LOVE isn’t a strong enough word to describe just how much we adore this wedding. It has cool, modern decor, an industrial loft backdrop, a rooftop ceremony in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, and the cutest dressed pups to boot. In other words, there’s a whole lot of goodness tucked inside this celebration coordinated by Argyle Events with florals by Holly Flora. So don’t stop at the wildly gorgeous images captured by This Modern Romance or the film by Life Thru Frames, be sure to get the full vault experience right here.
Brian and I met in a rather colorless uneventful cold east coast night, but somehow this long journey led us from friendship to lovers and eventually settling into their beach home in the sunny west coast of California with our two dogs, Megabyte and Gigabyte. When it came to the start of ‘together forever’, the two of us were rather unfamiliar with where to start, but knew that our wedding would be a collage of everything we love bundled into one very special day. Our Event Producer, Jennifer Wang and Day-of Coordinator, Chris Albanese took our eclectic taste and guided our vision to life. It was a masterpiece. None of this would have been remotely possible without them.
Brian and I knew that we didn’t want a hotel wedding. While I love wine country weddings, it would be a far drive for our guests so we decided to stay in the heart of Los Angeles where it would be convenient for our family and friends coming from near and far. We already had so many guests traveling far from all parts of the world. After all, our beloved family and friends are what is most important to us so we decided to host in the midst of the LA skyline and city lights. Hudson Loft was the perfect space for us. High ceilings, spacious rooms, a midcentury modern feel with a splash of cool. The large glass windows gave us a view of the city lights that shown directly into the reception room as our sweetheart table backdrop.
We opted for an elegant electronic invitation emulating the experience of opening a “traditional” printed invitation from Greenvelope. Greenvelope donates a percentage of every sale to Mountains to Sound, a non-profit organization that maintains forests. A cause dear to us because of our love for mother nature. We hope to leave a greener earth for our future kids.
We chose September because Fall is our favorite season. By then the California heat is lifted but the warm, golden light of the September sun added touches of gold to this special day. We made sure to add touches of gold throughout the wedding. For the open roof top wedding ceremony, the city skyline was our back drop. To help the guests cool off, Pop Up Gelato LA hosted a mini gelato bar featuring some of our favorite flavors.
Brian and I love the great outdoors and wilderness. Something that has really bonded us together. He grew up surfing and I grew up road tripping, backpacking, and camping. So in addition to having a custom surfboard for as our guestbook, we also chose a mixture of earth tones, rare wild flowers, wild rosemary, olive leaves, and lavender to bring back some of the wonderful memories from our favorite trips. Holly Flora, our florist, was so pleasant to work with. She was really able to grasp my eclectic vision and bring it to life.
We landed our caterer rather serendipitously. Brian and I ran into his old childhood friend who happens to be a partner in Fundamental LA – a modern trendy LA restaurant. We had gone thru a slew of bad caterers and had only 2 months left until our wedding. We reached out the next day not knowing if they catered for weddings, but found out they had started a wedding catering business. From there, everything fell into place. Family dinners are an important tradition for us so we went with a Family Style dinner to set the mood of a big warm family gathering, breaking bread, sharing drinks and laughter.
For cake and dessert, we chose our favorite local bakery, Lido Bakery Manhattan Beach. Our cake was a simple 2 tier cake with one layer being berries & cream for the fruit lovers and the other layer, almond rocha, for the chocolate lovers. It was a crowd favorite. The dessert table was full of our regular favorites from Lido – Tarts, pastries, cookies and so much more. Before the night was over, the desserts were all gone, but we had a surprise. The Donut Bar. Donuts have always been our guilty pleasure that we treat ourselves to on the weekends. We decided the wedding wouldn’t be perfect without freshly made donuts with all the toppings you could want.
Our Videographers Anthony Balmeo, Andrew Sy, and Terrill Ong of Life Thru Frames are our dear friends who were also a part of our live band music as well as our drone navigator. A tremendously talented team of videographers, musicians, and editors that turned the wedding into a theatrical production. The video is absolutely stunning and I just have to share it. Their production level surpasses most other videos I’ve seen. Thank you for giving us such a special gift to remember for the many years to come.
Last but not least, I want to mention our photographer. I first came across Stephanie Williams online. I came across her fashion site and the work was so capturing. Our wedding day flew by in a blur and I am only able to reminisce this special day thru her talented lens. She stuck with us all day capturing every detail; every moment. She has made the day even more stunning than I remember it to be and I will cherish these printed memories forever.
Photography: This Modern Romance | Videographer: Life Thru Frames | Coordination: Argyle Events | Floral Design: Holly Flora | Catering: Fundamental LA | Calligraphy: Caroline Wu | Ceremony + Reception: Hudson Loft | Gelato: Pop Up Gelato | Rentals: Town And Country Rentals