Couples pay $50K for weddings in Beverly Hills alley — and that’s just to shut down the street

Most people come to Rodeo Drive to window shop. A select, moneyed few are showing up to say “I do.”

Tucked away steps from the bustling intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and one of the world’s most famous shopping streets, there’s a European-inspired cobblestone promenade — lined with luxury brand boutiques like Tiffany & Co. and Dolce & Gabbana.

The photogenic alleyway, running through the heart of a development known as Two Rodeo Drive, is typically filled with well-heeled shoppers sashaying in and out of stores most people can’t afford — mingling with crowds of selfie-snapping hoi polloi and streaming influencers.

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But the secluded side street off of movie-star gorgeous Rodeo has another, after-hours scene — the winding, block-long strip is also one of LA’s most extravagant open-air wedding event spaces, complete with photo-bombing Versace and Cucinelli-clad mannequins, standing around demurely.

The bougie background doesn’t come cheap, however.

Recent blushing bride Shadi Hashemi, who hosted her wedding welcome dinner there in July, told the California Post that shutting down the street for the evening cost her close to $50,000, in fees paid to the Two Rodeo management. Security and specialized, required insurance — not to mention food and beverage — were entirely separate. Securing separate permits from the city took months, she said.

But Hashemi, from Vancouver, BC, had scores of guests coming in from out of town, and she wanted a space that screamed Beverly Hills — to welcome them to her husband-to-be’s hometown.

“We were looking for iconic venues that reflect what Beverly Hills is known for and what people would come to LA and see and want to experience,” she explained.

An event planner herself, once Hashemi discovered that you could actually throw a party in the middle of the street, she was sold, and quickly got to work on her 160-person blowout — a haute happening that challenged even someone of her seasoned experience.

The luxury stores take priority, the ambitious recently betrothed explained — meaning her army of vendors “literally had 60 minutes to put the bar, the food stations, the lighting” and everything else in place, after doors had been locked tight for the night.

“It’s a very labor-intensive type of setup with zero room for errors,” she said.

For her money, Hashemi got the atmospheric alleyway completely sectioned off from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. — giving the couple and their guests the experience of partying in one of Southern California’s most recognizable locations, without the camera-toting crowds.

In Beverly Hills tourist literature, Two Rodeo is referred to as the “crown jewel” of the city’s Golden Triangle. The development features European piazza elements like archways, fountains, street lamps and ornate architecture. Constructed in 1989 by real estate developer Douglas Stitzel, a dramatic entrance staircase from street level is meant to evoke Rome’s Spanish Steps.

Once Hashemi’s guests climbed those stairs, they were invited to take their seats at two long dinner tables covered in florals, menus and place settings. There was a large bar, a dedicated food prep area, a whole lighting setup and the couple’s wedding logo projected onto walls.

“I think the location itself is iconic,” Hashemi told The Post. “We wanted to enhance on it — versus work against it or completely change the space.”

Hashemi is just one bride who’s discovered the charm of the not-so-secret location.

One couple flew all the way from Jakarta to shut down the posh strip for their wedding welcome dinner — at a cost of about $35,000, said the bride, Clarissa Tanoesoedibjo-Tjipto.

Along with her now-husband, Anthony Putra Tjiptodihardjo, the pair hosted roughly 120 guests at Two Rodeo ahead of their 2024 nuptials — turning the sloping space into a candlelit dream.

The location wasn’t simply selected for its 90210 address.

“My husband and I got first introduced by his cousin during our Christmas holiday in 2012 outside the cafe, by the steps, at Two Rodeo, so that place holds a special memory for the both of us,” Tanoesoedibjo-Tjipto told the California Post.

The couple later spotted the venue being used for a Lunar New Year celebration on Netflix reality series “Bling Empire” — tipping them off that the spot could actually be rented for private events.

“When we planned our wedding in Los Angeles, we couldn’t find a proper location or setting that fit nicely with our story,” she said. “We finally decided to just go for it and try to see if we can host our welcoming dinner at Two Rodeo.”

For Tanoesoedibjo-Tjipto’s August 2024 soiree, two long white-clothed banquet tables stretched down the cobblestones, flanked by glossy black chairs. The tables were dotted with vivid orange and yellow florals, citrus fruits and warm glowing lights.

“We played with a lot of pops of color on the tables, mood & lighting … to really blend together the set up with the existing space,” Tanoesoedibjo-Tjipto said.

On her unforgettable night, a live band serenaded guests as the sun went down. “The acoustics were beautiful there because of the venue’s narrow layout,” she recalled. “It was magical and everything we’ve possibly dreamed of.”

While booking the venue wasn’t cutthroat — Tanoesoedibjo-Tjipto noted that few people even realize the development can be privatized — securing permits with the city of Beverly Hills once again took months. And some of the fee, she said, went towards compensating any businesses that had to close to accommodate them.

As others have discovered, the set-up window for her lavish affair was punishingly narrow.

“We had to wait until shops close after 5 p.m. to begin setting up tables, decorations, production, etc.,” said Tanoesoedibjo-Tjipto, adding that her team managed to complete the transformation “within 2 hours.”

From approximately 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., the entire cobblestone block was closed to the public, but bystanders on Rodeo Drive could still walk past and sneak a glimpse of the festivities from the outside.

Everything then had to disappear that same night so stores could reopen the next morning.

The venue itself operates like a blank slate — booking Two Rodeo is more like renting an extremely glamorous blank canvas and less like booking a hotel ballroom. Everything needs to be brought in. Representatives for Two Rodeo management declined to speak to the California Post before publication time, when asked for further details about costs and the popularity of the rental.

Neither bride chose Two Rodeo for their actual vows, they said. That’s in part due to local noise ordinances, the physical footprint and logistical limitations.

The city of Beverly Hills enforces strict sound curfews, too — meaning full-scale bands can’t push late into the night, even in the commercial core.

But all the headache was worth it, both brides insisted. “The guests had the best experience because we did not say where the location was,” Hashemi said. “For me, the best part of the night was just to see everybody’s reaction, when they walked in.”

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