Lovers Point Park
17th Street at Ocean View Boulevard, Pacific Grove (831) 648-3100, cityofpacificgrove.org
The first official space wedding was Aug. 10, 2003, when Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko wed Ekaterina Dmitriev while Malenchenko was orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station, and Dmitriev was at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. The bride called it their “celestial, soulful connection.” Here in Monterey County, thousands of couples have their own terrestrial, soulful connection at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove with the breathtaking backdrop of Monterey Bay as their chapel. The city rents out the park in two-hour blocks on weekends for ceremonies. No receptions or alcohol are allowed in the park. But who needs to imbibe when love sends happy couples into orbit?