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DeliciousOk family… After weeks of drudgery over trying to find THE location, I’ve decided it comes down to TODAY. I am on my way to see our LAST AND FINAL place & THEN I am going to force myself to stop the madness & make a decision! It’s come down to an indoor/outdoor historic location in Pasadena (not very close-by & not as “va va voom” perhaps as BH), & the one I’ve fallen in love with in BH with the “Old Hollywood feel” but with more restrictions than the Catholic boarding school I grew up in. I truly can’t imagine any location being able to knock the “boarding school” locale out of the box…but I’m actually hoping against hope that the “Pasadena underdog” will be so magnificent that I’ll have no choice but to skip “rules central” and go with a place that has indoor plumbing and no risk of sunburn. See, I’ve got my heart set on a beautiful setting such as this:
Courtesy of End Design
I didn’t say my wallet necessarilly has ITS heart set on this setting, but hopefully, there can be a compromise between the two. I mean really, don’t the candles & (manzanita?) trees make you think you’ve entered an enchanted forest!? Do I NEED an indoor location to create this kind of a feel????? Me thinks so. (Oh & there’s also that Drakonian no-candle mandate at the “boarding school” place -but darn, the locale is just so beautiful, it kind of makes you think there’s no choice but to sign up at the nunnery! ) What to do!?? Let’s hope option #2, all the way out in the Pasadena boondocks with shade and indoor plumbing is a keeper! (I’ll know better instantly upon viewing it). Maybe it will even come with tables, chairs & (hold your breath) dishes! Help wedding fairies, Help! 
Ok, it’s decision time…off to see the last & final contender…wish me luck!…
UP NEXT:
The importance of a sane & sound wedding planner…
Funny, funny! That image i simply beautiful. I think you can create that type of a scene indoors or out, with the proper tenting, etc. If you find a way to do it on a budget, do keep us posted!
Well, what did you decide? What did you decide?!
Darn it! I’m more confused now than ever! The “underdog” is a definite contender! I’m mulling it over & will update asap!!!!
My husband and I had manzanita centerpieces with a variety of orchids attached to the branches, and I also wanted the hanging candles just like in your photo! But the Dorothy Chandler wouldn’t allow it.
We had to settle for votives on the table. I did love that our floral designer put tiny succulents in the base of the centerpiece (I love the textural component of succulents). I actually still have one of my manzanita centerpieces, and it’s been over 5 years!
From a photographic standpoint, the right lighting can really add atmosphere to your event AND to your photos. Candlelight, uplighting, strings of white lights, lanterns, spotlights on centerpieces….
Good luck on your decision!
Donna
Wow RL!! You used manzanitas & recommend them?? Fabu!!! You are so full of helpful hints & great advice, I’m loving you! So would your vote to be to eschew the locale w/no (burning flame) candles, beautiful as it may be??
You also said you were a foodie! We live Sherman Oaks…if you’re ever in the area, you should really stop by our little digs for ( living) cheesecake, really!!
Hi, earthcafelady! I love the organic shape of manzanitas and their minimalistic beauty. My husband and I were going for a pseudo-Asian/minimalism theme with our flowers. I’m not a massive-5-foot-tall-gushing-roses-out-of-an-urn-centerpiece-kind-of-girl.
We also had simple “columns” of horsetail on contemporary, yet simple, wooden platforms at our altar.
It’s hard to say which way my vote would go since I don’t know what the other location looks like (or maybe I do….are the initials of this property CG?)…
I would love to try the (living) cheesecake! Thanks for the invite, that was sweet.
I know this place. It is wonderful. I weenth there some time ago. Great choice!
Hi Candy!
Thanks for all the comments on my blog and for stopping by! Congrats to you on your engagement and upcoming wedding. The decor in the photo above is gorgeous!! Yes, it looks like an enchanted forest and it’s beautiful!
I love the picture, very romantic and fun. That, mixed with vegan food will create such a wonderful, enlightened atmosphere!
Your father sounds like a jerk. Good for you for standing by your beliefs. Anyone who’s really your friend or worth their salt will support you, keep that in mind!
The article is very good. Write please more
veganbride.com – cool!!!!
So glad you found our picture aka wedding reception with orchid tree centerpieces and lots of candlelight (end-design.com) . I love your blog and think you are on the right track to a fabulous wedding! This thought is always inspiring to me and sounds like the road your on “EVERY TRULY GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT IS AT FIRST IMPOSSIBLE” Reading your thoughts I would definitely opt for a location that allows candlelight, but if not LED candlelight works but can be more pricey. I lot of people quoted Manzanita Branches, but that is not what we used, I wanted to create a large design with delicate branches that were upwards of 12′ft in length giving the room a garden arbor like effect, Manzanita becomes very bulky and thick at those lengths along with very heavy so would not have worked well atop 30 tables. The Wedding was based in Napa Valley so we were able to use local branches that were airy, delicate and whimsical – the bride had her heart set on Cherry Blossoms but her wedding was a month too late so we hand wired blushing ochids to the branches, even though the image is beautiful it was nothing compared to that wedding, it looked like a magical fairy land. Alicia Silverstone and her husband were guests at that wedding, happy to say they loved the design to so we had the privellage of producing their VEGAN ECO FRIENDLY WEDDING the next year. One of my tricks for no cost branches, foliage or fabulous greenery is getting in touch with local tree trimmers its amazing what a day of triming trees brings in, some of the best, tall gorgeous assortments in lengths never sold at the local floral markets, plus theres no charge.
Thanks for the great info!
Oh END DESIGN…Wow wow wow! I love that quote, I love the advice, & I L=O=V=E your tip for getting in touch w/local tree trimmers! Fantastic!I’m hitting this one on the double! You sooo are a creative genius! Thank you!
C
Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…
Hello. My name is Chris. I’m new to this blog, nice job.
Thank you all for the warm thoughts & encouragement!!!
C
[...] Inspiration from Vegan Bride [...]
These decorations are gorgeous!! I am a huge fan of the lighting and was wondering how many candles were used per table (on the trees as well as in the center of the table). I was also wondering what type of fabric was hung, it looked sheer in some of the other pictures so I wasn’t sure what type it was.