Pastel Nautical La Jolla Wedding
Preppy Pastel Nautical La Jolla Wedding by Alchemy Fine Events
Preppy Chic + Vintage Nautical
When Christin and I first met to discuss their dream wedding I was immediately knew this was going to be amazing… Her fun sense of design, color and pattern were amazing! Not to mention she’s an accessories designer herself so has incredible style. With inspirations of preppy, pastel nautical, 60’s flower power and a bit of humor, we got started. I envisioned a combinations of a little Gilligan’s Island and a little vintage yacht club. With these muse’s in mind we were off to create her dream nautical La Jolla wedding. The talented Ashley Keleman captured the day beautifully through her soft and romantic eye.
I knew immediately that her sense of whimsy would be the perfect wedding for the talented Krista Jon who has a whole lot of inner flower child in her, as you can see by Christin’s ethereal bouquet above. Garden roses, lambs ear, astilbe, pampas grass and chamomile flowers were just a few of the flowers that painted this dream bouquet.
For Christin & John’s nautical wedding invitations I watercolored some soft floral designs and combined kitschy graphics and candy stripes. For a pop of glam we foiled a gold rope border and outlined the daisies II had painted. We used gold foiled polka dot liners and confetti for an extra pop of fun as guests opened them.
The ceremony design consisted of a driftwood arch that we hung a vintage ship wheel from. Krista Jon created a beautiful flower installation on top of the arch bursting with color and texture perfect for our kitschy bride.
Since the wedding took place on an expansive open rooftop we wanted to create the feeling of a private garden. To do so, we brought in hedges to line the ceremony space and combined mismatched white chairs and and thick nautical rope to line the aisleway.
Cocktail hour boasted a wooden bar any ship would be jealous of! Vintage ship wheels, life savers and painted buoys decorated our bar with racks of beautiful vintage glassware flanked by row boat oars.
For a fun escort card display we created mini life savers with gold calligraphy by Kathryn Murray showed guests to their seats. Your Love is a Life Saver!
After cocktail hour guests were seated at tables including this ‘Captains Table’ which we created for the wedding party. Whitewashed tables and a cabana frame were the base of this design which we hung a vintage chandelier and pink fish netting from.
After guests were seated we transformed the ceremony site into the dessert bar. We wanted to show off the beautiful ceremony design as long as possible so repurposed it as the backdrop to our row boat dessert spread including a beautiful cake and confections by Sweet & Saucy Shop. Nautical macarons, small desserts and a flower power worthy cake were all offered inside of a vintage rowboat by Archive Vintage Rentals. 
Event Design, Planning, Invitations & Stationery: Alchemy Fine Events
Flowers: Krista Jon
Photographer: Ashley Kelemen
Videographer: Joel VanZ
Cake & Desserts: Sweet & Saucy Shop
Venue: La Jolla Cove Suites
Hair: Ya Ling of Zen 2002 Hair Studios
Makeup: Bride
Catering: Roppongi
Furniture RentalsArchive & Farmtables & More
Vintage Glass Rentals: Hostess Haven
Seating Cards: Kathryn Murray Calligraphy
Photobooth: Flying Camera
Lighting: AV Event Design
Linens: La Tavola
DJ: DJ Alpha
Bride’s Dress: Watters from The White Dress
Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Earrings: Kate Spade
Bowties: Made by Bride
Bridesmaid Dresses: Lulu*s
Belt & Accessories: J. Crew
Groomsmen Suits: Club Room
Read More »Estancia La Jolla Wedding Spanish Boho showcase
With the recent revamping of Estancia La Jolla’s ballroom we were invited, along with their other favorite wedding vendors here in San Diego, to showcase our work at an industry and bride mixer. Along with our talented pals over at Isari Flower Studio and Hostess Haven we created our interpretation of a California Spanish Boho look that goes perfectly with Estancia’s luxurious Spanish style for an understated elegant Estancia La Jolla Wedding.
Farm Tables and more brought in the organic element via their beautiful raw wood picnic table and cabana on which we draped romantic sheer cheesecloth for a more intimate look. We paired the bench that comes along with this table set with linen and wicker backed chairs by Hire Elegance for a more glam effect and seating options. This would make for a beautiful and stunning long head table as well! Just because you are inside of a ballroom don’t let that limit your potential of hanging and draping over your tables to make a dramatic statement in or outdoors.
Paula of Luna Photo came out to capture these delicious details as well as some stunning pics courtesy of True Photography.
Event Design, Styling & Invitations and stationery by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations
Flowers by Isari Flower Studio
Tableware Rentals by Hostess Haven
Farm Table, Bench & Cabana by Farm Tables & More
Dining Chairs by Hire Elegance
Read More »Love Notes Valentine’s Day Romantic Seaside Wedding
Romantic Seaside Wedding Inspiration
In honor of Valentine’s Day we are looking back at a shoot we designed a few years ago full of romantic seaside wedding inspiration. Inspired by some of our favorite love songs throughout history we incorporated vintage decor, pastel floral arrangements as well as a blush wedding dress and accents to tie the romantic theme together in a beautiful seaside setting with the iconic La Jolla Cove as the backdrop.
The Bachelorette’s, Kiptyn Locke was our groom in training for this special Valentine wedding shoot with a little help by our gorgeous model, friend and stand-in-bride, Ren.
The Beatles said it best with “All you need is love, love, love is all you need.” Whether you are dating, engaged, or getting married, it is all about sending the right message with good old-fashioned love notes. Hit even higher notes by playing on love notes by infusing musical lyrics into your sweet Valentine’s weekend. We created a play on Love ‘notes’ by handwriting actual song lyrics throughout the day.
The Setting: For this Valentines Day Soiree we created a romantically wild seaside garden with overgrown roots, driftwood and birch wood in a forest of twisted trees overlooking the pacific blue. This was truly a sweetheart table for two. The white washed wood and birch leg table was covered in anemones, spray roses and dusty miller leaves. Simple candles, sticks, shells and skeleton keys were placed in the center for a dreamy, romantic effect.
Cake table – A love ‘note’ made an appearance with “How sweet it is to be loved by you” – James Taylor. The table was adorned with a peach cake accented with textured flowers and an antique silver pitcher filled with a wild gathering of peach and rose toned blooms. Also making an appearance were sweet little bumps on a log made of gourmet chocolate truffles. 
Recognize that cute groom face? It’s Kiptyn Locke from The Bacholerette! 
The menu sang it’s own love song with items labeled… To Drink: Love Potion #9 “I didn’t know if it was day or night, I started kissing everything in sight” – The Clovers; To Eat: Cheeseburger in Paradise “Heaven on earth with an actual onion slice” – Jimmy Buffet; For Dessert: Cherry Pie “Tastes so good make a grown man cry, sweet cherry pie” – Warrant
A rustic teak trough on the side of the table was propped on a moss covered frame and served as the wine bucket. A decanter was perched on a sea of beach rocks and filled with strawberry wine with a hand written love ‘note’ tied with twine around the neck that read “My first taste of love oh bittersweet, green on the vine, like strawberry wine” – Deana Carter
A Book of Love was also propped on the sweets table, with another love ‘note’. “I love it when you read to me and you, you can read me anything. I love it when you sing to me And you, You can sing me anything The book of love is long and boring And written very long ago It’s full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes And things we’re all too young to know But I love it when you give me things And you, You ought to give me wedding rings And I, I love it when you give me things And you, You ought to give me wedding rings” – Peter Gabriel, Book Of Love
Event styling, coordination and stationery: Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations / Flowers: Isari Flower Studio / Photography: John Schnack Photography / Gown & Head Piece: Alisa Benay / Jewelry: Noaki Jewelry / Wedding Cakes: Truly Scrumptious / Makeup by Jennifer Budner / Girard Avenue Collection for chairs & I love you blocks. / Gourmet Chocolates: Dallmann Confections/ Hair Styling: Orange Blossom Salon; Jamie Rosa 760-889-5062
Read More »
Modern La Jolla Beach Wedding by Alchemy Fine Events, part 2.
Under the Sea Asian Zen La Jolla Beach Wedding: The Reception
With the vision of an ‘under the sea’ inspired Asian zen ocean, we created a magical setting to completely transform Scripps Forum into a living aquarium where coral reefs were recreated onto each table and waves lapped above their heads on the waving ceiling. Lights sparkled all around them and danced about as the sequin and grey silk curtains brought a modern seaweed influence around them as they dine on canvas covered tables and danced on grey-washed floors. 
An Under the Sea La Jolla Beach Wedding worthy of being held at Scripps Aquarium
As guests entered the reception they were greeted by over sized floating origami cranes that led them to a custom seating card table made out of rustic beach wood bases and layered lucite which housed hundreds of colorful flowers and succulents. Guests were escorted to their seats by a miniature origami cranes with purple calligraphy by Kathryn Murray.
To completely transform the room from an auditorium to WOW we re-carpeted the entire room in a soft gray and created a gray-washed wood dance floor to follow the curvature of the room which we draped in a custom designed grey and white drapery with a splash of silver sequins to create the ‘under the sea’ feeling. In lieu of traditional tables and linens we custom wrapped square tables in white canvas and grey silk bases for an ultra clean and zen vibe and then paired them with canvas benches and sleek leather chairs. For a completely unique centerpiece idea wanted to replicate the ocean floor by designing flowers that would emulate gorgeous coral and sea life on a reef. To do so and also stay in line with the recurring square theme (square table, plates, centerpiece, menus) on the table I custom designed square lucite trays which overlapped each other in a cantilever position which boasted the bright blooms and succulents Isari Flower Studio so impressively created. White matte sea urchin votives, white coral and nautilus shells created a textural ambiance and accented the purple coral napkins we also had custom designed which presented a polished abalone shell for each guest and a letterpressed menu.
For just a touch of vintage guests dined on their 5 course meal including a bread cart, 2 salad choices, sorbet intermezzo served on Chinese soup spoons and cornish game hens on heritage silverware as well. Guests danced to the R&B sounds of Ground Control and then were surprised by the groom’s pick of Freeze Frame, an awesome 80’s band that took over later in the evening.
Wedding Photography: Photography: Samuel Lippke Studios | Wedding Venue: Scripps Forum | Event Design, Planning & Stationery: Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations| Floral Design: Isari Flower Studio | Catering: Urban Kitchen Catering | Furniture & Production: Hire Elegance | Draping, Lighting & Chuppah Production: Your Bash! | Furniture & Decor Rentals: Revelry Event Design | Tabletop Rentals: Classic Party Rentals & Casa de Perrin | Calligraphy: Kathryn Murray | Desserts: Sweet & Saucy Shop, The Cravory, Sweet Lucies, Images Printed on Chocolate, Cappuccino on Call | Entertainment: Elan Artists & Freeze Frame | Dress & Bridesmaids: Monique Lhuillier |Beauty: Fiore Beauty