I don’t know about you, but I’m fully embracing the hefty doses of pink scattered about blog land today. Whether it’s bridesmaids dresses, perfect pink lips or fetes covered in bougainvillea like this one. Especially fetes like this one. It just goes to show that this happy hue can brighten any day, even when a bit of rain decides to make an appearance. Park & Grove added their beautiful touch, while Lacie Hansen documented every sweet moment and The Vault is glowing a little more today because of it.
From Park & Grove… A few days after Caitlyn and Marco got engaged in Santa Barbara, we met with her over lunch to discuss her wedding. From the very start, long before she even had a wedding date, dress or venue, she knew she wanted a wedding in Southern California, the place she and Marco call home, that looked and felt like a gorgeous celebration on the Italian coast.
We needed to find a venue, in or around Los Angeles, that could accommodate Caitlyn and Marco’s “must haves,” an outdoor ceremony and a place for their dinner reception that wasn’t a ballroom. They selected the Bel-Air Bay Club, a beautiful Spanish-style private club, in the Pacific Palisades where they especially loved the ceremony location with sweeping views of the beautiful California coastline. The dinner was held in the beautiful living room, which felt straight out of Italy, complete with a stone fireplace, arched doorways and terra cotta tiled floors. Adjacent to the dinner space, was an outdoor courtyard for cocktails and late night mingling.
Caitlyn very much shared our viewpoint that a wedding should tell one cohesive story from beginning to end. She not only wanted the venue to feel Italian inspired, but she carried the theme through in the décor, printed materials, menu, cocktails, etc. She loved the beautiful bougainvillea that grows wildly throughout Europe and wanted her florals to reflect the same vibrancy. Stella Bloom created loose, garden inspired arrangements in a palette of fuchsia, red, coral, blush and ivory. Marco and Caitlyn’s invitation suite featured beautiful watercolor artwork and whimsical calligraphy all hand done by the Romance Between. The floral illustrations were created to match the look and coloration of the floral, they even painted Caitlyn & Marco’s exact floral covered ceremony structure with Stella Bloom’s guidance, and then we brought pale blue accents to represent the ocean and gold addressing for added formality.
The wedding day brought some unexpected showers to sunny Southern California. The cocktail reception was moved inside but Caitlyn and Marco wouldn’t let a little rain prevent them from having the outdoor ceremony that had been so important to them from the very start. They felt strongly that they didn’t want to bring in a structure or tent to block the sweeping coastal views, but wanted their guests to stay dry for the short ceremony, so we purchased dozens of clear plastic umbrellas to keep everyone dry. The weather wasn’t in the plan, but it created one of the most magical and romantic ceremonies we’ve ever seen. The second it was over, guests headed back into the clubhouse for cocktails and dinner and luckily enough, the skies cleared at the end of dinner and the event ended with lots and lots of dancing and late night flatbread and sweets were served in the courtyard, for guests to enjoy al fresco under the stars.
Photography: Lacie Hansen | Videography: Couture Motion Pictures | Floral Design: Stella Bloom Designs | Cake: SusieCakes | Ceremony Venue: Bel Air Bay Club | Reception Venue: Bel Air Bay Club | Brides Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Amsale | Catering: Bel Air Bay Club | Hair and Makeup: Nicol Artistry | Lighting: Images By Lighting | Brides Custom Veil: A Stitch In Time | Brides dress: Reem Acra | Ceremony and Cocktail Music: Fife Dreams | Charger Rental: Classic Party Rents; | Classic Car Rental: Classy Chassis Rentals | Dinner Reception music: David Sparkman Band | Event Production & Design: Park & Grove | Furniture: Pretty Vintage Table | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Paper Design, Custom Illustration & Calligraphy: The Romance Between | Photo Booth: Alissa Noelle Photography | Rentals: Imperial Party Rentals