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Inspiration + Events
Soultones + Stone Mountain Estates
Planning + Design: So Happi Together | Venue: Stone Mountain Estates | Photography: Connie & Stewart Photography | Video: Joe Kim | Florals: Heavenly Blooms | Live Band: Downbeat - Soultones | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Rentals: Premiere Party Rents | Catering: Hungry Bear | Bar: Sunseri’s | Signage: Velvet Fox Designs
Downbeat + Bel-Air Bay Club
Bel-Air Bay Club held its annual wedding industry mixer at the stunning Upper Club venue location and Downbeat LA was a proud sponsor, providing musical entertainment for the entire evening, alongside the following team of vendors:
Brand Videography / The Butter End Bakery / Chiavari Chair Rentals / Designer 8 / Ice Bulb / Juicy Ladies / La Tavola / Laurie Bailey Photography / Love this Way / Mystic Reading Palmistry / The Paper Bakery / Quality Parking / The SnapBar / Stagelabs / Wisteria Lane
Jazz band TruBlu performed in the living room for the welcome reception, providing entertainment for guests as they entered the space, sipped specialty cocktails and greeted fellow wedding industry professionals.
When the sun went down, DJ Live took the stage and interacted with guests for the remainder of the evening, performing upbeat, high energy dance music to keep the party going (cue the audience tambourines and drum participation)!
Gold Standard + The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
No detail was spared at this luxury Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel wedding, and Gold Standard made it a party to remember! Live music for an oceanside cocktail hour, a live band performance to accompany the bride and groom's choreographed first dance (with sparklers!) and a nonstop dance party reception - it's what we do best!
Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel | Planner: LVL Events | Band: Downbeat LA (Gold Standard) | Photography + Videography: Lin & Jirsa | Florals: Flowers by Cina Linens: La Tavola Linen | Hair & Makeup: Design Visage | Rentals: Chiavari Chair Rentals + Signature Party Rentals | Getaway Car: Lake Forest Limos | Dessert Bar: Simply Sweet Cakery | Photobooth: The Bosco
Gold Standard + Vibiana
All of Vibiana is a stage when Gold Standard performs! Live horns, dance battles, choreography, stacked harmonies and an incredible DJ made for an unforgettable wedding!
Venue: Vibiana | Planning: Simply Natural Events | Band: Downbeat LA (Gold Standard) | Florals: Wisteria Lane Flowers | Photography: Next Exit Photography | Videography: 618 Studios | Dessert: Top Tier Treats | Photo Booth: Mir Mir
Soultones + Bel Air Bay Club
It was a celebration of love at Bel Air Bay Club! Soultones danced the night away with guests and the newlyweds, and it was all made possible by this incredible team of vendors:
Venue: Bel Air Bay Club | Planner: Tricia Dahlgren | Photography + Videography: Anchor Pictures | Hair & Makep: Kelly Zhang Studios | Florals: City Flower LA | Cake: Top Tier Treats | Lighting: Stage Labs
Santa Barbara Wedding Venue Favorites
Santa Barbara offers some of the most beautiful resorts and properties along the coast of Southern California. Downbeat LA bands have traveled to the region to perform for numerous luxury weddings and private events and have fallen in love with a handful of venues for their views, customer service, overall experience and more!
Find our our top five favorite Santa Barbara venues we recommend for weddings and events:
SAN YISIDRO RANCH
Top Palm Springs Wedding Venues
Palm Springs is perfect for couples looking for a quintessential desert wedding. The area known for its warm weather and summer vibes! Everything from Coachella's festival grounds to the swanky Ace Hotel can be found in this California desert oasis, making it perfect for any party!
For brides and grooms looking for a destination wedding in Palm Springs, here are the area's top venues and event spaces to consider:
Avalon Palm Springs
Designed by Kelly Wearstler, this Hollywood Regency style boutique hotel is one of the top wedding venues in Palm Springs. Located within walking distance to all downtown has to offer, Avalon has multiple event lawns that you can utilize over the course of an entire weekend, with events in all different areas of the property. Poolside? Check. Palm tree canopy? Check. Fruit tree gardens? Check. (from VenueReport.com)
ARRIVE
Between the futuristic architecture, chic room décor, and the most gorgeous pool in Palm Springs, this 32-room boutique hotel will most definitely have guests feeling like they’ve arrived in style. ARRIVE has both indoor and outdoor options for weddings and you’ll definitely want to do a buyout so you can have this amazing venue all to yourselves. (from VenueReport.com)
Spencer's Restaurant
We've played many events at Spencer's and we must say, there's a lot to Within easy walking distance of fabled Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs lies a gateway to an unspoiled wilderness: San Jacinto Mountain, whose waterfalls and treelined canyons are held sacred by the Cahuilla tribe. Ensconced at the base of this imposing natural monument is Spencer’s Restaurant, a local hotspot with an award-winning wine list, picturesque grounds and a hip private event space, the Bougainvilla Room. The buildings are a tasteful interpretation of ’50s modernism, and picture windows, patios and outdoor event lawns make the most of the scenic desert terrain. Spencer’s shares its historic facilities with the venerable Palm Springs Tennis Club, which has been an exclusive gathering place for celebrities since its launch in the late 1940s. The Bougainvillea Room was the site of many a star-studded soirée during Hollywood’s Golden Age. (Make sure to tell your guests that they’re sipping martinis where Sinatra once partied!)
Spencer’s has recently renovated the spacious Bougainvillea Room so that contemporary hipsters, including your own entourage of glitterati, have a fresh place to party. Located on the Tennis Club’s second floor, the room is wrapped with two walls of picture windows. One side overlooks the treetops, a turquoise swimming pool, and the town just beyond. Its windows are lined with planters filled with bromeliads, ferns and other tropical foliage. The other wall of double-tall windows frames a spectacular mountainside waterfall that cascades down weathered, rocky outcroppings—a pleasant habitat for sundry birds, desert flowers, and butterflies—before flowing inside to the room’s own rock pool. When decked with luminarias, the waterfall becomes the breathtaking centerpiece of your celebration.
If all this proximity to nature has you yearning for more, then step outside to the adjacent grassy bluffs. Two expansive, terraced lawns surrounded by colorful gardens let you drink in a sweeping panorama of Palm Springs: behind you, the dramatic face of the mountain burnished by the rays of the setting sun; before you, the evening lights of the city, just beginning to sparkle. What a magnificent spot for saying “I do”!
Korakia
Korakia is the kind of mediterranean venue you’d expect to find in a small town in Greece, but here it sits in the middle of colorful, playful Palm Springs. This is the kind of wedding venue where time seems to stand still while vows are exchanged. Best for a crew of 130 or less, book this spot if you’re looking for pure desert romance. (from VenueReport.com)
Mr Lyons
Mr. Lyons is a luxe steakhouse in the heart of Downtown Palm Springs. Known for its upscale, retro-style atmosphere, the venue can accommodate parties up to 140 for hosts who want to impress guests with the restaurants American cuisine with a modern twist.
New LA Wedding Venues for 2018
Los Angeles is full of incredible event spaces to suit any need, and venuereport.com reporter Alyssa Brown recently published a collection of brand new wedding venues to watch out for across the city in 2018:
1. Valentine
“DTLA’s newest events space can be rented independently or in collab with next door neighbor Grass Room, lending its space for an event of up to 750 guests. Valentine is reminiscent of a greenhouse, with 30 foot high glass ceilings and tons of lush greenery.”
2. Grass Room
“Grass Room is a quirky, artsy space located in DTLA that can be easily dressed up or down depending on your vibe. It sits just beside Valentine and the two venues combined can accommodate an event of up to 750 guests, moving through multiple indoor and outdoor spaces and a hidden alleyway too.”
3. Freehand Los Angeles
“The newcomer to LA, Freehand offers a wide variety of party, event and wedding spaces for the discerning event host. Choose from a party pad in a loft suite, in one of the restaurants, at the poolside bar or in another of the outdoor settings.“
4. Office Party
“When the brilliant team behind YEAH! Rentals (see also YEAH! Furniture, YEAH! Weddings, The Flashdance, Smilebooth, and Sharkpig) announced they were opening a venue last year, we knew it would be good but didn’t know it would be this good. Office Party is a massive Highland Park loft space with huge vaulted ceilings (think 30’), cement floors, really good natural light, and a modular setup that makes events easy to customize.”
5. Kim Sing Theater
“A classic LA story, the Kim Sing has walked a life as a vaudeville theater, zoot suit riot house, Kung Fu theater, event venue, and now, a micro-hotel to retire to when the party has ended. Reopened in Autumn 2017 to cater to the luxury crowd, this spot is as exclusive as it is lauded with LA lore.”
Millennium Biltmore Hotel - Wedding Venue
The Millennium Biltmore hotel in Los Angeles is today's featured vendor! This gorgeous property is set in Downtown LA's cultural district and designated as a historic-cultural landmark, with original features dating back to 1923 including frescos and murals, carved marble fountains and columns, crystal chandeliers and embroidered tapestries.
Downbeat LA has had the pleasure of performing at events in this glamorous location and it's no wonder the venue is highly sought-after for wedding celebrations! See for yourself:
Here's what they have to say about the wedding packages they offer:
"For more than 90 years, we’ve been helping couples celebrate their special day in glamorous style at our premier LA wedding venues. Our professional team will assist you in picking out a beautiful venue, and propose an all-inclusive wedding package. You can even request an innovative customized menu by our world-class culinary staff. It’s your big day so let us fuss over you." - Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles
Find out more about this incredible hotel and event venue by visiting their website HERE.
Gold Standard + Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa
Southern California's Coachella Valley near Palm Springs is a perfect destination for couples looking for a dream wedding location set against a desert oasis backdrop with palm trees and mountain vistas. Gold Standard recently performed at the gorgeous Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa for Charlie and Maggie's wedding, and it was an unforgettable party!
The 10-piece band kept guests dancing under the stars all night! There were dance battles, live performances of the couples' first dance and special parent dance songs, and the singers never missed a moment to get out into the crowd during the high energy dance sets!
The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara
Every event we’ve been a part of at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara has been a dream. From the gorgeous views, sprawling property and dream staff and vendor team, it’s always an event to remember, which is why we are featuring them on today’s vendor spotlight blog!
The 78-acre oceanfront venue boasts “low-rise villas with wrought-iron balconies, beaches that glow under the sun, the water at your doorstep, vibrant blues and intricate patterns, and Food that is meant to be savored with the sunset.”Just take a look at the images below to get an idea of the weddings and events that take place on site:
For more information on this incredible Santa Barbara venue, visit their website HERE!
Destination Wedding Inspiration: Hawaii
Known for it's beautiful string of islands, crystal blue waters, white sand and lush flora, Hawaii is a highly sought after and world-renowned vacation spot, and it provides a perfect setting for couples who dream of having a destination wedding.
The scenery is beautiful no matter what island you find yourself on, but we've rounded up our top picks for picturesque Hawaiian destination wedding venues:
Gold Standard + Adamson House
The Adamson House is one of the best historic venues for a wedding right next to the shores of Malibu. A location that will have your guests in awe as they enjoy the scenic view and touch of history.
Gold Standard shared a night of celebration and played their little hearts out. Nothing is better than having good music, the people you love, and the ocean breeze to celebrate your special night.
AMFM + Hummingbird Nest Ranch
Not only is Malibu's Hummingbird Nest Ranch a dream venue to for weddings, but it's also a dream venue for entertainers to perform! Dance band AMFM traveled up into the Santa Susana Mountains for a recent summertime wedding and it was a beautiful celebration.
Love was certainly in the air, and guests were entertained throughout the wedding ceremony and reception with dinner and party sets, leading to dancing the night away under the stars. The decor and ambiance are always beautiful in this al fresco setting, have a look for yourself:
Belmond El Encanto
The luxury resorts and venues sprawled across the region of Santa Barbara are undoubtedly all gorgeous, but one of our favorites to perform at is the Belmond El Encanto.
Gold Standard traveled to provide the live playlist for the Doll wedding and it was an unforgettable event!
Boasting “Hollywood glamour in a modern classic”, El Encanto sets a perfect scene:
”Steeped in charisma, Belmond El Encanto’s breezy hillside location and enduring iconicity make it one of the most desirable Santa Barbara event venues. Join us for lavish wedding parties or smaller, intimate occasions. Our lush Pacific-facing gardens, expansive terrace and expert party planners combine for the ultimate Californian celebration.”
For more information about this amazing venue, visit their website at www.belmond.com.
Soultones + Bel-Air Bay Club
It's always a party with our highly sought after dance band, Soultones! The group recently brought their high energy and crowd-favorite performances to a beautiful wedding at Malibu's gorgeous Bel-Air Bay Club. The evening was a blast, and we love making our couples and their guests happy!
To learn more about Soultones, visit their artist page here.
To book Soultones for your wedding or special event, visit our booking page here.
The Resort at Pelican Hill
Last night, AMFM traveled to Newport Beach to perform at the gorgeous five-star luxury venue, The Resort at Pelican Hill. All of the bands at Downbeat LA have had the opportunity to visit and perform at weddings and special events that are exclusively held on the Mar Vista property, which are always stunning.
From the outdoor space that's perfect for ceremonies and cocktail hours, to the grand ballroom area where dinners and receptions take place, the scenery and the entire staff are simply the best and we love being a part of the team when we visit!
"With gorgeous views from nearly every vantage point and a location that is conveniently not too far from home, Pelican Hill is the ideal locale to enjoy the best of everything Southern California has to offer. Unwind at the Coliseum Pool, stroll along the shoreline at our neighboring beaches, or tee off for a round of world-class golf as you soak up the radiant OC sunshine."
For more information on The Resort at Pelican Hill, visit their website at www.pelicanhill.com
Soultones + Calamigos Ranch
Downbeat LA is no stranger to the gorgeous Malibu venue, Calamigos Ranch. Dance band Soultones recently performed at a wedding in The Oak Room, with a ceremony site located in front of a sweeping waterfall and the indoor reception featuring glass walls and vaulted ceilings with twinkle lights and billowing fabric (gorgeous!).
Soultones provided the music for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception! The band featured a full horn section and a DJ to keep the party going between sets. Dance battles and sing-alongs ensued as the night progressed, and the bride and groom even took the stage!
Libraries, Museums & More! Unconventional Wedding Inspiration
Los Angeles is home to many different and unique wedding and event spaces for those looking to take a more unconventional approach to the big day. In fact, any city will have historic locations, popular attractions, museums, libraries and public spaces that can accommodate weddings if you can find one that suits you.
We rounded up some specific spots around Los Angeles County that would make for an unconventional and memorable wedding:
Imagine having your wedding ceremony in the African Mammal Hall or North American Mammal Hall, then taking guests to the impressive Grand Hall or Rotunda to continue the celebration in true "Night at The Museum"-style.
Archways of books, labyrinths of shelves and hidden passageways make up this iconic bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles, perfect for the book-loving couple who are looking for a unique and intimate gathering for their big day.
3. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
This 207-acre estate has endless possibilities when it comes to weddings. If the idea of being surrounded by art, history and literature on your big day excites you (and you don't mid a site fee between $50,000-$150,000), then this is the place for you!
Did you know you can host your wedding in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion, which is home to the space shuttle Endeavor? You and guests can dance the night away under the last orbiter built by NASA. Space junkies, you're welcome.
For more wedding tips and industry insights, visit the Downbeat LA blog here.
Top 5 California Garden Wedding Venues
There's something so romantic about a wedding celebration secluded in the unforgettable setting of a natural landscape and garden surrounded by your closest family and friends. If a secret garden-feel is what you envision for your big day, we've rounded up our top picks for private California wedding venues that offer a ceremony and reception site surrounded by gorgeous gardens and floral bed-filled grounds.
Beaulieu Garden (Rutherford, CA): "Imagine the exchange of vows in the sunken garden or dinner delightfully served under a sycamore arbor dappled with lights. As night falls, your guests can dance beneath the stars next to a sparkling pool bordered by manicured lawns and grape vines stretching up into the rolling hills beyond."
Eden Gardens (Moorpark, CA): "Situated in the hills between Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, the Eden Gardens has over four acres of gardens and a glassy pond at its center.With carefully maintained palms, colorful birds of paradise, and countless rose bushes, you are genuinely removed from everything else in a little Eden to call your own."
Bear Flag Farm (Winters, CA): "Just a short drive away from Napa, Bear Flag Farm is a blissfully romantic venue that captures the artisan spirit of California. This private estate boasts acres of vineyards, orchards and lavender fields carefully positioned to optimize privacy from the outside world and an intimate environment from which to celebrate. Surrounded by beautiful gardens, this peaceful estate promotes a feeling of relaxation and tranquility."
Greystone Mansion (Los Angeles, CA): "Grand or modest, Hollywood glamour or California casual, at Beverly Hills’ Greystone Mansion & Gardens: The Doheny Estate, your wedding ceremony and reception will be unforgettable. Imagine being surrounded by the beauty of a garden setting as you tie the knot among your family and friends. The mansion courtyard, framed by the walls of the mansion with a lit fountain in the center, suggests an air of European timelessness."
Descanso Gardens (La Cañada Flintridge, CA): "Located in the quaint town of La Cañada Flintridge in California, this venue provides several landscapes to backdrop a gorgeous wedding. Occupying over 150 acres, this botanical garden also includes a Rose Garden, Oak Forest, Japanese Garden, and several lawn areas both expansive and intimate. Whether among the serene bed of the oak forest or the gazebo surrounded by five acres of rosebushes, the natural splendor of Descanso Gardens never seems to end."
For more wedding tips and industry insights, visit the Downbeat LA blog here.
- AMFM 46
- Booths 6
- Corporate 56
- DJ Live 12
- Destination 13
- Dolce 5
- Downbeat LA 7
- Featured Wedding 41
- Floral Design 9
- Gold Standard 50
- Midnight Hour 1
- Music Recommendations 35
- Photography 10
- Planners 24
- Preferred Venues 46
- Soultones 59
- Sweets 4
- The A-List 17
- TruBlu 7
- Vendor Spotlight 57
- Videography 10
- Wedding Tips 65