I love this wedding. I really, really do. It is filled to the brim with so many fantastic details, and not to mention a super sweet couple. It is such a cool wedding, even a wedding geek who gushes uncontrollably over all things pretty parties, such as myself, is a little more hip after spending time with this soiree, designed by the gorgeous bride & handsome groom with a little help from LVL Weddings & Events. Yes, this wedding, captured by Bobby Earle, can make you cooler people. Don’t believe me? Click here for the gallery!
Matthew proposed to me in Venice, Italy at sunrise at the point of the channel across from St. Marks Cathedral and the Doge’s Palace.
When we first got engaged and began talking about what kind of wedding we wanted and where and when to have it, we began with more traditional venues and caterers. All good choices but the event we were creating seemed to lack a lot of who we were as people. We re-grouped and began to talk about the “feeling” of the wedding. What did we want the day to feel like? What did we want our friends and family to feel? How did we want to feel? What we finally came up with turned out to be the perfect combination of both our personalities and a night of fun that we couldn’t imagine any other way.
Matthew and I wanted our guests to have a wonderful time, we wanted the evening to be memorable, but not because of the over the top décor, or how exotic the menu was, or how expensive everything seemed. We wanted our friends and family to remember the warmth of the event, the good food, relaxed atmosphere, and the personal touches that were all me and Matthew. We wanted the event to not just be a great wedding but also a memorable party. As we talked more we were also excited to share local LA and Orange County and what was great about these places.We kept that in mind when choosing a caterer and our beer, creating our website and a few other items. Overall vision was a mix of modern with a sophisticated but relaxed vibe. Colors were black and white with accents in jewel tones – mostly magentas, greens and purples.
I had literally “Stumbled Upon” The Smog Shoppe two years or so ago. Just browsing around the Internet and it popped up. I looked around the site thinking how unbelievably cool it was and wishing I had some sort of event there. I filed it in the back of my head as a totally awesome place for a party and that wast hat. Cut to two years later when Matthew and I were discussing place after place to have our wedding. There wasn’t anywhere we seemed to agree on. It was too traditional for me; it was too modern for him, too far, too expensive, too overdone, etc. After a lot of thinking, The Smog Shoppe popped back into my head. I tentatively shared the website with him not having any idea as to what he’d think. I was pleasantly surprised that he loved it. We visited the venue a few weeks later and it looked exactly like the pictures. Just being there gave us so much inspiration for the rest ofthe wedding. When we got back into the car, it was a short “I love it”, “So do I” and that was it. We were sold.
After we decided on the venue, we moved on to catering and flowers. I stared stalking wedding blogs and found La Partie Events. I loved Meg’s use of color. I loved her sense of “casual elegance”. Nothing she did was stuffy or traditional. It was like you, your friends and family gathered up your vision and went hunting for the perfect flowers and vases but it was cohesive and amazing and beautiful and so much better then you could have done on your own. We met with Meg early on in the process and talked about what we wanted and the dreaded word – budget. She was so wonderful, she talked about what she could do for us and suggested ideas that we could do on our own that would cost less then her doing it. End result – Somuch more then I expected and SO exactly what I wanted.
The Smog Shoppe had given us a list of their “preferred vendors” and HeirloomLAwas on it. I had found them on my own as well a few weeks prior and I loved not only how the food looked and choice of food but the fact that they utilizedlocal organic vendors to source their food. The whole concept of locally grown is something that really is important to us and really solidified our feelings about using them as our caterer.In addition to their practices, there food is DELICIOUS! The big thing for me was the food. I always feel like the meal is the gift you give your guests so it should be amazing and HeirloomLA does NOT disappoint. So many of our guests still talk about how much they loved the food.
Matthew and I also loved the idea of having a local craft beer at the wedding. For libations we looked to The Bruery. We took a visit to their tasting room, The Burery Provise, in Orange, CA and gave them our menu so they could assist us in choosing beers to complement our food choices. We loved what they recommended for us, and so did our guests.
Bobby Earle was our “no other options, he is the one” wedding photographer. Matthew had met him about a year or so prior to our engagement and was crazy about him. Bobby has a photography trip he takes people on (Raddest Photo Trip Ever) and Matthew and I went to Thailand and Cambodia with him last December. Bobby captured the emotion of our day perfectly. Love him. Love his wife Lindsey.
Heather from LVL Events was our day of coordinator. Matthew and I originally weren’t planning on having anyone. I thought it interesting that wedding coordinator websites would always say how integral the coordinator was. I thought that since I was a stage manager and I did events for a living that I wouldn’t need one. SO WRONG. File me along with the other people who say a wedding coordinator (even if its just day of) is the best and smartest investment you can make for your wedding. After Matthew and I decided on the flow of our day we realized that it would be sort of a mess if there wasn’t a “go to” person to coordinate set up and execution of the day. Being a stage manager, I really wanted someone with the same level of organization and attention to detail. I needed to know that everything we had planned would be put together the way we envisioned it. Heather was perfect. I loved her personality. I found it easy to talk to her and she understood what I wanted, and what I needed from her so I could have fun the day of the wedding. Day went off without a hitch,largely because of Heather. Huge thanks to Heather at LVL Events.
Photographer: Bobby Earle / Venue: The SmogShoppe / Makeup: Mandy Leppke / Hair: Andrea Neal from Capella Salon / Cake: Cake Monkey / Caterer: HeirloomLA / Coordinator: Heather of LVL Weddings & Events / DJ: Hey Mister DJ / Wedding Gown: The Dresser / Floral Design: Megan of La Partie Events / Officiant: Uncle of the Bride / Beverages: The Bruery / Party Dress: Monique Sandoval for Ouma / Bride Flower Hair Piece: Bethany Lorelle / Bridesmaids Feather Headband: De Lovely Designs / Photobooth: Photo Box LA / Runners, escort cards, paper flowers and place cards: DIY by the Bride / Table numbers: hand crafted by Father of the Bride