I started this business when I lived in Del Mar, California.  We were there for two glorious years during a stint with the NAVY and could have not loved the area more!  We lived in this adorable guest house on Bellaire Street (yes, sweet husband, I remembered the name of the street) next to a family with 5 children who are now teenagers and young adults.  The family took us in as their own and we in turn fell in love with them too.

We could walk to the Del Mar Plaza and to our favorite restaurant, Sbicca.  We made enough money that we could eat dinner and order appetizers and a bottle of wine…a huge step up from life in Florida where we were seriously penny pinching.  I worked for a pharmaceutical company during the a blissful period and tried all the best restaurants in San Diego because of that job.

I first learned about June Gloom when we arrived in January.  Apparently, when it is the prettiest all over the United States, near the beach in SoCal, it is not.  Here is what wikipedia has to say: June Gloom is a southern California term for a weather pattern that results in cloudy, overcast skies with cool temperatures during the late spring and early summer.  June Gloom in southern California is caused by the marine layer effect common to the West Coast.  Well, we LOVE June at Sparkle because of the many many MANY brides planning for summer weddings.

Now anytime I talk to brides in Southern California, I am simply nostalgic.  My husband and I would love Saturdays when we could go on an early run, cancel out the calories burned with a big seaside brunch and then pack a picnic and head to the beach (we could walk, by the way).  It was incredibly amazing when we could watch a wedding taking place at the Del Mar public beach – and yes, we would stay and watch, at a respectable distance of course.  You can get married at Seagrove Park in Del Mar for $1500 and the venue could not be more beautiful and simple.