Good morning and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Sunday, Feb. 18. I'm Andrew J. Campa, a Fast Break reporter for The Times. This is the first Sunday Essential California! We hope you'll be a regular reader. Here's what you need to know to start your Sunday:
Their dream wedding was canceled
As someone who married within the last few months, I can tell you that the one thing no one wants is a last-minute venue change. Yet, several couples received emails within the last week informing them of the sudden closure of the picturesque Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, a highly coveted Southern California wedding venue.
The famed glass-walled chapel designed by architect Lloyd Wright, scion of Frank Lloyd Wright, provides stunning ocean views from its hillside perch. The venue's future is imperiled, however, as increasing land movement on the heels of a deluge of rain closed the chapel indefinitely. Couples who spoke with The Times' Andrea Chang and Samantha Masunaga were sympathetic to Wayfarers' plight but were also left scrambling to salvage their special day.
Disappointed but trying to keep it in perspective
Up until a few days ago, Brooklyn literary agent Ryan D. Harbage planned to wed fiancée Jazmine Robinson at the chapel on March 24, a springtime celebration.
The couple quickly bounced to a new venue — the Long Beach Museum of Art — which will also host the reception. The move wouldn't have been possible without the chapel's staff directly contacting the couple and immediately issuing a refund.
"I'd much rather get married in an art museum than die in a mudslide," Harbage said. "It's really not a contest."
Still, the shift from a storybook venue and the scrapping of months of preparation have been difficult to accept.
"We've been imagining this dream ceremony at a place that is singular," Harbage said. "It's such a beautiful blend of nature and spirit, and we've been planning for a year to get married there, and it's really, really hard to let go of that vision."
Queen (Mary) for a day
During their courtship, Dawn Sicare and fiancé Howard Newman fell in love with the Wayfarers Chapel. So when they decided to get married, they scheduled their nuptials there for March 9.
"It was perfect," Newman said. "It's obviously beautiful up there. We got the ball rolling, and we were excited, until two days ago."
The couple couldn't change the date since it aligned with spring break for Newman's children. Plus, they had already booked their stay at the Queen Mary hotel in Long Beach.
That's when the couple inquired about the availability of the famed ocean liner for the ceremony. The date was available, and now the couple is just waiting to sign the paperwork.
"The initial shock and all that stuff, it's dissipated," Newman said. "It is what it is. We move on."
Here's more on how couples have coped with the last-minute wedding venue changes.
Today's biggest stories
A photographer captures a wave crashing into the breakwater at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro in February 2023. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Column One
Column One is The Times' home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here's a great piece from this week:
A woman walks with two young children near the playground at Wilmington Park Elementary. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Single mothers like me are easy scapegoats. But the case for marriage is a myth. Almost half of Americans think single mothers are bad for society. We're being blamed for problems we didn't create.
More great reads
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For your weekend
Ziggy Marley, hijo de Bob Marley, al lado de Ben-Adir en el set. (Chiabella James)
Going out
Staying in
L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
(Anna Resmini / For The Times)
Could a chance romance help me feel whole again after a family tragedy? I swiped through dating apps seeking a sense of normalcy after my brother's death. A former Angeleno living in New Orleans seemed special.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Carlos Lozano, editor
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