A Divine Occasion

Friday, August 5, 2011

Matt & Carey's Sparkling Wedding

It was a normal morning in Los Angeles. Matt was in the elevator, on his way to the office, when Carey stepped in and sparks began to fly. They exchanged small talk about their college pasts and their love for the Boston Red Sox. Without knowing each other's phone number or last name, they were left with only the feeling of butterflies and the hope to meet again.

Carey's gym was located in Matt's office building, and what they didn't realize at the time, was that more sparks were inevitable. Sure enough, they met in the elevator again, and after two or three more of these sparkling meetings, Matt finally asked Carey to accompany him to a play at the theater.

On May 1st, after a whirlwind romance, and a three month long-distance relationship, with Matt working in NYC, Matt and Carey made plans to attend a friend's birthday party after wine tasting at Malibu Family Winery. But instead of driving to the birthday party, Matt took a detour and drove to a Leo Carillo State Beach, exactly at the time the sun was setting. With a bottle of wine and a perfect sunset, Matt asked Carey to be his wife.

Carey was very succinct in her style and vision for the big day; simple, elegant, romantic and white. She wanted to take advantage of the beautiful California setting, as this was going to be a destination wedding for most of their family; and she also wanted lots of white lights, candles and all white flowers interlaced with large phalaenopsis orchids.

Matt and Carey wanted their guests to experience the magnificent California sunset over the ocean; just like the night Matt proposed. With Carey’s family in Newport Beach, there were many beautiful hotels in the vicinity to choose from. It was determined that the Hyatt in Huntington Beach was the perfect location; with a beautiful outdoor ceremony arrangement, pedestrian bridge access to the beach, and a breathtaking view of the beach from the ballroom.

The bride wore an ivory Alencon lace over champagne charmeuse modified A-line bridal gown designed by Jim Hjelm, with a strapless sweetheart neckline and empire bodice, accented with floral feather and crystal appliqué on ivory satin ribbon. Complimenting the gown was a chapel length Alencon lace-trimmed veil. She carried a satin wrapped stem bouquet of white roses.

Carey’s grandmother, Martha, was recovering from her second stroke, and was not strong enough to travel from her home in El Macero. Carey wore her grandmother's diamond earrings and bracelet as a constant reminder of how much her Grandma Martha wanted to be there with her.

Matt is the former President of the LA Avengers area football team. At every game, the team would run onto the field to AC/DC’s "Thunderstruck." It was so much fun when the wedding party was announced into the ballroom, and Matt and Carey announced for the first time as husband and wife to "Thunderstruck." Like the arena on game day, the guests were on their feet clapping and were ready to party!

The couple had choreographed a waltz to Kenny Chesney’s "You Had Me From Hello" for their first dance; a song that reflected their first encounter on the elevator.

Photographer: Next Exit Photography

Restaurant: Sparks Wood Fire Grill
Stationary: Paper Source Invitations
Event Design and Coordination: A Divine-Occasion
Entertainment: The Trip
Beautician: La Dolce Vita
Baker: Rossmoor Pastries
Lighting: Swank Audio Visuals
Venue: Hyatt Huntington Beach
Florist: Bliss Floral Designs
Linens: Wildflower Linen
Videographer: Awards Video Production
Transportation: Blue Water Pedicab

Monday, August 1, 2011

Liz and Pat's Vineyard Wedding

Liz and Pat had been to Wente Vineyards many times and loved the setting and experience they had each time. Founded more than 125 years ago, Wente Vineyards is the country’s oldest, continuously operated family-owned winery. Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards is recognized as one of California’s premier wine country destinations; featuring wine tasting, fine dining and championship golf.

Liz's light and airy vision for her wedding seemed to fit perfectly with the vineyard's setting. I always start by asking my clients how they envision their big day. Pat and Liz wanted their wedding to have a dreamy feel to it, while keeping it simple.

When I asked about colors, they wanted to keep with the existing environment of the vineyard and use natural tones of green, white and beige, with a subtle pop of blue, which became their accent color throughout the event.

They wanted the affair to be very intimate, while still making a statement. It was especially important for me to grasp the style of this wedding, because not only was I helping to plan it, but I also did all the floral arrangements.

The ceremony was beautiful and as Liz and Pat walked down the aisle, all the guests had velum cones filled with colorful petals to toss as they walked back down the aisle. It was so gorgeous seeing all the various colors falling, the guests got a kick out of it, and it made for some amazing pictures!

Venue: Wente Vineyards

Wedding Planner: a Divine-Occasion

Florist: a Divine-Occasion

Officiant: Father Robert Dittler O.S.B.

Photographer: Jennifer Graham Photographer

Rental Supplies: Classic Party Rental

Seamstress: A Stitch in Time

Stationery: RSVP by Linda

Entertainment (band): An Elegant Touch of Strings

Entertainment (DJ): Rich Rollins

Friday, July 22, 2011

Ivy & Peter: An Extraordinary Beach Wedding

Ivy and Peter hit the jackpot when they won The Orange County Register's Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort and Locale Magazine's Sweepstakes Wedding! After making it into the final round of couples to the top five; Ivy and Peter were announced the winners at Locale Magazine's Launch Party. A dream come true, their prize was an amazing $150,000 wedding at Hilton's Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach.

The wedding included, but was not limited to, a breath-taking beach ceremony, a first dance on top of an acrylic dance floor covering the pool at sunset, a fire-dancing performance, a beautiful candy buffet, and to top off the night a build-your-own Waffle-Palooza station!

Ivy and Peter are two of the most down-to-earth individuals I know. It was perfectly natural for them to want a beach wedding, since they both grew up in Redondo Beach, California. Peter proposed to Ivy with dinner at the beach during a multi-color summer sunset in a secluded area of Palos Verdes.

Ivy and Peter always knew they would get married outdoors, near the beach. It was especially important that their wedding be fun and filled with great music and food. Ivy envisioned plenty of time to dance with her husband, friends and family at her reception.

We wanted to create a beach wedding that was unique and elegant. People often assume a beach theme has to be very casual and it doesn't. We created a tasteful color scheme of various shades of blue and beautiful sand tones.

It was very important to Ivy that her grandfather perform the ceremony at her wedding. It added such a personal and lovely touch to the wedding; and her father, step-mother, brother and sister flew all the way from Moscow, Russia to walk her down the aisle.

During the planning process, we had to be very mindful about the guest count. The room at the Hilton maxes out at 170 people; and of course, a lot of friends and family wanted to attend. It was difficult to determine who got an invite. Ivy and Peter would've loved to have invited everyone!

The reception turned out to be so beautiful; and my favorite design piece was a navy sequined overlay on the dining tables, which created a gorgeous effervescent effect for the reception.