San Juan Capistrano Resident Starts Bridal Space Business

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By Collin Breaux

Couples who are looking to get married and want a space to get together with each other and their wedding party group before the big day can book a block of time at Floraison Bridal Loft, a new business in downtown San Juan Capistrano.

The venue opened in March and was started by local resident Rebecca Stafford. The gathering space is at 31831 Camino Capistrano, Suite 301, near Diamond Salon and Sundried Tomato.

Floraison Bridal Loft is a new space that couples getting married can rent to spend time together with each other and their wedding parties before the actual big day. Photo: Courtesy of Heather Paris-Ybarra

Stafford has been the wedding coordinator at Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano for approximately five years and saw most weddings there came from outside San Juan.

“The couples have always expressed a need for a place locally to get ready, do some final preparations, get the bridal party dressed and ready,” Stafford said. “Even pre-pandemic, I had thought about opening up this space, but, obviously, everything shut down. Right after everything started opening up again and I was able to do weddings, I found this great spot here.”

The venue has soft color decorations, flowers, cozy furniture on which to sit and is able to play relaxing music for guests. Stafford said brides and grooms can even have a “first look” at each other in Floraison before a wedding.

“Even if you live locally, you may not have a big space in your house to have a wedding party,” Stafford said. “This creates that area for the bride and the bridal party.”

Weddings have been booming after pandemic restrictions have been lifted, Stafford said.

“San Juan itself is becoming just a destination on its own,” she said.

Floraison is also a “petite venue” that can be rented out for small events such as wine tastings or even an end-of-life celebration, Stafford said.

“Either the restaurants are packed, or they want something private, or they don’t need such a big event space,” she said.

Seeing couples get started on their lives together is a blessing, and facilitating that is a dream come true, Stafford said.

“It’s such a positive event in everybody’s life. Everybody’s excited,” Stafford said of being a part of wedding preparations. “It’s a little stressful. I’m hoping to add a little less stress to their lives by providing this kind of space for them.”

Visit floraisonbridalloft.com for more information.

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