Christine Quinn & Christian Richard

After several not-so-great experiences on the Los Angeles dating scene, Christine Quinn gave in to a friend insistent on introducing her to Christian Richard, an entrepreneur who had just moved from the east coast. Spoiler alert: the date went well. Very well. “Within the first hour of our quick-witted and fiery conversations, I immediately knew he was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with,” Christine says. “He was tall, handsome, intelligent, and possessed every quality I was looking for in a husband.”

Christian fell equally hard, and while he originally wanted to plan an extravagant marriage proposal, he felt the moment was right on Valentine’s Day at the Bel-Air Hotel. “It was intimate, spontaneous, full of love, and so meaningful. It couldn’t have been more perfect!” Christine says.

For their wedding, the creative couple knew they wanted to create an unforgettable, over-the-top experience. They chose a Catholic cathedral in downtown Los Angeles for the backdrop of their winter wonderland-meets-gothic themed wedding and picked event planner Lisa Lafferty to bring that “Wicked Wonderland” vision to life. The result was a complete transformation, giving guests the experience of a lifetime, seemingly transporting them to another time and place.

Friends and family first entered this dreamy otherworld via a twinkling light tunnel, surrounded by real icicles. Once they arrived in the luxe white lounge, they sipped His and Hers charcoal-activated “smoking” cocktails — a special effect, but only a hint at what was to come. The ceremony space was decked out with large crystal chandeliers, gigantic LED screens giving glimpses into a snowy forest, hanging roses lining the aisle, and even ponds filled with live swans. Time stopped when Christine pulled up to the chapel in a black horse-drawn gothic carriage, wearing the most stunning Galia Lahav custom wedding dress with a 23-foot-long train. “I had the first black wedding dress(es) the designer has ever made, in addition to the longest train,” Christine says. “For the first and not last time in my life, I felt like a real princess and was ready to live out my fairytale.”

After the majestic ceremony, the couple and their 75 guests headed to the darkly elegant reception. Black swans replaced white ones, and instead of the pristine snowy scene of the ceremony, this world was dark and magical, full of red and black magic roses, skulls, wrought iron, black-branched trees, gargoyle statues, and a black calla lily runner.

The cake, designed by Julie Simon Cakes, was a gravity-defying 55-inch stunner that “bled” when cut into. A hand-made black sugar gargoyle perched on top of the four-tier masterpiece, which was reminiscent of a wicked tree adorned with the couple’s initials, blood-red poppies, lace, and ravens. The spectacular creation was the perfect cap on the bewitching night.
Following their December 2019 wedding, Christine and Christian jetted off to St. Barth’s, where they spent the best two weeks of their lives aboard a luxury yacht. “We rang in the New Year in style, popping life-sized bottles of Cristal with a few close friends who flew in for the occasion,” Christine says. “We couldn’t have asked for a better way to ring in the New Year and this new chapter as husband and wife.”