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'Brides' Take Over Manhattan Beach

Aug 22, 2024 10:44PM ● By Jeanne Fratello

(A bachelorette party - where all the guests dressed up as brides - posed for photos at Bruce's Beach in Manhattan Beach. Photo credit: Lisa Kelley Remerowski)

Did you happen to notice an unusual gathering of "brides" in Manhattan Beach on Saturday?

If so, you weren't seeing things. It was a group celebrating a bachelorette party, with all attendees decked out in bridal finery.

 

Co-organizer and co-maid of honor Samantha (Sam) Smith explained: "It was a bachelorette party for one bride, Maggie Rohdy, a Manhattan Beach resident. She doesn't always like being the center of attention, so she asked her close friends and bridal party attendees to come dressed as brides themselves."

According to Rohdy, "My friends mean everything to me and I wanted everyone to feel as special as a bride for a day."

(The "real" bride, Maggie Rohdy, poses for a picture at her bachelorette party. Photo credit: Evelyn Schmitt.)


Smith, along with mutual friend and "co-man of honor" Carlo LaCuesta, hosted the "Bedlam Bride"-themed party with a goal of "bridal chaos."

(Rohdy says that this was her favorite photo from the day, with LaCuesta on the left, Smith in the center back, and Rohdy on the right. Photo credit: Kate Bek.)

Both male and female guests rose to the occasion, with many pulling together bridal outfits from local thrift stores.

(Photo credit: Evelyn Schmitt)

"It was so much fun to see everyone’s interpretation and style and flair," said Rohdy.

But the group didn't stop with just dressing up - they went out on the town and kept the party moving from Manhattan to Hermosa.

(Photo credit: Evelyn Schmitt)


"We had little survival goodie bags, staged a 'Vogue' photoshoot at Bruce's Beach, followed by a bridal procession - or march - down the Strand to the Manhattan Beach Pier," said Smith. "We then bar-hopped in Manhattan Beach and finished at Hennessey's in Hermosa."



"During our march on the Strand and Pier and downtown Manhattan Beach, people were just loving it," said Rohdy. "They asked to take pics with us and of us, cheered us and told us it was the coolest bachelorette idea they had ever seen. Some people thought we were all getting married and wanted to know who the bride was, so lots of congratulations."

The group had hired a professional photographer to document their adventures. However, at some point along the way, iconic local photographer Evelyn Schmitt spotted their group.


(Evelyn Schmitt joins two of the "brides")


"The 'Brides' were such a fun-loving group," said Schmitt. "I just had to get a photo when I saw them parading past my house. Then they asked me to join them after I took their group photo.   How could I refuse?"

Schmitt stayed with the group and took extra pictures for them even after their hired photographer had left for the day.

By the end, "Our whole group was chanting 'Evelyn, Evelyn!'" said Rohdy, who added that she was planning to invite Schmitt to the wedding reception.


 

Speaking of the wedding, Rohdy wanted to make it clear that her whole reason for being in Manhattan Beach was thanks to her fiance, Amin Tavana, who is a longtime South Bay resident.

"He won me over to move and embrace 'the bubble' from Silver Lake a few years ago," said Rohdy.

The couple will host their friends and family for a wedding weekend at the end of October in the South Bay.



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