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Laguna’s experts can help create a dream celebration to match any couple’s style.
By Ashley Breeding
With spring in the air and wedding season on the horizon, planners are aflutter finalizing details for their brides’ big day.
“This is the time when we tie everything up with a big, pretty bow,” says Lindsy Swarts, owner and principal planner of Coastal Coordinates in Laguna Beach. She’s been working for some of her clients for over a year to design their dream celebration; other couples enlist her just a couple of months prior to ensure all their own plans are properly executed.
“There is nothing more special than your wedding day,” says Swarts, who married her background in hospitality and a lifelong obsession with weddings to form her business in 2015. “[Planning] is such an intimate process. … Each event is unique and so special. … I can’t get enough of it.”
Swarts takes on full-service planning—from venues to vendors, florals to fare—for many client couples who want their wedding to be special, but whose busy school or career schedules preclude them from managing the myriad details themselves. “With full-service planning, we handle every detail for you,” she says. “It’s truly a white-glove service.”
With coastal weddings, Swarts has seen trends ebb and flow. When choosing which fads to follow, she relies on a survey of the client. “Are you a classic couple? Bohemian? Modern? Romantic?” she shares as examples. “Do you want toes in the sand or a view of the canyon? Are you a music fanatic or is food your priority?” These and other details help her team nail every nuance.
An emerging trend across the spectrum is treating guests to three different experiences throughout the wedding: ceremony, cocktail hour and the reception with dinner and dancing, each taking place in unique parts of the venue and with personalized details that tie together for a cohesive overall event. For couples inviting out-of-town guests, a robust welcome party, preceding an intimate rehearsal dinner, is also popular. In Laguna, smaller weddings (200 guests or fewer) are also “en vogue,” as are modestly elegant events.
For a full trend forecast, some of Laguna’s most coveted vendors offer further insight.
Set the Mood
From bluff-tops overlooking the waves to shady spaces beneath the sycamores, Laguna offers a short list of venues to exchange vows in style. Those seeking a true coastal experience can find it at Montage Laguna Beach, where the oceanfront lawn perches above the pounding waves to boast an idyllic setting—for a ceremony, cocktail party or reception—and where the resort’s master chefs can create a bespoke menu from fresh, organic ingredients. (Indoors, an expansive ballroom features a warmer ambiance for cool, evening affairs).
Farther north, Surf & Sand Resort offers “vows with a view” on its 15FiftyFive outdoor lounge and other terraces overlooking the Pacific, plus multiple ballrooms to accommodate parties of all sizes, plus on-site cocktails and catering.
If whimsy and woods are more your vibe, create your fantasy wedding at Terra at the Festival of Arts grounds, Seven 7 Seven at the Laguna Art-A-Fair grounds, or seven-degrees in Laguna Canyon, or at The Ranch at Laguna Beach, where you can say “I do” with a backdrop of the oaky canyon wilderness. The Harvest Lawn is a popular space at The Ranch, especially at sunset, in addition to the golf course-adjacent patio and cozy outdoor lounge with fire pits.
Other draws include on-site catering from the resort’s signature restaurant, Harvest, where Executive Chef Kyle St. John uses vegetables and herbs from the property’s garden in his dishes; 97 restful rooms for overnight wedding guests; the Sycamore Spa by Hudson, perfect for pre-wedding pampering; and a special Treehouse Suite with premium amenities, including a wraparound deck amid the treetops. The Ranch also boasts easy access to Aliso Beach, just across Coast Highway.
Stylish Touches
For several springs, the popularity of pampas grass and muted floral palettes kept growing. This season, it has finally dried up. Now in demand for outdoor ceremonies, says Swarts, is the “blooming aisle” (or floral aisle-runners) and natural-looking meadowy flowers.
Shannon Yerkovich, founder and principal florist at Cargo Creative, arranges charming displays for all things wedding: ceremonial flowers, bouquets and boutonnieres, table centerpieces, fireplace and lounge vignettes, and her favorite challenge—large-scale installations. “Something like a hanging installation is really unique and fun to make … even though I hate heights,” she jokes. “It’s a ‘wow’ factor.”
Yerkovich often incorporating something unique and unexpected, but, like Swarts, gets a sense of her clients’ vision and style before choosing blooms. About half of Yerkovich’s clients lean toward classic white or ivory (often interspersed with greenery) while the other half opt for color.
While Yerkovich encourages her clients to seek inspiration from visual apps like Pinterest, she cautions that images are often overly edited and not always realistic. For example, “a David Austin rose might look like a dusty peach, but it’s actually an orange-peach.” So be prepared to make concessions. Other sources for ideas, she suggest, include venue photos and wedding photographers’ galleries.
“I love spring blooms, especially ranunculus and peonies, and dahlias for summer,” Yerkovich shares. Other floral trends this season are Pantone’s “Peach Fuzz” Color of the Year, daintier bouquets and single-variety floral arrangements, like all white roses or peonies.
Custom paper goods—welcome signs, escort displays and more—create another “wow” moment, Swarts adds. “I recently commissioned a watercolor artist to paint custom portraits of my couple’s dogs for their signature cocktail signage,” she says.
In other cocktail trends, Champagne towers continue to flow. Bows are also having a moment, affixed to anything from menu cards to tapered table candles. A craving for carving stations remains a hot culinary trend, while wedding cakes return to a more romantic aesthetic with hearts and catchphrases like, “Death ’til us part.” Borrowing from Studio 54 circa the 1970s, disco balls add a flash of fun everywhere from the dance floor to table displays.
Dress to Impress
“This season, brides are going for lots of drama,” Swarts says. Vibrant color, voluminous sleeves and overskirts, and details like lace applique, ruching, sweetheart necklines, and pearls are making a statement. While bodices and below go big, veils are more modest in fingertip-length and blusher (face covering) styles. With the continued trend of a bride slipping into a new look for the reception, fun and flirty party dresses (think sequins, fringe) are popular this season. Also back is the formal jumpsuit, typically worn for a rehearsal dinner.
Whatever your sartorial style or body silhouette, Laguna’s wedding-dress boutiques can help you find the ideal fit. At Laguna Bridal Boutique, browse eclectic collections (for bride and ’maids) from more than 20 esteemed designers. Choose from traditional and tailored to whimsical and fun, and even select the accessories to match.
Seeking a custom design? Look to Yasmin’s Bridal, where owner Yasmin Mallah loves to draw up your dream dress. “Dramatic, bedazzled, long train, full A-line is my signature,” she notes. All pieces are handmade by her atelier in Milan.
“I try to work within a client’s budget—I don’t believe any bride should have to settle or be limited by finances,” says Mallah, whose work once appeared in Vogue and Elle magazines on a celebrity client and who continually dresses brides around the world.
Yasmin’s also offers three sets of measurements, reducing the likelihood of last-minute alterations. She’s also designing her premier ready-to-wear collection and currently carries some ready-to-wear options—think mermaid-cuts, ruffles and other dramatic styles.
Modern brides on a budget will hit the jackpot at Elizabeth Findlay Bridal, where owner Deborah Badillo features samples and consignments from “more contemporary, niche designers” like Tara Lauren, Bo & Luca, and Laila Hafzi. Most are unworn and unaltered designer samples previously used for photo shoots and trunk shows or are from last season; there are also a few classics from previous seasons. “All are in excellent condition,” Badillo notes. Discounts are between 20% and 50% off—marked down even more if slight repairs are needed—and available to take home that day—perfect for last-minute brides.
If overwhelmed by so many options, consider this: “Pay attention to your intuition and how a dress makes you feel,” Badillo advises. “It should make you feel beautiful and should also be comfortable and easy to move around in. … The same [applies] to shoes. You’ll be on your feet all day. If you want height, try a platform or chunky heel.”
Glow All Night
Even wedding photography and videography are seeing a new era with the dawn of “cinematic, editorial style,” Swarts says. In place of traditional portraits, couples are requesting more candid photographs and thoughtful artistry within them. Sessions are even timed for the golden hour before sunset to capitalize on the sun’s warm, glowing light.
To look your “natural” best, Laura Linsenmayer, owner of Roots The Beauty Underground, offers these must-haves: sunless-tanner-kissed skin with a casual contour, ½-set lash extensions, berry-stained lips, full brows, and teeth-whitener by planet- and people-friendly brands.
Linsenmayer also likes what she calls a “kitten eye” instead of a cat eye (visit her shop to learn more), as well as applying the same color to lids and cheeks for “monochromatic drama.” To “make eyes pop,” sweep on an eyeshadow color directly opposite your eye color on the color wheel. Help your lip shade last by first filling in your pout with a lip liner matching “the prettiest color in your natural lip,” she explains. “Always set with a sheer finishing powder and makeup-setting spray to ensure all-day wear.”
