Wayfarers Chapel 5755 Palos Verdes Drive South • Rancho Palos Verdes • CA 90275

Panoramic ocean views and a spectacular “glass church” set high on a seaside bluff amidst redwood groves and landscaped gardens should be enough to entice you to this awe-inspiring wedding venue, but the Wayfarer’s Chapel has so much more to offer.

Designed by noted landscape and structural architect Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, this exquisite glass chapel and its setting are known not just for their startling physical beauty, but for a spiritual grace that is every bit as compelling. For over 70 years this citadel of the Swedenborgian Church has welcomed individuals from all religious backgrounds and beliefs to celebrate their weddings, memorials, baptisms and other important life-affirming occasions in an elegant nature-inspired sanctuary.

Your experience begins as soon as you drive up the hill. The grounds themselves are stunning: Tranquil and serene, they consist of 3.5 meticulously landscaped acres. Arriving guests can congregate briefly in front of the recently constructed Visitors Center before taking the stone walkway from the parking lot past a meditation pond, gardens and stately pines to the chapel entrance. Some might want to linger on the way to chat beneath the trees in an adjacent glade or gaze out contemplatively over the glittering sea. From this high vantage, you can see Catalina Island on a clear day and watch dolphins leap through the waves or pelicans sweep over the ocean swells far below.

The church itself may be even more breathtaking than the grounds. Framed in timber and steel, but walled and roofed in glass, the many-faceted building gleams like a gem. The soaring walls and ceiling, whose panes are slanted at 30and 60-degree angles, catch the light and illuminate every event, no matter what time of day, in a shower of sunshine, moonlight or candlelight. And there’s no need for additional flowers: The interior of the church, like the outside, is garlanded in living greenery and furnished in wood and local Palos Verdes stone. Here the master artist is nature. For example, the massive circular window above the altar creates a living tableau of the surrounding trees and the ever-changing sky.

Within this transparent cloister every moment is picture-perfect, but comfort and ease are also a huge part of the property’s attraction. The bride has quarters where she and her entourage can get ready for the ceremony. Nearby, a breezy colonnade with Pacific views is another gloriously situated spot where the bridal party and guests often relax for conversation and photos or listen for the carillon set in the crown of the chapel’s handsome Hallelujah Tower. It rings after each and every celebration, sending its joyous message out over land and sea.