La Quinta Pastel Mexican Wedding by Alchemy Fine Events & Justin Lee

 

A Modern Pastel Mexican Wedding at La Quinta Resort

With Cinco de Mayo a few days away we are so excited to finally share this pastel Mexican wedding we designed and created for a very special bride we absolutely adore. Justin Lee did an amazing job capturing the sentiments and details of this wonderful day. After meeting in Cabo San Lucas, then getting engaged followed by the surprise of their daughter Ava on the way, this darling couple kept putting the wedding on hold for life’s big surprises. What makes this desert wedding so special is that they already had their beautiful family in place to witness this special day. With a softer pastel hued tone to romanticize it, we created a warm and welcoming fiesta for this couple, their friends and family to celebrate their love and family they had already created together.

 

With a more modern and updated pastel take on the classical Mexican styled wedding, we created an intimate boda not soon to be forgotten! This bespoke wedding was full of custom designs we created for the special couple including custom burlap and lace linens, throw pillows, custom furniture, drink umbrellas and laser cut menus just to name a few. Luna of Arrangements is a floral genius and created the most beautiful soft palette of  peaches and dusty sages with romantic blooms and succulents such as this to die for bouquet below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This stunning bouquet by Arrangements featured a rosary for good luck!

 

 

The couple’s darling children making the way down the aisle before their mom.

The couple wed underneath a vintage door frame with king proteas and floating peach roses in front of La Quinta’s garden waterfall.

 

 

 

In lieu of paper escort cards we had saltillo tiles with calligraphy presented onto standing frames lined with burlap and lace we constructed.

 

For a comfy place to lounge we created custom throw pillows lined in a peach silk with vintage doilies hand sewed onto them.

 

 

 

To celebrate the family members that were no longer with us we created a display of photos to pay tribute to.

 

 

We created custom peach colored drink umbrellas for the perfect touch to these prickly pear margaritas.

We created a custom backdrop with props for a great photo backdrop where guests would take photos with a vintage Poloroid camera for the couple to keep as a guest book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laser cut menus on wood grained papers were featured on the place settings to tempt guests as the delights to come!

 

The custom burlap table runners were lined with Spanish lace and topped with hurricanes full of pebbles with succulents, cacti and soft-hued blooms perfect for a pastel Mexican wedding.

 

 

 

 

Vintage doors were used as a backdrop to this rustic dessert table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mexican wedding cookies were served in a vintage tequila box for presentation.

 

 

In addition to the endless supply of Mexican pastries and desserts we offered hot fresh churros with flavored hot chocolate to dip them in.

 

To be reminescent of Squid Roe in Cabo San Lucas where the couple met we created a stylized booth for DJ Nachey to spin amazing beats from. The music was so amazing we had to kick out wedding crashers all night from joining the party!

We had custom Mexican papel picado banners reading “Melissa & Scott” hanging above the dance floor.

 

 

For a fun surprise at the end of the hot desert night we brought out water balloons which Melissa & Scott tore into to cool off guests on the dance floor!

Justin Lee captured this amazing shot from their engagement session in their own back yard! Classic…

You have to watch this amazingly romantic video captured by the talented Joel VanZ! It brings tears to my eyes just watching it.

M + S from Joel VanZ on Vimeo.

Event Design, Planning, Custom Linens, Pillows & Stationery by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations

Photography by Justin Lee

Flowers & Lighting by Arrangements Floral & Party Design

Furniture Rentals by Archive Vintage Rentals

Classical Guitar by David Maldonado

Mariachi Band Mariachi Aquillas

Videography by Joel VanZ

Venue La Quinta Resort

Music DJ Nachey

Cake by Juliettes Bakery

Gown by Anne Barge

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Destination to Celebration: An Intimate Chinese Wedding at the Raleigh Hotel in South Beach Miami

Shanghai meets South Beach for a Chinese wedding

Happy Valentine’s Day to all! In honor of this day of love I wanted to share a wedding I designed for some of the most darling love birds. I love working with couples that are madly and deeply in love with each other and with their heritage, this was the case of Julia and Rendy. High school sweethearts that even work side by side, these two were so adorably young and in love and excited for me to plan their destination Chinese wedding. For the inspiration of this intimate affair we dreamed up the idea of 1940′s Bankgok with art deco influences with traditional Chinese elements. With that idea in mind, the art deco district of south beach, especially The Raleigh Hotel, in Miami was the perfect location!
For my first Chinese wedding, it was so cool for me to learn all about the traditions including the giving of gifts and Chinese tea ceremony which was so beautiful and respectful of their families.

 

This wedding was featured in The Knot Florida!!  Thank you Matt of Our Labor of Love for your gorgeous images!

 

Event Design, Planning & Stationery by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations

Photography by Matt Miller of Our Labor of Love

Ceremony Location The Spanish Monastery

Reception Location The Raleigh Hotel

Flowers by Karla Events

 

 

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Old Hollywood Inspired Persian Wedding at the Bel Air Bay Club by Alchemy Fine Events

A Colorful and Festive Persian Wedding in the Pacific Palisades - Part 2 Cocktail Hour & The Reception

 Make sure to visit Part 1 on our blog to view photos from this Jewish and Persian wedding ceremony! 

 

As soon as Jessica and Ilya said “I do”, a joyful spirit was in the air and it didn’t take long for the party to start.  A traditional Klezmer band entertained guests as they made their way to cocktail hour in a naturally beautiful outdoor courtyard.  An abundance of food, lively music and comfortable lounges allowed guests to eat, drink, converse and become instantly immersed in the festive atmosphere.

 

A Persian wedding is not complete without tons of food, so to really incorporate Jessica’s heritage, we had the pleasure of creating a Persian feast table overflowing with fruit and nuts for guests to pick at.  This served as a gorgeous focal point and also as a teaser for the hot Persian buffet to come later on in cocktail hour.  Guests definitely had full bellies and happy hearts!

 

 

For the seating cards, we created a stunning display of hand painted tiles that Laura Hooper Calligraphy wrote each guests name on in gold.  They doubled as a beautiful take home gift for the guests.

 

For the reception tablescapes, we really wanted to intertwine the Persian influences with an Old Hollywood glamour flair.  We did this by having Krista Jon create exotic floral centerpieces featuring a variety of vibrant and textured blooms upon mirrored boxes and eclectic vintage glassware.  The tables were lined with jewel toned glass, vintage gold and brass mirrors and bowls of fruits and nuts to offer to guests. This was complemented by colorful mercury glass votives, as well as crystal pieces on top of bold patterned linens by La Tavola.

 

 Laura Hooper wrote gold calligraphy onto mirrors to create glamorous table numbers.

For additional fun touches, we custom made lace napkin treatments with a large rhinestone button that many ladies ended up wearing as bracelets later on in the evening.   We also had AV Event Design display a patterned wash on the ceiling in addition to the fuschia uplighting.

 

This gorgeously decorated, candlelit fountain looked spectacular as the sun went down.

For dessert, we had Vanilla Bake Shop create an all white tiered wedding cake that we decorated with fresh blooms for an exotic flair.  Later on in the evening guests were surprised with ice cream sandwiches from the Beachy Cream girls for a delicious send-off treat.

 

As the joyous and fun-filled night was wrapping up,  Jessica and Ilya’s family and friends sent them off through a sparkler lit tunnel to their Rolls Royce escape car.

 

 This wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty here!

We also recently posted Jessica & Ilya’s rehearsal dinner on our blog which was also featured in Martha Stewart’s Bride Guide!

 

Planning, Design & Stationery: Alchemy Fine Events

Florist: Krista Jon

Photography: Luna Photo

Lighting: AV Event Design

Rentals:  Archive Vintage Rentals

Calligraphy: Laura Hooper Calligraphy

Wedding Cake:  Vanilla Bake Shop

Ice Cream:  Beachy Cream

Linens: La Tavola Linens

Beauty: Fiore Beauty

Venue: Bel Air Bay Club

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Ren + John’s Art Deco Wedding

Art Deco Wedding in Santa Monica

After a bit of a blogging break we are back!  We have been doing more than our share of globe trotting lately designing weddings, workshops & events from Italy to Ibiza to Miami and back again and are very excited to kick off our blogalicious fasting with this colorful Art Deco Wedding. We were so excited to design this fabulously bold and daring fete for our dear friend Ren and her darling hubby John. ‘Dharma & Greg’ as their friends jokingly call them, are the epitome of the free-spirited boho wild child meets the traditional buttoned up good boy. Opposites attract in romance and in this case, the bold splashy designs mixed with a classical charm and romance definitely started a love affair as well.

Ren + John’s Wedding was also featured on 100 Layer Cake!

For the Butterfly Big Top invitations we designed bold striped and art deco influenced geometric designs printed on a suede textured paper for a fun tactile element. Crystal Kluge adorned our black envelopes with beautiful whimsical white calligraphy and topped each envelope with our custom designed matching stamps. Ren’s Miu Miu rhinestone encrusted heels were to die for and were the perfect bold splash to complement the customized etheral boho gown by Allyson Simone. When Ren & John first rekindled their romance he took her on a date to Palos Verdes where they stumbled upon the most magnificent church she had ever seen. She decided then and there that that was where she wanted to get married. Several years later her dream came true. The Wayfarers Chapel, designed by Frank Llyod Wrights Son, Llyod Wright, is designed with an art nouveau style and features architecturally lined windows opening up to pine trees and endless views of the pacific ocean. John’s mother offered up precious pieces of lace from her own wedding gown which we used to make a heart-shaped ring bearer pillow along with the silk ikat fabric from the reception decor. Los Angeles based designer, and friend and guest of the brides, Yana K, created custom designed bridesmaids gowns in a bevy of colors and styles to allow her leading ladies to wear a gown of their own style and hue. The bold & colorful bridesmaids all donned art deco necklaces gifted to the lades from the bride. These gorgeous beauts also happen to be my friends from junior high! Having a former fashion model as a bride sure doesn’t hurt for incredible photos! For a fun and dramatic seating card display we created a 13 ft tall installment of colorful ribbons and bold plexi-glass letters spelling out FOREVER. To customize Ren’s dress Allyson Simone added butterfly sleeves onto the spaghetti strap gown. Such a fun and unique look in a sea of strapless gowns! Each centerpieces was a different color combination to match the three different silk ikats we used for custom table linens. Each napkin was also adorned with handmade rhinestone encrusted napkin rings.

To create a stunning art deco cake I illustrated a design inspired by this art deco Hoover building in London  for Cupcakes Couture which they then transformed into a delicious work of art! For a stunning backdrop I created a geometric design of round and square mirrors suspended on thick black ribbon. To stay in theme with the geometrical feel of the evening I also created a custom designed table linen with baguette rhinestones to match the napkin treatments.

When Ren & John had a chance encounter years after their brief high school romance he sent a darling letter to her parents home in hopes of reconnecting with her. We blew up this letter onto a 10 ft tall heart and displayed a large R + J = HEART in the lounge where guests could read his sweet words.

Sweet Lucie’s ice cream cart made an appearance for a fun after dinner treat.

Michael Antonia of The Flashdance kept guests on their toes all night!

Credits:

Event Design & Planning by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations

Wedding Photography by Luna Photography

Invitation Photography by Scott Lawrence

Invitations by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations

Ceremony at Wayfares Chapel

Reception at The Annenberg Community Beach House

Catering by Urth Caffe

Mixology by The Martini Shop

Ice Cream by Sweet Lucies

Cake by Cupcakes Couture

DJ by The Flashdance

Videography by Shark Pig

Bride’s Dress by Allyson Simone

Bride’s Shoes by Miu Miu

Make UP & Hair by Jennifer Budner

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