Not only have I hosted dozens of parties, I founded a company to help people entertain stylishly and elegantly. So when artist, curator and my occasional collaborator Clifford Eberly, proposed to me, my personal and professional lives collided in the best possible way. And, as a bonus, he knew that he wanted a Malibu wedding. Here presented the opportunity to commit to the man I love and throw the party of our dreams in front of cherished friends and family on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
To begin the planning, we picked our venue. Cliff had honed in on Malibu from the start and I didn’t need much convincing. Malibu is both relaxed and sophisticated; unspoilt but with access to the best in the world talent that it takes to put on such a special day (and 30 minutes from home). And with all those negative ions bouncing off the ocean surf, Malibu could provide only the finest start to married life (hey, for every Sean and Madonna, there’s a Barbra and James).
If you can visit Adamson House – or better yet book it for an event – I could not recommend it highly enough. This historic house and gardens on the ocean side of the Pacific Coast Highway, is one of Southern California’s finest examples of Spanish Revival architecture. Situated between Malibu Pier and Malibu lagoon, it was built in 1929 by Rhoda and Merritt Adamson after Rhoda’s parents had purchased a swathe of Malibu in 1892 for $10 an acre.
The idyllic gardens and unique views bathed in Spring sunshine provided the perfect California experience, especially for the large number of our guests who had travelled from the East Coast and the UK (where Cliff and I grew up respectively). If people are crossing continents for a Malibu wedding, give them what they want!
The ceremony was held on the Star Fountain Lawn with almost 180 degree views: to the East past the Malibu pier to Santa Monica; to the South out into the Pacific Ocean with weekend surfers catching breaks; and to the West along the legendary Malibu coastline.
With such a picture perfect natural backdrop there was no need to add a lot of decoration for the ceremony. The deeply personal ceremony was officiated by close friend Tim Farrell and included readings of The Blessing of the Apaches and The Bait (written by John Donne) by family members.
We chose a black tie dress code – and our custom velvet tuxedos – as a nod to origin of the location in the roaring twenties and to my father, who also married in a velvet tuxedo and has since passed.
Cheryl Canter, the master caterer at Baked It Myself, has been my neighbor and good friend for 12 years. During the planning stages, she listened and guided us through all our menu ideas. Then, she and her incredible team brought to life a polished version of the delicacies we had imagined. For cocktail hour, while guests drank champagne in the courtyard and took guided tours of the house, Cheryl’s chefs prepared a wide range of spectacular passed appetizers – marinated beets, citrus shrimp skewers, mini beef wellington and parmesan crisps with prosciutto and pear.
The scene-stealer was the multi-tiered grazing table of cheeses, fruits and nuts. The table was topped with a Buddha and lighthouse we found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market to deliver their energy of wisdom and safety. The Huddleson Lovebirds tablecloth brought its own message.
Adamson House maintains two iconic palm trees arching over the Star Fountain lawn that we adopted as our motif on our invitations, programs and placecards. (all expertly printed by Magenta Color Print) We embroidered the custom wedding napkins with the motif and date for guests to keep.
Dinner was set in another of the property’s gardens under an enormous Sycamore tree. For the table settings we wanted to to complement, not compete with, the idyllic freshly flowering Spring location. The colors for the table were pale green and white: crisp white Italian cotton tablecloths (custom made by Huddleson, obviously!) and Celadon Green Italian linen napkins.
The floral centerpieces were designed in a casual, meadowy style using flowers and foliage in shades of pale green and white mirroring the place settings, with light blue accents. Delphiniums, lisianthus, ranunculus, eucalyptus were arranged with scabiosa and wild grasses for texture. The white ceramic vases were low enough for guests to talk across and the color blended into the tablecloth for a smooth visual flow.
On the children’s table we reversed the colors – custom green tablecloths and a California cool, custom embroidered napkin aimed to appeal to the hipper, younger audience!. Crayons and a Malibu coloring book were at hand to keep the youngsters involved and amused.
The cake table pulled across the celadon and green colors from the dining table, using a Celadon Green Italian linen tablecloth. For the cake we turned to Los Angeles cake divas Joanie and Leigh’s Cakes for a traditional British fruit cake encased in a marzipan icing and decorated with fresh flowers to match the table centerpieces.
Clifford and I have both chosen to build our lives in Los Angeles – a long way from south-eastern Pennsylvania and the middle of England where we grew up. Before the wedding we had not met many of each other’s friends and family who live far away. So, with much love and humor, to fill everyone in on us, our history and our union, along with two of our dear friends, we gave speeches during dinner.
Music has always been very important in my life. One of the first things I did after Clifford proposed was to create playlists for our wedding. Over the course of a year we added, deleted and rearranged songs and divided them into four sections: romantic for the arrivals; funky piano house for cocktails; an eclectic mix of our favorite songs for dinner; and some cowbell-heavy, 80s and 90s-electro bangers for the dancefloor. And for two gentlemen past the first flashes of youth, Etta James’ At Last seemed like a fitting way to start the dancing.
Christian Thomas Hynes, a great friend and exceptional photographer who I have known and worked with for years, took all of these photos. As well as capturing the event so beautifully, he set up a black and white portrait studio in a dark corner by the dancefloor – an excellent location to remove all inhibitions – and photographed some truly special candid moments of our dearest friends being their best selves!
Cheers to Clifford; to our dearest friends and family who made the day an occasion beyond our wildest expectations and to:
Wedding Photographer: Christian Thomas Hynes
Malibu Wedding Caterer: Baked it Myself
Malibu Wedding Venue: Adamson House
Wedding Cake: Joanie and Leigh’s
Wedding Stationery: Magenta Color Print
Wedding Rentals: A Rental Connection
What a fabulous kick-off to a life together!
