Paradise Found Wedding in L.A.
Paradise Found Wedding in L.A.
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Isn't love grand?! Don't you wish you could escape into your own personal paradise when you are with your special someone? That's just what the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens did for Chad and Sami's paradise found wedding. A lush green hide away in the middle of the concrete chaos of L.A. that made it incredibly easy to forget you were at an inner city venue. With a fresh color scheme of peach and turquoise and lighthearted elements, like a paper airplane toss and a milk and donut bar, we are sure you will not want this wedding to end!
Need more ideas for your own perfect paradise wedding? Be sure to check out the full gallery here. There you can see even more of the gorgeous images captured by Danielle Capito Photography. Plus, keep reading to hear how Chad proposed to Sami and to find out just how much this paradise found wedding in L.A. cost.
From the Bride:
Chad and I met at work when I was leading a week-long workshop where he was a participant. He was never my favorite student. He asked too many questions during my presentations. He emailed me before and after class with a lot of useless feedback. I thought he was giving me a hard time. By the time he asked me out a few weeks later, I was so shocked that I didn't give him an answer. I finally realized that he was simply nervous all those times and not mean-spirited. After plenty of scheduling difficulties, we had our first date. It was a BAD date. So bad, that he promised me the following week that our "2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on" would be better. He kept his end of the bargain and we've been happily together ever since.
Photographer: Danielle Capito Photography
Venue: Los Angeles River Center and Gardens
Hair & Makeup & Cake: Susie Chhour
Caterer: Furiwa CateringDress Designer: Tadashi Shoji
Reception Dresses: Monique Lhuillier
Bridesmaid Dresses: BHLDN
Groom's Attire: Tommy Hilfiger
Shoe Designer: Badgley Mischka
Wedding Donuts and Cake Pops: Donut Farm
DJ: Photobooth: Drunken Pixels
Officiant: Kevin Wesolowski
Rentals: Imperial Party Rental
Milk: Wesen Farm (Chad's family dairy farm) | Coordinator: Vanni Mach | Flowers: Emmy Kim Liu (bride's cousin)
Read on to hear just how Chad proposed and see how much this paradise found wedding in L.A. cost. Please note that costs change as the years go by, and prices are subject to change. This is just one couple's breakdown to give you a rough estimate on how much a wedding like this may cost you.
From the Bride:
Chad and I were doing long distance before he proposed. I was working in DC while he was working in Djibouti, Africa. In trying to keep some semblance of a normal relationship, we often played Scrabble together online. I typically won. After 6 months of doing long distance , we decided to meet in Dubai to ring in 2012. Knowing that the desert is one of my favorite places in the world, Chad scheduled a group desert excursion for us. I was confused when the car showed up empty with only the driver inside. Chad said that the other people canceled. I said "Awesome" and high-fived him. As the sun was about to set, Chad asked if I was hungry because he brought us some snacks. He asked the driver to park so we could snack on some fruits, cheese and crackers. While my mouth was full of crackers, Chad asked that we play one last Scrabble game in 2011. I thought he was joking until he pulled out a Scrabble board game. When I opened the Scrabble board, there were letter tiles spelling out: Sami, will you marry me? As I screamed YES, the driver brought out a bottle of champagne letting me know that the excursion was meant for just the two of us all along. It was the best scrabble game ever.
Our budget was $40,000 and we stayed under it! High fives all around!!
Catering:$19,600 Food is very important to us. Eating is my favorite part of the day.
Venue:$5,500
Rentals:$1,800
Invitations and Stationary:$200 Besides our Save the Date and Thx You cards, everything else was electronic. Go Green!
Photographer, Photobooth and DJ:$3,650
Guest Favors, Sunglasses, Pashimas, Bus Rental, and Post Wedding Brunch:$2,750 We LOVE our guests. They mean the world to us. It was a very guest-centric wedding.
Attire:$3,400
Flowers and Decorations:$1,000
Jewelry:$2,000
Total: $39,900