El Encanto offers serenity with Pacific views — Adrian Houston photo.
El Encanto, Santa Barbara, California
With hilltop gardens all around, and the Pacific Ocean off in the distance below, it’s hard to imagine a more serene setting for a destination wedding than El Encanto, a fabled Santa Barbara hotel that first opened in 1918 and re-opened in late March after a seven-year, $134 million renovation by the Orient-Express Hotels group. The wisteria-framed arbor and the lily pond still make romantic outdoor venues, to which have been added a new ballroom. There’s a new spa, too, a new private patio for each of the 92 bungalows, a huge new pool, and, because this is no city wedding you are planning, a new cow to provide your guests with milk and cheese literally as fresh as it comes.
Salamander Resort & Spa is in the heart of horse country.
Salamandar Resort & Spa, Middleburg, Virginia
Sure, (almost) everyone dreams of a prince, but we hope you’ve found one who is comfortable on horseback if you want to take full advantage of a destination wedding at the Salamander Resort & Spa, opening just outside Washington D.C. in August. The 340-acre, 168-room luxury resort is not entirely given over to equine pursuits. Wedding venues range across meadows, lawns, and gardens outdoors, to ballrooms, salons and foyers indoors. And you can enjoy the spa, with its treetop treatment rooms, or the wine trails, or the Piedmont-inspired cuisine, without once having to think about whether you mount facing the tail or away from it. But love of the horse world runs deep here, with acres of paddocks, miles of bridle trails, and a 22-stall stable for guests who happen to bring their own steed.
Hawaiian beach weddings get a modern spin at the Andaz Maui at Wailea
Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort & Spa, Hawaii
If you are dreaming of a Hawaiian destination wedding on the beach at sunset, the Andaz Maui at Wailea could be the place you’ve been imagining. When this 290-room luxury hotel, which is one of the Hyatt brands, opens this summer, a favorite venue will no doubt be the oceanfront lawn. The vibe, as you’d expect from Andaz, which has been making its reputation with a string of cool city hotels, should be hipper than at more traditional Wailea properties. And there’ll be plenty for guests to do, with a spa, a gorgeous stretch of beach, four cascading infinity pools, and a restaurant presided over by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. — Bob Payne
