Venues
Friendship Garden
Ceremony Location
This gorgeous garden sits next to the Brand Library, which has been a part of Fiona's life since she was a little girl following her mother to visit their arts and cultures collection. The Garden, which is rarely open, was always a mysterious and curious place for Fiona - finally, a couple years ago, she stumbled across it when the grounds were open and instantly fell in love. The koi ponds, Victorian gazebo, and Japanese teahouse all contribute to the Garden's charm. The teahouse, named "Shoseian" or "Whispering Pine Teahouse" by the Fifteenth Grand Tea Master of the Urasenke School of Tea in Japan, is designated an official Tearoom and is one of the few open to the public in the US.
Pasadena Masonic Temple
Reception Hall
This historic venue, built in 1927, has been Fiona’s dance home for many years. Boasting a 5400 sq ft (!!) sprung wooden dance floor, this is her gold standard for ballrooms. Weekly swing dances at Lindygroove with many friends over the years; time traveling to the annual Jane Austen Evening costume ball, a showstopping return to a more genteel age; the boisterous Victorian Ball with hoop skirts and coat tails -- all have brought great joy and inspiration to Fiona, her mother Ivonne, and now Doug who aspires to be Mr. Darcy in all his snootiness.
Dress designer - Ivonne Nagle
Mother of the Bride
Fiona’s mother, Ivonne Nagle, is a professional artist. With degrees in costume and theatrical design, and many years in the theatre and film industries as a celebrated production designer and lead scenic artist on well-known movies, it is no surprise that Ivonne has loved creating many elaborate costumes for the Jane Austen and Victorian Balls at the Pasadena Masonic Temple. Now she gets to realize one of her most cherished lifelong dreams – designing and creating the gown her daughter will wear on her wedding day. A labor of love and one of her favorite achievements (after raising her daughter).
Big Band Alumni
Reception Music
As L.A. opened up from the pandemic lockdown, Fiona eagerly sought out places to go dancing, and found the Big Band Alumni -- a group that plays monthly in the basement of the Hollywood American Legion, with members who have performed with the great Big Bands. Doug winced – “Fiona, anyone who played with those bands is now over a hundred years old! These guys have to be phonies!” But, loving the music, he agreed to check them out. From the opening notes, he knew something was amiss -- these guys were GREAT and sounded like a 1945 club. Turns out all the members HAVE played with the big-name Big Bands but more recent incarnations – Benny Goodman, the newer Count Basie orchestra, the latter-day Benny Goodman band, backing up Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, and even Rod Stewart and Lady Gaga in their jazz phases. Yeah these are THOSE players. Top of the game and as great as any band your grandparents ever danced to. And at our reception you’ll get them, not in a veterans cellar but in a grand dance hall, unlike anything else you’ll ever experience. That first day, Doug knew: "If we were to marry, I’d want this band for our reception." But of course he kept that to himself. Then, a few months ago, when he began to tell Fiona about his ideas for wedding music and mentioned wanting Big Band Alumni, she laughed: “Oh Doug, I knew you wanted them the first day we saw them! It was so obvious!”