Planning Tips For a Los Angeles Wedding
Whether it’s your first time visiting or you’ve lived in Los Angeles your whole life, it becomes a completely different city when planning your wedding. You start to see areas in a whole new light. You discover hidden gems. And you learn what you wish you had known about planning an event in this wonderfully, buzzing city. So I’m here to share the best planning tips for a Los Angeles Wedding with you!
Take note of any major events happening in Los Angeles
Scattered all over Los Angeles are various event venues, stadiums, and concert halls. Nope – they aren’t just in one place in DTLA! We are a city of big entertainment and big events.
And big events bring BIG crowds. Those crowds will also need places to stay, and hotels can become scarce up to 6 month prior to your big date.
When deciding on hotel blocks for your wedding weekend, it’s important to not only consider these larger events but also hotel events. If there is a conference on site the day of your wedding, your guests may find a harder time enjoying a relaxing breakfast with a larger unplanned crowd. It could impact the ability to find an easy and accessibly parking space for ease of transport to your venue. It could create confusion if your guests end up at the convention hall instead of your ceremony site.
Whether it’s a game at Dodger Stadium, a concert at Staples Center, or a concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall; big events also mean more people on the road.
I can speak from experience. One of the worst feelings is driving over the hill from the SF Valley into Hollywood and not realizing there is a concert at the Rose Bowl and getting caught in that parking lot traffic.
On that note…
Track how long driving takes in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is notorious for its abhorrent traffic. Not just during rush hour, but pretty much all the time. Get ready to spend time in your car! It’s also a city that is fairly spread out with hubs of entertainment in each corner of the city expanse.
One of the best planning tips for your Los Angeles wedding is to prep your guests! They’ll need to decide between either renting a car as they traverse the urban sprawl, or downloading a ride-share app like UBER or Lift.
And I’m not just talking about the drive from your ceremony location to your reception venue. You will also want to track drive times from the airport(s) to your hotel, from the venue to the hotel, and vice versa.
Consider what time you are scheduling your rehearsal dinner. Is it on a Friday night in the heart of LA at 5 pm? THINK AGAIN! Avoid high traffic times to keep guests in a genial and joyous mood upon arrival.
Think about booking a hotel that is within walking distance of your venue. This will not only cut down on your traffic footprint but could also help you save costs if the venue requires a valet for offsite parking.
Can your ceremony venue also double as your reception venue? I know with church weddings this does become difficult to navigate. If you can, consider a venue that has multiple spaces to accommodate the entirety of your event. From getting ready on-site to a killer dance party or chill hang out to ring in the end of the event.
This beachfront wedding at The Hilton Santa Barbara Hotel checked all the boxes for easing guests transportation worries! The beautiful nature filled ceremony was directly across the street from the hotel, where the wedding reception was held.
Peterson Design and Photography
If any of these ideas are non-negotiable, just prep yourself (and your guests) to spend time in the car! Seriously – bring snacks, water and plan out restroom stops if you are like me. Get ready to binge your favorite artist’s latest album or catch up on a podcast!
Prep early for a Plan B for your Los Angeles wedding
While Los Angeles is hailed as being sunny all year long – we do still get rain. And when we do you hear it about it on the news.
Because our city was not built with the infrastructure to help people deal with it, we see lots of street flooding, mudslides, and various terrain issues that make more than just travel impossible.
When it comes to weddings, if you are getting married outside during winter-spring it’s best to have a backup rain-plan. That means have a back-pocket tent rental set up with extra heaters! And possibly extra chairs with flooring in case of soggy and muddy ground.
Yes, it’s an extra added cost that you may not need to send in the long run. Do note though, that every other couple getting married the same day as you may also be working to secure these rentals last minute. And this can create a struggle of supply and demand.
This “rain plan” idea also applies in the context of other unexpected changes in weather, venue, or logistics. So don’t brush off this planning tip just yet!
Let’s look at it in the context of a heatwave. In Los Angeles, it’s either blistering hot or slightly less hot during summer and early fall. Maybe you need a backup plan for an indoor wedding if the temperature is scorching. Maybe you need to add personal items of comfort for your guests. Consider parasols or umbrella’s, water bottles, tents for shading and portable fans.
Having a few backup plans in place when you need to make the call brings ease and clarity to an otherwise overwhelming and stressful situation!
What’s next for your Los Angeles Wedding?
After reading these planning tips for a Los Angeles wedding, the next thing you’ll want to do is curate an amazing vendor team! How can I help? As a wedding planner in the Los Angeles area for the past 4 years, I’ve created strong and invaluable relationships with over 80 different vendors. And I can help match you based on your personality, financial comfort zone, services required, and time frame.
Don’t just take it from me! Here’s what recent bride Nora had to say about working together on her wedding at the LINE Hotel in Los Angeles.
“We planned our wedding in LA from across the country and Sarah was a big help in finding vendors that were a great match for us. Sarah is easy to work with; my husband and I aren’t super traditional and I never felt like Sarah was bewildered by any of our choices/preferences. I think Sarah can read people well and that serves her in helping to identify what is important to a couple and also what the couple may need more help with based on their personalities. “
You can head over to request your free 30 minute consult over on the website here. I’m looking forward to your email in my inbox and crafting a love-fueled intimate wedding day for you to cherish always!
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