San Ysidro Ranch has been taking in guests since 1893, and it approaches a wedding the way it approaches everything else, without hurry. Ceremonies happen in the gardens, under sycamores and old oaks, with the Santa Ynez Mountains on one side and the Pacific on the other. The property covers more than 500 acres. Most of it is left alone.

Receptions settle into the Stonehouse, an 1889 citrus packing house turned Wine Spectator Grand Award restaurant, with a covered terrace and treetop views out to the ocean. Thirty eight cottages mean the wedding can become a weekend in residence, with everyone sleeping a garden path apart.

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh exchanged midnight vows on these grounds. The Kennedys honeymooned in the cottage that now carries their name. The Ranch does not mention it often, which tells you something.