Without a doubt, San Diego is one of my all-time favorite cities. I mean, who wouldn’t adore the 365 days of perfect weather, the breathtaking coastal beauty and the never-ending lineup of gorgeous weddings? It’s absolute heaven and I couldn’t possibly love it any more. Well… that is until I spotted this stunning affair planned by Wynn Austin Events which takes that San Diego beauty I love so dearly and kicks it up a notch with to-die-for bouquets from Organic Elements and a traditional reception at the US Grant Hotel. Care to bask in some serious lovely captured by Marisa Holmes? Join me in the gallery for sooo much more and stay tuned for a sweet film from Classic Filmworks below.
From the Bride… We wanted something traditional, but not stuffy so we’re hoping to find a good mix in between. When we selected the Marston House, we saw that it had a big flower pot in the middle; but instead of hiding it, we’re wanted to work with it. I was inspired by that and really want to keep things as organic as possible, working with what we have. Perfectly imperfect is what we hoped to embody.
Thad’s mom had passed away a few years ago. I wanted to make sure she was with him throughout the day and not just honored at the ceremony. I found cufflinks that holds photos and I included photos of him and his mom so that he could literally have her with him all day.
We chose the Marston House because of the organic, natural beauty of the location (+ I love the craftsman style of the house). We both wanted to get married under the sun, with grass under our feet, and in a very happy place. We also think it’s unassuming, peaceful, and a little quirky. It’s is very “Viet,” as Thad would say.
The reception, on the other hand, more closely embodies Thad: the US Grant is grand and exudes classical elegance. We wanted something that was traditional, but also seemed updated. We also choose the Grant because of the location near the Gaslamp, so that our guests could stay there and be in close proximity to public transportation and downtown nightlife + restaurants.
My sister is an artist and drew a lot of the illustrations you’ll see throughout the day. I’ve tried make everything ourselves and incorporate her art so that we have personal things that represent us. We particularly love our programs since we have 2 versions with drawings my sister made; one with us in traditional Korean wedding garb (Thad’s background) and one with traditional Vietnamese garb (my background).
We also made all of the signage. Our nephews walked down the aisle in the processional: Thad’s one-and-a-half-year-old nephew held a handmade ring pillow as he walked down the aisle and my 11 and seven-year-old nephews held a “Here Comes the Bride” sign as they walked down. On the recessional, the nephews flipped the sign saying “Just married” before walking out.
We’ve wanted to have open seating to maximize mingling, but want our guests to feel like we saved them a seat, so we’ve created a hybrid of both. We reserved groupings of seats for people so they knew they had a seat somewhere among a certain set of tables. Hopefully this let people eat and sit whenever and wherever they preferred. We created a large board, so that people knew where they could sit and named each of the sections by the seasons, so everyone would automatically know that there were four different seating sections. To personalize the signage, we included a different childhood photo of us behind each sign, as well.
Wedding Photography: Marisa Holmes / Ceremony Venue: Marston House in San Diego, California / Reception Venue: US Grant Hotel in San Diego, California / Wedding Planning: Wynn Austin Events / Floral Design: Organic Elements / Cinematographer: Classic Filmworks / Catering + Dessert: US Grant Hotel / Wedding Cake: CAKE / Entertainment: N’Demand Band / Paper Goods + Signs: DIY by the Bride and Groom / Wedding Dress: Watters / Bride’s Rings: Blue Nile + Jean Dousset / Jewelry: Club Monaco + Roberta Chiarella / Bridesmaids’ Attire: Donna Morgan “Rosette Trim Strapless Chiffon” / Groom’s Attire: Canali / Groom’s Shoes: Mezlan / Groom’s Ring: James Allen / Hair: Hair By Henna / Makeup: Ann DeNicolo Makeup Artist