Classic Black and White Wedding at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel

"I am such a girly girl so when planning my wedding it came so naturally to me. I had been planning my own wedding since I was a little girl with my mom! We both love to throw big parties. I had watched a lot of reality TV with my mom on the couch for example in 2000 with the Bachelorette that became really big on TV and they filmed Trista and Ryan’s wedding, I knew I wanted a wedding that big and beautiful. My mom was a lot of my inspiration for my wedding color palette and décor choices because growing up she would throw the most gorgeous detailed parties with fine china, amazing flowers, and elegance. So I think with her inspiration and my more modern and cool vibes, I knew that I wanted it to be timeless, elegant, and modern chic (to represent me). I wanted the color palette to be fresh, organic, and to use the nature that was already there as much as I could for the ceremony. Plus we had the most gorgeous backdrop of the ocean and cliffs in the background, I wanted a lot of the focus on that during the ceremony. I also played a lot with the Ritz Carlton vibes. It is stunning at this property but very beachy modern. Nick and I wanted to show our guests why we live in Orange County because of this 50-million-dollar ocean view. I didn’t want to twist too many colors, so the perfect palate for me would be matte gold, black, white, and cream. Some of my favorite décors were the hanging florals from the ceiling, the black velvet table cloths and napkins, and the crystal chandeliers for cocktail hour. I loved the open back bars at the reception so they didn’t block the ocean view. I am huge on lighting, so I wanted candlelight to set the mood. I wanted people at my own wedding to fall in love all over again with their significant other."