Posted on: Friday, December 30th, 2011
Well, this spot at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel/Dana Point is still hard to beat if you are looking for ocean/5 stars/intimacy – here are just some of the many looks my lovely brides chose for this wonderful location:
Thanks www.tonyflorez.com for the photo above, florals were by the fabulous Square Root, both vendors always fab to work with & have on the team.
T
The above pics were courtesy of the dj/Steve Shanahan using his Iphone. I can’t say I have ever seen a photographer do a pano of this room like this, so dark, but love it. The brides inspiration for this look was a photo on my office wall from a previous wedding, she loved the airy feel of the tall calla lillies. We used the hotels black linens and brought in black chivaris which looked so elegant and then gave a pop by doing the fabulous black & white pattern napkin, lots of candles together with the fireplace being on, voila, a fabulous look. Then look below, same room but earlier in the day, so you can really see the detail, these photos courtesy of my lovely bride, and guess what, she never got any photos by her photographer inside the room with the fireplace on/that atmosphere before people came in, so I was able to forward her over the djs pics so she had those to enjoy/remember how fab it looked.
What a soft fresh feel/look, the photo above, courtesy of www.jamesjohnsonphotography.com, was a daytime wedding, and when you walked in it just looked pretty, soft, fresh, and made you smile. Exactly a reflection of how this bride was and how she made everyone feel around her.
For the above wedding (pic courtesy of wonderful www.tonyflorez.com) the bride went with a really nice rich red linen with black runners and napkins, some tall centerpieces and some low. Very dramatic when you walked in. A great reflection of them, comfortable and warm. We used a red uplight in each corner, when you have a strong color in the room you can do that to add a pop/further enhance, but in a smaller room you want to be careful it’s not too much. We use amber a lot to continue the warmth/feel from the fireplace and candles, otherwise the bride’s ‘color’ if she wants that to be enforced. During dinner just outside the room in the foyer, we setup the EPOD photo booth (it talks to the guests and it’s words match the guests, when they are sober it’s nice and normal, the more tipsy they get and funny/amorous, the more the words comment on what they are doing, it’s hilarious.
My bride for the above wedding wanted her color/theme to be Tiffany Blue but she was a lovely elegant woman and I knew we had to watch how much we used the color and where. It’s a hard color for flowers so we stuck with champagnes/ivory/blushes which is a very romantic palette, Instead of chivaris we covered the hotels chairs which gave a rich/romantic feel along with crystals and candles. It was a warm/loving feel in the Plaza which was a total reflection of the couple and not only how they felt about each other, but also the intimate group that had been invited/had come from afar to celebrate with them. Thanks to www.franksalas.com for the pics and always being just a pleasure to work with, we love him, plus of course, Nisies Enchanted Florist for the beautiful signature look of her florals/style (I knew from the moment my bride and I started talking and working on budget, we must have Nisie). Cere/cocktail music by my fave string group Naples, and dinner/dancing by fab Jeff Holmes/Moondance. Hair/makeup by Design Visage, and a dove release by wonderful Pam with White Flite, always a successful timely release that has everyone wowed. For the favors we went to Luisa Chocolatiere based in Laguna Hills, she got the boxes from Italy and inside had made 2 swans (the brides favorite icon for the wedding, because swans mate for life!!), one was dark chocolate with raspberry filling-the brides fave, and for the groom – got to love it – milk chocolate with tequila inside and sea salt on the outside, yum. I had to do the final taste test due to B&G being in Texas, and it was a chore, but I okayed the end result!!! LOL. Inside the box was a note saying whose chocolate was whose fave and the description. Nicely done as always Luisa.
My couple from above came with all their guests from Sacramento to celebrate. A nice change to see a bold color in this room this year. Thanks to Katie Clark for the above pics, and always being fun to work with. Alicia booked me for Month of service, but used my preferred vendor list in her planning and my advise during her planning months (two) and ended up with a great team and didn’t spend a fortune, but made it look/feel like she did.
The above wedding (thanks for the pics Nancy/bride) was so soft and pretty, no wonder it was published on Style me Pretty. The end result was well worth the pain we went through to get the florals right on the day. 6 tables, 3 different style of centerpieces and the ceremony was angled giving a straight aisle, rather than the flat to the ocean positioning most couples choose for this site. All these tweaks made this wedding theirs. The wonderful Peter Papadopolous/Vive Ent, was our dj and mcee and as always a pleasure.
These weren’t all the weddings we did in the Plaza, but gives you a good feel for how that room works no matter what your colors/feel/theme, as this is a nice variation of looks/styles/florals/colors for you to see.
Till next time
Lisa
714 305 7112
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What a pleasure it was to work with you on our wedding. You are very focused and amaze us with all that you do. Thank you for making our day flawless.
I just wanted to say thank you for everything. The wedding turned out soooo BEAUTIFUL. I don’t know what we would have done without you. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you
You are a great woman and a wedding co-ordinator ‘extraordinaire’. We are blessed and honored to have you as our co-ordinator.
Thank you for your great ability to oversee things and in such a fun and relaxing way. I know that the day went so smoothly because of all the time you spent on all the hidden details.
We are so thankful and appreciative to have had you there on our special day. Words can not express our gratitude. From the very first moment we met you until the last moments of our wedding, you handled yourself with professionalism and respect. You made us feel comfortable and confident throughout the entire process.
