clockwIse lim
and chen, in a John Varvatos suit. A centerpiece. French macarons on the dessert table. Pink and green invitation suite.
N
ot since Chriselle Lim launched the heavily trafficked fashion blog The Chriselle Factor in 2010 had the L.A.-based stylist been faced with a more daunting aesthetic challenge. Two years after she met Allen Chen through a mutual friend, the nervous import/ export exec proposed on bended knee at a beachside restaurant overlooking the Redondo Beach pier. A vision board in Lim’s downtown L.A. loft soon abounded with far-flung European milieus and clippings of bright, fanciful garden parties that only the Greystone Mansion, the majestic former Doheny estate in Beverly Hills, could mirror. In a lace sweetheart dress Lim designed with local couturier Arminé Ohanessian, the bride and groom exchanged vows in an afternoon ceremony on the property’s manicured terrace. “Everyone kept saying it was so hot. Thankfully our planner was there to hand out parasols because Allen and I were so in the moment that we didn’t even notice.” Along the short stroll over to the reception dinner, 130 guests enjoyed cocktails beneath a corridor of soaring Italian cypress trees filled with the sounds of acoustic guitars. Chen, who insisted the rehearsal dinner take place at his favorite Chinese restaurant in the Valley, helped design the wedding menu with expert caterer Wolfgang Puck. “The tuna tartare and truffled pasta were perfect,” says Chen. As the sun set shortly after their first dance, Lim surprised her groom with a white 1962 Rolls-Royce to whisk them off to the afterparty atop West Hollywood’s London hotel. The following week, they settled into Chen’s childhood home in Manhattan Beach, which they are currently in the process of renovating. For Lim, “That’s the next challenge.” • Venue Greystone Mansion cake Cakes by Rumy menu Wolfgang Puck Catering dress Custom from R-mine Bridal florist Shawna Yamamoto rings Sue & Ferris entertainment Jon Evans SoCal Wedding Guitar Planner Details Details rentals Etablir Shop stationerY Papermade Design honeYmoon Greece
Ivy and peony decor. Vanilla cake with strawberry-mango cream. Gucci shoes. lim gifted her bridesmaids signet rings from Jennifer Zeuner in macaron trinket boxes.
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