Maui Montage Destination Wedding

From the point of entry, to eating breakfast, you always can see that beautiful ocean at Montage Maui.

Lots of great spaces all over the property that can be used for prepost and of course the wedding day event.

Located on one of the top beaches in Maui with views to die for

The lawn above is a given for the ceremony and it’s large enough to do cocktails, dinner/dancing on too!!

But my fave spot is this overwater spot for an intimate dinner/guys hang out on the day, a pre event champagne party, or maybe day after brunch with water that is crystal clear all around.

A beautiful resort with amazing accommodations, but if your guests are not staying here they are still welcome to attend the event for sure.

Let me plan your Destination Wedding to one of the top properties in Maui with you!  My travel partner can handle everyone’s air/hotel/airport transfers/rental cars etc, so together we make it nice and easy for you and your guests.

Let’s do this

till next week

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on insta  @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 28, 2020

Pelican Hill Resort Wedding 2020

Well we managed to get this wedding done March 15, 2020, the day before pretty much everyone in the USA went under shelter at home and no gatherings of more than 50 people which went down to 10 people within a day.  As I said to the mom of our groom (who was just a doll to deal with from beginning to end and wants to come work with me!!) where she was thinking the fall out of guests in the week leading up to the wedding was stressful, at least we got to have their beautiful wedding and it was such a wonderful celebration for a really really cool/awesome couple, so many after that date through now and probably mid June, hopefully not longer, I have an end of June wedding holding on tight hoping they can have their wedding as planned, have not been able to have their weddings.  I have had 6 weddings from April-mid June move dates and look very forward to the day we can celebrate them, it will be worth the wait for all.

But I digress, the Groom’s mom and bride had an inspiration pic they had been carrying around and we pretty much duplicated it.  Mom has great style and really wanted to make this wedding special, she loves her daughter in law to be and had special touches added that really personalised the wedding for them.

Thanks to TMMPRO for the rotunda draping & behind the band stage also/lighting in the ballroom +bistro lighting over cocktail patio, and the band stage cover, Simply Sweet Cakery for the wedding cake and the hidden Mickey that was special for the bride, Karla at Elegant by Design for as always putting your heart into my weddings, another beautiful job.  We had my new fav vendor Amy Serrano play the acoustic violin for the ceremony and switch it up to the electric violin with her led bow for cocktails, she has such great energy and loves what she does, the dinner/dancing was done by On demand who I have worked with a few times in the past year or so, and we had a taco cart for late night snacks as a surprise to the guests and that went down very well.  And to Miki & Sonja for being so lovely to work with and for the good pics in this post (mine are the bad ones) and to Lin & Jirsa for video on this one.

To our lovely ladies at Pelican, it was a tough day for staff there as they knew they were not going to be working for a while after, but everyone pulled through and helped me create a wonderful wedding for this special couple, our groom’s mom, and the guests who I know are not going to ever be sorry for making it to this wedding. xoxxo

Now the only good thing to come out of coronavirus is, this post makes the end of me sitting here for the past 2-3 weeks and getting caught up on nearly 3 years worth of wedding blogs/posts of weddings during that time and travel blogs that i have been meaning to do, it was nearly 200, and a lot of work, but if it wasn’t for coronavirus i would have never found or had the time to do this.  So I am now going to drink some champagne to celebrate being caught up and hopefully have a little down time before we go crazy with a years worth of weddings happening in 6 months of what will be left of 2020. Fingers and toes crossed.

Till next time

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on insta  i do a post a day   @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 22, 2020

Positano Destination wedding

If these views and the feeling of romance that Positano stirs in everyone who  has been the want to have your wedding there, I can help.  It really is a very special place and one that everyone you invite is going to want to come to, so be careful, and what a great step of point to the rest of the Amalfi Coast or elsewhere in Europe for your guests to visit before coming home, and for your honeymoon!

I can help you plan the wedding and my travel partner can take care of everyone’s air/hotel/transport and the group excursions we will plan, so this will be nice and easy.

Till next time

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on insta  @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 22, 2020

Ritz Laguna – Pavilion Ballroom

Welcome to 2020 and Anna and Omar’s wedding was our first of the year on March 6 at the fabulous Ritz-Carlton Laguna.  They were just the sweetest loveliest couple, i am so lucky, I rarely get a bride or groom zilla and if I do it just makes us appreciate our normal couples even more, lol, but these two both during the event, the groom once and the bride probably 5 times, kept asking if they were being too much trouble, and i had to keep telling them they were absolutely NO trouble at all, not sure what they were worrying about but they were most definately not!!  We had the ceremony on The Bluff Lawn, cocktails on Pavilion Balcony and dinner/dancing in Pavilion.  Anna started with round guest tables but in the end decided she loved the rectangle table idea so we had some of those and some rounds, best of both worlds.

Thanks to Frank Salas for the pics, some are his and some mine (obviously the bad ones, lol), Impressive Creations/video, Elegant by Design for coming in and making it all work last minute for us (a florist the bride had found/wanted to use ended up flaking on her when it was time to get serious), TMMPRO for the dancefloor/chiavaris/B&G sofa+lighting, Design Visage for hair/makeup, Their friend Tarek who performed the ceremony and did a great job, and DJ Franky for all the music needs we had.

And of course to our friends at the Ritz.  Teamwork makes the dreamwork and we sure do together, for 19 years now xoxox

Till next time

Lisa

xoxxo

catch me on insta   @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Comments Off on Ritz Laguna – Pavilion Ballroom April 22, 2020

Past bride special birthday party

So 99.9% of my events are weddings because that is what i choose to do.  When I was at Disney doing a variety of events before I created the CA Disney Fairy Tale Wedding program, i did major fund raisers with celebs, really crazy expensive Quincineras and Mitzvahs, and corporate event.  I always enjoyed working on them, but it turned out I loved weddings and thus that is what i ended up doing after I left Disney to work with my husband doing honeymoons/travel to the South Pacific, but those pesky weddings followed me and 19 years later I have the best life and job due to weddings!!  So..

every now and again I get asked, would it do another kind of event and depending on who is asking and what it is, sometimes I say yes.  This was one of those times, a past groom reached out about 6 years after their wedding at Pelican Hill Resort asking if I could pull together a surprise dinner for his wife’s 40th which was the beginning of a weekend with these friends/people as the next day they were all getting on a private jet and heading off somewhere special to celebrate her!!  How lucky is she!!  So it needed to be in Los Angeles and not too far from their home as they had a new baby, and not be stuck in a private room at the back of a restaurant or enclosed banquet room at a hotel, so i looked high and low, they love Wolfgangs Cut Steak House at Beverly Wilshire but the private room was just too small and we ended up sticking with the Wolfgang theme and doing the private room with windows at WP24 on the 24th floor of the Ritz Carlton Downtown Los Angeles (love it when I can keep things within my Ritz-Carlton family)

His Uncle is a florist, did their wedding too, so he did the flowers, and the view from daytime to the lights at night from that room was awesome, you forget here in Los Angeles we do have dining experiences with views that can rival other major cities in the world.

The best part was, and remember this was 6 years after their wedding and she was not expecting any of this, she thought the two of them were having a quiet dinner on their own, the restaurant let me stand behind the podium so when they got out the elevator and were greeted they were handed off to me to lead them to their table, (it was all timed as the groom had me on an app where i could watch where his phone was, lol) so I welcomed them and asked them to follow me, I never said my name, the bride said to the groom,  she looks like Lisa that did our wedding.  Well of course as we got to the private bar area by the private dining room all their guests were waiting and yelled suprise and thus the night began.  During the event she came over to me and said, Lisa it’s so great to see you, how long have you been working here.  Well I just about died laughing, and when i explained to her well yes i was working there that night but because her husband was paying me to plan the dinner/night for her, she just about died laughing.  So good.

Till next time

Lisa

xoxxo

catch me on insta   @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 22, 2020

Bye 2019, hi 2020 wedding – Ritz Laguna

It seems every 2 years or so I get a NY eve wedding and the years I want to be in NZ or elsewhere I don’t even get an inquiry, so works out aok from my end.  Andrew and Erika were a blast to work with, they asked for direction/got it and did their own thing and followed direction perfectly to where we had the best vendor team on to work their wedding and spend that evening with.  They were a joy and pleasure to work with and be a part of their wedding celebration, we all loved them and were honored.

TMMPRO for the dancefloor/custom gobo/balcony benches/lighting, Square Root did the florals and had to improvise for the ceremony as the original plan for the front was not a good idea as it was a bit windy, but what they did by turning the pedestals sideways was brilliant, David I love you xoxox

The gentleman who handles majority of the wedding tastings and follows me without question on the In N out burger parade, ladies and gentlemen, I present Chuck xox

Joe Latter was on board for the night taking photos, some of these are his and some of mine/the bad ones, lol, are mine.  De Capo players/5 piece strings, provided beautiful ceremony/cocktail music, and my pal Peter/Vive Entertainment brought in the NY 2 times, East coast and West coast and kept people there/dancefloor full inbetween, kudos to him, I had my doubts, lol. OC Flower Wall for the champagne hedge we used at one end of the room for the 9pm NY champagne toast and after that for a selfie backdrop, Viralbooth OC for the surprise Photobooth that opened after dinner at the other end of the ballroom, Design Visage for hair/makeup (never a late bride for me unless the bride says she wants to be late, whaaaaaaaaaaat?? lol) Luxury Lifestyle Studio/video & drone, our rectangle mirror tables came from Chiavari Chair Rentals, and Luxe Linens provided the napkins.

As always thanks to our partners at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna, teamwork always makes the dreamwork.

Till next time

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on instagram   @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 22, 2020

Montage Cabo wedding

I was fortunate to enjoy Montage Cabo last July, what an awesome property.  Set in a lovely sheltered bay with a lovely beach, so very swimmable which along the rest of the part of the coastline it is touch n go as to whether you can go into the ocean, and awesome pools, food/service etc, this is a top pick for a fabulous Cabo wedding.  The cabanas by the lower pool/sand close is where I spent my time, very spoilt.

This lawn is where your ceremony could be if you don’t want a sand ceremony and its large enough to do ceremony one end, cocktails in the middle and dinner/dancing at the other end, as well as restaurant space or other areas we can do the reception at.

This is the entrance/lobby frontage.  Located along the corridor, again guests can stay here or elsewhere and attend the wedding and get a cab or uber to/from easily.  I can help you pull the wedding together and my travel partner can handle everyone’s air/hotel/transport and group excursions pre and post we do.  Let’s do it!!

Till next time

Lisa

xoxo

catch me on insta I do a daily post  @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 22, 2020

Four Seasons Westlake Village-Indian wdg

Well this was our last Indian wedding of 2019 and a goodie.  Working with Samar and her mom (who funnily enough just emailed me to check in and thank me again for doing such a great job/working so hard on Samar’s wedding for them and apologizing that it has taken 4 months, but that is aok, I know that there are many Drs in the two families that are all working front lines for coronavirus, and that is very worrying for them all.  Samar and i had been communicating since the wedding so I knew they were happy with everything, lol) was just great, they were both lovely and calm and got things done as needed as we went along.  Above and below are a bunch of pics from the 2 day event.  This was our 2nd multi day Indian wedding at Four Seasons and each time it has been a fabulous property to be working at and a great experience for the guests, in house or not, we worked closely with Nicole on this wedding and she was excellent, we made a great team.

Creative Cakes from Orange provided the cake which we had floating which looked beautiful.  Luxe Linen provided the linens/napkins for the big dinner/dance celebration.

Bloombox Designs did the floral both days and an amazing job it was, the mandap was created by the team on the day there also, fabulouso.  It was great to see our fave Indian wedding hair/makeup artist and dresser, Oscar, we don’t see him often enough these days.  We had Special Occasions both days/Ajay leading the crew.  Kumba for the rentals and floor covering for the Sikh wedding on day 1.  Natraj did the catering for both days, and TMMPRO did the draping for the ceremony and lunch/dinner/dancing ballrooms.

Day 2 the cocktail hour was spent on the lawn by the waterfall and we had my new fave vendor Amy Serrano play her electric violin, amazing energy.

For the Baraat we had our Daisy bring the groom in and for the vidai the old fashioned car, and i loved it when the guys got behind to push it out, it didn’t need it, they just wanted to do it, lol

Thanks to Jim Kennedy and team for being great as always to work with for both days, and the same to Impressive Creations, both companies are part of the top in S CA

I just loved the clean look of the B&G stage for the celebration dinner/dance.

Another great wedding and an awesome way to end 2019 xoxo

Till next time

Lisa

xoxxo

catch me on insta   @lisasimpsonweddings

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 22, 2020

Mallorca/Spain wedding

have you ever heard of the island of Mallorca?  it’s off the coast of Spain, easy and inexpensive flights from Barcelona, and the island next door to it is called Ibiza (known as the party island, have i got your attention now??)

Well i spent a week here not too long ago and loved every minute and will go back.  We stayed in villas at Marriott Vacation Club, great for couples/families travelling together to destination weddings, the units were 2 storey and we had our own wee backyard to sit in the listen to the birds/nature, people playing golf in the background, pretty awesome.

It’s an easy island to drive around, the city of Palma has the cathedral and lots of things to see and do and restaurants of course, the coastline has great beach clubs and restaurants to have great food for very inexpensive.  We travelled up to the town that the tennis Rafael Nadal is from, a lovely town, and there are other coastal towns with cliffside restaurants and places to just chill, hang out and appreciate being alive.

I would love to help you have your destination wedding here, large or small, and my travel partner can handle everyone’s air/hotel/transport/group excursions we may do, and after the wedding people can pop off to any part of Europe they want to explore/vacation/enjoy, and you too for the honeymoon.  Nice and easy with us.

Till next time

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on insta  @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 22, 2020

Ritz Carlton Laguna – Terrace Salon

Another Ritz Laguna November 2019 wedding and it was a beauty.  When they booked me the first thing Ashley showed me was an Instagram pic of a wedding with the hanging flowers over the dancefloor, that was where we started from an inspiration stand point and with Square Root’s expertise and beautiful work, we exceeded her expectations and both Ashley and her mom are still in happy mode about how wonderful it all turned out, 6 months later (I know this because mom sends me Instagram messages all the time, lol, loovvvvvvve her and the family)

Lots of cool elements that gave the guests lots to wow about and the poor wedding they go to next, it will seem boring in comparison.  We did two things unique in Terrace Salon, first time anyone had done the ceiling treatment over the dancefloor in there, yay for us, and we draped the whole room, has only been done a couple of times, but just like it does with any other room you drape, it was transformed into a beautiful romantic, soft, beautiful room.  With the draping you cant have nasty black speakers and dj equipment, their dj did not have any of the white speakers or facades my normal guys do so we added a dj façade through Square Root and hid the speakers behind the draping!!  Mom wanted a live artist, my fave @laurajanestudios was not accepting any new bookings when i first reached out, but mom also reached out and low and behold something cancelled and we got her, yay.  Above you see the start of the pic and then how it ended.

Purple was the grooms fave color but we had no purple elements in our design/feel, so he had to wait until after dinner then we turned the purple lights on and that is how it was until the end of the wedding, lol, somehow we always incorporate the groom!

Martini luge with the purple uplight in the ballroom, after the guests got to the top of the staircase to get to Terrace Salon, they were greeted with the Drunk In love wall (OC Flower Walls, I started using them quite a bit in 2019) with the champagne they would use for the toasts (I think there were 8 of us pouring quickly once we knew the guests were on their way, it was lovely expensive champagne and as a champagne drinker smelling that and it getting on my hands if i happened to ‘spill’ was horrible torture, lol, then the went around the corner and saw the mirrors with their table assignments and then they went into the beautiful ballroom which took everyone’s breath away

The Bluff lawn was looking pretty good for the ceremony!

The size of the florals was amazing, huge, and in-between the hanging orchids over the dancefloor were hanging strands of twinkle lights, quite magical

Take a look at the cake above and below, yes it had two sides!! that was the bride’s idea because guests could walk all around it so it didn’t really have a front, turned out great!

Their sweetheart table and backdrop was the center of the action and we draped so you could not see the service doors, think I may start making that a ‘normal’ in this room .

This was a wedding where teamwork really came into play, David/Square Root was an awesome trouble shooter on the day when the logistics of doing something in a room that had not been done before started having wee challenges, that my friends is where our relationships come to play out for sure, and i have strong ones with all the vendors i refer/use for that very reason.  The Trotts officiated and did the same day marriage license/so convenient for my couples, especially as most of them are coming from out of state, cere/cocktail music was a string trio by Naples Strings/always fabulous, dinner/dancing music was by Elevated Pulse and we had Mike that night, we also had a violinist during dinner which was lovely, through them also.  TMMPRO did the dancefloor/decal/draping/lighting/cake & sweetheart tables, we also added bistro lights to the outer balcony area as we had the bars down there with a backdrop of two huge trees, which had somehow become important for the groom to have trees at the wedding, lol, hey  our job is to make things happen and we do, we just make sure we place things where they make the most sense and don’t detract from the other beauty that may have been created, lol.  Square Root did the amazing floral for cere and ballroom obviously, they provided/found the huge trees for our bar backdrop and they did the hedge wall & initials behind the sweetheart table and of course the ceiling treatment, awesome job team.  Viralbooth OC surprised the guests after dinner with a photo booth on the balcony (we love having that balcony so people can run in/out and never feel like they left/missed out on anything, you can see/hear everything.  Thanks to Adrian Jon for the pics and being so easy to work with pre/during and post wedding.  We of course did a late night snack and as much as they would have liked to do the In N Out run I am known for (as they are from Canada and live also in AZ and all the guests flew in) they couldn’t do it as they own quite a few McDonalds, so it just wasn’t politically correct, lol.

When the stars align and you have a gorgeous couple so in love, bride’s parents/mom especially that is just too fun, and dad was too, but mom was more, lol, and can create a wedding of someone’s dreams and have the perfect team on board, you go home and sleep really well after xoxox

Till next time

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on insta   @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

Add a comment April 22, 2020