A Luxurious, Gold and White Wedding at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills

After missing his flight from Los Angeles to New York, Peter Cunningham was stuck with five hours to fill. He looked around, spotted the “cutest girl” in the airport, and managed to strike up a conversation.

“He sat down next to me and I figured if he was a total jerk it wouldn’t matter, because I had a plane to catch,” says Candice Johnson. They spent the next hour laughing, and by boarding time she felt comfortable enough to give Peter her number.

Dating, with a two-and-a-half-hour commute, proved too difficult, and after eight months they went their own ways. But two years later, Candice moved closer and they reunited, admitting that the separation had been “torture.”

Peter and Candice were driving through Beverly Hills one Saturday when he pointed out a romantic restaurant they had never visited and decided to make a reservation. Then came his epiphany. “When you can’t get enough of someone as beautiful and funny as Candice, it’s time to do something about it,” he says, and visited his jeweler.

At the restaurant, flowers and a beautifully candlelit table were waiting. “Peter always surprises me with special touches, so I didn’t suspect a thing,” says Candice, though she noticed he seemed to be chattering nervously. Peter, with the ring burning in his pocket could not even make it to the appetizers before he jumped to one knee and proposed. Candice, so mesmerized by his eyes that she barely glanced at the ring, said, “Yes!”

They deemed the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills perfect for their wedding. “It was pretty, peaceful and easy to access,” says Candice. An early evening ceremony for 160 guests was held in Wetherly Gardens. The vows, officiated by the minister of Candice’s father’s church, ended with a festive blast from confetti cannons showering the couple with a downpour of snowy white paper.

To create a luxurious gold and white décor, the ballroom was totally transformed. Walls were draped in white with 4,000 square feet of white dance floor covering the patterned carpet. A gold monogram adorned the center. Dancing was the order of the night. After the bride and groom’s first turn around the floor, Candice and her father danced a number they had been working on for months. Not to be outdone, Peter and Candice’s mom set the tone of fun for the evening with a crowd-pleasing routine. “It was hilarious,” says Candice.

“They mixed songs and styles tossing in everything from moonwalking to Gangnam Style with amusing props. After that, everyone was ready to party.”

The upbeat music from the band and DJ kept the reception hopping right through dinner. “Everyone was having so much fun that we partied for three hours past the original end time,” explains Peter.

After the effort of planning a wedding, the honeymoon was almost an afterthought. They looked on the web for somewhere quiet, warm and close to water with activities they never find time for in Los Angeles. Peter discovered The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort in Mexico and booked it. “Even though it was last minute, it was the perfect honeymoon and we didn’t ever want to leave,” says Peter.