100 Layer Cake

Two things immediately caught our attention when we came across Ren + John’s wedding: Ren’s jeweled Miu Miu’s and Lloyd Wright’s Wayfarer Church they married in. Both are architectural beauties. Of course after we jumped in, we were inspired by the Art Deco details in their invites & cake, bursts of color in each of the bridesmaid dresses, and the escort card installation by Alchemy Fine Events. Aside from the pretty details, we particularly like their love story.

Their invitations, designed by Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations were a great inclination of the splashy event to come. With a bold art deco inspired palette of b& w, they layered illustrations of butterflies and lined the black envelopes with a contrasting fuchsia.

R + J started off as high school sweethearts in Seattle. After high school, John got the unfortunate news that he had to move south, to San Diego. Years passed and they both went their separate ways seeing other people until one day, by pure happenstance, they ran into each other. They weren’t alone though. Each had their significant other at the time by their side. To our surprise nothing followed that casual hello until another few years later when Ren received a letter John had sent to her childhood home. As you can imagine, that letter was the beginning of how this wedding came to be.

Their escort card display looks like a little art installation, doesn’t it? We love it. Alchemy Fine Events created this statement piece by hanging bright colorful ribbon with plexiglass letters spelling out ‘Forever’.

Alchemy Fine Events chats about designing the reception: For the reception decor we wanted to create a colorful and striking atmosphere for their Hollywood studded guests who we knew were looking to have a good time! We started with a bold b&w striped linen at the base of each table then created custom Thai silk ikat table runners in a variety of colors to layer above. Sleek mirrored vases and cubes boasted tropical orchids and mini cala lilies in shades of ebony to orange to fuchsia. To keep it all fun, each table featured different color combinations of silk table runners and floral color palette.

Remember how we mentioned they had a chance encounter with each other years after their high school romance? Well… that letter John had sent to Ren, that’s it above. They had it blown up and on display on a big red plexiglass heart for all guests to read.

They ended the night on a sweet note with a Southern Cali favorite, Sweet Lucie’s ice cream, yes!

A few words from Ren: Really try and stick with the image you have for your wedding, and keep it as personal as possible. We had sooo many compliments on how the whole experience came off “so us”. We really wanted every single one of our guests to feel like they were there to celebrate and share in a fun, exciting and wild memory with us. I never could have done it without my dear friend Vanessa, who was more then open and willing to make some of my less than traditional ideas come alive! Make sure you are making this day everything the two of you want it to be despite what others may say. There’s ALWAYS going to be people who don’t agree with everything you want but it’s not about them so take the comments with a grain of salt and do what you want anyway!

Congrats Ren + John!

Photography: Luna Photo / Event design & planning: Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations / Invitation design: Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations / Ceremony venue: Wayfarers Chapel in Palos Verdes / Reception venue: Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica / Catering: Urth Cafe / Mixologist: The Martini Shop / DJ: The Flashdance / Videography: Shark Pig / Make up & hair: Jennifer Budner / Lighting: Heart Beat Productions / Furniture rentals: Luxe Events / Ice cream cart: Sweet Lucie’s / Cake: Cupcakes Couture / Bride’s dress: Allison Simone / Shoes: Miu Miu / Bridesmaid dresses: Yanak