IIt’s always a beautiful day in one of the state’s most iconic destinations, and a wedding set in a vineyard or on the coast will never disappoint. While the location is a large part of planning a wedding, there are a lot of little things that can make or break the big day. For this year’s annual Weddings Issue, we talk about some of those details. Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor writes about Jump On The School Bus, a local transportation company that can get your guests to your wedding safely [6]; New Times Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal speaks with wedding professionals about wedding favors [10]; and New Times Assistant Editor Peter Johnson covers where to go to celebrate before the wedding [14].
Santa Barbara County-based Jump On The School Bus offers a fleet of school buses for wedding transportation needs
BY TAYLOR O’CONNOR
Darin Fiechter and Sierra Falso were crushed when the couple lost their Santa Barbara restaurant in 2011, Fiechter said.
“It was like losing a child; not that I’d ever had kids, but I could equate it to losing your favorite dog. This was our baby,” Fiechter said. “We were the faces of it, we were there every night. When you lose that, you don’t know what to do.”
After working other jobs to make ends meet, Falso pitched a new business idea out of the blue for the couple to embark on: wine tours in a black school bus, he said.
“We laughed it off, [but] we went home that night, and we’re talking the next day and I’m like, ‘You know it wasn’t that bad of an idea. We could do something like that,” Fiechter said. “School buses are relatively cheap to buy because [companies] just unload them after they get old, but they run and run. They run forever and are relatively low maintenance.”
The couple bought their first school bus with the $4,000 they got when Falso sold a Rolex she’d received as a gift from an ex-boyfriend. They painted the bus black and got all the licensing and qualifications to drive the bus, he said. The couple used the bus to transport people for their own wedding on Nov. 11, 2011. Six months later, they booked their first wedding party.
Now, Jump On The School Bus has more than 20 black buses, books 200 to 300 weddings a year (making about 3,000 trips), and provides its services across the Central Coast—ranging from Ventura to San Luis Obispo counties, Fiechter said. The majority of the buses are renovated with limo-style seating so guests can face each other, and the couple can create a customized message for the outside of the bus.
“It’s a privilege to be a part of people’s wedding day. It’s a lot of pressure though because if you screw up, you ruin someone’s day,” he said. “So we’re riding the line every day that nothing’s going to break down, which luckily they normally don’t.”
During the off-season, Jump On The School Bus also provides transportation for other events, like wine tastings and birthday parties, and they recently partnered with the Santa Maria-Bonita and Santa Barbara Unified school districts to help with transportation needs during the school year, Fiechter added.
Although the pandemic set the company back slightly and they had to sell 10 buses from their fleet, the company managed since people leaned toward postponing their weddings rather than canceling, Fiechter said.
“We did lose some because some people just eloped and did something smaller,” he said. “So we lost about a quarter of them, but three quarters we got back, so we survived.”
Normally, wedding parties with 100 to 150 people will take two to three buses on an eight-hour contract. Fiechter estimated that it costs about $2,200 for each bus, which includes transportation for everyone to and from the wedding and a deposit that acts as a gratuity. All the pickup and drop-off logistics are worked out between Jump On The School Bus and the wedding planner so there are no hiccups on the big day.
“They’re supporting a mom-and-pop business, local people that afford to pay the top rate, hourly pay to their staff. That’s what they’re allowing us to do,” Fiechter said.
Many venues on the Central Coast are now requiring wedding parties to book transportation for their guests for safety reasons, he added.
“They don’t want any liability of people driving in and out. I’m surprised that there’s a few venues that allow people to drive; it doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “People are drawn toward buses because it’s efficient and it’s fun.”
Fiechter and Falso used their own buses again when they celebrated their 11th wedding and company anniversary on Nov. 11, 2022—recalling all of the work they put in to create Jump On The School Bus, Fiechter said.
“If you’re into numerology, which I wasn’t until [later], 11-11 is like a rebirth and a cleansing, and we had just lost everything at the restaurant,” he said. “It saved our lives, the bus business.”
Visit jumpontheschoolbus.com to learn more about the company or to request a quote.
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
Keep your cash, skip the wedding favors
BY BULBUL RAJAGOPAL
Wedding favors are something I’ve thought maybe a little too much about as someone who’s never been married and isn’t going to get married anytime soon.
For years, my friends and I had a running joke for a take-home gift. I’d have a tattoo artist stationed next to the open bar at my hypothetical wedding reception. They’d only ink one design: a cheesy heart with “Bulbul + Insert Groom’s Name” and the wedding date below. It’d make for a horrifying hangover but the best story.
“They still have the choice to go ahead with it!” said Alexandra Wallace, my friend and professional photographer. “I hate wedding favors. They either get left at the table, are useless, or forgotten about.”
Wallace has been shooting weddings for a little more than 10 years. She captures pivotal memories for lovebirds around San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles counties. Over the course of a decade, she’s seen the evolution of the wedding favor.
“It used to be the Jordan almond,” she explained one February evening. “You have to suck on it for 20 minutes, and it doesn’t taste good.”
According to Wallace, wedding favors bloat the already-mammoth cost of a wedding, which can run upwards of $20,000 or $30,000 including the venue and food costs. People underestimate how expensive a wedding on the Central Coast really is, she told the Sun.
“I think it’s insane the amount people pay for things. You shouldn’t get into it if you aren’t in a place in life where it’s not painful to do so,” Wallace said. “But you do get what you pay for.”
She recalled a wedding she photographed last year. The bride’s dad and brother owned a memory foam pillow company. Wallace and the guests each went home with a giant pillow worth more than $200. She whipped out her phone to show me the pillow on the website. Originally $219.99, the pillow price was now slashed to $129.99. Lucky future memory foam pillow owners!
“It felt like leaving the Oprah show. ‘You get a pillow! Memory foam pillows for everybody!’ We sleep with it every night now,” she admitted.
At another wedding, Wallace saw guests being gifted socks with the bride and groom’s names on them.
“Useful, but pretty ugly,” she said.
Then came another celebration with 60 people. The couple arranged to have shelves packed with olive oil and wine for guests.
“You took whatever you want off it, like a grocery store,” Wallace recalled.
Overall, Wallace said, the average wedding favor is environmentally destructive. Paring down a wedding celebration to the essentials is key. For her own future wedding, she wants to focus on the food and make it a fun experience that’s not swayed by Pinterest optics or appearing cool online for the now-strangers that she went to high school with. Unsurprisingly, her guests will be returning home sans wedding favors but with a full belly and a unique memory.
“There’s a place called Pioneer Town near Joshua Tree. It was built solely for filming old Westerns,” she said, noting that she and her boyfriend have their eye on it as a wedding locale. “Chris and I love it, and we want to take everyone to the middle of the desert!”
For Arroyo Grande-based wedding planner Janet Tacy, if wedding favors are a must-have, she recommends going down the sustainable route. Tacy founded Sandcastle Celebrations 10 years ago and has noticed that wedding favors are falling to the wayside.
“If they’re going to have wedding favors, make it something that showcases a local product and that it’s consumable,” she said. “It’s not anything anybody really needs. The guest experience is actually the most important component of a wedding versus having a little takeaway.”
Tacy recalled planning a Lego-themed wedding where the bride and groom sent everyone home with little boxes of themselves as Lego figurines.
“I guess it’s a cute idea, but I don’t know the practicality of what that’s ever going to be used for,” she said with a laugh.
Tacy told the Sun that her primary job is expectation management and making clients understand what they can truly afford. The venue, floral arrangements, and rentals—silverware, glassware, tables, and chairs—eat up most of the wedding budget. Tacking on wedding favors could add $1,000 or more, depending on what the object is.
“If somebody does want to do a wedding favor, have it be something that tells the story of the couple,” she said. “I had a bride who was marrying someone who took care of bees, so they had honey as little favors.”
For her own wedding, Tacy and her husband featured a jazz band. She made her own invitations and grew her own flowers for centerpieces. She also handed out native wildflower seeds as favors.
In Tacy’s eyes, an air of nervousness now blankets the 2023 wedding scene. With the economy worse for wear, people are a little skittish about spending more. A budget, especially with hundreds of individual wedding favors in the mix, can make or break partners.
“Wedding planning is a great first exercise for a couple,” Tacy said. “You can see how a relationship is going to play out. If you’re not able to come to an agreement and compromise, it doesn’t bode well.”
Reach New Times Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal, from the Sun’s sister paper, at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
Best known for bachelorettes, SLO and Santa Barbara counties can also host memorable bachelor parties
BY PETER JOHNSON
The Central Coast is pretty well-established as a top destination for soon-to-be-brides to hold their bachelorette parties and enjoy some quality wine tasting.
But what about bachelors? San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties offer plenty to make for an equally great bachelor party.
Note: These activities by no means have to be gender specific!
Sport fish in Morro Bay
Launch off the coast for a day (or multiple days) of sport fishing in the open ocean. There are several local outfitters that will take your group out to catch rockfish, lingcod, albacore, halibut, and more, but Virg’s Landing and Black Pearl Sportfishing are two trusted choices out of Morro Bay. They offer expeditions ranging from half-day trips to two-day overnight runs.
Camp at Lopez Lake
Enjoy SLO County’s outdoors without breaking the bank at Lopez Lake. With more than 350 sites to choose from, this county campground is easy to book and doesn’t lack for activities. Rent boats or Jet Skis at the marina and spend the day out on the water. Or go zip-lining at the lakeside Vista Lago Adventure Park. The lake is also just a short drive from the Village of Arroyo Grande with a variety of restaurants and bars.
Have a casino night
Test your luck with a night out at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez. With 115,000 square feet of casino space, this is the premier location to gamble on the Central Coast. Use your winnings to buy concert or comedy show tickets and enjoy some delicious food and drinks. If you spend the night, check out the renowned Alisal Ranch the next day near Solvang.
Ride on the Oceano Dunes
Enjoy a day carving it up in an ATV on the Oceano Dunes, the only beach in California you can still legally drive on. Rent your ATVs in town, buy a day pass at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, and enjoy the more than 1,000 acres of curvy dunes. If this activity is on your bachelor bucket list, get it done soon: The state plans to ban riding on the dunes in the next few years.
Fun at the shooting range
Find out which of your friends has the best shot and spend an afternoon at the SLO Sportsmen’s Association public gun range. Located in the heart of the Chorro Valley between SLO and Morro Bay, this local range welcomes beginners and large private groups. It will provide loaner guns, shooting instructions, and even barbecue pits to make it a party.
Go beer, wine, and spirit tasting
Take the group to Paso Robles for a day of beer, wine, and spirit tasting. From cabs, to IPAs, to gins, North SLO County has something of world-class quality for everybody to enjoy. Take a tour of Firestone Walker Brewery. Or, if you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, up the ante with a scenic helicopter ride around the region starting at Cass Winery. You can also sign up at Cass for motorcycle sidecar tours, horseback rides, archery, and more fun activities.
Take a hunting trip
Venture out into the remote ranchland of the Central Coast for a guided hunting trip. Buckle in for as many as five days or as few as one and hunt for quail, turkey, deer, elk, wild pigs, and more. Oak Stone Outfitters in Bradley is one local company with a suite of options to meet your group’s needs. It also offers taxidermy services so you and your friends can take your trophies home.
New Times Assistant Editor Peter Johnson can be reached at pjohnson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 2, 2023.
