NICOLE & BRANDON

CLASSIC ELEGANCE MEETS LUXURY AND FUN WEDDING AT THE
FAIRMONT GRAND DEL MAR 

Film by: ByDesign Films

Here’s a stunning highlight film by ByDesign Films of Nicole & Brandon’s classic elegance meets luxury and fun wedding at the prestigious Fairmont Grand Del Mar Resort in San Diego, CA. 

 VENDOR LOVE

SAN DIEGO WEDDING PLANNER: KELI CHRISTENSON, OF MONARCH WEDDINGS

VIDEOGRAPHY: BYDESIGNS FILMS

VENUE: FAIRMONT GRAND DEL MAR

FLORIST:  KATHY WRIGHT & CO.

PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL BARNETT PHOTOGRAPHY

DRAPE/STAGE/RENTALS: HIRE ELEGANCE 

RENTALS: LINENS:  LA TAVOLA FINE LINEN read more

ABBY & GRANT

MODERN CHIC ELEGANT WEDDING AT THE STUNNING
MONARCH BEACH RESORT

BY: QUIXOTIC WEDDINGS

A beautiful high-light film by Quixotic Weddings of Abby & Grant’s modern, chic elegant wedding at the stunning Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Ca.

I had so much fun planning this wedding with Abby & Grant and collaborating on design with the very talented floral design Jennifer Cole Florals.  It was al honor to be a part of Abby & Grant’s wedding day and especially special for Monarch Weddings to partner up with such a prestigious venue as the Monarch Beach Resort – truly a dream come true!  read more

TRISH & BRAD’S 

HEARTFELT WEDDING VIDEO AT THE PRADO BALBOA PARK

BY: AQUA VIVUS

These two love birds seriously stole my heart.  This wedding video by Aqua Vivus brought me to tears.  I adore this sweet loving couple.  I was truly honored to be a part of the beautiful special day. 

 VENDOR LOVE:

SAN DIEGO WEDDING PLANNER: KELI CHRISTENSON, OF MONARCH WEDDINGS

VIDEOGRAPHY: AQUA VIVUS

VENUE: THE PRADO BALBOA PARK

FLORIST:  JENNIFER COLE FLORALS

PHOTOGRAPHY: PETULA PEA PHOTOGRAPHY

TABLE RENTALS: ABBEY PARTY RENTALS 

LINENS:  LA TAVOLA FINE LINEN read more

CHRISTINA & SEAN

HOTEL DEL CORONADO

PART 2 – THE CELEBRATION

After the very romantic sunset/twilight ceremony on the beachfront Windsor lawn at the historical beautiful  Hotel Del Coronado, guests moved inside to the Carrousel Room for Cocktail Hour followed by the Dinner reception in the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Del Coronado.

To help create the elegant garden feel of this wedding in the ballroom, we used a rich darker wood farm table from Abbey Party Rentals that we placed in a U-shape framing the dance-floor and at the center of it placed the sweetheart table. Then we used the hotel’s round tables with soft blush linens for the other guest tables.  Doing this created a unique and non-traditional layout and really made the sweetheart table the center of everything.  We used a soft blush linen in a combination of textures, the pinwheel blush was from Concepts Event Design and specialty Lace linen was for the Sweetheart table and cake table was by La Tavola Fine Linen.  The Farm tables had a soft blush runner, some rounds has blush satin and we used the same fabric napkins for all by APR Fine Linens   Abbey Party Rental’s tuscan plate gave the table decor a more polished complete look and we placed a elegant simple foil printed menu on top by Whimsique Invitations.  For the floral decor, Adorations included seasonal flowers in various size vessels to give an eclectic look. David Austin garden roses dominated the design with natural foliage that lent a handpicked styling, with subtle hints of metallic gold. Queen Anne’s lace, maidenhair fern, and white veronica imbued movement, peaking amongst the garden roses. read more

CHRISTINA & SEAN

HOTEL DEL CORONADO

PART 1 – PRE-CEREMONY & THE CEREMONY

A stunning sunset/twilight ceremony on the beachfront Windsor lawn at the historical and beautiful  Hotel Del Coronado.

The hride-to-be (Christina) wanted her wedding to feel romantic, soft, elegant with warm ambiance with a lot of warm candle light.  Being that her wedding was a pre-winter affair in November, Adorations included seasonal flowers that could give the same grandiose effect as the brides desire to have dinner plate dahlias, and opted for large china mums to take the place perfectly.  David Austin garden roses dominated the design with natural foliage that lent a handpicked styling, with subtle hints of metallic gold. Queen Anne’s lace, maidenhair fern, and white veronica imbued movement, peaking amongst the garden roses. LaVonne (Adorations Botanical Artistry) was able to weave in smaller varieties of dahlias to keep the bride’s original vision at play, but let the china mums do their job to emphasize the scale. read more

KATHRYN & NICK

THE HOTEL DEL CORONADO

PART 2 – THE CELEBRATION

Designing and planning this glamorous gold, lovely lace and lavender wedding at the Hotel Del Coronado was so much fun!  The bride (Kathryn) and Groom (Nick) lived on the East Coast, so we planned their destination wedding all over the phone. In fact, I met her for the first time at the Rehearsal.  She intrusted me with all the planning and design, which was so fun for me.  In fact, at the beginning of the design process, the I asked her “what are some of your favorite wedding design elements and colors”, to which she replied, ” I love lace and bling and my colors are ivory, violet/lavender, and gold”.  Then of course, she shared her pinterest board with me and I saw that she loved opulent floral centerpieces and got a good sense of her style, so from there it was a fun design process and collaboration with Bethany and Splendid Sentiments for floral decor.  We decided to keep the Ceremony and Reception mostly soft ivory, gold and lace (shown in Part #1)  and the Cocktail hour we played up the lavender color.  I feel in love with Concept Event Designs new lace linen with a gold soft bridal satin. read more

Love these bridal portraits on the beach. The lighting is insanely beautiful and love the softness and romantic look of this shot under the veil. Stunning! Pam Scott – You nail it every time!

KATHRYN & NICK

THE HOTEL DEL CORONADO

PART 1 – DETAILS & CEREMONY

I had a blast designing and planning this glamorous gold, lovely lace and lavender wedding at the Hotel Del Coronado.  The bride (Kathryn) and Groom (Nick) lived on the East Coast, so we planned their destination wedding all over the phone. In fact, I met her for the first time at the Rehearsal.  This worked so well because she truly trusted me ad the wedding panning and design process.

As for the decor/design of this beautiful wedding, the bride allowed me to truly showcase my expertise and design skills by giving me pretty much design control.  I presented ideas I thought would be amazing and it seemed to click perfectly with your design aesthetic – we also through in some surprises she didn’t know about.   The results are magical!  At the beginning of the design process, the I asked her “what are some of your favorite wedding design elements and colors”, to which she replied, ” I LOVE lace and bling and my colors are ivory, violet/lavender, and gold”.  Then of course, she shared her pinterest board with me and I saw that she loved opulent floral centerpieces and got a good sense of her style, so from there it was a fun design process and collaboration with Bethany and Splendid Sentiments for floral decor.  We decided to keep the Ceremony and Reception mostly soft ivory, gold and lace and the Cocktail hour we played up the lavender color.  I feel in love with Concept Event Designs new lace linen with a gold soft bridal satin. read more

San Diego Wedding Planner, Keli Christenson, Founder & Planner of Monarch Wedding and Monarch Weddings Team

Hello and Welcome to SOCIAL BUTTERFLY, A MONARCH WEDDINGS BLOG!

My name is Keli Christenson, the Founder of Monarch Weddings, LLC in San Diego, CA.  I’m thrilled to be launching my new website and blog, showcasing some of my work and broadcasting to the world my passion for wedding planning!

I thought a good place to start my first blog would be at the beginning… my journey to becoming a wedding/event planner and business owner of Monarch Weddings started at a very young age – about 7 years old. My mom often shares stories of how I was awe-struck by anything glitzy, girlie and glamorous and laughs about how I would throw dress up parties for my friends in the backyard or garage and often would play “wedding”. read more