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

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

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

Ritz Laguna Destination wedding-Plaza

Aaaaaaah my sweet sweet Molly and Yuan.  So loved helping them with their wedding, and this is another story about how we all end up with who we should be working with and when it doesn’t work out there is a reason (i always find the reason out after and thank the Universe above for sure, lol).  It was a sat or sunday and I was in the office waiting for a couple to come in and detail their wedding/day which would normally take about 3 hours.  About 20 mins after their time they were not there so I called and the groom said he had been working and got caught up and they would not be able to get down from LA that day so we setup a phone detail for during the week.  Now folks, it was a weekend in the 2019 wedding season (which was crazy busy) and I didn’t have many of those off, so i had got out of bed early, showered etc, and was now thinking, whaaaat!! lol  Then my phone rang and this lovely lady started asking me about my services and then asked could she come and see me, I was just about to leave the office to go home, so I asked how long do you think before you could be here (not sure where they were coming from) she said, 15 mins, i said, let’s do this.  They came in, we chatted, they signed me on the spot and we did our budget/task meeting right then and there, so i was in the office for about the time i would have been with the detail meeting, and all worked out perfectly.  yayyyyy  Molly loved what she saw from past weddings I had done in the Plaza Room at the Ritz Laguna (where we do the most weddings each year and have been that way for the past 19 years, our #1 venue and we have stayed on the vendor list that whole time which I think says a lot about us and it’s an honor that I don’t relax about, but it was not in their budget which made her sad, so that is when relationships help a lot and your being flexible.  We ended up making it work by their wedding being on a sunday in November and daytime, we started at noon, done by 5pm, perfecto and Molly’s dream wedding happened and I know it was because she told me many times on the day and in a beautiful email I got from her afterwards.

So we pulled a fab vendor team together, EBD Floral-awesome job as always, Luxe Linens for linens/napkins, TMMPRO for the draping/benches/dancefloor+decal/chiavaris, Peter/Vive Entertainment for all the music, and Will/Resonance Vision (some of these pics are his and some mine, normally the darker ones, lol) who they found and wanted because he spoke the same language as the parents who spoke no English and they wanted them to be comfortable, he was lovely to work with.

Thanks to my partners at the Ritz Laguna, as always we are the team that make the dream a reality, thank you, thank you, thank you xoxxo

Till next time

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on insta   @lisasimpsonweddings.com

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 22, 2020

Ritz Laguna – Grand Ballroom wedding

Another awesome couple.  Destination wedding coming from NY and their guests from all over the country and other parts of the world, it was a mutli day celebration of them.

We pulled together the best vendor team, Duke Photography, Scenemotion Films, Square Root of course for the florals, Liventgroup for the band/music in all areas, Harrys Party Rentals for the rectangle mirror tables, mirror tops for our round tables and awesome bar that was the center attraction of our room and TMMPRO for the dancefloor/draping and stage cover.  And of course to our partners at the Ritz Laguna, as always, teamwork makes the dreamwork and wedding dreams come true xoxox

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 wdg

Ohhhh Lea and Craig, loved them, so fun.  Craig is English and not the stuffy kind of English (being 1/4 English I know my English, lol) and he was funny and kept us very amused through the whole planning process.  This was a couple that had a great time at their wedding.  Above is their sweetheart table, using my fave B&G sofa and i love a sweetheart table with orchids dropping off it.  And… as all the hotels and my brides know, tea sandwiches come before everyone gets dressed.  They are smaller so as the makeup is done the ladies are still able to have food of substance to tide them over until they get to eat big again at dinner (or cocktails if they are lucky) and if a little champagne has been consumed during getting ready it helps keep everyone awake, lol.  The Ritz-Carlton Laguna does the job perfectly for my brides/ladies.

We did the ketubah signing in the Private Dining Room, then Rabbi Ian led the ceremony with the ocean backdrop, perfection!!

We did a mix of high & low florals, all by Flowers By Cina, thanks again for a fabulous job, Dancefloor+custom decal/B&G sofa/Chiavaris by TMMPRO, cere/cocktail music by Naples Strings, dinner/dancing music+mceeing+lighting by Invisible Touch with Juan and Deon, Design Visage did the hair+makeup and on time as always xoxox

We did the In N Out Run and the parade which I love to lead and make the servers do it with me, not sure if they like it as much as me, lol, which our couples love and the Ritz did a station to go with it with the groom’s fave fried items.  Terrace Salon Balcony is a popular place at every wedding, men migrate out there to chat during the noise/dancing and ladies head out in-between, sometimes the event ends and i realise there is a big group sitting out there chatting not ready to leave!!

thanks as always to our Ritz Carlton family, we love being there with you all xoxox

Till next time

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on insta  @lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 21, 2020

Ritz Carlton Laguna Destination Wedding

Had a great experience planning with Sterling and Jonathan from afar (as are 80% of my couples).  They were very busy so very efficient when it came to making decisions and getting tasks done, yayyy, love that.  We had the ceremony on the Monarch Bay Sunset Lawn, cocktails on the Plaza Balcony and then dinner/dance inside the Plaza Room.

Thanks to Cat/Adi of Next Exit Photography you have got photos here of the Plaza Room from every angle and a few for the ceremony site, tx guys for being friendors for so many years and being great to work with on the day xoxo  We pulled together a great vendor team, Rabbi Ian co-officiated with the Pastor from Sterling’s church who flew over for the wedding, Design Visage did hair/makeup, cere/cocktail music by Naples Strings, dinner/dance/mceeing by Jeff/Moondance Mobile Music, and to EBD Floral, wow, i was taken aback by the beauty of the florals and colors.  Jonathan is from South Africa and Sterling wanted to incorporate the South African national/native flower and Karla did it beautifully, love love.  And to TMMPRO who helps me transform the Plaza Room with draping/dancefloor+decal and lighting, and we had them provide chiavaris for the cere (Sterling was not into using hotel chairs at all) and had Chiavari Chair Rentals provide the infinity chairs for the Plaza Room.  Everything was bellisimo!!

And of course to our friends/team members at the Ritz Laguna, always a pleasure making dreams celebrations come to reality for our couples, xoxox

Till next time

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on insta   @lisasimpsonweddings

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 21, 2020

Ritz Laguna Terrace Salon wedding

It’s funny how each year there are the ‘hot’ spaces for weddings, well for 2019 at Ritz Laguna it was combining the Monarch bay Sunset Lawn with cocktails next door on the Monarch Bay Sunset Terrace, all oceanfront/view, then up to the Terrace Salon where the ballroom is unique in shape and wall coverings and has a very cool large balcony with wicker furniture and fire pits that guests love, in face most weddings end and there is a group sitting out there not ready to leave!!

So this wedding was the same space, our bride was very excited about everything and her fabulous groom was always happy to see her happy.  From the beginning Katy had said her wedding was going to be pink, and our groom was aok with that, so pink it was.

The picture above was Katy seeing the doves they would release at the end of the ceremony on its way to her ceremony and she was chatting with it, thanking it.  There was also a 60 dove release after they each released their doves.  Guests loved it.

Great vendor team on board, Luxe Linens for the perfect pink linens/napkins, Flowers by Cina for the beautiful florals, Jim Kennedy & Amber-photo (none of these photos are from them, all are mine), Luxury Lifestyle Studio/video, Wendy/Orange County Harpist for the ceremony/cocktail music, Peter/Vive Entertainment for the dinner/dancing music & excellent mceeing as always, Design Visage for hair/makeup, TMMPRO for the dancefloor+decal & lighting-just the right pink, and of course to the ladies and gentlemen at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna for always helping us make wedding dreams come true xoxo

Till next time

Lisa

xoxox

catch me on insta  @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 21, 2020

Ritz Laguna Plaza Room wedding

I had planned things with Yana and Leo for their end of year wedding at the Ritz-Carlton, this was their CA wedding and in being flexible and doing a thursday the week before xmas with their intimate group of 50, meant they could have it at a 5 star hotel with views and service to die for, because they had to watch their budget due to their wedding in Russia which was going to be huge a few weeks later (Yana is a bit of  a celebrity in Russia).

I was in Cabo looking at some of the best venues there for future weddings on their wedding date but Nicole was orchestrating/overseeing on the day with Darla’s assistance and they had a great vendor team, all of who know how Lisa likes things so I didn’t need to worry at all that it would not be a success, and of course it was, B&G were very happy.

Thanks to Joel Austell for the pics above, Shane Productions/video, EBD Floral as always for making things work out as our brides anticipate from the beginning, Rabbi Ian for as always doing a great Jewish ceremony and the Trotts who issued the CA marriage license at the hotel (they have done this for quite a few of our couples over the years and it’s starting to be more and more popular), Peter/Vive Entertainment for handling all the music and mceeing and keeping things on track with Nicole, and to everyone at the Ritz who again, helped us make a couple’s wedding dreams come true, thank you xoxo

Till next time

Lisa

xoxxo

catch me on insta   @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 14, 2020

Ritz-Carlton Laguna – Plaza Room wdg

Another lovely Plaza Room destination wedding, and in these pics you see the setup from each corner of the room/angle.

Thanks to Tony Florez for the pics, Paul Uhlar-officiating, TMMPRO-dancefloor&lighting, Karen’s Flowers(no insta or website), our Saxaphonist from Essence Entertainment for cere/cocktails and Jeff/Moondance Mobile music for keeping that dancefloor full as always.  Always a big thanks to the ladies and gentlemen at the Ritz, they help us orchestrate seamless celebrations. xoxox

Till next time

Lisa

xoxxo

catch me on insta   @lisasimpsonweddings

http://www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

lisa@lisasimpsonweddings.com

714 305 7112

Add a comment April 13, 2020