Maravilla Gardens Wedding / Ali + Mike

Weddings

Feb 14

It has been too long to write about this wedding, but I still needed to do it! Ali and Mike’s Maravilla Gardens wedding is one I will never forget and definitely my shining moment as a wedding planner. These two will always be very near and dear to me as we went through the unthinkable together!

Ali and Mike had originally planned to marry at Triunfo Creek Vinyard in the Malibu hills. From the beginning, we designed and planned their wedding around that venue. An indoor ceremony, and outdoor reception. That November, the Malibu fires had started and the week of their wedding they were ablaze in the Malibu hills. I’ll never forget waking up around 6:30 that Friday, turning on the news, and just having this awful feeling inside. I knew these fires were trouble for our wedding that weekend. For the next 7-8 hours I was glued to my phone and checking my email like a madwoman. The adrenaline was real. Hours later when I came up for air, we had secured a new venue after confirming it would not be possible to get to Triunfo Creek. At that point, we just hoped the venue would survive the fire and were thrilled there was another location available.

Jen at Maravilla Gardens gracefully opened her doors for us after they had already closed down for the season. In an incredible effort by our vendor partners and the families, we were able to relocate and pull together an amazing wedding for Ali and Mike in just one day.

From our first meeting Ali had told me how much she loved disco balls and wanted to include that fun design element into the wedding. So, we did! We hung disco balls big and small from one of the tree’s in the bar area where we also hung their custom neon sign! Ali added some disco shine to her look as well with her glittered boots and beautiful hair piece.

Maravilla Gardens Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was full of laughs. Ali and Mike are both so silly and you really saw that in their vows to each other. They were 100% real, and the guests laughed and smiled through the entire ceremony.

The disco shine continued to the reception with pink sequin table linens! Our dinner reception at Triunfo was meant to be outside. The setting at Marvilla with the gorgeous hills in the backdrop was the perfect substitute. The couple and I both felt like we achieved the same look and feeling we had intended with the original venue which was a relief!

A sweet touch on the tables were the pots that were hand painted by the bride.

The feelings I remember on this day were relief and satisfaction knowing we were able to make Ali and Mike’s wedding happen despite having to relocate the wedding within a day. I also felt so much love and joy. The day felt extra meaningful after the stress and worry that everyone had gone through the past 24 hours. I remember first seeing Ali at the rehearsal that Friday. We just HUGGED! It was like, we made it!

I’m so grateful that my path crossed with these two. What an experience to go through together. Again, we could not have done this without the best team of vendors working so efficiently to make the day happen. It takes a village!