Wild Vegan Winter Wedding

Ninjas, seriously? If anybody could pull this off, it was Candace and Josh, who got married at the Malibu Nature Preserve. Their first dance was accompanied by Kermit the frog and all in an elegant pimento, gold decor with pine cones and wrought iron candelabras, lots of nature - the bride wore linen shoes but did not hike up to the ceremony site ... Read more...

Mountain Mermaid Prep Time

12/6/2008. 10:00 am, Bill Buerge, Angelica Weihs Events and Classic Party, the eco-friendly rental guys, are setting up. Task: to keep the eccentric feel of the Mermaid villa, the antic tables and armchairs present and use as much of the available furniture as possible but still get enough 60 inch tables and Chiavari chairs into the layout that 120 guests can find a seat. It was not supposed to look "set-up", the idea was deconstruction from centerpiece to design. Matching the theatrical crowd, there was no assigned seating and the time line was kept a la mode, fluid, which means for the planner to be at the pulse of the crowd at all times.... Of course we also needed to keep space for the dance floor and theater stage in front of the fire place. After an hour of shuffling and schlep it looked just perfect. The rustic Adobe linens from BBJ contrasted with burgundy Damast napkins, fit the Mermaid like a glove.

The decision to do copper in the kitchen turned out amazing and the 55 extra candles added a bit of medieval feel to the 30ties style. When Shirvan's flowers and candelabras arrived at 1:00 pm we were ready for them to rock the stage while Don Kreindler and his crew jumped under the kitchen structure and prepared amazing food. Handsome staff, Don! and not just great to look at. As a wedding planner I am absolutely grateful for attentive staff who pays attention to details and helps with more than just what the job describes.
We are anxiously awaiting the photos from Rebecca/Docuvitae and Dana Hargitay.

The eccentric Culture Couple

Rebecca and Harry were married on December 5, 2008 in one of the Chateau M's garden suites, they call them bungalows. The intimate ceremony will be followed today by an eclectic, eccentric, sophisticated Bohemian reception at the Mountain Mermaid in Topanga. 120 guests of the theatre, media and movie scene, artists and a bunch of other nice people...
Tonight, Arsine from Shirvan Design did her flowers (local and/or organic) and sent a taste. Angelica Weihs from Angeliquevents will polish the final design of the Mermaid's historic dwellings and then spread her coordinating magic....

A green wedding with lots of class and pizazz...

Since I was a little girl....

Just a decade ago you had to be a "rebel bride" to get what you really want, but like Suffragettes, the pushy brides of yesterday have opened the road for as much creativity as we can handle, actually the more the better. The obligation of "having to go to a wedding", which many guests might have moaned about before, is obsolete as receptions have become exciting even adventurous. Not everybody integrates hang gliding, hikes and helicopters. But in an amazing place like Topanga, California you can ride into your reception at the Mountain Mermaid and be horse whispered at by your guests (loud cheering would spook the animal) . Georgeann, a Topanga resident saves horses and allows them to have a wonderful life on her property. She offered to give one of my brides riding lessons and to make her grand entrance not just spectacular but heart warming: that's what horses do, says Georgeann, they inspire the longing for freedom and they heal people. More soon...