San Diego Weddings and Parties
ShopLocalSD: Bridal Bar in La Jolla
Building the beginning of a “happily ever after”
By Rebekah Sager
Posted on Sat, Nov 20th, 2010
Last updated Sat, Nov 20th, 2010
Anseth Page Richards is not your ordinary wedding planner.She calls herself a couple’s coach, whose job it is to help brides and grooms over the first roadblock to marital bliss—planning a wedding. Born and raised in La Jolla, Richards says she has seen the planning of a wedding end a relationship before it has had a chance to begin the “happily ever after” part.

Revolving table decor.
Photo by Rebekah Sager
Whether it’s finding a CPA or lawyer (both of which she recommends for newlyweds), a florist, a pole dance instructor or a pyrotechnic DJ, the Bridal Bar is a one-stop-shop for organizing the “big day” or any big event.
Ten years ago, thanks to Hollywood, a movie starring Jennifer Lopez called The Wedding Planner, changed the role of that job. The wedding planner became as essential to a successful wedding as a great dress and a beautiful cake. “Prior to the movie, it was the mother of the bride that did all the work,” Richards says. “But our world has changed and become very specialized–when you need your computer fixed you hire an IT guy, if you’re getting married you hire a wedding planner.”

Every bride is special.
Photo by Rebekah Sager
The Bridal Bar kind of works like a PR firm/concierge service: They vet vendors such as caterers, photographers, and florists and choose the best six. Those vendors become “members” for a fee. Couples come to the store to discuss the budget and look of their wedding, and the Bridal Bar can direct them to the appropriate vendors–saving them the time and energy of trying multiple bakeries, listening to multiple DJs, or tasting multiple caterers.
Weddings can be tricky to plan and budget. Bridal Bar suggests that weddings usually fall into one of three catagories: Enjoy, Relax, Dream—the differenceis how money is proportioned, according to the couples’ priorities—maybe more on food, or more on music, etc.
Although Bridal Bar has suffered in the last couple of years due to the economy, Richards says 2011 is going to be a great year. “The luxury wedding market was hit hard, but the modest vendors had very good years,” she says.
Weddings in general will be a booming business in the next few years due to the Baby Boomers’ kids are coming into marrying age. One third of the Boomer’s kids will be marrying in the next five years.
Although all of the Bridal Bars are independently owned, the original store and the brand was started in Los Angeles by Harmony Walton. There are three locations–one in Beverly Hills, one in San Diego, and one in Atlanta.
The Bridal Bar offers bride and groom gifts, jewelry and engraving; basically anything a bride could think of, and some things she didn’t. They help brides and grooms connect the dots.
“It’s our goal to help couples live happily ever after,” says Richards.
About the author: Rebekah Sager is a San Diego writer and blogger. Her work has been published in San Diego Magazine, Pacific San Diego, Where magazine and the South African literary journal Words etc. Her Web site is ShopLocalSD.com. More by this author