i have been waiting a LOOOONG time for this post...my wedding took place over labor day weekend, 2008, but due to the fact that we had submitted it for publication in a bridal magazine, i chose to wait until it had hit newstands to do a full post...being sensitive to the exclusivity of the magazine was important to me, especially after watching countless bridal mags fold this year...without original content, these publications don't sell...and as much as i love the blogging world, there is nothing like feeling the actual pages of beauty and inspiration in your own hands...
now enough about that...on with the details! :) our wedding took place at a private residence in malibu, with the most AMAZING view of the ocean...my husband is from missouri so we always knew we wanted a beachfront venue so our guests could experience the thing we love most about living in cali...once we locked down our location, we had to decide on a design concept...we wanted something people hadn't experienced before as a wedding setting...something laid-back, relaxed, free-flowing...but nothing overly trendy...kind of a "classic modern" look...
being an architect, my husband is drawn to modern, clean designs...my style is pretty eclectic and definitely more on the bohemian side than brian's...but i felt we came up with a day that really reflected BOTH of us...in 4 words we wanted our wedding to feel FRESH, CLEAN, CHIC, LUXE...i like to call it a "calvin klein meets south beach feel"...as if we had invited our guests to a cocktail party at an upscale, summer home on the coast...with a modern edge :)
so here it is! our very own wedding....
i wanted to add a bit of glamour to the day without making it overly girly...so i chose strategic places to add a bit of glitz, such as my bouquet...i gathered some family heirlooms that spoke to me - my grandmother's engagement ring, my other grandmother's gold locket, my grandfather's fraternity ring and my mother's capricorn pendant (we share the same sign)...i strung all the items onto my grandmother's gold necklace and attached it to my bouquet, allowing it to dangle off for added texture...
classic name...classic style...classic color...
okay so here's a secret...my dress was by nicole miller...but i never wanted to spend a lot of money on my dress...it just was not a priority to me...so i checked out their bridesmaids line and they had a dress that was JUST what i wanted and it came in white dupioni silk! all for a steal at $410. i must say...plus i got it at the trunk show so it was an additional 10% off! i had my seamstress cinch the bustline a bit more and she also added buttons down the back to make it feel more "bridal"...but overall i LOVED my dress...just clean and classic...
the earrings were from bettina duncan at fred segal and they added that sparkle i wanted without looking too "blingy"..the fact that they were beaded and also mixed silver and gold seemed more beachy-bohemian to me...the beaded clutch was the one my mom took to her own prom...i remember playing "dress-up" with it as a little girl and always knew i wanted to use it someday for my wedding...
bridesmaids bouquets were made up of white japhette orchids, white mini cala lilies, white garden roses and green succulents...i finished them in chocolate ribbon, some beaded gold trim and a couple gold brooches to add a "bohemian glam" feel...
close-up of my bridal bouquet...entirely white phalenopsis orchids, finished in caramel colored velvet, vintage gold beaded trim and my family heirlooms...
i gotta take a moment to brag...how HOT is my husband?!?!? ;) love you bri...
so here's the story of brian's boutonniere...his grandfather was an avid gardener, but unfortunately he passed away the year before our wedding...when we went back to missouri for the funeral, we dug up some of his succulents and brought them back to california, where we re-planted them at my parents home...
we nursed those things along, almost lost them a couple times, but ended up with a perfect one to make bri's boutonniere out of for the wedding...i added a couple seagrass twigs and some brown seafan to give it that ocean feel...i still have never seen a boutonniere like it...truly special and one-of-a-kind...
our adorable and extremely well-behaved flower girl and ring bearer - max and ruby! they don't come any cuter...
ruby held a tan faux suede "purse" with a bamboo handle...we filled it with white japhette orchids, white garden roses, white mini calas and green succulents...max held a massive piece of white coral to serve as the "pillow"...
i LOVE this shot of my mom...just beaming and proud, with tears in her eyes...this was right after my dad brought me my bouquet, seeing me for the first time all dressed and ready to go...
and here's the "first look" with me and brian...for someone who designs weddings as a living and who has seen countless "first looks", it was obviously super surreal for me to experience it as a bride...of course i cried :)
brian's suit is by burberry and his tie is by dkny...
there's something about phalenopsis orchids...the way they hang and flutter...so delicate and gentle...they remind me of butterflies...and with the simplicity of my dress, i knew they would make the perfect bouquet for me...
we went outside and took most of our photos in the gorgeous california sunshine...
the ceremony design was very simple...i didn't want a structure of any kind because i didn't want to block that amazing view...we wanted to feel a sense of God's beauty and didn't want to obstruct that...i also was trying to make things easy on my staff that day because they are not just my employees but they are my friends and i wanted them to be able to somewhat enjoy the day too...so i chose to make an impact with the seating...everybody does boring white wood folding chairs for their ceremonies...i was very adamant that we were gonna do something different, i didn't care about the price...it was non-negotiable...the benches weren't cheap but they created that vibe i wanted, without having to invest in a huge canopy, arch, etc. so don't be afraid to "re-purpose" your money! maybe do something a little different for the seating, since that's what the majority of the ceremony view often is, a bunch of chairs!
we lined the aisle with tall glass vases, each filled with large chunks of white birdsnest coral...alternating with the coral vases were medium height vases, each holding loose white coral and a white pillar candle...at the front of the aisle were 2 podiums we wrapped in chocolate brown faux suede and sitting on top were 2 simple arrangements of all white phalenopsis orchids in a rectangular glass vase...
we wanted our event to feel free-flowing and relaxed...a sit-down dinner was sooo not us...so we created more of a lounge environment with cabanas, ottomans, banquettes, coffee tables, highboy tables, etc. also, my mom custom made over 50 pillows in shades of chocolate, caramel and aqua to accent all of these furniture pieces!
everything was crisp, white and fresh but we toned that down with those wood benches and wood bars to give it a bit of a bohemian, natural feel...
the upper lawn level was lined with white banquettes, white ottomans and white coffee tables...those white acrylic podiums you see looked gorgeous during the day but after the sun went down they glowed aqua for a south beach "club vibe"!
each podium was topped with a footed glass vase that was filled to the brim with white crushed glass and spilling over with white phalenopsis orchids...2 small footed vases, filled with white crushed glass and a green succulent, were set on each side...and of course, a straight row of candles to keep with the modern feel...
we had 4 sheer white cabanas on the lower level...these capiz shell chandeliers were hung from the center of each cabana and were hand made by my mom!! i bought some smaller capiz shell chandeliers in downtown LA but they weren't going to be big enough...so my mom clipped off every single capiz shell strand and re-tied it onto a larger circular wood frame she had bought at michaels and spray painted white! she was an AMAZING help during my planning process!
set on the highboy tables underneath 2 of the cabanas was a glass footed vase filled with white coral and shells...we didn't want to do the typical "starfish and sand dollar" type thing...we wanted something that nobody was using...so i found these gorgeous pearlescent and aqua shells from a vendor downtown...they were luxe and unique and made for an understated cocktail table decor piece...
our bridal party was super small...brian asked his sister erin to be his "best woman" and i asked my college friend meredith to be my maid of honor...we told each girl just to find a long brown dress in a non-formal fabric that had a casual but sophisticated feel...they each did an awesome job! erin's is from bcbg and mere's is from j. crew...they both accessorized with gold jewelry and shoes...
for the kids, i told their mom to find ruby a chocolate dress and for max just to have him wear beige pants and a white long sleeve shirt...i bought the aqua tie for max but ruby's dress came with a sash and it happened to be the exact same shade of blue as max's tie! ruby wore brown flip-flops and max wore brown chuck taylors and a brown volcom belt...
the venue has this MASSIVE set of stairs leading down to the lower level...i was SO paranoid i was gonna trip and fall on my descent down the aisle but luckily my dad was there for me to hold onto :)
i love this picture...how could i not? to know you make someone THAT happy is irreplacable...
this was an extremely moving moment for me and one part of the day i will never forget...that gorgeous girl you see here is my dear friend jen...we met freshman year of college and she is an amazing singer...i used to make her sing me the song "kissing you" from the romeo and juliet soundtrack and every time she did so, i would say, you're gonna sing that at my wedding someday"...
so here she is, singing it with my OTHER dear friend jeremy, who i have known for over 20 years...they collaborated and did his really killer acoustic, stripped down version of the song that i wish they would record together!!! needless to say, when i looked over at her while she was singing, we both choked up and started crying...so much meaning for us...
we also had 2 officiants...the one on the left is my highschool youth pastor who has known me for 17 years...the one on the right is the senior pastor at my church who has known me for my entire life...it was so special to have both of them there and they did a fantastic job together! of course we bought them both aqua ties so they coordinated with the day! ;)
happiness....
more reception decor shots...
we used large chunks of white birdsnest coral to accent various coffee tables...i always draw so much inspiration from interior design and i had a tear sheet of some white coral used to accent some bookshelves...so i thought, why not use it in my wedding decor?
ahhhhhh, the cake...this cake was COMPLETELY designed by my husband brian...being an architect, he wanted to come up with something really structural, geometric and modern...so he did a full 360 degree mockup in some architecture computer program of his and gave it to amy over at vanilla bakeshop...she re-created it and added on the white coral and green succulents i gave her a couple days before the wedding...
i designed the clear acrylic cake podium and cake stand and had them both custom made...we filled the podium with white crushed glass and sand blasted manzanita branches with green succulents attached...then we filled the cake stand with white crushed glass and white coral...
cute little bar arrangement...
our stationary for the day was modern, all lower case and matted onto this killer woven seagrass material... it was another way to bring in some natural elements for a mix of modern and organic...
of course our signature cocktail was the mojito!!! it is our absolute fave!! we did a classic mojito and a summer peach mojito, which was just a normal one, topped with some peach nectar...i bought those sugarcane swizzle sticks online...
me and brian are TV JUNKIES...i mean that...so instead of a standard monogram or event date on our cocktail napkins we wanted to do something FUN! so we chose 8 classic lines from some of our favorite tv shows and had them printed onto our cocktail napkins...it was really fun for people to notice and start sharing answers...it spurred conversation! here are some examples of what we printed:
"the tribe has spoken" "no soup for you!" "we were on a break!!" "let's talk about chicks man (chicks man)" "either you're een or you're owt"
we hung over 50 glass vases with water and a floating candle from the large tree that framed the cake display...we also hung about 25 glass test tubes, each holding a chocolate brown cymbidium orchid...it was seriously magical, both during the day AND at night...
a pulled back shot of the cake in all its glory...it came out SPECTACULAR and is one of my favorite decor elements from the day...also, amy at vanilla bakeshop tells us people ask for that cake design all the time now...i have even seen a version of it twice on various wedding blogs...but i always know that we were the originals cause after all, we designed it!! ;)
another fab shot from jasmine...this was during my parents welcome toast...the look on my mom's face and the look in my eyes...what a moment...
i am also still obsessed with the dinner we served...it was labor day weekend so we wanted sort of an "upscale bbq americana" menu...we set up a "summer salad" station which had an arugula and peach salad (seen below), a citrus, fennel and mint salad, and lastly a grilled corn and avocado salad (seen below)...
we then tray passed mini pulled pork sandwiches, mini brisket sandwiches and fried mac'n'cheese balls...plus brian's missouri-bred grandma has the BEST recipe for baked beans so we had our caterer re-create them and serve them in the most adorable mini square bowls with little demitasse spoons...people LOVED it!
in lieu of a guest book, we had guests sign LA/santa monica/malibu postcards with their well wishes...each postcard was pre-strung with brown suede cording and the guest could hang it on a large grapewood tree, adorned with green succulents...at the end of the night, my mom gathered up all the cards and she mailed them to me and brian throughout the entire first year of our marriage...it was so fun to get REAL mail every week! and it brought back such warm memories, even on a bad day...
toasts from our bridal party...
our first dance...we chose "if there's love" by citizen cope...again, we tried to do things that were unique and it was the perfect, "easy breezy beach song" that had a good beat and wasn't boring for our guests to sit through...
my veil had a layer of raw edged lace along the bottom and i got it for a steal at $99 when a local bridal shop was going out of business!
as the sun started to hide behind the clouds and the guests started hitting the dance floor, we had tan, brown and white wraps and flip-flops for them to wear...every last one was gone by the end of the night so those things sure came in handy! we wrapped the boxes in aqua dupioni silk and added a double band of chocolate and caramel toned satin ribbons with a gold beaded trim to add some glamour...
as night fell, the lighting kicked in and gave the party a warm glow...
first dance with my dad to patty griffin's "oh heavenly day"- super special :)
this is kinda funny...it shows even the most organized designer can forget something sometimes! i TOTALLY forgot about cake cutting utensils...so we cut our cake with this huge butcher knife that the caterer had...they finally brought down a pie cutter which is what i am holding here...but it was pretty funny...
oh and i also forgot to order cake plates...so anyone who wanted cake just came up, chopped off a hunk onto their cocktail napkin and ate it with their hands!! :)
that tree looked amazing at night...
oooooohhhhhh...our desserts...now for those of you who know me, you know i do NOT mess around with my sweets...i am a die hard sweet-tooth...always have been, always will be...so this was another non-negotiable item - we would serve INTENSE amounts of sugar, no matter what...our caterer provided 4 types of desserts (like mini root beer floats) and my friend natalie, who owns the dotted apron, provided about 10 other types of desserts (like blueberry lemon tartlets)...
we had mini peach pies with lattice crusts...
cold milk shooters with homemade chocolate chip cookies on top...
decadent brownie pops...
cinnamon-sugar doughnut holes...
and baby banana splits!!! they even used those adorable mini bananas...
these next 2 photos make me laugh...since we didn't do a pre-dinner cocktail hour, we decided to do our appetizers AFTER the desserts...and instead of normal appetizers we decided to serve BREAKFAST!!! the catering company tray passed things like french toast sticks with maple dipping sauce, mini croque monsieur sandwiches and bacon cups filled with scrambled eggs and cheese (seen below)...
here's me feeding brian a "breakfast corndog" - turkey sausage link dipped in pancake batter and fried....so delicious!!! ps. look how bad we were sweating, dancing up a storm!!
my good friend sandy had her own camera that day and these last few shots were actually taken by her...i love how they captured the glow, the vibe, the energy...
and you can see here the way the tall lightbox podiums glowed aqua!!
of course, we had to end the night with sparklers...ps. those sparks hurt when they hit you!!
about an hour before the night ended i went upstairs and changed my dress to a cute little white ruffled thing i got at express a couple months before...i also added some gold bangles, gold sandals and of course, a NEW BOUQUET! hey, i am a floral designer, don't kill me for wanting two bouquets :)
what a day...what a dream...
soooooo, obviously i have a FAT list of people i must thank for making this day what is was...
jasmine star photography - thank you, thank you, thank you for your art, your friendship and your love...we will treasure these photos forever...
paper tape films - our wedding video is beyond anything we could have asked for...it's not a video...it's a story...and the way you captured our day is just surreal...to see a sample of our wedding film, click here
urban palate catering - our food was SUCH a hit! you guys came through like nobody's business...
vanilla bakeshop - ah, our cake...one of the highlights of the day! amy you did an amazing job!
the dotted apron - natalie those desserts were wiped out in 30 minutes...no joke...you are genius...
wildflower linens - young and mei, thank you for your gorgeous linens! they were exactly what i wanted and i am so grateful for you two...
town and country event rentals - those benches really made our ceremony...plus the wood bars, barware, china, etc, made all our food/beverage look fab...
level 4 international - my wedding would not be what it was without the white dancefloor, cabanas, lounge furniture, lighting and music...you guys were the biggest piece to the puzzle that day and i cannot thank you enough for your help!
mimio papers - i just adored the printing you did for my entire wedding! margaret, thank you for being you :)
the studio agency - cathryn and trina...dang you're good! my hair and makeup were gorgeous...can i hire you on a daily basis? ;)
be inspired pr - leila, you are one of my bestest and even though you weren't doing wedding coordinating anymore, you stepped in and did your thing...because you knew you were the only one i trusted to do it! i am so blessed by you...every day...
to the girls of JL DESIGNS who took care of all the floral and decor install for that day - darci, brittany, holly, wendy and sandy - OMG you girls are troopers!!! those stairs alone and the pain you must have been in for days afterward after all that carrying and unloading...phew! you deserve way more than you got and i know it! i am so appreciative for the way you wanted my day to be the best day it could be and you each gave me the greatest gift you could give...peace of mind :)
of course i have to thank:
my in-laws for raising my husband and shaping him to be the amazing man he is today...
my mom and dad for helping me with so many projects for this wedding, being patient throughout the planning process, trusting me with the details (and budget!) and basically giving me the wedding i never thought i would get in a million years...i love you...
my husband, brian, who is not my soulmate but simply my soul...14 feet...
