The minute I saw this adorable wedding, I knew we all needed to take a little break from tradition and feature an affair that was purely fun. And whimsical, and charming and full of color. This wedding is like none I have ever seen and I literally haven’t stopped smiling since I found it. Photographed by Northern California photographer Tanja Lippert (who is behind one of my all time favorite weddings), it’s total and complete LOVE. Check out the gallery for even more whimsical wedding eye-candy.
Okay, first. The dress. Umm…where have you been all my life. Add to that an adorable smile, bright red patterned bridesmaids dresses, a dreamy groom and a completely whimsical style and it’s basically the recipe for perfection. It’s so great to see a bride that doesn’t take herself too seriously, that set out to design a wedding that not only her guests would enjoy but that also became a reflection of them, a little window into their super fun, super cute life.
From the bride…Classic story of dork meets dork. We are equal parts cheesy and genuine. We met and fell in love over 3 years ago through a mutual friend and everything completely fell into place for both of us. We are both very different in personality but we both love to do the same things, such as dance like Mia (Uma) and Vincent (John) in Pulp Fiction (our own version of course), sing our hearts out at the karaoke bar, in the car, basically anywhere, and spend tons of time with friends and family.
I really wanted the wedding to embody what Brian and I are all about -good times, family and friends, and lots of libations!! Not to forget my own style and quirkiness!! Our wedding had an off-beat city feel and I really wanted to make sure the guests didn’t feel like it was a typical wedding. We played up the SF vibe by picking a venue that had tall windows that overlooked the city. Terra is a beautiful space that we decided would best fit our city feel. We spoiled our guests rotten with 3 different food stations that included a delicious yam bar (bonaito bar), porcini truffle raviolis, and other Asian and American dishes. As guests were dancing, servers passed out ice cream sandwiches from Ici on large silver platters. Before the clock struck midnight, we had late night snacks that included sweet potato fries and pigs in a blanket snacks.
The colors that I chose, poppy red, black, and cream, really brought the wedding to life. During the ceremony, we had low hanging flowers balls in all white. We wanted to keep everything monochromatic in color and soft and romantic. During the reception, the largest center flower ball was switched to a deep red flower ball which really set the tone and mood for things to come. My red Fendi shoes that I changed into after the ceremony signified it was party time! We really wanted the reception to be a huge celebration and people danced the night away!
We incorporated a lot of hand sewn items to the wedding in fabric patterns that had our colors – poppy red, black, and cream. Each table was identified by a bird dressed in a unique fabric of pattern and color. My mom in law sewed together a custom bags for each guest in the their table fabric. The bags were later used at the candy bar. She also sewed together custom pillows and stool covers. A friend of mine, who interns with Rachel Comey in NYC, hand picked the material and hand crafted my white floral reception headpiece. The topper on the cake was a mini sugar version of the same headpiece. It was absolutely fabulous and really tied everything together quite well.
Click here to see more from Tanja Lippert!
Photography: Tanja Lippert Photography / Venue: Terra Gallery / Venue Flowers and decor of space: Dusty Derouen, of Terra / Bouquet: Not Just Flowers / Bride Makeup/Hair/Bridesmaid hair: Tia Reagan / Bridesmaid Makeup: Jenny Nguyen, Bride’s Cousin / Hotel: Hotel Frank / Cake: I Dream of Cake / Dress: Melissa Sweet Billie dress / Shoes: Christian Louboutin & Fendi (red) / Suit: Hugo Boss / Caterer: Devoted Catering by Amiee Alan / Our wedding website for more details: vaethnguyen.blogspot.com