A Secret Garden Themed Wedding in Santa Monica, California

In December of 2017, Renee Elperin was swiping through Tinder when she received a “Super-Like” from Adam Silver. Although his profile didn’t say much, Renee was definitely intrigued. After waiting a couple days, she responded – and their connection was instant.

“We spent about a week talking and texting before we went out on our first date,” Renee shares. “The conversations were so easy, filled with laughter and sarcasm. It felt like we had known each other for years. We had much the same views on life, religion, and family. We both had daughters similar in age. We even knew some of the same people. The connections were endless.”

Adam proposed almost exactly after they met. The couple had just come back from dinner and were returning to their beautiful boutique hotel in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. As soon as Adam opened the door, Renee was awestruck when she was greeted by a room filled with flowers and candles – not to mention, their song playing on the speaker. Adam popped the question while down on one knee, having created the perfect proposal.

To complement such a wonderful engagement experience, Renee and Adam wanted to host a wedding that was equally as memorable. However, having heard so many stories about the stresses that often come with the typical wedding planning process, both were nervous about the entire ordeal.

“We both worked full-time, had two kids in the house, and neither of us handle stress exceptionally well,” Renee states. “Luckily, that is when we found Aliana Events. We met with our phenomenal wedding planner, Aliana, and we told her exactly what we wanted. We wanted a simple but elegant theme, inspired by nature with lots of greenery. Together we came up with a beautiful secret garden themed wedding. We met with Aliana several times to discuss the vision and she handled the rest. All we had to do was show up! It was completely stress-free. It was exactly what we envisioned.”

The bride and groom’s secret garden themed wedding included clouds of baby’s breath and a stunning Chuppah made of real trees. Food was provided by both, the venue’s restaurant and an outside catering service, as the couple wanted to make sure nobody left hungry. Throughout the night, Eli’s Band provided music that kept guests dancing until 2 a.m. To this day, Renee and Adam still receive compliments on their music choice, which was an epic way to end an incredible celebration.

“Fun fact,” says Renee, “my husband planned our entire honeymoon; I had no idea where we were going. We were gone for three weeks and visited Japan, Thailand, and Singapore. It was a mix of adventure and relaxation. It was the perfect beginning to a beautiful future together. I can honestly say, I would not change a single thing about my wedding.”