Three days is but a blink of the eye in terms of wedding planning. But when wild fires hit California this black-tie affair had to be completely re-worked and quick. With the help of an awesome team of vendors including Tyler Speier Events and Natalie Bray Studios, that gorgeous Plan B came to life. Feast your eyes on this Downtown Los Angeles celebration so pretty and so full of heart, you would never know it came together in under 72 hours.
From the Photographer… On a beautiful day in December, Omar and Cynthia had a wedding overwhelming with love and joy. Due to the fires in Southern California their entire celebration had to be moved and replanned in 3 days. Yes 3 days! Everyone worked together to revision a chic black-tie affair in DTLA. Tyler Spier planned the entire event start to finish and did a fantastic job.
The private venue had never had a wedding hosted before, let alone for 200 of Cynthia and Omar’s family and friends. Nonetheless, with a little creativity and a lot of imagination Tyler and team create an event to remember. Their wedding story and love story is such an inspiration and really goes to show it is all about the love.
From the Bride…
What inspired your wedding style?
Above all else we really wanted our wedding to be inclusive and welcoming, really more of a celebration of our community than anything else. We decided to go with black tie because we thought it would be fun to get everyone dressed up, but the rest of the vibe was intended to be very warm and inviting. We wanted to break some of the gender stereotypes and include traditions for both our mothers and fathers, and having such a diverse group of friends we wanted to incorporate wisdom for multiple faiths into our ceremony. December is a little tricky because you can quickly get things feeling christmasy or like every other new years eve party, so we went towards more neutral colors, tones, and textures incorporating white furs, marble, mixed metals, rose gold, etc. to make it feel festive without the ho ho ho.
How you planned your wedding…
Do you mean plan a or plan b? Tyler played a HUGE role in both. The best advice I got from two of my best friends the day after I got engaged was to get a planner if we could swing it financially. That advice paid off in ways I never could have imagined when the Thomas fires in California pushed us out of our original wedding venue days before the big day. Tyler had been working with us in lock step to plan the Santa Barbara event, helping us with vendor recommendations and incorporating elements we came up with on our own. When we had to switch locations the week of the wedding he was instrumental in coordinating the entire vendor team, helping us source new vendors, finding a new venue, scouting the new location (which he had never seen!), redesigning the timeline, redesigning the layout, and modifying the design aesthetic to match the new space. It wouldn’t have been possible if he hadn’t taken so many steps along the way to get to know us as a couple to come up with a plan B that ended up being more “us” than the original plan A. I think Tyler might have slept a total of 10 hours the week of our wedding and was an absolute rockstar under some pretty insane conditions. He managed to do it all with the most unbelievable determination, grace, and humor. The whole weekend was moved by his positivity and energy and we could’t have done it without him!
Photography: Natalie Bray Studios | Videography : Natalie Bray Studios | Florals : Tyler Speier Events | Bridesmaid Dresses: Katie May Collection | catering: Omni Catering | lighting: Bella Vista Designs, Inc | Bouquet Ribbon: Tono Co | Bridal Shop: Bride | Dress Designer: Tara Lauren | HAMU : PRIV | coordination and planning and design : Tyler Speier Events | custom signage : Lotus & Ash | rentals: The Tent Merchant