Well, this was a surprise bit of news to discover! I had been looking at my wedding websites that I’d bookmarked back in 2015-2016 and was like, let’s look at the Oviatt website! And then I got a ‘no content here’ webpage and was like, uh what? So I did a google search and Yelp has it listed as CLOSED and I’m like, uh what? Then I start searching more and it’s like, OH DAMN. The company that ran the Oviatt Penthouse venue, Truly Yours Catering, is shut down since mid 2019 and the owner basically disappeared. There were 7 events planned and none of them got any notice, even last-minute notice, that their venue was no longer available. It’s not clear if they were able to get any money back, but I doubt it. From what I can see, the owner has no contact info anymore and might have gone to Thailand? I feel so bad for those folks as it actually was a super wonderful place to have a wedding and I was a huge fan of the catering too. I’m sad that it’s not a place I can go visit or take a tour at anymore – as that’s a little bit of the reason I clicked on the website in the first place as I was thinking about maybe going back there for a tour. But regardless, Larry and my wedding there is not something that can be taken away from me as the memories are just so magical.
I’ve linked to the local news station’s stories about it:
Somewhat shockingly, it’s been a year since our amazing wedding at the Oviatt Penthouse in Downtown LA. Where’d the time go??? Happily, we’re both still just in love as we were a year ago, and as much as we were when we first met. I think it helps to be best friends with your partner, and we certainly are. Anyway, we celebrated our anniversary a day early as who wants to go out on a Sunday night? So we went to dinner at Cicada, the restaurant on the ground floor of the Oviatt. It’s a striking art deco restaurant and we’d seen it briefly before when visiting the Penthouse before the wedding. It was a great idea to go back – and apparently we were one of a few who wanted to be there that night, as the place was kind of empty. Even the Oviatt Penthouse wasn’t having an event that night. Kind of surprising, but what can you do?
We had a good time, taking an Uber there, and then indulging in the 5-course menu and enjoying a lot of Montepulciano wine. We even saw a mid-level celebrity during dinner – Doug Savant – who had a whole bunch of his family there. Anyway, here are pictures:
Apr 29, 2017 – Anniversary Dinner at Cicada
Outside a familiar sight
Looking up the Oviatt
There we are
The glass windows of Cicada
And the doors
No event that night for the Oviatt Penthouse
Looking back out toward Olive
The inside of Cicada – quite striking, right?
Some Twin Peaks Red Room realness here
Let the celebration begin
Some after-dinner desserts
Blowing out the candles
We went up to the mezzanine level
And took advantage of exploring
Your moneys no good here, Mr. Torrance
Very Art Deco
We had a very wonderful time at the restaurant, the service was great, the food was delicious (Italian-ish for the most part, although my main entree was a filet mignon while Larry had duck), and the ambience was just very nice and relaxed. A great way to celebrate our wedding a scant 365 days before.
The next day, we had to recover a bit, but then ended up meeting Nicki & Austin at A.O.C., a very popular restaurant and at times, rated one of the Top 10 in LA. So it was exciting to get to go there for brunch! Nicki was very sweet and got us flowers and some supercool books by Abbi Jacobson (from Broad City), and also treated us to brunch. We’re not worthy.
Anniversary Brunch @ A.O.C., April 30, 2017:
The hot restaurant A.O.C.
Nicki & Austin
with Larry
Great picture of me and Larry
Beautiful flowers from Nicki
Afterwards, it was time to watch Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion and La La Land….ah, bliss. And then of course the weekend ended and it was back to the grind. But as a weekend, this one was not bad by any means. In fact, kind of awesome.
….it did start out educational as we saw the Space Shuttle, but then it became pretty much an exercise in drinking around downtown LA. It was awesome.
So today was a bit random, as I just proposed going downtown to the Skyspace experience on a whim. I didn’t want to sit home and there were no good movies out, and after proposing it, Larry agreed, and off we went.
The OUE Skyspace LA attraction is basically the long-awaited Observation Deck that Downtown LA should have had since the U.S. Bank building was built in 1990. But DTLA wasn’t really a tourist destination for the longest time, but now with the Staples Center, LA Live, and a whole host of people living down there now, DTLA is much different. And I think finally it made sense to keep expanding what there was to do, so last year the top deck of the building was built to make this observation deck a reality. Not content to be just a view, they also built a glass slide that drops you from the 69th floor to the 68th – outside of the building. It’s a very short ride, but it is quite a thrill nonetheless.
Anyway, I get ahead of myself. You first make your way into the lobby of the building, process through, and then go up to the 58th floor. Up there are a few neat interactive exhibits like giant video screens showing various LA cityscapes at different times of day, a very cool peak down a very deep hole lit up like a disco, and some other random stuff. I guess it’s to justify the cost of the ticket?
About to head up to the top
Independence Day, anyone
At the entry point
Inside there is a cool large video of LA scenery
There’s apparently a disco infinity pit here
Jump on the steps and interact with the wall
Fun random stuff to do on the 58th floor
As you can see, the magic chasm was pretty fun to play around with in pictures. After you walk through all this excitement, you take another elevator up to the observation deck on 69 – and it’s pretty damn awesome. A nice job has been done making a very clean, open space with quite clean windows to look out and take pictures through. I do hate when observation platforms don’t bother to keep the windows clean as you’re kind of beholden to them for pictures. Anyway, I digress – we did take a lap around the enclosed 69th floor to get a sense of what the views were, but held off on taking too many pictures as I wanted to be outside to get those.
Up on the 69th floor – the Skyslide awaits
Here’s a view of the slide from inside
Unfortunately I’m not the greatest at getting my camera to cooperate
Looking southwest
Out that way is Glendale
Here you can see up Brand Blvd
And there’s Central
There’s an open air terrace the next floor down
The entrance to the slide
I’m sure nothing will ever go wrong
But you don’t take the stairs to go down to the level below…you take the SKYSLIDE.
Yeah, it’s kind of awesome. Brief, but awesome. Some more from the Skyslide experience:
Larry caught me as I made it down the slide
Alright, the remaining pictures are a lot. I couldn’t help myself though as there’s just so much to take in.
Initial Looks:
Looking up at the top of the US Bank building
And now down and east
The end point of the slide
Planes
It’s a comfy scene up top
Handsome Larry with a Pacific Ocean in the distance
View of the Oviatt Penthouse!
Our wedding place – the Oviatt Penthouse
It looks almost small – but man, what a great time it was
Clearly the tent is up with the way our weather has been lately
Alright, a whole lot of pictures of DTLA:
Panorama east
Panorama east and down
Looking into the City Center
Where I’m at
The new Grand Wilshire – only the spire makes it taller than U.S. Bank
A long way down – but what a view
For quite a while, the Aon (formerly First Interstate) building was the tallest in LA
We almost moved into one of the penthouses here
In fact, it was the one on the far left corner here where those people are sitting
We think this is where Redbird restaurant is
Pershing Square in its basicness
Getting some selfies in
Wondering what’s in the fin of the new Grand Wilshire
These terraces are going to be lounges
Looking down into the Standard’s rooftop
Comfy and modern
Lots of great modern furniture arranged around the perimeter
I was just having lunch down in the City National plaza there
Helicopter
Staples Center is visible in the distance
Union Bank
Bonaventure Hotel
LA Center Studios – who knew something like that was so close to downtown
I’m sure a clearer day would have a nicer shot
Hello PwC
The wondrous Eastern building
Closer in
Glendale again
110 freeway – busy as usual
Can see the side of the US Bank sign
LA City Hall
With LA Metro and Union Station behind it
LA Union Station closeup
The Music Hall stretch
Still need to go into the Walt Disney Hall
Dodger Stadium
It’s kind of hard to see the stadium as the parking conceals it, and apparently it’s also kinda sunken
The Bradbury Building from above – more on that later
Griffith Observatory
Okay, I then tried to capture LAX in the distance…
Wanted to see if LAX was visible
Yep
LAX and the ocean
Effort to capture DTLA and LAX together
And some last pics before we went back to the ground:
MacArthur Park
Interactive touch screen to help identify what’s what
Alright, so that was quite a cool experience. I’d like the opportunity to go up closer to a sunset and get those kinds of colors too, but that can be for another time.
Once we got on the ground, we were right outside the Central Library of Los Angeles, which is itself quite a stunning building. So we went in to take a look, and also we both got a library card. It’s my first one in what feels like forever.
Central Library, Inside and Out
The Central Library is across the street
Larry
We went over and got library cards!
It’s an impressive building – and has been the tallest this side of the Mississippi for a long time
The hall inside the library
Very cool chandelier
We didn’t check out any books today, but maybe one day soon? I was getting hangry, so we then started walking towards Bottega Louie but a block before getting there, we ran across Karl Strauss Brewery. Love the place from its Citywalk location, and that felt a little more relaxed than going to Bottega Louie. So that’s what we did – perfect fit, getting beer and grub. After that, we then walked our way over to the Bradbury Building. Why? Well, Larry had figured out where it was while we were up top and we figured if we’re down here, let’s go take a look. It’s well known for having quite the dramatic and unique interior and also for having quite iconic films set within it – notably Blade Runner. My pictures here didn’t come out quite as clear as I’d hoped, but you get the gist.
Food, Broadway, and the Bradbury Building
A late lunch at Karl Strauss Brewery in DTLA
Then we walked to the Bradbury Building
Looking back along Broadway – quite a lively street
Marty in VR
Bradbury Bldg
Inside this striking and unique building
Inside has been used for many films, but Blade Runner is the most notable
Million Dollar Theater across the street
Then it was a walk back to where we parked, and along the way, caught one last glimpse of the US Bank building and the Skyslide:
We were up there
There’s the slide from way down below
And now we’re back home after a fun afternoon. Still figuring out where to eat having had a fairly late lunch.
There’s happily a whole YouTube recording of the ceremony because we wanted our friends and family who couldn’t make it, yet still wanted to see it, to have that ability. Marie, our wedding coordinator, suggested this as an option and it worked pretty great. It streamed live while it was happening while also recording it – which is how I can embed it here in this post. Note, you can watch it here by just clicking the Play button, but it won’t let you watch it in full-screen unless you click on the YouTube icon on the bottom right to open up the video in a new tab.
Some timecode notes:
The first 22:30 minutes are of people arriving and sitting down, so while that actually is kind of cool to see, at least to me, you can drag the slider over and past that point and start to see when everyone is mostly sat down and Cantor Kerith comes out.
The entrance’s music is a little hard to hear as it comes in and out…not sure why, especially when the cantor’s words come out pretty clearly.
At 38:15 is when both Larry & I realize that the wedding rings are safely back in the “getting ready” room, followed shortly after by Kerith smoothly handling it and reassuring us it wasn’t a big deal. Erin then offers to go get the rings and finds them like a champ!
47:20 is when the MVP Nicki single-handedly catches the chuppah from collapsing in on itself due to increasing winds! Still can’t believe her reflexes there, and she suitably impresses Kerith, who deftly includes some praise for good, quick friends!
We loved the ceremony and were so happy it went as well as it did! I am so happy that Larry ended up finding the music we used to have as entrance music: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s medley of “Waterloo”, “Fernando,” and “Dancing Queen.” There were a couple of possibilities we bandied about leading up to this decision, but once Larry found this I think we were both immediately sold. And the exit music of “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” was almost a no-brainer.
Here are some pictures from others during the ceremony!
Waiting to begin – there’s our official photographers up there
Everyone getting seated
EB, Andrea, & Lori
Carey & Paras looking great in the crowd
Stacie has arrived!
Sveta makes her way down the aisle
Erin’s there too
Mila makes her way down
Michancy enters
And there’s Nicki!
Me and mom making our grand entrance
Me & mom
Me and mom enter
Making our way down the aisle
Larry and Fran making their entrance
Larry & Fran
Larry & Fran make their way down the aisle
Getting emotional, it seems
It’s really happening
Under the chuppah
Awaiting Larry
We’re married, folks
Smashing the glass!
I think there’s one more post ahead to post stuff related to the reception, and then after that will likely be a giant post, or set of posts?, to show the actual professional pics. Still haven’t looked at them yet. 🙂
Everything that looks effortless in fact takes a TON of work. This wedding was no exception. It’s amazing how much time, money, and effort went into what could be called relatively small in size and attendance – you’d think it’s just book a place and it’s done. HA! HARDLY. The invitation start time was 6pm on April 30, with an expectation that the actual ceremony will start around 6:30pm. Of course you don’t put THAT on the invitation as then people won’t show up until then.
Anyway, the Oviatt only allowed people into the venue, even those who were setting things up, at 4pm. So we had 2 hours to do whatever it was we needed to do before guests started arriving at 6pm. Boy howdy, were those 2 hours packed.
Larry & I left from the Hotel Wilshire around 3pm to try to get through LA traffic – and driving on the I-10 east on a Saturday guaran-fuckin-tees you’ll be in traffic. Our initial plan had been to Uber there so we didn’t have to worry about cars, but we had so much of the centerpiece stuff and other signage in Larry’s car and we tossed our initial idea of moving everything into some random Uber out the window once I started realizing that was taking a risk. So we drove. Of course, we hadn’t thought about making the valet available until 5:30pm, so oops, wedding party, you’re gonna need to park yo’selves! Luckily there was an empty parking lot conveniently directly across the street from the Oviatt and that’s where pretty much everyone in the wedding party, as well as our wedding coordinator, parked. Sveta had actually gotten there a bit early and told us that the curb area in front of the Oviatt wasn’t even clear – there was construction equipment blocking it. I MIGHT HAVE HAD A SLIGHT MELTDOWN? Happily, when we arrived there, we saw that equipment, but it was in the process of getting carted away. WHEW.
Happy things we noticed while arriving – the entire wedding party was there and on time! Also, the alcohol vendor was already there and unloading the boxes! SWEET – people will be able to drink!!! Sure enough, right at 4pm, they started letting us up. Nicki then gets there and we see the chuppah’s pieces for the first time, and I know I was a little overwhelmed at first to see the giant posts/tree trunks, along with all the cement bases she decided on getting. Wisely, she realized having the wedding party hold these massive trunks up was NOT gonna work.
During the course of that first hour, we schlepped all the signage and chuppah stuff up, along with our suits as we did not wear them there knowing we’d have to likely get dirty. But the photographers arrived and they’re like, you need to get dressed and we want to document that too! Ohhhh-kay!? So we started getting dressed, started taking some pictures, and then our amazing cantor and officiant, Kerith, arrived and before we knew it, it was time to sign some legal documents. Shockingly – Larry & I were married long before all you guys saw us in that ceremony as we signed the paperwork at 5pm or so!
4pm – 5pm on April 30, 2016 @ the Oviatt Penthouse
Erin & MIchancy in the first picture of the evening
Inside the Oviatt’s lobby
Me with Stacie
Stacie, as usual, is gorgeous
Stacie playing telephone operator
With Kerith, our amazing officiant and cantor
Some family started arriving in the 5-6 pm hour too, and luckily the Oviatt has plenty of places for people to wander around in. All the parents were there so it was then time to sign the Ketubah with parents and the cantor. That was quite an amazing and emotional bit of ceremony that not everyone got to see – I’m so glad we did that. We’ll post a picture of the Ketubah eventually as it is quite beautiful to see. (sidenote: The photographers just sent us today the link to all the official wedding pictures they took – we’re waiting to look at them just a little bit longer….but I know they probably took some great photos of this occasion.)
5pm – 6pm on April 30, 2016
Larry inspects the cake
Making an entrance
Larry is thrilled how the seating chart and poker chip favors setup turned out
Using the wine bottles as decorations
Our wedding ceremony venue
Stacie & Kat
Candid with most of our wedding party – Nicki was building a chuppah outside
With our gorgeous bridesmaid, Mila
With Mila and Sveta, stunning as always
Our wedding favors
Our delicious and beautiful wedding cake
The gorgeous and wonderful wedding party
Moms
With the moms
Me putting on mom’s corsage
Signing the ketubah
Stacie & Erin looking gorgeous
Out at the ketubah alcove
Getting goofy before the ceremony
Lining up to practice the entrance – Stacie leads us off
Another with dad and mom
Knocking out how the entrance and wedding party split will work
We were getting down to the wire and happily Nicki was able to knock out the amazing ketubah in enough time for us to do a dress rehearsal of the ceremony entrance. I had already written out the musical cues when each wedding party member would enter the ceremony accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s ridiculously awesome and perfect ABBA medley of “Waterloo”, “Fernando,” and “Dancing Queen.” So great. The first run-through was a bit messy as we really hadn’t figured out who would go on what side, and then we wanted to balance the dress colors between the sides. Happily, our second time doing it went perfect, and was the baseline for getting out the door for the real thing.
And of course, it must be said that this day went as smoothly as it did not just because of Larry and/or me, but DEFINITELY because of our tireless wedding coordinator, Marie. She brought her husband, Nick, along with her to help out with the technical stuff, as well as just a second set of hands, and they took care of absolutely everything related to the vendors and making the ceremony go off without a hitch. SO MANY THANKS TO HER.
Alright, that’s it for now – the next post, we’ll be talking about the ceremony!!!
