Warm, Coastal Pebble Beach Wedding at Monterey Peninsula Country Club

Lauren Megerdichian
April 25, 2023
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog

[section title=”The Planning”]

[field title=”Wedding Colors”]Crisp white, soft crème, blush, nude, hints of marigold, and deep burgundy with greenery.

[/field]

[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]The design was inspired by our love of the Monterey Peninsula, especially during Fall. We wanted our wedding to feel warm, coastal, and inviting – to remind you of our home on the California coast during a chilly October evening. To play off the Spanish-style architecture of our venue and the lush greenery of the Pebble Beach area, we leaned into warm taupes, mauves, and toffee colors with accents of deep burgundy and pine. With the help of our amazing planner and designer, Palette Events Co., we were lucky enough to share our favorite place with our favorite people, accentuating the natural beauty of the area and creating a day that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.[/field]

[field title=”Proposal Story”]At our apartment together in San Francisco, we were lucky enough to live across the street from Golden Gate Park. Sam would walk our dog, Mattie, through the park almost every day, and on weekends I would join them! We’d walk from the fuchsia dell, all the way to the duck ponds, but we would always end our walks in the redwood grove. This particular Saturday, Sam dropped down on one knee and proposed to me when I least expected it. I truly can’t imagine a more intimate, special way for us to share that moment. And, luckily, Sam had planned ahead and told some of our closest friends to hide and capture the proposal for our families back home – not to mention shower us with champagne![/field]

[/section]

[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]

[/board_carousel]

[section title=”The Fashion”]

[field title=”Wedding Gown”]My wedding gown, designed by Oscar de la Renta, was actually the first gown I had tried on exactly 1 year before the wedding – and the one that I thought I could never pull off! I must say, my stylist, Samantha Levis (The Bold and Bridal) could not have been more helpful throughout the entire process! It was stunning and simple, perfectly aligned with my tastes, and the team at Oscar de la Renta was absolutely incredible. To complement the low v-neck style of the gown, I found the most beautiful Gianvito Rossi shoes with a pointed toe and worked with Julie Harris Designs to create a custom English tulle veil. For my hair, I wore it in a simple updo adorned with pearls from my mother’s wedding veil. I also wore pearl earrings gifted to me by Sam’s mother – the gift she received from Sam’s father to wear on her wedding day. Finally, I wore a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring as my something blue. [/field]

[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]My bridesmaid dresses were from Fame and Partners, a custom, bespoke dress company offering “atelier-level” service to its clients. I sent my bridesmaids styles and fabrics in a champagne tone for them to choose which dress they would feel most beautiful in. The flower girl wore an adorable dress and satin cardigan from Maisonette.[/field]

[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]Sam really wanted to wear a unique tuxedo for the wedding day, but didn’t want to stand out too much. He worked with Pocket Square Clothing, a custom men’s formal wear company, to design a dark, pine-colored tuxedo that would appear almost black in certain lights. They chose a wool fabric that ended up containing both black and green threads, and augmented the entire tuxedo with various embroideries and little details that made it truly unique. To cap it all off, Sam worked with PSC to design a custom pocket square embroidered with the names of loved ones. My wedding present to Sam was the set of engraved Tiffany & Co. cufflinks he wore on the day, a nod to one of his favorite works of fiction. Sam’s groomsmen were given a basic template and color palette for their tuxedos, and were similarly allowed to find what worked best for them. Sam also gifted each of his groomsmen monogrammed pocket squares, also provided by Pocket Square Clothing. [/field]

[/section]

[board_carousel title=”Bridal Party”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]

[/board_carousel]

[section title=”The Details”]

[field title=”Food & Drink”]For our cocktail hour, we had a selection of beautifully passed hors d’oeuvres along with 2 full bars to help accommodate all of our guests. As a personal touch, we added espresso martinis and a raw bar – two of our favorite things! For the reception, we worked with the chef at Monterey Peninsula Country Club to curate an incredible seasonal menu, pairing each course with wines chosen by Sam’s father. [/field]

[field title=”Florals & Decor”]Our floral vision was really guided by the idea that the florals should align with the season – there was no color phobia on our part! The arrangements and personal bouquets designed by Golden Fields Floristry were filled with my favorite seasonal flowers like mauve dahlias and chrysanthemums, chocolate cosmos, toffee and quicksand roses, and marigold butterfly ranunculi. I worked with my florist to select and incorporate greenery, and large, “fluffy” blooms in loose, organic, and airy shapes to achieve a garden-inspired look. To complement our venue’s Spanish-style architecture and the grand ballroom, we added burgundy and taupe paper goods by Kelsey Malie Calligraphy. Finally, our amazing wedding planner, Courtney with Palette Events Co., helped us tie it all back to our “warm and welcoming” guiding vision, incorporating wood-burning fireplaces, blankets, pashminas, and other cozy autumn essentials. [/field]

[field title=”Wedding Cake”]Sam and I worked with Layers Sensational Cakes in Monterey to create our 4-tiered cake. During our tasting we genuinely couldn’t decide on 1 flavor, so we went with 4 instead – a different flavor for each tier! We had princess cake, carrot cake, death by chocolate cake, and a yellow cake with fresh strawberries. The cake was topped with beautiful white buttercream and decorated with gorgeous dahlias from our florist. Our best man and his girlfriend, one of my bridesmaids, gifted us beautiful Tiffany & co. champagne flutes to use for our wedding toast![/field]

[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]While we were hoping to keep our ceremony relatively brief, we were intent on creating an intimate moment with all of our loved ones. One of my closest friends was kind enough to be our officiant and, according to most of our guests, he was also the highlight of the ceremony. From the readings to the little personal jokes, it was more than we could have hoped for and it was my favorite part of the whole day! For the ceremony music, we had a string trio from Elan Artists performing as people found their seats. And when I walked down the aisle, they performed a rendition of ‘On Melancholy Hill’ by the Gorillaz, one of our favorite songs, and it was enough to make us both cry on the spot. During cocktail hour, we were lucky enough to have an incredibly talented pianist from Kelly Productions playing while people enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and began to mingle. It really helped set the mood![/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #1″]One thing that made the day that much more special was the inclusion of our “Best Lady,” i.e. our dog, Mattie. When Sam and I met, he had owned Mattie for 5 years already, but I very quickly stepped in as her mom. Our wedding wouldn’t have been the same without Mattie involved, so we dressed her up in the finest leather leash and collar from CopperLeafLeather on Etsy, personalized with an engraved gold plate with the phrase “Best Lady,” and she was escorted by one of Sam’s groomsmen. [/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #2″]The union of a large Persian with a large Italian family is going to have a lot of dancing, which is why we had not only a DJ rather than a band, but also an accompanying violinist for our “live” music addition. DJ Taahaa and the violinist Yara were absolute hits at the wedding and we’ve already given their contacts to multiple interested couples. We couldn’t stay off the dance floor![/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #3″]One other minor detail that really helped the natural beauty of the Monterey Peninsula be a star of the ceremony was having the majority of our bridal parties sit down for the ceremony. We each had 8 people in our parties, and we really didn’t want to block the incredible view of the ocean. So, instead, we had everyone but my maid of honor and Sam’s best man sit down after all guests had been seated. Our wedding party was thankful for a moment to breathe and to witness our ceremony from the audience![/field]

[/section]

[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Reception”]

[/board_carousel]