They say when you plan a wedding, it is a labor of love – a true mix of work and pleasure. But when the bride is a professional calligrapher and handmakes a good portion of her wedding day details, including the 6-foot tall seating chart, now that is the definition of a labor of love! With a mix of romantic and modern details, Madix & Co brought the couple’s vision to life with the help of beautiful floral arrangements created by Amanda Vidmar Design. This bride and groom’s love for each other will certainly make you swoon (just read their proposal story, I may have shed a tear or two) and Kayla F Photography was there to capture every special moment!
From the Bride…What did you envision your wedding being prior to planning? We both wanted a wedding that felt intimate with our closest loved ones, and most importantly a party that no one would forget in a beautiful setting. Ryan’s theme for our wedding was “fun”, which made for some hilarious planning conversations. My vision was to be outdoors with gorgeous views, which made wine country the perfect place to tie the knot. I wanted to feel like we were in a modern ethereal space, which Madix & Co brought to life with our florist, Amanda Vidmar Designs. Seeing everything come together on that day was truly magical and the definition of unforgettable.
What was your color palette and your style vision? Our color palette was mostly neutrals with a lot of white, cream, and to bring in some color, we had soft peaches and pinks throughout our florals and rentals. All of the decor elements complemented this natural foliage with white, gray, blush, and a touch of black. The style vision for the wedding was light, romantic, and refined, with modern design elements like acrylic reflected in the stationery and signage.
What unique elements or DIY details did you include? Being a professional calligrapher myself, I was thrilled to work on my own wedding! At the same time, I was excited to bring in my favorite vendors who have become close friends over the years of being in the industry. I trusted them implicitly with our wedding vision, which took a lot of thought out of what elements I wanted to do myself versus have someone else create. I stuck to my expertise and created all of the stationery for our big day including a Welcome Sign using an acrylic stand filled with one of Amanda’s gorgeous floral arrangements, ceremony programs, a large acrylic seating chart display, menus with vellum, and place cards. The other piece I created that was a true labor of love was our huge 6′ tall seating chart. Kaella helped me polish my idea for a black metal frame with 3 clear acrylic hanging panels that had all of our guests’ names and tables printed on it in gray and white. I created the frame myself behind our apartment building, constructing and painting it. Kaella and I assembled it at the wedding venue the day before, and Amanda added Lunaria to it, which was the perfect touch to this focal point for our guests. The seating chart was the exact combination of romantic and modern, which was everything I wanted it to be.
The Dress: For many years, I have followed the design work of Sarah Seven. When we got engaged, I just knew I was going to end up there and I was going to find my dress. I gave other boutiques and designers a chance, but in the end, I had one appointment at Sarah Seven and fell in love. My wedding dress combined a tulle skirt with lots of movement from one design, and a deep sweetheart corset bodice made of lace from another. It truly was my style, having a sexier element like the deep neckline paired with a fun and flirty tulle skirt that I could twirl in all night.
What was your favorite moment? My favorite intimate moment was our toasts and first dance. Ryan and I have been together on and off for the better part of 10 years, so our wedding held a lot of meaning not only for us but for our families who have witnessed our relationship grow over the last decade. Hearing my dad give a speech filled with his pride for me, and joy in having Ryan as a son-in-law made my heart full. My sister and Ryan’s two brothers have been there from the beginning and their speeches, both sentimental and funny respectively, were lovely to hear. Our first dance song was the song that Ryan proposed to me with, and has held a special place in our hearts since college. At that point, I didn’t think I had more tears in me, but I was wrong! Our first dance felt like it was simply the two of us in a room, and a culmination of many years spent growing our love and lives together.
The Flowers: We knew having Amanda Vidmar work her floral magic for our wedding was going to be easy and stress-free. We communicated our overall feel and aesthetic vision to her, and let her run with it. The unbelievable implied arch she created for our ceremony backdrop (and later our dessert bar!) was one of my favorite pieces. The arrangements in our reception created such organic movement throughout the tables, our guests could not stop complimenting them. The finishing touches of Lunaria on our cake and seating chart brought that modern and delicate feel we were wanting, and the foliage Amanda hung from the ceiling lights turned the barn into a stunning indoor/outdoor space.
The Dessert: Jennifer of Honeycomb Desserts made our carrot cake wedding cake that was all white, featuring a pale peach sail and sprigs of Lunaria. She also created our dessert bar filled with mini cheesecakes, mini key lime pies, strawberry shortcake, and my favorite, chocolate cream puffs. Our guests could not stop telling us how much they enjoyed the desserts, and we had nothing left at the of the night!
The Music: Cultivating an atmosphere in which our guests would want nothing more than to dance and enjoy the reception after dinner and toasts was a top priority for us. DJ Truthlive executed that perfectly, and then some. We were beyond impressed with his ability to seamlessly integrate music into every setting throughout the day. He certainly turned up the dance floor vibe later in the night, and no one wanted to stop dancing when it was time for the wedding to end.
Tell us how you met and became engaged: Ryan and I met in 2007 when we were sophomores at Duke while he was studying with a mutual friend in my dorm’s common room. I came downstairs to print a paper and noticed him right away. I thought he was extremely cute, so I went over and introduced myself and chatted with my friend for a bit. After that, Ryan invited me to a community service event his fraternity was doing and a couple of parties they threw before the winter holiday break. When talked over break and it was clear we liked each other, so when we returned to campus, we began dating. When we graduated in 2010, Ryan moved to California for his first job and I stayed in Virginia for mine. We didn’t see each other often and realized how much we actually missed one another, so in 2012 I finally moved to San Francisco. We moved in together with another couple we are friends with (typical SF set up to afford rent) in 2014 and when they left for Boston in 2016, we got our own place. That year, our 9 year anniversary of when we met was approaching in November, so I asked Ryan if he wanted to celebrate by going to a nice dinner. He said that sounded great, and let me plan our anniversary dinner. My parents were in town so they knew we would be out for that, and that we would come back afterward to spend time before they left the next day. At dinner, Ryan was completely normal so I had no clue he was hiding a little ring in his pocket. Plus, I had made the dinner reservation so I was really clueless! When we were close to finishing, Ryan said he had written me something special for our anniversary since he never does sappy things like that, and he wanted to go to Alamo Square near our apartment so I would have a beautiful setting to read his card he made me. I had no idea he had planned this proposal and thought it was just sweet of him to take the effort to write me an anniversary card. We got a ride to Alamo Square, but it was under construction at the time, so we walked up near the stone fountain where the fence dipped in enough for us to stand and take in the gorgeous Painted Ladies against downtown SF. He took out his phone and had me put in earphones (a throwback to our first Valentine’s Day in 2007 when he had me listen to a song while reading his card), and then handed me a bound book titled “All My Lovin’: A Memoir”. As the sun set behind us, I read this book Ryan had written detailing the journey of our love. When I finished that part, it transitioned into all of the things Ryan loves about me and he switched the song to a cover of “All My Lovin'” by the Well Pennies. He wrote about how he loves my ambition, and adventurous spirit, and I got a little choked up when he wrote: “I love that we dream about our future together.” The book ended with “But there is still one thing I haven’t done yet. So, today, nine years from the day we met, there is really only one question…” and then a blank page. I took the headphones out and turned to Ryan confused, and he was standing next to me holding a ring. After crying uncontrollably and saying repeatedly, “Are you joking? Is this a joke?”, I gave him enough space to get down on one knee and ask me to marry him. I said yes, we tried to take blurry photos in the dark to commemorate the event, and we walked home to see my parents (who knew about the proposal). Then we drove to our friends’ apartment where all of our closest friends had gathered to celebrate. It was truly the perfect day.
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Photography: Kayla F Photography | Videographer: Lovespun Films | Floral Design: Amanda Vidmar | Caterer: Jessica Lasky | Hair and Makeup: Katie Nash Beauty | DJ: truthlive | Venue: Distinct Locations | Dessert: Honeycomb Desserts | Invitations and Signage: Brown Fox Calligraphy | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Planner and Designer: Madix & Co | Private Estate: Distinct Locations | Rentals: Encore Events Rentals | Rentals: Theoni Collection
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