Planning a Small Event at Home

This year is going to be all about small events and intimate gatherings held at home! Whether it’s a bridal shower, birthday bash, engagement party, baby shower or a fun night with friends, it’s the perfect time to celebrate. 

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CHOOSE A THEME - This can be as simple as a color scheme or design style or something more specific, just make sure that the theme is cohesive throughout the entire event.

FINALIZE THE MENU - Create some fun cocktails and decide on your menu. This can be as simple or elaborate as you like from cooking at home on your own to ordering pizza making boxes for each guest as a hands on activity to hiring a caterer or private chef. We love interactive food stations and specialty dessert carts to elevate the overall experience.

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LAYOUT AND DESIGN - Choose the ideal location at your home! Whether you have a killer backyard, a large balcony, an amazing pool or the perfect indoor/outdoor combo, use the best features of your home to your advantage and plan your layout around that. Your design should also be base on your environment and what will work best in the space. Get creative and have fun with it!

ACTIVATIONS - Your guests will always remember the moments of your event where they were a part of the experience. Consider adding elements where your guests are hands-on. This could be an interactive dinner, create your own cocktails, a photo op, game night, outdoor movies, etc. The options are endless to make an impact on your guests.

HIRE A PLANNER - A planner will help you strategize and optimize your space while helping you build a dream team of vendors. Your planner will guide you on budget allocation, the layout and flow of the event and advise you in the ways to best follow current government regulations to have a safe and stress free event.

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Events are about having fun and enjoying the time with your friends and family. Planning a small gathering may seem overwhelming in these sensitive times, and that’s where we come in to guide you in the right direction. Let’s celebrate together!

How to Choose Bridesmaids Dresses for ALL Shapes and Sizes.


You’ve found “the dress” and now it’s time to find dresses for your best girlfriends standing by your side - your Bridesmaids! Your ladies should feel confident standing next to you, so how do you find one that looks amazing on everyone?

Consider these options:

Choose a color palette instead of one particular hue.

Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange+County+Wedding+Planner

Mix and match dress styles. This option works to allow each of your girls to highlight their best features.

Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner

Want all your bridesmaids to wear the same dress? There are universal styles to flatter all body types, so let your bridal consultant know this is what you want and they’ll be more than happy to show you those options.

Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner

Some sites to help you get started: BHLDN, David’s Bridal, Lulus

For my own wedding, I went the route of letting them choose their own dresses with photo examples & a guide regarding: color, length, and overall style. My bridesmaids were so excited to start shopping and to show me pictures of what they found! On wedding day, they looked gorgeous and complemented each other so well!

Whatever you decide, remember to enjoy the process!

VENDOR CREDITS

VENUES

The Ranch Laguna Beach | The Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel | The Grove of Redlands

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Mood Photo & Video | Studio 7 Photography | Jennifer Costa Photography | Tiffany Perry Photography | Roxy Rodriguez

FLORISTS

Growing Grace Floral | Flower Allie | The Bloom of Time | White Sakuras | Posey Pop

How to Plan A Destination Wedding

Planning a destination wedding is so exciting but can also feel daunting with so many options and factors to consider. When my fiancé and I started to plan our wedding, we knew a destination was perfect for us as we love to travel, were looking to have a smaller wedding and wanted our wedding to be a weekend of celebration with our friends and family. 

5 steps to plan your destination wedding:

  1. Choose Your Destination

The main factors to consider are the vibe you are looking for and all the elements that would impact your big day like weather, temperature, climate, international versus domestic travel, cost of travel and the vision you have for your big day. 

Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner

2. Find Your Venue

Destination venues sometimes work differently than local venues, so research options to make sure you find the right venue for you whether that be a hotel, luxury resort, private estate or oceanfront oasis.

Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner

3. Book Your Planner

We chose to fly out our Planner from LA because we wanted someone we love, know and trust. You can choose to find someone locally as well, but the main important thing is to hire a planner. Life changing. As a bride and a planner myself, it is necessary. 

Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner

4. Find Your Vendors

Book your vendors early to allow for any extra time needed for travel logistics. Your venue and planner are great resources to find amazing vendors. Instagram is a great tool as well!

Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner

5. Finalize the Logistics

Make sure you know your destinations’ policies for marriage licenses, book your own travel, coordinate and book your honeymoon plans, connect with your guests and make sure they are situated with their travel and know the plan for the wedding weekend. 

Orange County Wedding Planner
Orange County Wedding Planner

As a bride myself, we are getting married in Maui in June 2021 and we could not be more excited! It was the perfect tropical setting with amazing weather, climate, food we love and the most relaxing setting to spend an amazing weekend with our wedding guests. Cheers to your destination wedding!

Wedding Planner - Level Events

Photography - Studio 7 Photography | Jennifer Costa Photography | Mood Photo & Video | Tiffany Perry Photography

Venue - The Ranch Laguna Beach | The Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel | Terranea Resort | The Grove of Redlands

Floral - The Bloom of Time | Posey Pop | White Sakuras | Flower Duet | Flower Allie

Top 3 Tips for Selecting the Right Wedding Venue


  1. Know the Weather

THE SEASON WILL DETERMINE YOUR INDOOR OUR OUTDOOR VENUE.

When you select an outdoor venue you should also be aware of the costs associated with a rain plan. Tents can be a large added expense and the last thing you want before your big day.

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2. Be Aware of Budget

THERE ARE MANY PIECES THAT COME INTO PLAY WHEN BUDGETING FOR YOUR DREAM VENUE.

It’s best to have an overall budget completed before looking at spaces. We know this can be difficult, so we highly recommend you speak with a wedding planner to best understand.

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3. Guest Size

KNOW YOUR GUEST COUNT BEFORE SEARCHING FOR A VENUE.

It’s better to know this before you fall in love with a venue that’s too small or too large for your guest count.

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Being Orange County wedding planners, we definitely have a few favorite venues from over the years.

Here are a few of them

 

The Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel

If oceanfront is your ideal wedding setting then you definitely need to see The Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel. Their gorgeous ceremony site has stunning views of the ocean and an incredible sunset for your guests to enjoy

The Ranch Laguna Beach Wedding Venue

Rancho Las Lomas

Do you love a natural setting with lush greenery and animals?! Well that is exactly the vibe of Rancho Las Lomas! They have gorgeous historical buildings that create some great photo opportunities for first look, wedding party photos and more. On top of all of that, they have ANIMALS including zebras and tigers! We are absolute animal lovers and how fun is it for guests to see some amazing animals during cocktail hour!

The Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel Wedding

The ranch laguna beach

This is a favorite because its a hidden gem of beautiful canyon views less than a mile from the beach. The Ranch Laguna Beach feels like a mini escape from Laguna Beach while still allowing guests to be in a beach community.

Rancho Las Lomas Wedding Venue

Planning I Design - LEVEL Events / Photography - Studio7 Photography / Venue - Hotel Maya

Planning I Design - LEVEL Events / Photography - MOOD Photo & Video / Venue - The Ritz-Carlton

Planning I Design - LEVEL Events / Photography - Jennifer Costa / Venue - The Ranch Laguna Beach

how to plan a wedding During covid-19

FIRST AND FOREMOST - TO ALL THE COVID BRIDES & GROOMS,

Our hearts are with you during this unprecedented time. We understand how sad it is to postpone the happiest day of your life, but know that we are with you every step of the way. You will have your day, it will be amazing, and we look forward to celebrating with you!

Think Fast

A lot of weddings are currently being postponed which means dates are filling fast! We highly encourage couples to push forward with all planning aspects of their weddings.

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Know Your Options

Speak with your vendors about the options if a postponement is inevitable.

It’s always best to be upfront about these situations and we all know this is a hard time. In our experience, most vendors are allowing postponements without any additional fees.

Quick Tip: Talk to all vendors about potential new dates before postponing to be sure they are available!

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Still want to get married in summer 2020?

We’re offering an ALL-INCLUSIVE ELOPEMENT PACKAGE!!!

 
Laguna Beach Elopement
 

Contact us to book your ALL-INCLUSIVE ELOPEMENT PACKAGE today!

Hello@LevelEvents.com

Planning I Design - LEVEL Events / Photographer - Studio 7 Photography / Venue - The Ranch Laguna Beach / Floral - The Bloom of Time / Makeup - Flawless Faces Beauty Lounge

Planning I Design - LEVEL Events / Photographer - Tiffany Perry Photography / Venue - The Grove of Redlands / Floral - Flower Allie / Catering - In-N-Out Food Truck