Marie + Dan LOVE cocktails. Like, love-love them. And their passion inspired not only their super fun Smog Shoppe wedding (which we’ll get right to in a sec), but inspired them to start their own business together, a full service curated cocktail catering company called The Whaling Club! For their wedding day, they wanted to create an experience that their guests would never forget, especially since many of them would be trekking in from Chicago and New York. They decided to design a night that celebrated “their” Los Angeles – and that meant sharing their fave foods, fave drinks and personal decor + details put together by the two of them with the help of the girls at GATHER Events! As Marie puts it, We kept coming back to the idea that we wanted to throw the ultimate cocktail and dinner party. So much of a wedding celebration is drinking and eating among the people we love most, and we wanted that to be a big focus. Our wedding was an opportunity to do everything we loved surrounded by the most important people in our lives.
We love that! Big thanks to Marissa Maharaj for the gorgeous photos and congrats to M + D on a beautiful and fun day!
Marie looked amazing in her beaded Jenny Packham dress! And there are pretty BHLDN earrings + Badgley Mischka shoes peeking out in a few photos that completed her gorge ensemble.
Moon Canyon worked their magic with the beautiful floral design, which focused on different dahlia varieties + textural greens. So, so pretty!
Marie says, Dan wrote the ceremony with our beloved friend and officiant, Jackie. My brother, Will, composed an original processional that I heard for the first time when I walked down the aisle. Our dear college friend, Colleen (who I have pictured singing at my wedding since I heard her voice), sang “S’Wonderful” with a string quartet that brought me to tears. Dan and I wrote our own vows, and I just remember feeling so overwhelmingly lucky.The entire ceremony was so personal. I think everyone was very emotional–laughing and crying the whole time!
Our Musical Choices
Marie + Dan served three specialty signature sips from The Whaling Club, and Dan is sweetly sharing their recipe for a Cherry Gimlet below!
CHERRY GIMLET
2 oz Aviation Gin
1 oz lime juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
2 bing cherries
Muddle all ingredients in shaker. Shake vigorously, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a bing cherry. Enjoy!
Dan surprised me by writing a song and performing it at the wedding! Right after the father/daughter and mother/son dances which were supposed to lead into everyone dancing for the night, Dan motioned for me to sit in a chair. Suddenly there was a microphone in his hand and he was performing the sweetest and happiest song EVER. Dan knows me so well. My favorite song is Beyonce’s “Love On Top” and I am obsessed with all the keys changes at the end. So Dan put in four key changes at the end of his song! As soon as he did the first one I knew exactly why he was doing it and I could feel the energy of everyone behind me. It’s a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I’ve listened to the song only a million times since then.
You can see MUCH more of Dan’s sweet performance in the film at the end of the post! And his single “More and More” is also available on iTunes :)
Shawn York’s beautiful capture of Dan’s song + the whole day is a total must-watch:
Our Advice
Enjoy your engagement! Soon you'll get to be married forever, but being engaged is only a brief period in time. Early in our engagement my mom told me she considered the entire engagement period leading up to the big day a part of the wedding celebration. It was nice to think of it that way instead of just one day and then it's over. Also, hire vendors you love and trust to coordinate your day. I was surprisingly calm the week of our wedding because I had handed everything off to Robin of Gather Events.
Featured in This Wedding
Heirloom LA
Smog Shoppe
Marissa Maharaj
Moon Canyon
Interested in becoming a GWS Preferred Artist? Apply Here.
Other Vendors in This Wedding
Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka // Groom Attire: J.Crew // Videography: Shawn York // Calligraphy: Petite Pen // Music: Dart DJ
