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Inspired Oasis

Infuse your San Diego wedding with dessert romance

CASABLANCA IS THE IMAGE that comes to mind when I think of desert romance. After all, it’s the classic American romance film, and Humphrey Bogart the iconic American actor who portrayed so well the struggle between love and virtue. It’s intriguing, complicated and memorable—just as any great love should be. And with the desert as its backdrop, this romance story is nothing less than beautiful.

Luckily, couples in search of their own desert romance don’t have to trek to Morocco to find it. “For inspiration, drive out on Interstate 8 until you get well into the dessert, where it is so remarkably beautiful,” says Paul Bott, an event producer whose work takes him from San Diego to San Francisco to New York. “Then do it again at dusk.”

Bott says his life’s work, what pleases him most, is creating the perfect party, the most beautiful wedding, a successful gala, an intimate dinner. We commissioned him to create a tabletop for a mythical desert-themed affair in San Diego. And what he gave us was more than fodder for imagination—it was a scene worthy of an Oscar.

At the Maderas Golf Club in Poway, Bott’s palette of golden yellows, sage green, lavender, purple, deep blue and turquoise set the scene for a sun-drenched celebration. In keeping with the natural and historic elements of the surrounding, he combined stone, wrought iron and decorative beads. And to reflect the organic nature of the desert, he added hints of cacti and succulents, combined with colorful roses, fig branches, eremuri and dahlias.

“I love the desert,” he says. “The desert is very complicated, the desert is very soothing and colorful. I also love the products from the desert— dates, figs, grapefruits and lemons—and the history of these foods.”

To welcome guests, Bott laid out a “salad” of pink grapefruit, sundried golden tomatoes, dates, figs, goat cheese and olives. A tagine of lamb and native vegetables, fruited couscous and chickpeas followed, and the menu was punctuated with a pistachio wedding cake with date-and-orange filling and coconut buttercream.

“I wanted something that would be natural and interesting to all the senses,” he says. “And I knew I wanted to create something authentic and modern.”

Bott’s version of a desert romance is more colorful than the film itself, and speaks to today’s bride and groom. There is no room for kitsch, only an approach that embraces the elements and will undoubtedly leave guests talking about your wedding for years to come.

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