Elings Park

Located in beautiful Santa Barbara, Elings Park is a 230-acre nonprofit park blessed with incredible city, mountain and ocean views. This recreational paradise encompasses sports fields, picnic grounds, tennis courts, a hang-gliding hill, a sculpture garden, a Veteran’s Memorial Walk—plus hiking and biking trails galore. However, Elings also has three lovely sites for romantic wedding celebrations. To reach the first, take a short curvy drive up to Godric Grove, an estate-like venue at the park’s summit. You’re only 400 feet above sea level here, but the multifaceted perspective makes you feel like you’re on top of the world: From one direction, the grove surveys velvety-green park meadows; from another, the Santa Barbara cityscape unfolds against the silhouette of the Santa Ynez Mountains—and whichever way you face, a ribbon of ocean winks in the distance. Wedding ceremonies make the most of this dynamic vista at the Grove’s stone amphitheater, gently terraced into the hillside overlooking a forest of oaks. The amphitheater is completely secluded, blissfully quiet (save for the occasional birdcall or rustle of leaves), and harmonizes with the surrounding landscape. The adjacent reception area is just as pleasing. A large free-form redwood deck is spread out along the rim of a plateau. Gnarled oak trees around the perimeter provide dappled shade for your cocktail hour and reception. Next to the deck there’s a sizable patio that’s just right for a buffet or dancing. A cozy, treelined lawn nearby also has event possibilities. From spring to summer, cheery Matilija poppies are in bloom around the lawn, while in the autumn the liquid amber trees put on a colorful show. The second site, Singleton Pavilion, provides a more expansive setting with its own special charms. The centerpiece of Singleton is a sweep of lawn that can easily accommodate both your ceremony and reception seating. At one end, a copse of trees on a slight rise makes a leafy milieu for exchanging vows; or say “I do” in front of a handsome gazebo at the opposite end. A path partly encircles the lawn and culminates in a stone terrace poised at the edge of the hillside. Here a petite grove of saplings creates a magical atmosphere for intimate dining or a novel cocktail hour. And one more (wonderful) thing about Singleton: It also boasts serene city and mountain vistas, as well as peeks of the Pacific Ocean. Both Godric Grove and Singleton Pavilion can accommodate large canopies, and site rental includes dedicated parking along with a Park Host. This spectacular, unspoiled setting can be styled as elegantly as you please, but you really don’t need to add a single flower, plant or ribbon because Nature has provided all the decoration.