Modern wedding style lovers, this one’s for you! Couple Ellen and Terence chose to host their LA wedding at the Helms Daylight Photo Studio in Culver City, and it’s only fitting – the groom Terence is a talented photographer himself! They had fun using the freedom that this open and airy creative space provided, and incorporated all kinds of personal touches and custom built design elements. Photographer Juan Posada was on hand to document all of the day’s amazing moments, and I love the way he used the photo studio backdrop to capture creative group portraits and photo booth images!

From the bride and groom: We found a lot of inspiration for the wedding from the great dining adventures we’ve had together. We wanted the atmosphere to be a little like le Comptoir in Paris, a bit like Beast in Portland, and a lot like hosting friends for dinner in our home: meaning it had to be refined yet rustic and communal yet intimate. Once we settled on our venue, which was essentially a blank canvas, our event planning team went to work in bringing to life our ideas. Michael Kay and Vartan Thekmedyian really took our vision and ran with it so that we didn’t just have literal interpretations of our mood board, but a unique rendering that felt like it was just for us. For instance, Michael’s team custom built the five 32-feet long tables after we showed him a photograph of a salvaged wood table that we loved. Vartan took our request for market lights and instead strung up bare bulbs one at a time, each positioned directly above the head of every-other seated guest and also custom built the chandeliers that were above the dance floor and ceremony area. For party favors, we wanted something practical and usable. We both love to cook with fresh herbs from our garden, so Ellen purchased various herbs, and we packaged them in little tins with jute twine for guests to take home and grow. Instead of using cut flowers, which would die within a few days, we chose succulents for centerpieces, boutonnieres, and as decorations, most of which were snipped from our front yard. We wanted plants that guests could take home and replant in pots. Ellen specifically wanted the plants to be put in vessels of mixed textiles, such as wood, glass, tin, etc., to keep things interesting, so many of the vessels were purchased from thrift stores or flea markets. But the best part was the food. The sweet breads with heirloom tomato bur blanc and beef short ribs with red wine and black figs were such perfect highlights to the meal and really hit the mark in terms of our goal for the dinner service.

The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Juan Posada
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Helms Daylight Studio
Catering and Event Planning: Kitchen 12000
Lighting and Sound: Vartan Thekmedyian
Music: DJ Russian Bear of Scratch Weddings
Floral: Kate Osgood
Graphic Design: Dylan Ho
Wedding Invitations: Aardvark Letterpress
Wedding Dress: Ralph Lauren
Brides Shoes: Ivanka Trump
Brides Veil: Self made with fascinator from Etsy.com
Bridesmaids Dresses: Elie Tahari
Grooms Suit and Tie: Theory
Grooms Shirt: BOSS Black
Grooms Shoes: To Boot New York

Thank you so much Ellen and Terence!

Readers, you can see more of this wedding on the Posada Photography blog!