Combining the Ease of a Beach Affair with the Elegance of the Big City

Erin Lepperd
July 19, 2017
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

Don’t be fooled by this wedding’s beach locale. Despite a toes-in-the-sand location, it is all elegance and glamour straight out of a big city affair. And when you hear that the planked floors and sailcloth tented venue were built just for this celebration, it all makes sense. Designed by Cassandra & Company along with lush blooms by Shawna Yamamoto and the prettiest blue and white tabletop decor by Casa de Perrin, this is a Santa Monica beach affair to remember. Pore over all the gorgeous details captured by Jana Williams right here plus a film by New Classic Films below.

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From the Photographer… Los Angeles native Laura Crane and born and raised New Yorker Brian Joseph, came together and simply (and almost instantly) became inseparable. They both knew they were in love after traveling to Australia after only two and a half months of dating. A mere six months later Brian, a stock-market wiz, placed his most important bet on Laura and proposed on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Since many guests would be traveling from NYC, the couple wanted the wedding to feel very “California” and a personal reflection of their life. They decided on a beach wedding at a private club in Santa Monica that’s a short distance from their house, and on a beach where they jog and take in the sunset.

Over the months of planning, Laura and her mother Mary, a fabulous interior designer with an unflappable sense of style, combined seamlessly with Laura’s consummate voice of reason and focus on thoughtful details. The tone of the wedding was set with a custom Save the Date, depicting the couple kissing in the bride’s father’s vintage car parked on Pacific Coast Highway. It was all about creating the juxtaposition of the effortless beach soiree and the elegant, big-city bash.

The venue was custom-built for the event with wide-plank hardwood floors laid on the beach, a billowy sunshade raised over the ceremony area, and two sailcloth tents (one for the cocktail hour and one for the reception) installed right on the edge of the Santa Monica boardwalk. The color pallete of ocean blues, aquas and navy came to life with touches of lavender interspersed. Knowing that the family wanted something stunning but tasteful and with a twist, meant splurging on the Casa de Perrin tabletop elements such as the gold Anna Weatherly chargers and mixed metal flatware, hanging a trio of wreaths made of greenery and flowers over the dance floor, and tying a hand-picked white rose to each lavender linen napkin.

Thoughtful details including a lush wreath with an event timeline, periwinkle macaroons tied with a lavender ribbon at each place setting, an array of options for dessert including two well stocked s’mores fire pits put everyone in the mood to celebrate, and finally a late-night treat of macaroni and cheese balls were passed as the band played their final set. As the evening wrapped up each couple was given a jar of chocolate sauce made from scratch by Laura and Mary, a recipe that has been in Mary’s family for over 60 years. Party-goers then moved up to the club penthouse for the after-party, where they snacked on sliders and mini corn dogs on a balcony with a view of the lights of the Santa Monica pier. The morning after the wedding, Brian and Laura opened up their Brentwood home and hosted over 100 of the wedding guests for a casual farewell brunch.