Food
Hotel Maya, Long Beach Oceanfront Wedding | Wonhee + Sungmin
Mar 23rd
Who needs a destination wedding in Hawaii when you could bring the sea to you? Having lived so close to the coast in southern California, Wonhee and Sungmin have always wanted to go sailing. Their wedding was at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach, across from the gorgeous harbor of Long Beach. The inspiration board allowed for this nautical themed wedding to be unique, fun, and elegant as we had a chance to play with the dessert bar by incorporating cute donut lifesavers!
At the ceremony, ropes resembling those of boats, lined the aisle and were incorporated in the brides bouquet. The bride and groom had their very own personalized stationary with an anchor design as well as custom linens and napkins. The ring pillow had an anchor design as well. We got creative with the bride and groom sign using the nautical inspiration and created the captain and first mate sign! The personalized dance floor monogram was an eye catcher for all of the guests.
With a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and the wedding’s beautiful light blue, navy, light grey and soft butter details, Wonhee and Sungmin invited their guests to come sail away with them on their next journey together. Studio EMP did a fabulous job with the photography at the wedding!
Vibiana Downtown Los Angeles Wedding l Tina + Jonathan
Jul 2nd
A melodious wedding in a timeless venue, Tina and Jonathan were the sweetest couple with unique ideas for their special day. We invested 10 months planning this wedding, all beginning with the couple’s engagement session. The ceremony was held at the Vibiana in Downtown Los Angeles. The formal Cathedral of St. Vibiana dates back to 1876. The cathedral is modeled after the Italian Baroque style, that is dramatic yet tasteful. Key elements to this wedding design were pieces of sheet music used in several different ways. The addition of candle light during the reception added warmth to the white floral and the venue itself. One of our favorite elements was designing and styling the dessert table on the vintage piano and vintage furniture. A special thank you to Callaway Gable for the amazing photographs!
Hilton Universal Hotel Wedding Mixer Event
Apr 29th
Wednesday, 3:30pm. Traffic time. I had 30 minutes to go from West LA ->Hilton Universal for a wedding mixer event. Go! go! go!
Mission impossible?
Made it on time to destination (Ok, arrival time 4:02 p.m.):
Made it to the Ballroom A by 4:10 p.m:
Had about 45 minutes to set up our table before the Mixer started and had it all set with 5 minutes remaining:
Table setup help from FlowersonMars and Dessert Runway.
Doors open to clients @ 5p.m. Showtime!
Katie in action.
The event was until 7:30pm and it was successfully executed.
Mission Accomplished.
Whew~ 
Going Green With Catering
Apr 15th
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Weddings of course would not be complete without a wonderful meal and drinks after the ceremony to celebrate the union of the happy couple. So why not make the most Eco-conscious choice and hire an organic caterer? You can even go so far as to have a vegetarian, vegan, or raw meal prepared (or at least for those guests you know do not eat meat). With all the choices out there, you are sure to find a menu that will suit your budget, taste buds and event theme.
- photo by Eco Caters
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To find a little organic food culinary inspiration, the Bella Destinee team attended an event held by EcoStiletto at Rolling Greens Nursery in West Hollywood for Anna Getty’s new “Easy Green Organic” cookbook.
- photo by EcoStiletto
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The food was colorful and plentiful, but our favorites were the crustini topped with a delightful goat cheese frittata and the flavorful coconut cookies. Who said organic cooking was boring and bland? Not us!
- Anna Getty’s green cooking
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Another bonus, Nicobella chocolates in several flavors were served that were deliciously divine and are organic too! I could definitely see a couple using these as party favors in a cute box or as part of a decadent dessert bar.
- Nicobella chocolates
To this Eco-conscious planner, the extra cost of buying organic and using a green caterer are worth every cent. After all the wedding is the start of your life together, perhaps with children down the road, so it’s important to make responsible choices. Consider choosing a caterer that follows sustainable practices, uses the best organic ingredients, and will help make a meal that will be both super healthy and tasty too!
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Wolfgang Puck Catering Event @ the Annenberg Community Beach House.
Mar 18th
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The beautiful sunny weather was perfect for an event at a beach house in Santa Monica. Wolfgang Puck’s catering event was held at the Santa Monica’s Annenberg Community Beach House.
For this particular venue, you literally get what you see. Its floor to ceiling high glass walls hold a vision in itself from the beach’s beautiful bright mornings to the dreamy evening sunsets.
The nature’s natural light illuminates the beach house during the day until the sunset’s golden rays slowly set. Its simple modern design and wide space makes this venue versatile for variety of events.
Throughout Wolfgang’s Catering event, I felt like I’ve become a food critic/food judge in one of the Food Network shows, paying attention to the food’s every detail: presentation, taste, creativity, etc. The only differences were that my opinions about Wolfgang’s catering food was not going to make or break an aspiring cook’s culinary career and my palette may not be as refined as a professional food judges.
Introducing the evening’s food critics: the lovely Katie Lee, Ana Vick, and myself.
And of course, Wolfgang Puck’s catering food:
The desserts:
Amongst the judges, there were a lot of “Hmm~ that’s interesting”, “Mmm, this is good”, and “Wow, never would’ve thought these would go well together” ‘s. Every bite was a different and fun experience for the panel. My personal favorites were the ceviche and popcorn concoction and the lavender marshmallows! The strong taste of the ceviche was well balanced by the mild buttery taste of the popcorn and the marshmallows were just delectable–it was very innovative and tasty
After the tastings, we took some photos with dear friends and the team:
And you can’t leave an event without favors!!!
Yummy madeline cookies with its recipe sheet in WP mugs and beach sandals!
It was a fun and memorable Wednesday evening at the beach*
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