Today we are ecstatic to share one of our most anticipated event designs of the year! Follow along below as Regina, one of our founders, shares all the behind-the-scenes details. And…..a HUGE thank you to Milena Sefferovich for these gorgeous photos!

For this party I had the privilege of working with the ladies from Aimia and Toyota, and was given a lot of creative liberty, which made this a truly fun event to design.  They told us their guests would be spending the day wine tasting and returning to one of our favorite venues, Pelican Hill, for a special dinner party.  This inspired the idea to bring the “vineyard” to Newport Coast… which was not without its challenges!  The space at Pelican Hill was a pristine lawn which extended into the golf course, which was so lovely, but couldn’t have been further from a vineyard feel.  We needed vines!  I started with that and worked backward from there.  All of the guests were from out of state, and had enjoyed a week in Southern California, so now I wanted to transport them to a Napa or Sonoma Winery for a few hours, without ever leaving Orange County. 

Archive’s talented team built custom pergolas from weathered, reclaimed scraps of wood, and surrounded them with Olive trees.  Now for those vines!  Archive’s principal floral designer and my design partner Krista Jon “grew” vines atop the pergolas, creating the most charming space around our Montecito Tables.  We hung a collection of vintage chandeliers over the tables, and kept them low and dim, ensuring Toyota’s guests would have the most intimate experience.  We topped the tables with burlap runners, and used our Espresso Bistro Chairs, keeping an overall authenticity and warmth. 

Pelican Hill‘s chef prepared a fantastic Farm-To-Table meal, elegantly served on Archive’s vintage china in a palette of rich red, green and brown hues.   The most extraordiary finishing touch came once again from Krista Jon, who perfectly captured the Farm-To-Table feel, using the season’s most breathtaking florals along with exquisite varieties of lettuces, radishes, chives, and other farmer’s market varietals.   After working on designing for hours that afternoon, I emerged from underneath the pergola to find myself surprised and reminded that I was actually still in Orange County… design mission accomplished!

Want to rent our weathered, reclaimed wood pergolas for your next event? Give us a ring at: 888.459.6598 or drop us a line at: [email protected]. We can’t wait to hear from you!