madeline & sean met in boston years ago but wanted to give their east coast families a true southern california experience for their wedding. the 1909 was a natural fit, a unique venue set deep in the trees of the topanga canyon, a few miles in from beachfront malibu. it has multiple spots that all come together to make one great venue: a two-story stately home for getting ready & late-night dancing, a wrap-around deck with stadium-style seating under a massive oak tree that’s perfect for a ceremony site, and a large green lawn that works great for family-style dinner. the team at west events LA helped to design a romantic, colorful day that utilized all of the best parts of the 1909 and put an emphasis on bringing loved ones together.

despite being a september wedding, the colors of spring were abundant — flowers in all shades of pastels, reminiscent of wildflowers, adorned the scene. the bride’s closest friends, who helped her get ready, dressed in bright pinks, greens, and yellows, bringing a touch of malibu to the forest. the bride wore a romantic dress by monique lhuillier with a floral lace overlay and kept up the floral motif with petal drop earrings by designer leather stone metal.

subtly mismatched place settings adorned long dinner tables for delicious italian food from belair bistro, served family-style. colorful cocktails were served up by the bartender geniuses at twist & bitters. as party favors, each guest chose their own unique goblet, glass, or cup from the seating chart table — all matching glass, but each with its own unique shape & pattern, to keep a consistent theme. in keeping with the couple’s self-proclaimed silly nature, a vintage VW bus outfitted with a photo booth provided on-site fun with a whole slew of costumes & masks. after a romantic candlelit dinner, guests made their way up the hill to the house for a wild dance floor set to the tunes of DJ danni at bouquet sound. madeline changed into a mini-dress, complete with lace & pearl gloves and heart-shaped sunglasses, to dance the night away. late-night deli sandwiches & homemade cannolis, all from cricca’s deli, were a hit with the party crowd and rounded out a perfect day in socal for an even more perfect wedding.