Archive for Thank You

Quaker Ceremony, Shuffleboard and a Fabulous Green Dress

September 19, 2012 at 4:12 pm · Filed under African Mammal Hall, Dance, East Garden, East Stairs, Expo Park, Natural History Museum, Special Offer, Thank You, Vendors, Wedding

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One of the things I love about weddings here at the Natural History Museum is how diverse they are. Even within the same faith I find that couples always manage to throw in their own personal touches to really make the ceremony their own. This time I was fortunate enough to get to see my first Quaker ceremony.

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The ceremony took place in the Rotunda. JJ and Nathalie were seated on chairs adorned with greenery while family and friends faced them in a semi circle. After a period of reflective silence guests would periodically stand to give a blessing to the couple, or pass along well wishes or even share a memory.

ImageAfter the ceremony guests headed outside to sample of of the most unique cocktail menus I’ve seen in quite some time. Aside from the signature drinks, there were craft sodas such as ginger, cream and two kinds of root beer.

 Tables and bar stools were set up along with the bar on the portico. Guests also took advantage of the gorgeous weather to take some time for a stroll through our newly opened gardens.

Once the cocktail hour was over guests were ushered through the dinosaur hall and into the Africam Mammal hall for dinner by Heirloom LA and dancing to music provided by DJ Eva Kim.

ImageImagePlace cards not only showed how to make a shadow puppet of the table animal, it listed the name in French. Animal masks were provided so guests could blend in with the surroundings and opera glasses were on hand just in case someone wanted to get a closer view of the local wildlife!

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Tables were set the length of the room and were adorned with a variety of fresh green foliage put together by Heather Reeves from Holly Flora. Blub lights strung the width of the room gave the area a festive feel.

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Whether it was dancing or shuffleboard, everyone had a great time under the watchful eye of the African elephant!

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A huge thank you to Jen Roper for allowing us to use her amazing photos! To see more of her work please visit blog.jenniferroper.com .She can also be reached at 323-660-3157 or at jenroper@mac.com.

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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 Leah and Alan!

February 15, 2012 at 12:11 pm · Filed under Dance, Expo Park, Natural History Museum, Party, Photographers, Rotunda, Southern California, Thank You, Vendors, Wedding

 

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In December the Natural History Museum was very busy with weddings! Towards the end of the month we were happy to congratulate Leah and Alan, who were married in the Haaga Family Rotunda.

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Whimsical centerpieces along with colored uplights really brought a sense of fun to our North American Mammal Hall where guests danced the night away under the watchful eyes of the bison!

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And no wedding would be complete without a photo shoot in the adjacent Exposition Park Rose Garden! The Haaga Family Rotunda can be seen in the background of this fun shot! On your wedding day at NHM we encourage you to advantage of all the wonderful areas for photo ops! All the amazing photos on this page were courtesy of James Johnson. You can see more of his work at www.jamesjohnsonphotography.com

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Their wedding planner Tobey Dodge (www.tobeydodge.com)  was so thorough and thoughtful, no stone was left unturned! Our good friend Mark Rivera from TGIS Catering (www.tgiscatering.com/) once again provided an amazing dinner and helped coordinate the rentals from Signature Party Rentals (www.signatureparty.com)

Thank you to Leah and Alan and their families (Hi Denny!) for choosing to spend this very special day at the Natural History Museum. We enjoyed meeting you all and hope you come back to visit! Here’s to a long life of happiness for the Ticklers!

 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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Brazil Day in LA!

November 30, 2011 at 1:28 pm · Filed under Children, Dance, Festival, Hancock Park, Miracle Mile, Non-Profit, Page Museum, Page Museum Terrace, Party, Photographers, Rancho La Brea, Southern California, Tar Pits, Thank You, Vendors

Once again, Hancock Park and the La Brea Tar Pits were the backdrop for Brazil Day in LA!

Each year this event brings out the crowds! Vendors selling everything from churrasco and coxinha  to jewelry and clothes surrounded Hancock Park’s grand circle.

Entertainment included bands, drummers, Capoeira demonstrations and a very colorful Carnival Parade! For a list of the performers please visit http://braziliandayla.org/main/performers/.

 

 

And it just wouldn’t be a Brazilian Festival without dancing, dancing and more DANCING!!

To learn more about Brazil Day in LA please visit their website at http://braziliandayla.org/main/ And a big thank you to our friends at the Brazilian Consulate for a wonderful day!

The photos are all from the works of Liza Lemsatef Cunningham. To see more of her work, please visit http://photography.ellelens.com/ or contact her at Liza@ellelens.com.

For more information on holding your festival or outdoor event in Hancock Park, please call 213-763-3221 or email us at specialevents@nhm.org.

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Congratulations Lauren and Mike!

September 1, 2011 at 4:43 pm · Filed under African Mammal Hall, Dance, Dinosaurs, Expo Park, Fin Whale Passage, Grand Foyer, Natural History Museum, Party, Photographers, Rotunda, Southern California, Thank You, Vendors, Wedding

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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A Toast to Southern California at the Page Museum!

May 24, 2011 at 2:33 pm · Filed under Bridal Show, Hancock Park, Ice Age, Miracle Mile, Page Museum, Page Museum Terrace, Party, Photographers, Rancho La Brea, Southern California, Tar Pits, Thank You, Vendors, Wedding

On Thursday May 12, we were happy to partner with Get Married and Wish Wonder Dream Wedding Coordination at the George C. Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits! This event brought together wedding professionals from all over Southern California to sip, taste and experience some of the best wedding vendors in Southern California!

The Main Gallery of the museum was strewn with cocktail tables on the west side where guests were served drinks underneath a Columbian Mammoth! The east side of the museum had delicious finger foods from Truly Yours Catering.

DJFX Entertainment set up their music and a dance area in the timeline section of the museum, a popular place for the dance floor!

Please enjoy these photos from inside the main gallery:

We also got this opportunity to show off the upper terrace of the museum. The terrace is open-aired and looks down in the museum’s atrium where cocktails were being served.

While the terrace is exceptionally beautiful in daylight…

…nighttime brought out a whole new attitude!

And who could forget the goodies?

Thank you to the evening’s sponsors:

Whitney Wing Drake and her team at Wish Wonder Dream

Jessica Williams at Get Married Magazine

The Page Museum

Classic Party Rentals Culver City / Designer 8

La Belles Floral Couture and Curios

The French Florist

Honedew Flavors and Floral Designs

The Swing Kings

Todd Elliot Entertainment

Night and Day Productions

DJFX Entertainment/DJFX Photobooths

Truly Yours Catering

Baked It Myself

Gotta Have S’More

Korbel Champagne

KTB Weddings

Visioneer Media

Want to see more photos?

    Check out Whitney’s blog post here: http://www.thebridespot.com/the-blog/2011/5/19/a-toast-to-southern-california-co-hosted-by-get-married-maga.html 

Caitlin Wing Photography also has some amazing shots on her blog at :http://caitlinwingphotography.blogspot.com/2011/05/get-married-magazine-wish-wonder-dream.html 

For more information on hosting you wedding or any kind of event at the La Brea Tar Pits, Hancock Park, please call the Special Events Information Line at 213-763-3221 or email us at specialevents@nhm.org.

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Congratulations Earth and April!

October 6, 2010 at 3:55 pm · Filed under African Mammal Hall, Dance, Dinosaurs, Expo Park, Grand Foyer, Natural History Museum, New Gallery, Party, Photographers, Rotunda, Southern California, Thank You, Vendors, Wedding

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!

August 5, 2010 at 5:06 pm · Filed under African Mammal Hall, Dinosaurs, Grand Foyer, Invitations, Natural History Museum, Non-Profit, Party, Photographers, Southern California, T-Rex, Thank You, Uncategorized, Vendors, Wedding

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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A day in the Life…

June 4, 2010 at 3:46 pm · Filed under Party, Southern California, Thank You, Vendors

From time to time we get invitations to opening and events in the area to check out new event spaces. Generally these events have fun cocktails, delicious food and we get to meet and network with all kinds of people in the same line of work as us. This time we were invited to an event space showcase at Madame Tussaud’s Hollywood.      

Madame Tussaud’s has room to hold events in both in their gallery of wax celebrities and on their glamorous starlit rooftop. We were treated to some really fun cocktails and delicious appetizers from Premiere Events, who also happen to do the food and beverage for our First Fridays events here at the Natural History Museum.      

Guests were kept busy throughout the night. Aside from mingling on the rooftop, there were casino tables set up for folks to try their luck. Music played throughout the evening and Out of the Box events had developed a scavenger hunt specifically tailored to Madame Tussaud’s Hollywood.      

Melissa and her date "Justin Timberlake"

 

Courtney being pursued by "Quentin Tarantino"

 

The top floor of the wax museum stayed open and we got to take a look at the wax likenesses of celebs such as Will Smith, George Clooney, Beyoncé, Jennifer Aniston and Zac Efron. I will admit we got a bit silly with the camera…       

A particularly fun part of the evening was getting to watch all the excitement at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, located right next to Madame Tussaud’s. Hollywood Boulevard was shut down for the red carpet premiere of the new A-Team movie. From the rooftop we had a great view and watched the non-wax celebrities arrive decked out in their finest!       

A huge thank you to Madame Tussaud’s for hosting this wonderful evening. And thank you to all of the vendors who helped make sure everyone was fed and entertained throughout the evening:      

     

        

For information on holding an event at the Natural History Museum please contact the special events office at  

213-763-3221 or email specialevents@nhm.org

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Happy Birthday Tommy!

April 17, 2010 at 4:21 pm · Filed under African Mammal Hall, Birthday Party, Children, Dinosaurs, Expo Park, Fin Whale Passage, Grand Foyer, Natural History Museum, Party, Southern California, T-Rex, Thank You, Times Mirror Room, Vendors

On Saturday, April 17 the Natural History Museum was the place to be to celebrate Tommy’s birthday! Tommy loves dinosaurs and even wore his favorite dinosaur t-shirt for the occasion.

As his friends arrived, they signed his custom-made birthday card and got to work on their craft and name tags. While they colored they had a chance to examine the museum’s artifacts that were borrowed from our member’s loan service (http://www.nhm.org/site/activities-programs/borrow-artifact ) which included a monkey skull, a saber tooth cat skull, a whale vertebrae, an alligator head and several fossils!

The kids were very excited to attend the Dinosaur Encounter! show in our second floor North American Mammal Hall.

They bravely took a front row seat to watch Sophie from our education department teach them all about the tyrannosaurus rex! The kids all had a great time, even when the t-rex got a little close with his giant teeth…

After the dinosaur show, the kids went on a scavenger hunt that had them working together to follow the clues!

This hunt had the kids follow clues that took them through the Grand Foyer, African Mammal Hall, American History Hall, Fin Whale Passage, North American Mammal Hall and finally to the Discovery Center, where they took some time to enjoy the fossil dig pit and insect zoo!

Tommy’s mom Lisa kept everyone fed with pizza from Pasta Romo and lots of snacks and drinks.

After lunch Tommy got to blow out the candles on his super cool wrestling/dinosaur cake. As the guests departed, everyone went home with a bag full of goodies!

Thank you to Jill, Tom, and all of Tommy’s friends and family that came out to help him celebrate his special day. Another thank you to Theresa Panero for sharing her amazing party photos. And a very special thank you to Tommy for choosing to share your birthday with us here at the Natural History Museum!

Make sure you comeback and visit us again!

For more information on holding your child’s birthday at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, please call 213-763-3221 or visit our website at http://www.nhm.org/site/about-our-museums/event-rentals-filming/event-types/kids-birthday-parties.

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Primeval Love!

April 17, 2010 at 3:16 pm · Filed under African Mammal Hall, Art Show, Grand Foyer, Natural History Museum, Party, Southern California, Thank You

  

On Friday April 9, artist Amanda Visell hosted a showing and sale of her amazing artwork at the Natural History Museum.   

The event was open to the public and as guests arrived, many took the time to stroll through the first floor of the museum, especially in the Grand Foyer, where the paintings and sculptures were on display.  

Guests sipped wine and munched on appetizers as they perused the artwork and enjoyed some lively music from a five-piece band that strolled the marble hall throughout the evening.  

One of the highlights of the evening was a live model who was doing a re-creation of one of Amanda’s paintings in our African Mammal Hall.  

 

A big huge thank you to Amanda, Michelle and all their friends who showed up to help with the event! If you would like to check out some of Amanda’s work, please got to www.amandavisell.com or http://www.myswitcheroo.com/.  

If you would like more information on holding an art show or any kind of event here at the Natural History Museum, give us a call at 213-763-3221 or visit our page on the NHM website at http://www.nhm.org/site/about-our-museums/event-rentals-filming.  

 

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