How to Blend East Coast Charm With West Coast Cool in Your Wedding Decor

Lauren Megerdichian
July 21, 2019
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

When the bride is from California and the groom is from Connecticut, their wedding decor was the perfect marriage of coastal details and classic East Coast style. They exchanged vows under a towering arbor teeming with greenery at Rancho Valencia with 13 bridesmaids and 13 groomsmen standing by their side (now that’s a bridal party!) Thanks to Shannon Leahy Events, the day went off without a hitch! Head on over to the full gallery captured by Lacie Hansen to see all the magic unfold.

From the Bride… Griffin and I met the old fashioned way (before the age of internet dating) at the only bar at our college, USC. We both ended up in line alone – on a Monday no less – and were then serendipitously introduced by a mutual friend. It took a series of rather fortunate events for us to begin dating (including griffin losing his ID and my roommate finding it) and in two weeks we were inseparable. We have been ever since. We continued to date all throughout college, spent time doing internships in both New York and Barcelona, made it through law school, and the treacherous Bar Exam. We made it through losing grandparents and beloved dogs. If you ask anyone, they barely remember one of us without the other. We both say we knew each other was the one in about a week.

It was the month of our seven year anniversary (and also Griffin’s parents 28th wedding anniversary) when our families took a trip up to Lake Tahoe for the weekend. We stayed in this amazing cabin by the water – the perfect time of year when we could still go boating with a light sweater on the lake and sit outside for happy hour, after the scorching heat of summer but before the torrential downpour of snow that was to come. Griffin proposed on the dock outside Westshore cafe in the company of both our families at sunset on the Sunday of our trip – toasting with champagne to finally make it official after a long day of hiking and a cheese plate was our perfect beginning of the next chapter. For our wedding, we always knew we wanted to get married at Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. My family had grown up heading down to Del Mar Beach every summer and the quaint yet sophisticated beach town has always had our hearts. Coupled with my dad’s love of tequila (the Pony Room at RV has one of the largest selections in CA) and we knew it was the perfect place to make our almost a decade long relationship official.

Griffin grew up between Greenwich, CT and Jupiter, FL so we definitely wanted to incorporate some of the more traditional east coast classic elements into our wedding decor. We went with a simple white, green, and natural linen look with lots of rattan and matte black elements to create a classic country club feel mixed with coastal California elements. Our goal was simple, chic and classic (but without feeling stuffy) – striped linens, loose greenery, an open tent to let the night sky in, and a monogrammed dance floor in a sleek black and white pattern. The food was also extremely important to us, as one of our favorite pastimes as a couple is trying new restaurants and exploring new types of cuisine when we travel. We achieved this with individual cheese and charcuterie plates for each guest before dinner, which was preceded by a ceviche bar and Spanish tapas passed around. The day before the wedding, while the groomsman and my groom played a special golf round, I held a private yoga class for all my bridesmaids in the spa and yoga pavilion on property. The yoga and fitness center is another reason why we chose Rancho Valencia for our wedding. The pavilion reminds me of being back in Bali (which was a special memory as my late Opa was from Indonesia).

Immediately after classes guests are greeted with fresh green juice and cold towels – what more could you ask for! The weekend was also kicked off with a welcome party at the Hacienda on property, complete with skinny spicy margaritas, an Abandanado tequila tasting bar (flown in from Mexico by my dad personally), a personalized corn hole (which featured our wedding crest), a flatbread station, and a make your own welcome bag gift station. Guests were free to choose from some of our favorite items- mini Casamigos tequila bottles, personalized golf balls (an ode to Griffin’s second true love), coconut water to refuel from a long match of tennis on property, goldfish, rice chips, and our beloved mini dark peanut butter cups. On the night of our reception, after an amazing night dancing to Impulse from West Coast music, we surprised our guests with a Havana, Cuba themed after party, complete with fries, queso, and mini Cuban sandwiches to end the night. With fedoras on and “Havana” by Camilla Cabello blasting, our hearts will forever be happy and full remembering this unforgettable weekend.

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