the&nbsp;palpa, has been a part of Huancayan weddings for countless generations, even before the&nbsp;Incan Empire. It is based on&nbsp;reciprocity: having your own palpa but also understanding that you will also share and participate in palpa’s of all of your friends and family in the future. Traditionally, parents, and padrinos de boda all take turns processing into the venue with gifts of bread, fruit, and meat, alongside their respective families. It's not uncommon for livestock, furniture, and trucks to make appearances.&nbsp;As they receive their gifts, the bride and groom must then give back (as a symbolic gesture), the value of each present in cases of beer. Thus begins a rowdy competition of people dancing around their respective beer piles to lively Peruvian music.You are welcome to bring a gift (small, large or just a notecard) and join in the palpa!

Santiago

Santiago is a celebration of family, earth, agriculture, and of giving thanks. It's one of the more important festivals in Huancayo and one of Juan’s favorite events when visiting family in Peru. Occurring from late July to early August, the city breaks into several week long parties filled with singing, dancing, drinking, more drinking, and colorful traditional clothing. Santiago is Spanish for "Saint James," from "Santo" meaning "Saint," and "Iago" being a version of "Yago," which is an old Spanish translation of "James."&nbsp;Although the festival is performed in the name of Santiago, it actually comes from a pantheistic tradition where people made an offering to the large mountain, believing that the god of the mountain, known as 'Taita Huamani' or 'Taita Orcco' protected their crops and herds.Given Santiago season aligns with the wedding, we wanted to bring in elements of the celebration and will be dancing through the streets of Santa Barbara with Orquesta Internacional Peru on the way from the ceremony to the reception.

Religious and Spiritual Influences

Both Lizzie and Juan grew up with a unique blend of spiritual and religious influence. There are important to the couple and several of these influences are reflected in the wedding. Juan was raised with Jewish, Catholic, Anglican and TM practices and cultures. Lizzie's family attended a small church that sought insight from across multiple religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and others. Kim, Lizzie's mother, will be doing some readings from influential texts at the ceremony.

Traditions

Q + A

Santa Barbara can be pricey. Here are some recommended options which might be more affordable. AirBnB and VRBO are also great options!

Lizzie & Juan

Lizzie & Juan

Travel

Sunset Motel

Cabrillo Inn at the Beach

Lemon Tree Inn