Whimsy meets wedded bliss at the fairy-tale celebration of Cait and Matthew Quan. Inspired by fantasy and festivity, the couple turned The Santaluz Club in Rancho Santa Fe into a scene out of an epic storybook, elevating their wedding experience to something only dreams are made of. “I’m big into fantasy epics,” explains Cait. “My vision for my wedding was to do a Midsummer Night’s Dream aesthetic, but I wanted it to be more Bridgerton than Hamlet, more fantasy and fever dream than folklore.”

To help execute that vision, Cait worked with wedding planner Olivia Sudol of Elle Events, whose passion and enthusiasm turned fantasy into reality. Cait also had the extra-special assistance of someone very close to her ­— her mother Kelly, whose support in the planning process was invaluable.

“Cait was the designer and I was the project manager,” Kelly laughs. “I loved every minute of it — it was all just so creative!” The mother-daughter duo worked with Olivia and designer Dustin Towery to create what they described as “a wedding speakeasy,” where guests were filled with awestruck wonder as they entered four distinct worlds all within the wedding tent. Guests received a map instead of a seating chart and set out on a quest to find their world.

“We didn’t have one type of table with one color scheme ­— we had four different worlds instead,” Cait explains. “The head table had a peach garden vibe with tons of colorful florals. One world had green velvet booths covered in greenery with a vintage chandelier. Another had round tables, big glass orbs, and a Beauty and the Beast vibe. And the fourth was a long lavender table with a Medusa’s garden theme.”

To add even more color into the mix, each specific phase of the day had a unique color. The ceremony was woodsy and the cocktail hour was yellow (with a lemon drop drink of the hour). A bright chartreuse aisle runner even had its moment in the spotlight. “When Cait told me all the colors she wanted, I said, ‘So you really didn’t pick colors,’” Kelly laughs. “But when I finally saw it all come together, it was amazing!”

The spectrum of colors set the stage for other unique touches that made the wedding extra special. From live statues and tattoo artists to a bar library with antique books and vintage family photos, and from a custom designed dance floor to Cait’s three unique wedding outfits, every intricate detail was carefully curated into a feast for the senses and an immersive adventure into Cait’s imagination.

Cait concludes: “It felt like giving my guests a little glimpse inside my mind.”

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