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
Old Hollywood Inspired Persian Wedding at the Bel Air Bay Club by Alchemy Fine Events
A Glamorous and Exotic Bel Air Bay Club Persian Wedding in the Pacific Palisades - Part 1 The Ceremony
When I first met Jessica and Ilya, I knew this wedding was going to be absolutely fantastic. Not only are they truly, madly, deeply in love with each other, but they also had a great vision for their wedding. They wanted to play off of their heritage and religion to create an event defining who they are as a couple, so we got to work designing a marvelous wedding with Persian and Jewish influences with a flair of Old Hollywood glamour.
We recently posted Jessica and Ilya’s rehearsal dinner on Alchemy Blog which was also featured on Martha Stewart’s Bride Guide!
This wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty seen here!
Jessica and Ilya’s day started off with a traditional Jewish ceremony on the striking property of the Bel Air Bay Club, which boasts a breathtaking panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. With so much natural beauty present, we wanted to keep it simple by creating one magnificent statement piece - a vibrant bougainvillea chuppah. Krista John brought this vision to life better than we imagined. The eye-catching pink and orange blooms were absolutely stunning and created a cheerful ambiance for this special day.
Playing off of Jessica and Ilya’s heritage, we used Persian, Spanish and art nouveau influences to create a colorful invitation suite with fun patterns.
To give the groomsmen some level of customization, we worked with Jill Courtemanche to design custom printed yarmulkes, as well as select bow ties and pocket squares in all shades of blue to complement the bridesmaids dresses.
As a joke to one of the groomsmen starting to thin out up top, Ilya had a yarmulke created with a faux pony tail! I loved his sense of humor.
One we thing we loved most about Jessica and Ilya was how evident their love was for each other. Your heart will melt when you see the photos Luna Photo captured of the tender and sweet moments these two shared.
Our dapper groomsmen and groom with their custom Jill Courtemanche bowties and pocket squares for pops of color alongside their vibrant boutonnieres.
The bridesmaids were stunning in their array of blue mismatched Amsale gowns, which served as a beautiful contrast to their pink, exotic bouquets by Krista Jon.
Guests were greeted by a classic old hollywood inspired champagne tower and an ombre fade of blue macarons for a quick bite, hinting at the fun festivities to follow.
This intricate laser cut ketubah was gorgeous!
Five darling flower girls wearing custom designed tutu inspired dresses prepared the way for Jessica by spreading vibrant petals from their shining gold baskets.
How adorable is this little munchkin?!
The bride’s fuchsia and pink peony bouquet was gorgeous… and smelled heavenly.
How fun! This bridesmaid matched her nails to her dress.
What a picture perfect shot!
Stay tuned for a follow-up post sharing photos of the festive reception that followed.
Planning, Design & Stationery: Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations
Photography: Luna Photo
Floral Design: Krista Jon
Wedding Venue: Bel Air Bay Club
Lighting: AV Event Design
Calligraphy: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
Wedding Dress: Lea Ann Belter Bridal
Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Bridesmaids Dresses: Amsale
Beauty: Fiore Beauty
Yarmulkes, Bow Ties & Pocket Squares: Jill Courtemanche
DREAM:: An Intimate Bridal Affair
A San Diego Intimate Bridal Show featuring Modern Luxury Design
A few weeks ago we had the exciting idea to collaborate with our favorite San Diego vendors and create a very un-bridally bridal show! Along with Isari Flower Studio and Luna Photo, we pulled together our favorite San Diego vendors and designed and coordinated this special event just as we would a real wedding. No big tacky signs, no booths, nothing like a traditional bridal show! I really wanted to show a bride ‘this is how we would really all work together!’. From creating a cohesive design plan, site plan and gearing our furniture, flowers, food, music and drinks all towards the same design direction for one cohesive look verses a piecemeal feeling that you walk away from traditional bridal shows with.
Whether you need to fill in a few spots in your vendor list or come and hire the DREAM team as a whole, we were and are very proud to bring you San Diego’s best! Thank you everyone for helping us have had such an amazing turn out of more than 350 brides! With such an amazing success DREAM may be making another appearance later this year.
Pop Art + Modern Glam + Impressionism + Vintage
– Plan, Design, Invite: Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations
– Embellish: Isari Flower Studio
– Capture: Luna Photo
– Dine: Toast Catering
– Stay: Starwood Hotels (The US Grant, The W, The Westin)
– Dance: Elan Artists
– Film: Modern 8
– Nibble: Sweet Cheeks Baking
– Illuminate: AV Event Rentals
– Set the Table: Casa de Perrin
– Furnish & Accessorize: Pow Wow Vintage Rentals
– Beautify: Shampoo Too!
– Dress: M Bride
– Say Cheese: The Foto Box
– Discover: Luxe Finds
– Style: CBS Life Stylist
– Sip: For Real Bartenders
– Pillows: Lounge Appeal
– Register: Bloomingdales
The Italy Experience: STYLEshop 2012 Tuscany Workshop with Mike Larson & Vanessa Van Wieren
With a tremendous amount of honor and excitement we are pleased to announce our first STYLEshop this June in Sienna, Italy with Mike Larson. The Italy Experience will be featured a luxury villa Tenuta di San Giusto located in Gaiole in Chianti. Owned by a dear friend, I used to frequent this gorgeous location on the weekends during my time living in Florence and completely fell in love with its charm. I have been dreaming of doing an event here and am so excited to go back and bring other talented aspiring designers and photographers with me this time to capture its elegance and charm for us to share with destination brides.
Mike will continue to work with photographers on this workshop but we are now opeing the invitation to event planners and wedding coordinators as well! After working as an art director for many years before branching off into event design, I felt that my experience working in a commercial environment helped me tremendously in the event design world. With this workshop I aim to not only work on styling tips, resourcefulness and creative ways to pull inspiration into your events, but how to work closely with photographers to make sure that each frame is curated and styled picture perfect. With a passion for food, interior design, traveling and fine arts, I want to showcase how to tie all of these passions into your events while also gaining the exposure needed to showcase your talents.
Read more details on what the workshop offers to planners & photographers listed here.
Join us for the workshop and then stay for the authentic Italian cooking class on the last day!
Photography by Mike Larson
