What variety

Posted on: Thursday, November 5th, 2009

The fun thing about what I do, is that even though I am so fortunate to look at the ocean from my ‘office’ (my office being www.ritzcarlton.com/lagunaniguel and the www.stregismb.com) most of the time, I do get to work at other locations.  Some bride’s come to me with their locations already set, and some I get to start from scratch with and based on their budget/style and wish list have to get creative and scout out locations.  This is fun and challenging for me at the same time, and I am always surprised at some of the great ballrooms/locations and packages out there that most couples would never find or know about if they didn’t have someone like me .  Those are the celebrations that at the end of the night I can look back knowing where we started and what we were able to create with a certain amount of money, and feel really good that I helped make someone’s dreams or vision come true, even when they may have thought it may not be possible.

Had a lovely wedding at www.rancholaslomas.com this year with Anosheh and Luis. Both medical students that were about to begin their careers in hospitals. So detailed and in sync with each other. Lots of thought put into everything they did. We enjoyed them, and being back at Rancho Las Lomas again.

The lovely Peni was assisting on this one, and Miss Brittany was the candle girl who lit all the votives in the dining room and then around the pool area/cocktail tables.

Then I had the pleasure to be employed by the mom of a bride who lives in Three Arch Bay and her daughter the bride, who grew up in that colony, was getting married and wanted her wedding ceremony on the beach and then to use the clubhouse lawn for the reception/dinner/dance. Our bride was a very busy doctor and our groom is an actor. So we had a couple who really understood what life was about and how precious it is, and from the creative side of things wanted to put so much of themselves into every component of their wedding, and they did so, beautifully. We did the ceremony on the beach, flip flops for all the guests on the way down and towels to wipe the sand off when they came back up to get their shoes. It was a really personal warm ceremony, and then off to the clubhouse we went. It was a bit cooler than we anticipated for that time of year, so the night before we opted to get a tent canopy (no sides, just the roof) and what a great call that was, it made the event and meant we had people there until the end, which possibly may not have happened otherwise. Thanks to my friends at Classic Party Rentals, Peter especially, that man jumps and makes it happen no matter what the situation is. Everything went off beautifully. This was one I was especially proud of, as our bride really wasn’t sure that they needed a wedding planner, but by the time the day came and then by the end of the day, she was aok with the fact that mom had gone ahead and made that decision and hired me. Whew!!! Confirmed by a lovely note she sent me after the big day.
The lovely Teri was my partner on this one, she kept reminding me I hadn’t told her about all the stairs, but I am sure I had!!!!! LOL.  Peni stopped by to move all the shoes from one location to another and then went home to rest!!! She also seemed to make some comments about me not being fully truthful about logistics, hmmmm!
We used the Laguna Beach Trolleys to shuttle people in from various hotels/lots and then from the cere site to the clubhouse for those that didn’t want to walk, and again at the end when everyone reluctantly had to leave.
Amanda of Fantasy Florals was able to match the bride’s vision of natural and earthy. Fusion did the linens. Ron of Green Effect provided the trees we used to break up the large lawn area and once the tent happened, they turned into a nice backdrop. Rob/Larson Lighting provided the lighting (so reasonable and easy to work with) and the sound for the cere on the beach. Classic Party Rentals provided pretty much everything else you see (including walking those chairs up & down the hundred stairs to the beach). Thanks everyone
Enjoy these pics taken by me, so not that great, but you get the idea:

Ok, I am going  to tell you about this placecard table.  It may look a bit strange to you, but this was the most personal placecard table we have ever done.  In keeping with being organic and earthy, the bride & groom wrote each guests name/table # on a rock they had collected from the beach and shells for decor that they had gathered.  The centerpiece is a hat.  Grandma had gone shopping for her outfit to wear to the wedding, and had found this fabulous hat to go with it.  She was very excited to wear it to the wedding.  Unfortunately, Grandma passed away unexpectedly not long before the wedding day.  So we used the hat for our centerpiece on the placecard table and hung it in the tree once we turned the placecard table into the cupcake display table (in lieu of wedding cake), so grandma was always present and central to what was going on, and very much there in spirit.

Then we had Becky and D’s wedding at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana
www.bowers.org
Such lovely parents, such a lovely couple. So so lucky am I. Becky came to me with the thought she may like to have her wedding at this location, so to be sure, mom, her and I spent a few hours visiting about 6 other locations, and then she knew, this was the place for her for sure. A beautiful ceremony with the building backdrop, cocktails in the courtyard (while the great Patina Staff moved the dining tables to where the cere was and cleaned the area), then dining back on the lawn, then dancing back in the courtyard. All so close, but gave each event a unique atmosphere/backdrop. They were my most emotional couple of the year, it was so sweet, they are so in love. Poor Becki her mom and dad moved out of the area after the wedding which I know was going to be very hard for her, but at least she has her D.

www.designvisage did the hair/makeup on everyone, sorry I don’t have any pics to show you, but Becky looked fabulous.

The lovely Peni was with me on this one and she lit all the candles around the dancing area, in fact due to a slight breeze, no sooner would she be done than she would have to do them again!!
Enjoy these pics too, again taken by me, sorry ……………

Then Aaron and Christa wanted a water backdrop, and we decided that the Wyndham Orange County was perfect for them.
www.wyndham.com
One of the plus’ with this property that I more than anyone else there could appreciate and understand, is that due to the building behind the cere site, everyone is in the shade and no-one is looking into the sun during a 6pm cere.  A friend married them and it was the shortest ceremony I have ever heard, but hey sometimes there are only a few words needed to be said, right!! Cocktails were held on the patio overlooking the lake where everyone could see them having their pictures done, and then dinner/dancing was done upstairs in the ballroom. It’s so nice because you feel like you have the hotel all to yourselves.
Teri was my right hand on this one and created another great placecard table and kept everyone in line.
Jamiee Hubert of www.capturingmoments.com is so fun and energetic and created some great shots with the larger bridal party they had, and thank goodness some of them were good sports and walked around the lake to be in the background where Jaimee needed them when she was being creative.
Amanda of Fantasy Florals did another great job for this lovely couple.
A unique cere site isn’t it:

Another wedding that my couple picked Jaimee to shoot also, was Crystal and Peter. After we visited around 10 locations, Crystal fell in love with the ceremony site at the Anaheim Sheraton (the castle one) and this is where their celebration was held. She loved the english garden feel of the ceremony site and the bridge/pond at the far end. The ballroom was a unique shape, kind of triangle which made it hard to center things, but I think we made it all work out in the end. Great parents who wanted the kids to have a really nice celebration, so we got to do linen and chair rentals through Fusion even though that wasn’t the plan in the beginning. Again Jaimee did a couple of really neat shots of the bridal party in the lounge area, that had a movie star 1940s feel to them, I loved them. She is so peppy and cute.
We also used one of the bakers I use a lot at the Hyatt HB, Tomgirl, for the wedding cake, good choice guys!!!
Enjoy these shots

Until next time, Lisa

www.lisasimpsonweddings.com

Tags: Anaheim Sheraton Hotel, Anaheim Sheraton Weddings, Bower Museum, Bower Museum weddings, Classic Party Rentals Weddings, Design Visage, Fantasy Floral Designs, Fantasy Florals, Frank Salas Photography, Fusion Linens, Huntington Beach, Peter Papadopolous dj, Rancho Las Lomas, Ritz Carlton Laguna weddings, Three Arch Bay, Tom Girl Bakery, vive Entertainment dj, Wyndham Orange County Hotel, Wyndham Orange County Weddings