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From Red Ribbon Studio… Hillary and Jon were married on the lawn of the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. An amazing feast followed at the coolest wedding table I’ve ever seen, one long table for all 100 guests. It felt like dining with royalty! Every detail was perfect but not overdone. Just right. Simple elegance at its best. Paired with a lot of fun too, including one of the best wedding dance-offs I’ve ever seen, between Hillary and a very energetic dancing guest! Jon’s trusty canine best friend, Andy, was the flower girl. Hillary and Jon are the sweetest couple. I love their story, they dated in high school, went their separate ways for a while, but found their way back to each other. Thanks to Rebecca with Red Letter Day Events for awesome coordination and Annette Gomez for such pretty flowers to photograph.

From the Bride… My husband Jon and I are originally from Las Vegas, but we wanted to be married in a place that was both relatively close and still felt like a vacation. San Diego is one of our favorite cities and has some personal significance because my mother is a native and my parents were married there. We went for a weekend to check out possible wedding sites, and I drug Jon to about 10 venues, all of which Jon displayed mild interest in. When we stopped at our last venue, the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, my previously disinterested fiance got extremely excited and said “We HAVE to get married here”. We loved the Inn’s feel: casual yet really refined. We also loved that, because it was a historic building, it would always be a place for us to return to and relive the magic of our wedding day.

Once we had the venue, we knew we needed a great coordinator to help us do everything from afar. Rebecca from Red Letter Days totally got my vision, had amazing ideas and was patient enough to put up with my 30-page wedding power point deck (which I showed to anyone who would show even the mildest bit of interest). I really lucked out because my friend and fellow book club member Maribeth Romslo just happens to be a world class wedding photographer and was willing to travel from Minneapolis for the big day. How lucky am I! With the venue, coordinator and photographer in place, we could really narrow in on the look and tone of the day.

Because I am a brand manager by profession, it was really important to me that my wedding looked and felt really cohesive from every single touch point. From the website to the floral arrangements to the napkins, I wanted it to feel elegant and romantic but not be overdone or stuffy. We wanted the evening to be mostly outdoors and to have distinct areas for each part of wedding that would flow into each other perfectly but would also build up to the big party at the end. I wanted the property’s Spanish style architecture, gardens and natural beauty to be showcased, so we opted for almost no color. Everything was shades of white and ivory with a few gold accents.

One of our favorite places at the Inn is the huge Brazilian pepper tree on the croquet lawn and it was the perfect backdrop for our vows. We wanted the ceremony to be really simple and focus on us coming together as a family. Our siblings all participated, our dear friend performed the ceremony and our dog Andy acted as the flower girl. We chose to have Flamenco guitar for processional music and during the ceremony. Our guitarist, Anthony Garcia, was just amazing and gave the ceremony the perfect feel.

It was a dream of mine to have all 100 guests at one long table. I wanted the dinner to feel like a fun outdoor dinner party vs. a standard wedding so we had it on an enclosed lawn in a relatively small space. We timed the dinner to be after sunset so the area was lit only by candles and strung lighting.Walking into the dinner area with that huge table filled with white candles and white flowers and lights strung everywhere was one of my favorite parts of the evening. Rebecca had the brilliant idea to bring in a grand piano on the lawn and the music, lighting and ambiance made it a magical dinner. Kudos to Annette Gomez for the gorgeous design, my wedding coordinators Mia and Rebecca for making it happen and the Inn for perfect execution. Once the dinner commenced, we went to an adjacent ballroom for dancing. We wanted this area to have more of a lounge feel so we brought in all white furniture and just used candles with minimal flowers. I wanted to keep the party energy up, so we brought in an espresso bar right off the dance floor and it was a huge hit with guests. The only downside was that I was still wide awake at 4:00 am!

Wedding Photography: Red Ribbon Studio / Venue: Inn at Rancho Santa Fe / Wedding Dress: Monique L’huillier / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Veil: Borrowed / Make-up + Hair: Claire Young / Bridesmaid Dresses: Custom Flutter Boutique / Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss / Planning: Red Letter Day Events / Floral Design: Annette Gomez / Invitations: Bella Figura / Calligraphy: Sue Strumwasser / Wedding Cake + Dessert: Elizabethan Desserts / Sign-In Table Design: Amy Strodl at Varnish Design / Flamenco Guitar: Antony Garcia / Reception Music: The Money Band

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Annette Gomez, Antony Garcia, Bella Figura, Claire Young, Elizabethan Desserts, Flutter Boutique, Hugo Boss, Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, Jimmy Choo, Monique Lhuillier, Red Letter Day Events, Red Ribbon Studio, Sue Strumwasser, The Money Band, Varnish Design
Post categories: Casual Elegance, The Blog

Add another LBB super-star to the team, Dawn Stone of Embellishmint Floral and Event Design Studio, and voila!…an extraordinary melange of floral treats and accoutrements that were the talk of the evening.

Floral Sushi…

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful? Rebecca referred to Andrea and Scott’s wedding colors as black, white, and wasabi green. Pretty clever!

According to Rebecca …

From the get go, Andrea and Scott set out to create a wedding that celebrated what they value most: each other, their family and friends, self-expression, and creativity. Andrea and Scott met in Los Angeles where they were both sound mixers for television and film (Andrea worked for several years on The Real World and Scott worked for Bunim Murray Productions). With a clear but very open vision, the couple let creativity reign supreme from scouting an urban venue for the event to selecting the best match for our floral and event design partner, Embellishmint Floral and Event Design Studio.

Dawn Stone and her team at Embellishmint created contemporary personal florals that complimented the clean look of Andrea and Scott’s attire.

Andrea and Scott wanted an Asian-inspired theme to set the stage for (but not overpower) their décor.  Music was VERY important to the couple–and was a defining element of the event.  And the cake … oohh the cake! It served as a focal point that brought all theme, color and personality together.

The escort card table was stunning with the “floral sushi”.

Bamboo centerpieces strung with votives, and screens upshot with lighting brought warmth and play to all levels of the room.

The rooftops of downtown San Diego framed the magic of their ceremony and the Manchester Grand Hyatt served as a perfect place to celebrate with friends, family and loved ones.

Jay Reilly masterfully captured the love and fun that flowed, as well as the unique beauty of the environment and people.

The team of vendors who partnered to actualize Andrea and Scott’s day were a perfect fit and are folks that we  at Red Letter Days refer often.

Kudos to:

Venue/Cake/Catering: Manchester Grand Hyatt

Floral Design: Embellishmint Floral and Event Design Studio

Photography: Jay Reilly Weddings

Videography: TangerineVideo Productions

Linens/Chair Covers/Lighting: Concepts Event Design

Ceremony Chairs: Classic Party Rentals

Officiant: Reverend Mark Smith

Entertainment: Pianist Lee Galloway/DJ Miz Sku

Bridal Salon: M Bride

Gown Designer: Angel Sanchez

Hair Styling and Makeup Artistry: Gila Rut

Invitations: Invitation Consultants

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Asian Inspired, California Weddings, Color Palette Black White Green, Embellishmint Floral and Event Design Studio, Event Design, Floral Design, Floral Sushi, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Red Letter Day Events, San Diego, Table Settings
Post categories: Contemporary, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Wedding Decor, Wedding Flowers, Wedding Planners & Designers