Year in Review 2017

Oh, 2017. You were something else, weren’t you? I’d be lying if I said “I hate to see you go”, but despite the oftentimes challenging headlines, we had the extreme good fortune to celebrate twenty-three amazing couples, create three fantastic creative projects, and support four excellent charitable organizations through our company commitment to philanthropy: She Should Run, American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and Kiva.org.

We are excited to share with you our Year in Review 2017, an annual tradition!

California Winter

We started 2017 off right on January 1st with the truly lovely Amy & Aaron at Smog Shoppe. Their wedding day was full of tacos, surprise mariachis, and love. More from their unique wedding can be found here.

Photo by Julie Shuford Photography

Ten days later, we pulled off the epic feat of five wedding ceremonies in one day and one giant reception for the Love Wins Out event at The York Manor. Love Wins Out was the brainchild of Jessica Schilling Photography, and myself and Jessica Carrillo of Art and Soul Events jumped on board as principal planners. Along with a team of over 40 (!!!) professional vendors from the Los Angeles Wedding Vendors & Creatives group, we managed the seemingly impossible. I mean, 5 ceremonies in one day? It was so beautiful and the whole day was so amazing, I haven’t yet found the proper words to convey how special that day was to me.

Here is just one of the five amazing couples who wed at Love Wins Out, Maja & JD.

Photo by Jessica Schilling

Catalyst Wed Co featured our event in their Volume 4 print edition – you can check that out here. And stay tuned for an anniversary post in which I will hopefully find all the right words. Hopefully.

We finished out January at the truly gorgeous Ebell Long Beach for Marisa & Jordan’s amazingly fun and musical wedding! You can see more from their awesome day here and also in the pages of California Wedding Day, which is on newsstands now! Florals by Flower Duet

Photo by Let’s Frolic Together

Twice a year I like to take a tiny break from planning and designing for my clients to plan & design a creative project for myself! In the spring, Tabitha from Winston & Main and I produced a gorgeous styled shoot at The Modern in Long Beach, one of my favorite venues in Southern California. Our Tropical Romance inspiration was featured on Ruffled, and the entire creative team was thrilled! Check out more from this shoot here.

Photo by J Wiley Photography

Spring

In April, our wedding season kicked into high gear! April is becoming such a popular month in Southern California, and for good reason – the weather is mild, usually dry (*fingers crossed*) and there aren’t many national holidays in April. It’s a win, all around.

First, we celebrated Renee & Gray at Rimrock Ranch out in Pioneertown. My love affair with the high desert continues, unabated! Renee & Gray had an amazingly unique wedding, but the highlight of the day may have been the baby goats. Yes, that’s right. BABY GOATS. This wedding was featured on The Overwhelmed Bride and you can also read more about it here.

Photo by Westlund Photography

A week later, we were back at one of our most frequented Los Angeles venues, The Unique Space, for Julie & Brian’s colorful and stylish wedding. Julie & Brian’s wedding was exactly like them: chic, fun, vibrant, and a complete blast! More from this wedding will be featured in 2018 on Swooned, so stay tuned! Florals by Shindig Chic.

Photo by J Wiley Photography

We finished out April at another one of my absolute favorite venues in Los Angeles, The Ruby Street. We are so proud to be one of Ruby Street’s Preferred Planners! This was our first of two weddings at this goregous venue in 2017.

Photo by Marble Rye Photography

Jennefer & Daniel had a lovely wedding day with friends and family – and this amazing stunner of a wedding gown. Dan looks good too. 🙂

Photo by Marble Rye Photography

May brought us the gorgeous wedding of Meredith & Steve at Carondelet House in Los Angeles. Every inch of this wedding was as lovely and heartfelt as the bride & groom. This wedding was featured on Every Last Detail and you can read more about it here. Florals by Flower Duet.

Photo by Rachel Stelter Photography

Summer

The heat of the summer found us at Reptacular Ranch for the wedding of Skylar & Stephen. Their guests had a blast visiting the animals on the property and dancing into the night!

Photo by Jessica Schilling Photography

In July, we returned to The Ruby Street for the amazing wedding of Diann & Jon! This wedding had it all: a fantastic couple, delicious food and drinks, the most gorgeous florals, and an overall killer party. I want to show you every single photo from this day, and I will…in time. But for now, I’ll tease you with this one. Florals by Of the Flowers.

Photo by Linda Abbott Photography

The very next weekend, we were ocean-side for Isabel & David at the Malibu West Beach Club. Their charming celebration included a ginormous donut display and delighted friends and family!

Photo by Michael Bezman

We finished out July in Orange County for the lovely Monica & Devon. Monica & Devon had their ceremony at St. Catherine’s Church and their reception at Salt Creek Grill, both in Laguna Beach. Florals by Growing Grace Floral Designs. 

Photo by Alexis Exstrom for Aurelia D’Amore Photography

In August, we celebrated Melissa & Adam with their chic all-white wedding at the Brentwood Country Club and danced the night away with their fabulous band!

Photo by Heather Kincaid

We were back at The Unique Space at the end of August for the very fun and very funny wedding of Anita & Steve. This is my fave photo of them, which says all you need to know about their awesome personalities. Florals by Whit Hazen.

Photo by Jude Malagon

In the late summer, we had the opportunity to work with some of our favorite professionals on a styled table for the Luxe Linen showroom in Beverly Hills. It was such a fun project, and I love the final design so much! You can see more from this design here and here.

Photo by Julie Shuford Photography

Fall

Over Labor Day weekend, we took on the labor of love that was Lisa & Kip’s at-home wedding. We specialize in at-home weddings, which can be a logistical challenge without a team of pros! There is a lot I have to share from this wedding, and about at-home weddings in general, so stay tuned for that post in the new year! Here’s one of my favorite decor photos from their day. Florals by Sonny Alexander Flowers.

Photo by Joe Buissink

The end of the September brought us one of our favorite experiences of the year: a styled shoot at the brand-new venue, City Libre. An insanely talented team of top-notch pros came together for a magical day of pretty-making. I would like to show you every photo from that day, but alas, I will have to wait. This one will be published by Green Wedding Shoes in Feb 2018. So, stay tuned! Florals by Upton Grey Floral. Signage by Pigment & Parchment. Hair & Makeup by Mobile Bridal Salon. Gown and Veil by Vene Ai Studio. Tux by Friar Tux Shop.

Photo by Let’s Frolic Together

We headed back to the desert in October, to one of our favorite (and frequent) venues, the gorgeous Sacred Sands. We are so proud to be a Preferred Planner at this desert gem! Rebecca and Cody welcomed their nearest and dearest with a gourmet multi-course meal, and some seriously good tunes. The dance floor was full all night long! Parties in the desert are the best! Bouquet by Bloominous.

Photo by Dustin Cantrell

The very next day, our team was at The Athenaeum at Caltech, Pasadena for the wedding of Anita & Dan. Anita & Dan have such an amazing love story. They met as students and dated when they were in their early years. Then, they broke up and life took them in different directions – marriages, children, careers, both enjoyed full, happy, wonderful lives. Then, after the death of both of their spouses, they found each other again on Facebook of all places! So, they decided to make it official – and it was a beautiful day for all! Florals by Sybil Sophia Floral Design.

Photo by Two Moon Photography

The very next weekend, we were once again ocean-side, but in Redondo Beach, for the fabulous wedding of Jason & Jeff at Portofino Hotel & Marina. Jason & Jeff had a loving, heartfelt, and FUN wedding, and included their fur babies (in custom tuxes!!), which is always a favorite of ours!

Photo by Daybreak + Dusk Photography

Winter (in other parts of the country, lol) 

In December, we headed back to the desert, but this time to the Miramonte Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, for the EPIC weekend wedding of Robyn & Atul. I will be sharing MUCH more from this amazing wedding in due time, but for now, here’s a sneak peek of one of two ceremonies we did in one day. What??? YES. We did that. Amazing! We are also now a Preferred Planner at Miramonte, and we couldn’t be happier about it!

Photo by Casey Brodley Photography

We ended our wedding season with the truly lovely Marie & Tom at the Culver Hotel. In case you are considering a Christmas-time wedding, I say go for it! Why? Because you get photos like this sneak peek. Fantastic!

Photo by Evangeline Lane

I have spent the last few days reflecting, planning, resting, and looking forward to today – New Year’s Eve! This is one of my top three holidays (1st place: Thanksgiving, 2nd place: Christmas) because I love the occasion of a fresh start. And I love champagne.

Before I sign off for 2017, I’d like to send immense gratitude and love to all who made this a wonderful year at Moxie Bright Events.

To all of my amazing couples, thank you for letting me into your inner circle and for trusting me on our journey together. I really do get to work with the most loving, creative, fun couples. Thank you all for being authentically you!

To all the wonderful vendors who make this job fun and who make it look easy, you know who you are, and I love you! I would list you all by name but then this post would be several pages long. Thank you for showing up as the pros you are, time and time again.

To the other wedding planners who embraced Community Over Competition and assisted me this year: Yoco, Roey, Gabby, Waverly, Abby, Emily, Amy, Sarah (extra points to you, dear, for flying down from NoCal) & Holly (#workwifeforlife), thank you so much. It’s so lovely getting to work with other pros, it makes the job so effortless.

To my completely amazing day-of wedding assistants, Kelsey and Kristie, thank you for your incredible work ethic, for reading my mind, and for always finding my binder (or tablet). And my phone. And my Sprite. I can’t wait to see how you both grow into your roles next season! No pressure.

And to my husband (and co-owner) Joe, who is amazing on wedding days and amazing on regular days. Joe, you are the absolute best and I could not even for a second imagine doing any of this without you. Thank you for only being 5% grouchy that Moxie Bright takes over all my waking thoughts most days. I love you. xo

Here’s to a peaceful, glorious, inspiring, and festive 2018!

Thanks for reading our Year in Review 2017! Happy New Year!