Tried and Trusted: From Flowers to Favors, Trays, Chocolates, and more
My husband and I planned our wedding in less than six months. This was not how either of us had imagined planning our big day, but after getting engaged we found a banquet hall that was available on 8-18-18, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity of getting married on such a memorable date. We decided we were going to go for it and would be determined to have the best Armenian wedding vendors for the once-in-a-lifetime occasion.
Accepting the challenges, the biggest one was finding Armenian wedding vendors that were still available on that date. I asked for recommendations, googled, yelped, you name it! Luckily, I was able to book some of the most amazing people I could ask to be a part of our big day.
Funny enough, the advice everyone gave us was this: “Nothing is going to go the way you plan, so be prepared for the worst and just go with the flow.” The truth is, everything looked and went as planned. The entire day’s events were on time, and not a single thing was out of place. When I look back and think about what we did to plan such a joyous and beautiful wedding, I realize it was our vendors. Here’s a detailed list of the 17 best Armenian wedding vendors who made our day extra special and magical:
1. Event City LA Rentals
We worked with Event City LA to design our sweetheart table, cake table, and dancefloor. I knew I wanted a romantic backdrop with draping and chandeliers and once I described the vibe we were going for, Event City took over and designed a gorgeous table beyond our imagination.
2. Ludovi Ballroom
Our reception was at Ludovi Ballroom. My guests are still talking about how amazing their food and service was. David was our point of contact and made everything so simple and painless. After booking our date, we scheduled a food-tasting where they presented their full menu of offerings. Throughout the process, David was always available to answer any questions we had and went above and beyond to accommodate our guests and third-party vendors.
3. Arte Floral
Arte Floral not only makes wedding arrangements but also has a flower shop on Pacific in Glendale. I had gone to a few other meetings with florists and quickly realized that most of them want to make replicas of what they have already created. After talking to Art, I explained my vision, and he got it. He didn’t try to change it, and instead, he created a sample centerpiece that was bigger and better than the one I had shown him. The best part is that he was willing to work with our budget and as soon as I walked into the hall on our wedding day, his work took my breath away.
4. Wedding Hairstylist, Lusine Ashikyan
Lusine Ashikyan from Lilit’s Makeup Studio did my hair that day. It was a hot summer day, over 90 degrees, and when I went to the salon, I asked to get my hair styled down with mermaid waves. She looked at my me like I was crazy and quickly talked me into a big bun so that my hair would stay intact all day long. I’m glad I listened. I danced the night away, and my hair remained perfectly in place until the end of the night.
5. Bridal Makeup Artist MakeupbyAmy
I can’t say enough good things about MakeupbyAmy from StudioKay. She’s just one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met and took extra time to meet with me after my trial to go through different eyeshadow and lip color swatches to nail down the right one for the big day. My makeup was fully sweat-proof and outlasted the scorching heat.
6. Photography / Videography by Dmitry Shumanev
After all, you only have your photos and videos to remember the big day. I found Dmitry Shumanev one day while scrolling through Instagram. Compared to our other options, he was the best. Not only do we have incredible photos of us and our guests but we also have a cinematic 1 min video, highlights video and feature film length video.
7. Bridal Home Design by Chic Novelty
We hired Karine from Chic Novelty to decorate, cater and service both of our parents home. She is a total gem to work with and is all wrapped up in the pretty little details of decor and food design. Along with her services, she includes servers with her packages and packs food-to-go for the bridal party to take in the limo.
8. Wedding Gown from Lovella Bridal
Lovella Bridal is the absolute best in wedding gowns and alterations. I went to just one appointment, and the second dress I tried on was the one I wore on the big day which was from Stephen Yearick Couture. I had the dressed altered at Lovella as well, which was extremely quick and only took a week.
9. Wedding DJ Heartbeat
Thanks to DJ heartbeat, our party was lit, and the dancing didn’t stop until past 2 am. We could have gone much longer, but we had a contract with the venue and didn’t want to break any rules. Instead, we broke the record. According to DJ Heartbeat, in his last 30 years of DJing, our wedding guests partied the longest.
10. 8-Layer Wedding Cake by Roobina’s Cake
Going with the theme of eights, we went with an eight-layer wedding cake, and it was the most beautiful cake I had ever seen. During our meeting with Roobina, we did a cake tasting, and there wasn’t a single flavor we didn’t like. There were so many delicious options that we couldn’t decide on just one. We went with three different flavors- Chocolate Hazelnut, Raspberry Lemon and Red Velvet.
11. Flower Girl Dresses from Lil Jewels Boutique
Lil Jewels Boutique in Burbank also sells their merchandise on Etsy where you can buy lovely flower girl dresses. We opted to custom design ours so that it looked similar to my dress. If you don’t have time to take your flower girls to dress fittings and alteration appointments, then it’s best to go with one of their pre-designed dresses online.
12. Bestman Chocolate and Cognac Trays by Zillia Chocolatte
It’s a tradition in the Armenian culture for the best man and maid of honor to bring chocolate, cognac and gift trays to the bride’s house on the day of the wedding. Our best man and maid of honor had their trays designed by Zillia Chocolatte and I have to say that they are truly one of the best Armenian vendors in town. Their trays were not only beautiful, but the chocolates were out of this world delicious.
13. Rich and Famous Limousines
My husband was in charge of our limousine rental, and he did really well! We got a G-wagon stretch limo from Rich and Famous that fit up to 18 people. We didn’t have that many riding with us that day, but we sure enjoyed the extra space to have a good time as we drove around to our photo shoot location, church, and hall. I highly recommend Rich and Famous if you want to choose from a large selection of luxury limos. They have everything from Range Rovers, Hummers, Rolls Royces, Classic Bentleys, Party Buses and more.
14. Engagement Rings by David K. Jewelers
If you’re looking to customize a ring, David K is the best!. He’s a true designer that pays attention to details and knows what he’s doing. I had mentioned to my husband that I didn’t like halo rings, which is the most common style. I wanted something classy, subtle and not too big and clunky. When I saw the ring, I nearly cried it was so beautiful. It’s thin and dainty, exactly as I wanted.
15. St. Leon Armenian Cathedral
St. Leon in Burbank is a breathtaking cathedral that doesn’t look like it belongs in Burbank, or anywhere in the US. It’s a masterful work of art that feels like an ancient monastery.
16. Unique Wedding Favors
I love the rose chocolates in the round white and gold boxes at Bitter + Sweet. Sadly, they ran out months before my wedding, and I ended up making my own (which came out very nice). But, if you don’t have time to fill and decorate 400 favors, I would highly recommend their beautiful chocolate designs for weddings, birthdays and bridal showers.
17. Wedding Singers and Band
We had Arman Ghazaryan, and Joni sang at our wedding. Arman Ghazaryan also provided the band musicians that came to my parent’s house for the daytime traditions. Everyone was spectacular and kept the party going all night long.
