That kiss… have you ever seen one onscreen as passionate?

Forget about Christian Grey – let’s talk about Sherwin and Janissa’s high-fashion and modern love story, celebrating their special day at the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach.

Janissa & Sherwin are unlike many couples and wanted to express their love through modern design, artistry, fashion, family, friends, and of course, one another. “Being in the industry, our goal was to provide a rather non-traditional wedding for our guests to experience,” says our gorgeous bride Janissa. “All of the events throughout our engagement leading up to the wedding and even there after, have been nothing short of memorable.” 

With a color palette of greys, creams, and pops of crimson red, their wedding scheme completely lent itself to the venue’s natural design. The chic Shade Hotel was actually the one and only ceremony and reception space the couple viewed. Knowing they had found the one, the question became, “How do we make the wedding exude a simplistic yet modern design that exudes high fashion and sexiness during the day?”

The answer was simple – bring in event designer & coordinator Charmae of Bellz & Whistlez and Adorations Botanical Artistry to collaborate with the talented bride. Charmae wanted to play with the use of textures influenced by Janissa’s wedding gown and made a custom backdrop for the altar with hanging ribbons and lace embroidery hoops. The dramatic faux fur aisle runner set focus on the red dahlia and dusty miller–filled boxes leading up to the aisle adorned with wooden pedestals with arrangements varying in white and red.

To transition from the “I Do’s” to the “Brilliant Party” in the same space, tables were set in crimson linens while we repurposed the ceremony décor into white centerpiece arrangements full of hydrangea, dahlias and dusty miller. The ceremony altar became a stunning sweetheart table and cake display with a plexi-glass base set overtop of florals to showcase their sweet puppy-love toppers.

Janissa and Sherwin’s wedding began long before their actual wedding day – we loved hearing about their pre-wedding bridal luncheon and photo/film shoot with their absolutely gorgeous bridal party that not only made their save-the-date wedding invites so fabulous but also turned into one phenomenal grand entrance film and photo memories set amongst the reception. We thought Janissa’s sense of extraordinary style was even more striking with the quote she included on her invitations regarding her guests’ dress:

"What makes a brilliant party? Clothes. Good clothes. A frumpy party is nothing more nor less than a collection of badly dressed persons." ~ by Emily Post

Not only were each of her bridesmaids donned in uniquely different cream dresses but each groomsman in a different shade of grey. The guys also wore distinctive boutonnieres to show off their individual style, all of which were carefully curated by our high-fashion couple. And the guests adhered to the “good clothes” dress code, making this one fashionably fabulous wedding celebration con amore!

VENDORS
Photography by Mark Brooke Photography
Event Design & Coordination: Bellz & Whistlez 
Venue: Shade Hotel
Videography: Ren  & Rob Productions
DJ & Entertainment: DJ Tanner, Love Rockers  
Cake: Cake & Art
Ice Cream: Manhattan Beach Creamery
Makeup: Makeup by Pam SD
Hair: Rose Hair Design