Just when I thought it was impossible for me to love Southern California weddings any more than I already do, along comes this La Jolla stunner to prove me wrong. Turns out, I can love them more… And this beach chic meets glamorous affair has me completely head over heels for every fabulous detail designed and executed by the amazing Nellie Chan of The Occasion Events. From the crazy awesome invitations and paper products (courtesy of the genius + gorgeous bride) to the beautiful blooms by Stems Design Studio to the mismatched bridesmaid dresses, I am officially obsessed with all things this wedding. Thankfully, The Image is Found was there to capture every stunning moment, so you know where I’ll be… In the gallery with all of this pretty. Join me there for even more!
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride… We decided to have our wedding at our favorite restaurant. We looked at a lot of venues, but when it came down to it, we loved the idea of supporting a place we loved in a location that we knew we could return to time and time again. The restaurant overlooked the California coast line, sourced all of their food locally, and set the tone for us visually.
The ceremony was at Scripps Institute, outside overlooking the water (there’s a theme here). We arrived early and took all of our photos beforehand with our incredibly talented photographers, The Image is Found, because we didn’t want to miss a minute of the cocktail hour. I’ll never forget after the ceremony, running down the aisle to our friend playing the piano, jumping in the photographers’ car, and going directly to the restaurant, George’s at the Cove. When we arrived, we walked up the stairs that were dotted with candles, and walked out onto the gorgeous patio, with the band playing and the cocktails ready to be served and the beautiful, colorful flowers interplaying with the bold colors of the space. It was absolutely perfect. After months of planning and emails and phone calls and spreadsheets, it was absolutely perfect.
Shortly afterward, the guests arrived. We drank, we toasted, we ate. Then we transitioned downstairs to the dining room, which had dimmed lights, endless candles and sculptural orchids cascading down the tables. Nellie Chan was the mastermind and brilliant muse behind our entire event, and she orchestrated incredible moments for our guests, from the florals to the flow of the space to the timing of events. (She is incredible. We are kind of obsessed with her.) After guests sat down, the dinner of all dinners began: 6 courses, all chosen the week-of by chef Trey Foshee, and sourced primarily by Chino Farms. It was exactly what we had always imagined, a dinner party of friends celebrating great food and wine together. It was intimate, it was warm, and it was delicious.
I’m a designer, so I loved creating some of the smaller moments throughout the day: from the laser cut wooden elements that hung from Nellie’s jaw-dropping florals at the ceremony, to lyrics from Brenden and my song intertwined into the dinner floral pieces. We worked with the one and only Rohner Letterpress in Chicago for the invitations, made welcome books by hand for all the guests, printed and folded ceremony programs, and even hand-cut all of the liners for the save the dates. For me, the wedding story began with the Save the Date, and unfolded over time through each printed element guests received. Telling that story was truly a labor of love, and, of course, incredibly rewarding.
The night ended with Jukebox, an incredibly fun and talented band, rocking out to songs until the wee hours. I changed into a shorter dress, Chef Foshee sent out platters of tacos and bite-sized desserts and everyone was dancing. The night was so perfect that we decided not to do a sendoff, and instead were the last ones to leave. It was perfect.
Wedding Photography: The Image is Found / Floral Design: Stems Design Studio / Event Design + Planning: The Occasion Events / Wedding Ceremony Location: Scripps Institute of Oceanography / Wedding Reception Location: George’s at the Cove / Entertainment: Jukebox / Wedding Invitations: The Bride / Letterpress: Rohner Letterpress / Calligraphy: Betsy Dunlap / Flower Embellishment: Neiman Marcus / Veil: Toni Federici / Reception Dress: Marchesa