THE RITZ CARLTON LAGUNA NIGUEL

Tess and Jared were married on the bluff at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in August 2026, 240 guests and the Pacific behind everything. It's the wedding I point to now when a couple asks what an editorial day at this venue can look like. Tess trusted the creative vision completely, and you can see it in every frame.

Venue: The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, California
Season: Late summer
Guests: 240
Ceremony: Jewish, on the bluff
Planning, design and production: A Good Affair
Florals: Ojala Floral
Band: Downbeat
Photography: Jenny Quicksall

The morning started in one of the resort's ocean-view suites, and that's where the day found its tone. Tess wanted portraits that felt like a fashion story rather than a checklist, so we brought in flash and worked the mirror in her room, one movement at a time. Those mirror portraits are some of my favorite images of the year. Her bridesmaids wore jewel-toned satin, olive, plum and bronze, each carrying white calla lilies from Ojala Floral, and the whole group looked like a magazine spread on the terracotta terrace.

GETTING READY

The ceremony was held on The Bluff as the light started to go gold. A Good Affair designed a chuppah draped in fabric that moved with the ocean wind, with florals in soft neutrals that looked like they'd grown there. If you're planning a bluff ceremony here, know that the wind is real and it's your friend. Fabric, veils and hair all move, and the photographs are better for it. The chuppah went up in the afternoon, so we photographed it empty before guests arrived.

The ceremony on the bluff

Guests took cocktail hour on the Pacific Promenade while we slipped away with Tess and Jared for sunset portraits along the bluff path. Twenty minutes is all it takes here, and the light in that window is unlike anywhere else in Orange County. Then a grand entrance into Pacific Promenade Ballroom, the hora and a live set from Downbeat that kept the floor full all night. The In-N-Out truck rolled in at the end, which is exactly the kind of last chapter this couple would write.

Cocktails, sunset and the reception

Where's the best ceremony spot?
The Bluff, facing the water. Plan the ceremony to end about 90 minutes before sunset so you get the
golden light for portraits without losing your cocktail hour.

How much time should we set aside for couple portraits?
Twenty minutes at sunset on the bluff path is plenty. I'd rather steal two short windows than one long one, so you're not away from your guests for long.

Is there a good getting-ready space?
Yes. The ocean-view suites have wonderful window light and a lot of mirror, which is why Tess's portraits
worked the way they did.

Questions couples ask about the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel