Saying €I do€ surrounded by sun, sand and surf has wide appeal. Add the Hotel del Coronado and you have the perfect setting for a wedding. This year, local resident Steven Ogles has noticed that the number of beach weddings has risen dramatically, and he is not pleased.
In a letter to the city manager and other city officials, Ogles bemoaned the commercialization of the beach by for-profit wedding planners.
€Summer 2011 saw an explosion in this activity with no less than five weddings occurring on one Saturday afternoon,€ he wrote. He accused one company, A Beautiful Wedding, of €exploitation.€
The company’s lists Coronado as a popular site for a beach wedding, along with other beaches like in La Jolla, Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma and Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas.
With the exception of Councilwoman Barbara Denny, the issue of using a public beach for private profit didn’t register as a problem at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. But Ogles’ point about the intrusion of trucks and paraphernalia needed for these events did.
His letter cited an example at Ocean Boulevard and Rh Dana Place.
€Raphael’s Party Rentals had a lift-gate truck conveniently double parked on Ocean Boulevard while discharging party paraphernalia destined for the Jamie & Deo’s Wedding beach venue.€
€There is no place for a large vehicle to park and unload and load,€ Councilwoman Carrie Downey said. €We have to find a way to do that without impacting traffic, the beach or the environment.€
Mayor Casey Tanaka said he wasn’t against weddings, even those organized by commercial companies.
€I say God bless wedding planners,€ he said.
Having officiated at a small wedding this year, he was aware of the impact they can have on a beach. There were only 20 people present, but sitting there waiting for the ceremony to begin he could see how just having chairs on the beach changed things.
The city does not regulate commercial weddings held at a beach. It does require a minor-use permit if more than 25 people are expected to attend. Tanaka suggested lowering it to 10.
Councilman Al Ovrom pointed out the liability issue.
