Pelican Hill lovely

So wonderful Ali had been in touch from the other side of the USA, New Jersey, and she wanted an OC wedding (I would say 70% of my brides are from out of state and a big group of those are from NY/east coast), in fact had seen Pelican Hill and wondered.  So we went to contract without a location, we had a budget and that meant having to make some compromises to make it work if she wanted the location of her dreams.  She was a bit hesitant so we ended up with estimates from a bunch of great LA hotels also, any of which I would have loved to see her wedding at.  This is where a couple’s flexibility and the relationships your wedding planner has with hotel peeps can come together and miracles happen, groom and I have a big chat (I was actually in New Zealand at the time) and we were able to secure Pelican for them, yahooooo

Speaking of the groom, and this happens sometimes, they get really into how the cake looks or the flavors, he came up with the design for each tier, I came up with the cake floating on a bed of lush florals, and voila we had a focal point for the round room area.

Mother nature played a trick on us for this September wedding, there was no sign of the Pacific Ocean for all these folks who had flown in from the east coast, thank goodness they were all in the area for a few days so they did know it was there at some point!! But some of the pics with the sea haze/fog in the background were quite beautiful

I promise you there is an ocean out there, well at least for cocktails the ceremony area was their view/backdrop.

We came up with elements that a lot of their guests would not have seen, two different centerpieces, one very candely and the other lush/pretty, and of course who doesn’t love a floral chandelier.  The pic above does not do this any justice, you had to be below looking up to realize how many flowers were in there and how beautiful it was. And if you look closely enough you will see the white grand piano left hand front of the ceremony area for the pianist to use, totally completed the whole ceremony look.

We draped the room, not because you have to but we wanted to and it does always transform a space and even for a large event can give the illusion of intimate.  We do this a lot for my couples not from the OC and for some from the OC, the In N out run at the end of the night for food to go/take as you are leaving, always a hit.

Of course my fave, the 100 Dove release after the intro of B&G to all at the ceremony, something guests always talk about.  And I love it when we have enough lawn to really go big on the aisle petal scroll, out the back.  Above the view looking towards the rotunda and below the view from rotunda looking down the aisle back towards cocktail/ballroom area.

Its all in the details, that’s how people know you care and took time, the ceremony was live streamed for those guests not able to attend.  We did my fave white glossy/seamless.decaled dancefloor, we actually used the hotel linens in the ballroom because they fit perfectly with our look, but we did rent La Tavola linens for the cocktail tables using an inspiration picture Ali had from the beginning, and she is not the first bride to use that particular picture with me, lol!!

Love this aerial view of the ceremony site from the drone and it really shows how there was no ocean to be seen!!! Crazy.

I don’t normally post people pics, but I thought this picture was so soft and really showed what Ali is about, family and love.  This is where having everyone wear the palette of the wedding totally worked and it made me stop and notice.  And, that fog in the background added to the whole effect, yes I know how to make lemonade out of lemons, for sure.

We pulled together a great vendor team for this one, thanks to Joe Latter for the pics above, Marc/The Emotion Picture Studio for video/drone/live streaming and for over 20 years we have done beautiful weddings together, Design Visage for beautifying the ladies, White Flite for the Dove release/perfectly timed as always, Flowers by Cina for orchestrating the vision we had on paper into reality, Chiavari chair rentals for the rotunda and ballroom draping-gotta love a chandelier in the rotunda.  To TMMPRO for our chivaris/round dancefloor&decal and lighting, and to my fave band for many years who adjusted their line up to suit the broad range of music Ali wanted to be able to share with her guests, so easy to work with and they handled ceremony, cocktail and dancing music with ease, Full Spectrum, thank you Adam for being such a great partner and wonderful asset to any wedding celebration/memory for guests.  Then we have the Pelican Hill Team, from Pam to Clancy to the wonderful team actually interacting with the guests on the day, classy and elegant as always.

Till next time

Lisa

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

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Add a comment November 15, 2016

Ritz-Carlton Laguna wedding

Ahhh lovely Jenn, she knew what she liked and didn’t, so making decisions was quick and we pulled together the perfect vendor team/vision for her, and a reflection of her. Pretty, soft, romantic.

Thanks to Barnett Photography for the pics and being so great to work with, Parallel Media/video-we had quite a run for a few weeks together, Father Brian for always officiating a great ceremony, Design Visage for beautifying everyone and as always keeping things on time/perfect and everyone always looks as good at the end which is so important, OCAVS for the perfect shade of lighting, Flowers by Cina for bringing Jenn and my vision to reality xoxoxox, Naples Strings for ceremony and cocktails, Peter/Vive Ent for as always being the epitomy of the perfect dj for many reasons, Luxe Linens for the dining linens/napkins, Wildflower Linens for the overlays, TMMPRO for the beautiful dancefloor and chivaris, and as a surprise to the groom, these cigar guys on the balcony, he loved it!!

And of course, without our ladies and gentlemen and that beautiful Ritz-Carlton Laguna the end result would not be as fabulous!!! xoxoxo

Till next time

Lisa

http://www.lisasimpsonweddingscom

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lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

Add a comment November 8, 2016

Ritz-Carlton Sunset Terrace/Plaza wedding

We loved working with our bride for this more intimate celebration.  She was a very busy working woman and definitely needed me to help her pull the vendor team together that fit with her budget and vision/style.  So as well as our fabulous partners at the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna, we had Dj Al, Flowers by Karen, Naples Strings for ceremony&cocktails, Design Visage for hair/makeup, Tony Florez for photography-thanks for the pics, and Teri there on the day to oversee/run the event.

Everyone knows I love a white glossy/seamless round dancefloor, finally found a smaller one for Plaza and looks like the guests had used/messed up the cushions on the benches!! lol

Till next time

Lisa

714 305 7112

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

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http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

Add a comment November 3, 2016