When the lady behind Mrs. Vintage becomes a real life Mrs., the wonderfulness that happens is vintage wedding style at its finest. I could never have imagined the overflowing amount of perfect details and bits and bobs that make this wedding truly one of a kind thanks to One True Love Wedding Rentals and the brother that surprised this Bride with amazing hand constructed, salvaged wood doors. And the canvas signs throughout the day by Esla Events with the sweetest of calligraphy are just the icing on the cake. There is so much more greatness from Kara Miller Photography and you can find it all right here.
From the Bride… From the very start I knew I wanted a vintage feeling wedding, full of handmade details that really reflected our personalities. We live in New Orleans but are both from California, so having the wedding in California seemed to make the most sense. I’m from wine country and Rob is from gold country, two of the most beautiful regions in the state, and maybe even the world! So I knew we’d have our work cut out for us on our ONE trip to California to see venues. Surprisingly enough, when we saw Milfiori in Murphys, California, we knew the search was over. The venue is just stunning. We were literally speechless when we saw the amazing stone building entrance to an enchanted garden, which opened up onto sprawling lawns and rose arbors. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, the property owner showed us the old 1800’s schoolhouse located on the back of the property. Painted white with bright yellow shutters and a rusted tin roof, it was one of the most beautiful parts of this stunning property.
I own a vintage rental company in New Orleans called Mrs. Vintage, so clearly having vintage touches and accents was a must. But how was I going to get everything I wanted over to California!? This is where my awesome family comes in, as well as One True Love Vintage Rentals in San Francisco. I ended up renting all of the centerpieces (books and bottles) from One True Love, and my mother in-law collected vintage mismatched china for me over the year-long engagement. I packed a suitcase full of non-breakable vintage pieces (some chalkboards, silver, etc.) and lugged it home with me before the wedding. My bridesmaids sourced the water pitchers, and we attached the number decals to them for table numbers. I had Laurel Anderson of Elsa Events in San Francisco design and draw out the custom signs, including the “welcome to our love story” sign that greeted all of our guests as they entered our wedding though the stone building. My mother created the doily photo booth backdrop and painstakingly stitched it all together and hung it from trees! I think she even whipped out her sewing kit and fixed a piece of it during the wedding! And then we have the DOORS! My lord, those doors are gorgeous. My brother SURPRISED me with those when I landed in California two weeks before the wedding! I had sent him photos of old doors being used at weddings as inspiration, but I had no idea he was going to construct half a house! He salvaged all of the wood, doors and trim used on the front from Urban Ore in Berkeley. My brother’s fashion designer girlfriend hand-stitched the burlap and lace covers for the poles holding up the string lights over the dance floor. It TRULY took a village to throw our wedding, and I am eternally grateful to all of my friends and family for making my dream wedding a reality. Makes me tear up just thinking about it again!
My incredibly talented and creative bridesmaids assembled all the table number centerpieces. I made all of the boutonnieres in New Orleans and shipped them back to California. Thank you to Handmade Weddings for the awesome tutorial on cotton boutonnieres. My bridesmaids made their own peony and rose bouquets, and I ordered my peony bridal bouquet from Mountain Laurel Florist in Sonora. We are also blessed with musically talented friends, one of whom played Ben Harper’s “Beloved One” for the processional. Seriously better than Ben Harper. The bluegrass band that played during cocktail hour was made up of childhood friends of Rob’s. The band is called The Creak and is based in San Francisco. I wanted to bring in some New Orleans flair, which was the inspiration behind our wedding favor. I had Angelique Philips of Angelique Ink create a custom rubber stamp that read, “Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler,” which is a very common New Orleans saying for “Let The Good Times Roll.” Inside the stamped favor bags were Tootsie Rolls! They were a huge hit, and it was fun to see so many Californians embrace a little piece of New Orleans culture. We danced the night away under a cloudless sky on a warm summer night. It was more perfect than I could have ever imagined. Thank you to the fabulous Kara Miller for capturing all of our special moments.
Wedding Photography: Kara Miller Photography / Wedding Venue: Milfiori in Douglas Flat, California / Wedding Styling, Design + Vintage Rentals: Mrs. Vintage (Owned by the Bride) / Bride’s Bouquet: Mountain Laurel Florist / Other Floral Design, Boutonnieres + Corsages: DIY with Materials from FiftyFlowers, Dragonfly Peony Farm + Floral Cotton / Additional Vintage Rentals: One True Love Vintage Rentals / Catering + Wedding Cake: Lila & Sage / Food Truck: Red Truck / Wedding Invitations + Custom Favor Stamp: Angelique Ink / Bluegrass Band: The Creak / Canvas Signs: Laurel Anderson of Esla Events / Photo Booth Backdrop: DIY by the Bride’s Mother / Wedding Dress: Marisa / Bride’s Veil: Tessa Kim / Bride’s Shoes: Antonio Melani / Bride’s Hair: Michelle Weaklend of Mockingbird Heights Salon, A Bridesmaid / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: DIY + Nordstrom / Groom’s Suit: Club Monaco / Men’s Ties: The Hill-side