Anthology

. . . . . Planning the wedding began before the couple even made it back home.
“We were in the Philadelphia airport,” Renovales recalled. “I went to the bar for a drink, and Lindsey comes back from the gift shop with eight bridal magazines to read on the flight home.”
The year the couple gave themselves to plan their wedding was exactly what they needed to get the venues they wanted – Johnson’s family church for the ceremony, and Anthology supper club in downtown San Diego for the reception. . . . . Having attended “tons and tons” of weddings, Johnson and Renovales wanted to break from the traditional in many ways, including a departure from a sit-down meal or buffet. Instead, they opted for trays of passed hors d’oeuvres during the cocktail hour and, for dinner, food stations featuring risotto, seafood and carved meats that guests could choose from, then take to a cocktail lounge-like area that fostered easy mingling.
Even the de rigueur tiered cake was eschewed in favor of an ice sculpture in the shape of a cake. It fit in with the couple’s notions of not wasting anything because when it melted, the water returned to nature.
“I’m a perfectionist. No cake could be decorated perfect enough,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t find a design I really liked. I went through tons of magazines. This was an easy way out.” . . . . .“I guess we are looking forward to our grand exit and being able to have that sense that as we step out of this venue, we will be literally walking into a new chapter of our lives.”

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