Rock ‘n Roll Smog Shoppe Wedding

Put together one super rad couple, the talents of photographers Callaway Gable and designers Lauren of A Fabulous Fete and Amber of Amber Events, and you’ll end up with this totally unique California wedding at one of our favorite venues, L.A.’s Smog Shoppe. Check out all the little details that make this wedding something truly special, like the personal notes for guests on their place settings!

From the bride, Anita: My brain was swimming in an ocean of wedding decor and theme ideas and I was having an impossible time making decisions of any kind. Lucky for me, my talented friend, Sharon, of Cupcakes & Cutlery, kindly drove up from the OC to help clear the clutter and put me on the right track. She asked me all the right questions to get me to make some decisions… and she advised me to put together a vision board for the big day. She, also, recommended a talented friend of hers, Lauren, of A Fabulous Fete

Mark and I both fell in love with SmogShoppe when we went for our walk-through! We just KNEW it was the perfect place for us. My mom, Athina, however, who lives in Arkansas and Greece (odd, I know) was a bit skeptical of the location site name – but, she was really cool about letting me do things my way. (Yay, Athina!) She was telling people that we were having “an alternative, California-style wedding” – which made it sound like I was marrying a girl, somewhere in the redwood forest, wearing a hemp sundress and birkinstocks… but, I digress.

The wedding colors were black and white, with accent colors of dark turquoise and egg yolk yellow. For table decor/centerpiece items, I spray-painted figurines the 2 accent colors… some were items we already owned (like Mark’s Fantasy Football trophy from 2007), some were gifts from friends, and some were treasures we found at local Goodwills and garage sales! I even put a call out on Facebook asking for figurine donations from friends for an “art project” (I didn’t dare say it was for wedding decor, or my mother would have blasted off into orbit!) We ended up having hundreds of yellow and turquoise treasures!

Rather than rent silverware, we scoured Goodwills for ornate-looking silverware. We cleaned them and taped off the parts used for eating – and Lauren (of A Fabulous Fete) spray-painted the handles white. I’ve always wanted white or black ornate silverware, and this was a dream come true!

See Also

A Tuscan Inspired Wedding with Pastel Hues at California’s Filoli Gardens

Rather than use tableclothes or placemats, we bought large, white doilies and came up with personal messages for our guests that Lauren hand-wrote in her amazing and unique calligraphy. Some messages were specific (to our parents) and other were general messages that we wanted to share with our guests.

Wedding Location: Los Angeles, CA / Wedding Photographer: Callaway Gable / Wedding Planner and Styling: Amber Gustafson of Amber Events / Wedding Venue: Smog Shoppe / Wedding Dress: Armine Ohanessian of R-Mine / Bride’s Hair: Dessarae of Parlor / Bride’s Makeup: Brittney of Brows By Brittney / Groom’s Suit: The Groom’s Valet / Wedding Flowers: Holly Flora / Wedding Caterer and Desserts: Auntie Em’s Kitchen / Beverages: Sunseri’s / DJ: DJ Nahchey / Rentals and Lighting: Smart Party Rents / Napkins: DwellStudio for Target / Wedding Invitations and Placemats: A Fabulous Fete / Invitation Printing: Creative Letterpress / Wedding Programs: bride / Officiant: David A. Hutchinson, MDiv.