Archive for Grand Foyer

NHM is Turning 100!

Only one month left to go!

cent_cele_rcm

First up is the Grand Centennial Celebration on Saturday, June 8. We will be  serving cocktails in the new Nature Gardens and you will be treated to a preview of the new Nature Lab and Otis Booth Pavilion. Dinner looks to be an exquisite experience with a menu designed especially for this event!

After

The after party dessert reception will dazzle your senses with an amazing light and sound show. With the dual purpose of celebrating our 100th anniversary and unveiling the glorious new Otis Booth Pavilion, this party will be amazing! Also making his debut in his new home in the Otis Booth Pavilion is our iconic fin whale! Hosted cocktails and an array of delectable desserts will top off this most memorable evening!

Birthdaybash_4

Sunday June 9 is the 100 Birthday Bash!

Guests will be able to join Adam Steltzner from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a discussion about Mars Curiosity rover, they will enjoy tours of our brand new Nature Garden, and enjoy the delicious food from the ever popular food trucks. Entertainment on hand will be DJs Raul Campos, Anthony Valadez and Canyon Cody in the North American and Mr and Mrs Samuel Oschin Family Hall of African Mammals, and outdoor shows with DEVO and GZA/The Genius!

For more information on tickets for these events please visit http://www.nhm.org/site/about-our-museums/nhm-100/events Tickets are expected to sell out so make sure you check this out right away!

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Vintage Chic!

Rose Garden B+W

One of the things we love about our brides here at the Natural History Museum is the unique individualism of each and every one. Back in November we were wowed one again by the vintage-style wedding of Kathy and Guiliano.

k close garden

Kathy’s dress was delicate and full of lace, adding to the antique look of the event. The fact that the weather was not cooperative actually added to the old time feel of the photos. The outdoor shots were taken in the Exposition Rose Garden, adjacent to the Natural History Museum.

G open

The ceremony was in our elegant Haaga Family Rotunda. Prior to the ceremony the groom was so nervous and it was refreshing to see him relaxed and back to his old self once the vows were completed!

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And who could forget the couple’s daughter Sophia who was front and center for all the excitement!

Bison

And of course, what is a wedding at the Natural History Museum without a photo in front of the bison in the North American Mammal Hall?

Snuggle

A big thank you to Leah and Rob of Vis Photography. The vintage-style photos are truly beautiful. They also do amazing non-vintage work. If you would like to take a look, please visit http://visphotography.com/. They can be reached at leah@visphotography.com or at 951-295-2910.

happy

Thinking about having your next event at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles? Give us a call at 213-763-3221 or send us an email at specialevents@nhm.org and see how we can help make your next event a memorable one!

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Congratulations Faith and Devon!

Trex Wedding Party
What do you get when you cross a stunning black wedding gown, a tabletop sauropod topiary and a wedding cake with a dragon crawling up the side with one super-artsy couple? Must be another wedding at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles!
Wedding Singer

The ceremony took place in our Grand Foyer under the ever-watchful eyes of our iconic dueling dinos. The couple was serenaded by a personal friend who delivered a stirring a Capella performance.

P3

Cocktails were help in the same area and guests rocked out to the sounds of P3 as they celebrated the newlyweds! Afterwards, the party moved into the Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Oschin Family Hall of African Mammals for dinner…

Sauropod Center

Dancing…

Bride dance

And dessert!

Cake

A huge thank you to Jessica Schilling for the use of her gorgeous photos. If you would like to see more of her work, please visit Jessica Schilling Photography at http://jessicaschillingphotography.com or call 323.529.3686.

Hold hands Rot

Give us a call at 213-763-3221 or send us an email at

specialevents@nhm.org

and see how we can help make your next event a memorable one!

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Congratulations Lauren and Mike!

On July 3rd the Natural History Museum was the location for the celebration of Lauren and Mike’s Wedding! Their ceremony was held in the Exposition Park Rose Garden, just a short walk away from the Natural History Museum.

Cocktails were held in the Grand Foyer and dinner and dancing took place under the watchful eye of an African elephant in the African Mammal Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The happy couple also made sure to take advantage of the rest of the museum for some amazing photo ops.

The gem hall shots were too funny!

This wedding would not have been the same without the careful eye of event producer Nathaniel Neubauer and manager Jenny Dennis, both of Contemporary Catering (http://contemporary-catering.com/index.php).

Lee Dyson from Hey Mr DJ (http://www.heymisterdj.com/indexb2.htm) provided both ceremony and reception music, Jackie Combs (http://www.jackiecombsfloraldesign.com/) designed the beautiful florals for the evening, the cake came from Joleen Medina at A Sweet Design (http://asweetdesign.info/) and the rentals were handled by Rob Kuehn and our friends over at Town and Country Rentals (http://townandcountryeventrentals.com/).

And please check out the website of Alex Neumann at http://www.alexneumann.com/. He is the man behind these stunning photos! I still can’t figure out how he made our rainforest look so big!

And of course a huge thank you to Lauren, Mike and their families for choosing to spend their special day at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County! For more information on holding your wedding here, please call the Special Events Information Line at 213-763-3221, email us at specialevents@nhm.org or visit http://www.nhm.org/site/about-our-museums/event-rentals-filming/event-types/weddings.

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Geek Chic!

I know, I know “geek” is not usually regarded as a term of endearment, but here at the Natural History Museum, we wear it as a badge of honor! That’s why I couldn’t have been more excited for the self-proclaimed geeks Dorian and Lynn’s wedding on June 11, 2011!

If you don’t remember, Dorian and Lynn had the Night at the Museum save the date cards and the fantastic Aquarium Engagement photos – all of which can be found by scrolling down. I couldn’t wait to see what they would come up with, and boy they did not disappoint!

The ceremony was held in the Grand Foyer and the bridal party made their entrance from the African Mammal Hall into the Foyer to the sounds of the theme song from “Jurassic Park.” Incidentally, one of their tables was the “Jurassic Park” table. The linens were green and black and the centerpieces were glass globes with terrariums and floating blossoms.

Committing the cardinal sin of nearly upstaging the bride was the cake. Now this is not the first time Kimberly from The Butter End Cakery has created a masterpiece for a wedding at NHM (See April and Earth’s Wedding below), but it is the first time we have had a fully edible replica of the Millennium Falcon in the North American Mammal Hall!

To deter the lure of tiny fingers making their way to the ship before it was time to cut the cake, a generic interplanetary galactic bounty hunter was on hand pacing back and forth throughout the evening. He looked just like Boba Fett- you know, the bounty hunter from the movie Star Wars, but those characters are owned by George Lucas, so non-specific bounty hunter it is!

So congratulations Dorian and Lynn! I hope you had fun on your honeymoon trying to make the Kessel run in twelve parsecs! (For all geeks reading this, yes I am well aware that a parsec is a measure of distance, not time. Take it up with Captain Solo :-) )

All of these stunning photos are from Matt Miller at Our Labor of Love. Please take a minute and check them out at http://www.ourlaboroflove.com/#weddings-f4818.

Also, I want to say a very special thank you to Laura Guerrie at Rebel Belle Weddings. She worked tirelessly to ensure that this wedding went off without a hitch. It was simply a pleasure to work with her and her team! If you would like to take a look at her services that range from some simple help to full on wedding planning, please visit http://rebelbelleweddings.com/ or  call 626-888-1729.

For more information on holding your wedding here at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, please call the Special Events Information Line at 213-763-3221, email us at specialevents@nhm.org or visit http://www.nhm.org/site/about-our-museums/event-rentals-filming/event-types/weddings.

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Congratulations Alix and Shawn!

 

We here at the Natural History Museum were fortunate enought to have Alix and Shawn celebrate their wedding here! This is easily one of the most creative couples we have ever encountered. They created everything from the invitations to the dress. Alix even found the time to make stuffed animal place cards/gifts for her guests! Their suggested attire for the evening was “Vintage” and their guests seemed to have a ball, as there were clothes from every time period imaginable!

They chose to have the ceremony in the African Mammal Hall, dinner in the Rotunda and dancing in the Fin Whale Passage. I would love nothing more than to post every single picture up here, but Alix has a great blog where she has these photos posted (http://cuteanddelicious.com/2011/05/the-wedding-part-2/) so I will encourage you to head over that way and check them out!

The photographer for the evening was from Photo Pink and you can take a look at their work at http://www.photopinknyc.com/.

For more information on holding your wedding here at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, please call the Special Events Information Line at 213-763-3221, email us at specialevents@nhm.org or visit http://www.nhm.org/site/about-our-museums/event-rentals-filming/event-types/weddings.

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Congratulations Earth and April!

On Sunday September 26, Earth and April held the first wedding reception in the newly restored Rotunda!

The ceremony was held in the grand foyer and guests sipped on mint iced tea and hibiscus lemonade as they took their seats around the dueling dinos. The wedding party entered through the African Mammal Hall directly towards the guests for a very dramatic entrance.

After the ceremony, everyone headed over to the Rotunda to celebrate the occasion! Instead of a traditional sit down dinner, the couple opted for heavy appetizers both passed and  buffet style. White leather couches and ottomans were spread out in between the marble columns giving guests a chance to sit and chat. In addition, extra seated and standing cocktail tables were spread throughout the room, including some placed on the mezzanine level. The happy couple also took full advantage of our beautiful portico on the east entrance! As you can see it makes a beautiful backdrop for photos, and there is room on the stairs to fit the whole family!

All of the amazing photos you see here were shot by Jen O’Sullivan and her team. To see more of her work, please visit http://jenosullivan.com/.

In addition, the mouth-watering food was prepared and served by John Kinderman and his team at About Thyme Catering (www.aboutthymela.com), the gorgeous lounge furniture and lines were from Town and Country Rentals (http://townandcountryeventrentals.com/), the flowers were from The Hidden Garden (http://www.hiddengardenflowers.com/), the entertainment was provided by Barry Lamster (www.barrylamster.com) and Arielle Haze, the ”LA Wedding Woman” (www.laweddingwoman.com) officiated the service. The mouth-watering cake was constructed by Kimberly Bailey from the Butter End Cakery (http://thebutterendcakery.com/) and will be featured on an upcoming episode of TLC’ Fabulous Cakes. We will post the air date as soon as we know it!

So a big thank you to April, Earth and all their friends and family who came out to celebrate! It was an honor to be a part of your wedding and we wish you health and happiness and always remember,

“There’s no point in being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes.” ;-)

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Congratulations Josh and Alyssa!

We gave you the save-the-dates, then came the invites and now… The Korwins!

On Saturday, July 3 Josh and Alyssa became husband and wife right here at the Natural History Museum! The happy couple opted to use the Grand Foyer for their ceremony. The Dueling Dinos were surrounded by handmade tissue flowers with colored LED lights in the center. Josh’s brothers Zach and Devin provided the musical accompaniment on their acoustic guitars. Instead of traditional bridal vows, the couple read limericks! They really are too good not to share… (taken from Josh’s website)

Alyssa’s vows

Honesty and friendship are key
To have a good marriage with thee
But when things get funny,
I swear I won’t runny
And make my new home in a tree.

Josh’s vows

I vow to be honest and true,
loyal, and kindhearted too.
We’ll author each page,
and grow old in age.
And one day, I’ll clean up your poo.

 

The reception was held in the African Mammal Hall. As we mentioned in a previous post, the couple was going with a  “1960s-concert-in-the-park-meets-prehistoric-hipster-safari” theme. Their centerpieces included items from our own member’s loan collection, some books, cars, birds… well, maybe I should let the groom explain the centerpieces in his own words:

“So when faced with dressing the tables in the African Mammal Hall we decided on a sort of Eclectic Safari Picnic theme. To start it off we definitely wanted to have the classic red and white checkered Italian tablecloth. To have that picnic look, I wanted to incorporate some green grassy elements and found some 16″ moss sheets that worked perfectly.

The rest of the decor was pretty much a scattered bit of eclectic craziness on my part.

First came the Glowing Sun-Jars: made with glass Mason jars from Ikea, sprayed with glass-frosting spray and outfitted with a color changing glowing orb inside.

Second were the Birch bark log vases: cut from Birch firewood logs and drilled out by my dad. We then outfitted them each with a fabric daisy, a few grass strands and a flower bud puff. For some reason we never realized the vases were the same height as the Sun-Jars (which threw the balance of the decor off) so my mom scrounged together some vintage books to stack them on! 

Next came the little BMW Isetta wind up toys from Kinsmart. There wasn’t really much of a reason for choosing these beside the fact that Isettas are one of my favorite production cars ever (because they are just so out there and awesome). I decided to incorporate them into the decor purely for guests to play around with. Some people also got vintage porcelain sparrow figurines on their tables as well. 

And last but not least… the Chocolate covered Almonds. My dad over-ordered these cute little boxes for a client. All we had to do was make a few more “Future Korwins” stickers and we were all set to go!”

Thanks Josh!

 I also could not wait to share their attire! Josh was decked out in a navy blue velvet jacket, floral shirt and red desert boots!

Alyssa began the day in a beautiful floor length gown that she made herself.

After the ceremony she changed into a BCBG Max Azria mini with gladiator sandals and what may be the coolest piece of dinosaur jewelry we have seen here!

Mark Rivera from TGIS catering (http://www.tgiscatering.com/) was on hand throughout the evening to make sure that all the guests were well fed. The couple opted for food stations that served Korean street tacos, gyros, japanese salad, glazed salmon and designer mini cupcakes.

All of these amazing photos you see here were taken by Sakura Photography. Check out her blog post from Josh and Alyssa’s wedding at http://www.sakurakoontzblog.com/?p=1924 

Also, Carel Struycken, a friend of Josh and Alyssa’s created a picturebubble! If you would like to get the feeling of standing in Grand Foyer during a wedding ceremony, please check this out: http://www.picturebubbles.com/gallery/alyssajoshwedding01.html

So a big congratulations to Josh and Alyssa!

It was great getting to meet both of you as well as your families. Thank you for choosing to spend you special day with us. Everyone here at the museum wishes you a lifetime of happiness and non-dirty limericks! 

For more information on holding your wedding here at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, please call the Special Events Information Line at 213-763-3221, email us at specialevents@nhm.org or visit http://www.nhm.org/site/about-our-museums/event-rentals-filming/event-types/weddings.

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And now for the invites…

Wow, Alyssa and Josh have seriously outdone themselves, folks! As impressed as we were at their save the date cards, their wedding invitations have completely blown us away!     

    Seriously, the design and attention to detail that these two have put into their invitations is nothing short of amazing! Following up with their band gig save the date cards, they have sent out their invitations as an album cover inspired by the ’50s and 60′s LPs. Their photo for the album/invite cover was taken by Josh, and he used a black sweatshirt as a backdrop and Alyssa was holding a blue LED nightlight from Ikea to get their desired effects.           

Alyssa's Sketch

 

According to Josh’s blog, the inspiration for the RSVP cards came from an old Cleveland bus ticket that Alyssa found on eBay.   

She sketched out her idea first and came up with a great card that fits perfectly with their theme.     

        

 
 
The InspirationIn addition, Alyssa hand-lettered and cut stickers the say “I love the Future Korwins” based on an old Beatles button to throw in the invitations as an added bonus! 
 
 
 
There is no way I can do all the details justice here. I highly recommend you take a look at the post on Josh’s blog at http://blog.threestepsahead.com/casestudies/josh-alyssas-album-cover-wedding-invitation/ . There is a photo slide show at the bottom where you can get an up close look at all the little details.
  
For more information on holding your wedding at the Natural History Museum, please call 213-763-3221 or email us at specialevents@nhm.org.

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And the King and Queen are…

Another prom season has come and gone here at NHM!

Thanks to our Corporate Partner The Event Group (www.californiaproms.com) this year we saw students from El Segundo, Arroyo and Rio Mesa High Schools pass through our halls decked out in their finest! The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is a fun and uniques venue to hold a formal event. Our tall ceilings, marble floors and towering columns add a touch of class to any gathering.

In addition, The Event Group provided the schools with caricature artists, fortune tellers and even some casino tables to keep everyone entertained and having fun!

Joann Lovato of Lovato Events (www.lovatoevents.com) delivered a delicious spread of pasta, chicken, fresh fruit and veggies and, of course, an amazing dessert spread!

 

 

 

 

The floors in our mammal halls are sealed cork so there is no need for you to rent a dance floor. All you need is your dancing shoes to rock the night away!

 

  

A huge thank you to Patty, Dianna, Taylor, Kyle (Alex ;-) ) and everyone else at The Event Group (www.californiaproms.com/team.php) for all of your hard work. See you next year!

There are still dates available in the Fall of 2010 for homecoming and winter formals. We also have many dates in the spring for the prom season of 2011, but they do fill up quickly so call now! Our Special Events team can be reached at 213-763-3221 and will be happy to arrange a site visit for you .

For more information on holding a formal school event please visit http://www.nhm.org/site/about-our-museums/event-rentals-filming/event-types/schools-non-profits or email specialevents@nhm.org.

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