Looking through the images of this Los Angeles wedding by onelove photography is to catch a glimpse of a couple that knows how to have fun; capital F kind of fun. A couple (who just so happen to be Broadway star Leslie Odom Jr. and actress Nicolette Robinson) that laughs whole heartedly and often and a couple with some killer dance moves – that’s this duo in a nutshell and their wedding day is proof that laughter and love are at the soul of life. See even more from this beautiful day right here.
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From the Bride…The wedding was getting close and we had nothing. No plan for the order of the ceremony at all. It was maybe 4 months before our day, we were in town meeting with our vendors and visiting with my folks. Leading up to the wedding, my parents had been trying to get us to watch their wedding video. Les and I were not interested. I think maybe Les thought it was going to be boring. We kept putting it off and putting it off… until finally one day…our last day in town…we realized how important it was to them and we came to the consensus that we were not going to be able to get out of it…we were going to have to endure…They put the VHS into the rickety VCR and…Within 5 minutes I was crying. Leslie laughed at me of course. 20 minutes later he’s wiping tears away from his eyes hoping that I don’t notice. It unlocked everything for us. It was so specifically tailored to who they were as a couple. They involved their closest friends and family members in the ceremony. They combined religious traditions and honored their families. They wrote their own vows and even composed original music to accompany certain key moments. It was deeply personal, truly beautiful, and so so moving. It didn’t look like any wedding we’d ever been to. They didn’t follow a template. So we decided to use their…”organic bohemian personal one-of-a-kind no template” as our template.
We realized we could do whatever we wanted to make the ceremony personal to us. It set us free. The ideas flowed so easily after that. The first decision we made was to ask my dad perform our ceremony. It was his decision to make. We knew he’d have to think about it. He has long since been the unofficial family Rabbi and we all look to him for guidance and advice. Also, there aren’t many people that know us as a couple better than he. Nobody would care more, prepare more, or take our day more seriously than my dad. Once we got a yes from him a couple weeks later, we were able to get real clarity about the rest of the ceremony. From then on, everything just fell into place. A dear friend and mentor of Leslie’s did our welcome and set the tone brilliantly. There was an original song my best friend wrote and performed for us. Leslie’s sister wrote and performed a beautiful spoken word piece. My dad was the perfect Minister of Ceremonies. A few close friends spoke from their perspectives about our pasts and how our relationship began. Two of my life-long friends did the blessing of the wine and friends from college, who are on their way to becoming genuine superstars, blessed our day with a song they arranged in our honor.
We wanted the day to feel like a natural extension of the way we like to live and love one another everyday: surrounded by the people most special to us, with music and art, remembering those who’ve come and gone before us, honoring God, listening, laughing, crying, and celebrating. We both made a conscious effort to remain fully present and not just let the day fly by without ever having us “in it.” It was perfect in every way. We loved every single thing about it even the things that didn’t go perfectly. So glad we watched that video!!!
We fell in love with the first place we looked at: The Majestic Halls. Located in Downtown Los Angeles. It’s a gorgeous event space that was once a bank the ’20’s–a fact that only adds to it’s inherent charm. High ceilings, beautiful floors, archways, marble staircases and pillars, AND a refurbished bank vault in the basement that was begging to be photographed and fully enjoyed… we knew it set the tone of our evening wedding perfectly. Since the space was so grand, we wanted the rest of the decor to be simple and elegant, with a vintage feel. We also had a modest budget that we were trying desperately to adhere to. Our Best Man joked with me that if I could have had my wedding in a barn, minus the bugs and weather, I would have! Our florist, Cindy Park of Floral Elements, did an AMAZING job. We swapped ideas & pictures of types of flowers and colors I loved. Our colors were white, purple, and blush pink. Cindy found the perfect way to present the romantic, vintage feel we had hoped for. We kept the tables simple with Cindy’s beautiful arrangements and faux burlap table runners. My Leslie came up with the idea to put different photos of us from over the years on the guests’ tables. That was totally his task, I was so proud. He picked out each photo, got them printed and gave them to our wedding coordinator to set up on the tables. He did such a great job… Aside from the one photo I found in the bunch after the wedding of me in my BRA… Whoever’s table got that one: Um, you’re welcome???
I think the best thing you can do for yourself is hire a team of vendors that you can rely on on your wedding day. Make sure you vibe well with them (and them with you). Leslie and I were surrounded by the most amazing group of vendors whose work we loved and admired. We were truly able to trust them and not worry one bit on our big day. Every single vendor exceeded our expectations! Best team ever. I highly recommend hiring a wedding coordinator for the month leading up to the wedding. Our AMAZING wedding coordinator, Olivia Wu of Zoie Events, was an angel sent from God! There’s just SO many tiny details to handle as the wedding approaches and on the actual wedding day, so hiring Olivia was definitely one of the wisest investments we made. We had the best time, without a single worry throughout whole day. And we were able to live in the moment, take everything in and have the time of our lives.
Our wedding day truly was the best day of our lives. We wish we could live the day all over again. There were so many moments that stand out in my mind that I’ll never forget. The best part of the whole wedding was that our friends and family we love most in the whole world– from all walks of our lives, were all in the same room together to celebrate our love. It was truly a love fest. The whole ceremony was an absolute dream. It was so personal to us. The garter retrieval was one of my favorite moments of the reception. My husband picked me up and sat me on the ledge by the dance floor as he proceeded to dance around the entire dance floor (a mating dance, maybe?) and then retrieved my garter… with his teeth, of course. He always knows how to make me laugh and have a great time. It was so much fun.
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Photography: onelove photography | Venue: Majestic Halls | Event Designer + Coordinator: Zoie Events | Floral Design: Floral Elements | Caterer: TGIS Catering | Cake: Rossmoor Pastries | Cinematography: Paperback Weddings | Photobooth: Flashlife Photobooth | DJ: Scratch Weddings | Dress Designer: Nicole Miller | Ceremony Jewelry: Gift from the Groom | Reception Jewelry: Miriam Salat | Bridesmaids Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Lighting: Advanced AV | Officiant: Bride’s Father | Stationery: Bride and Groom | Save-the-dates: Wedding Paper Divas | Rentals: Signature Party Rentals | Cake Topper: Wedding Star