When a blogger like Emily of Could Be Interesting ties the knot, I always get a bit giddy to sit down with their wedding – because I just know it will be overflowing with lovely. And when it’s all captured by Katie Beverley, Associate Shooter for Jessica Claire? That’s when I feel like I’ve hit the wedding-blogger jackpot. It’s DIY on a completely different (super stylish) level, and it’s all waiting for you right here.
From the Bride… Matt and I were engaged for two years and I spent much of that time planning our wedding. We knew from the start we wanted something rustic and romantic. This proved to be tough in the Orange County area with the added requirement of a site that could hold our 320 person guest list. We looked at 5 venues and talked with even more. Finally about a year into planning we found Parker Ranch in Trabuco Canyon. It was perfect. We knew right away that this was our wedding venue. We dreamed of getting married below the “oak trees”.
Once we had the date and location booked all of the pieces started falling into place. It was such a treat to have so much time to plan each thing and create all the little details. I found a lot of inspiration on blogs and wedding sites and did quite a bit of blogging on my own site Could Be Interesting. I made a plethora of inspiration boards and really studied the images that I put on my blog and pinned on Pinterest. It made the whole event so special and meaningful to everyone involved. I really had the most amazing time planning everything. And in the end, the day was perfect. More than I could ever dreamed of.
Once we found our venue, some of my early inspiration ideas changed. I knew that with all the natural features of the venue I wanted a subdued rustic elegance. I started looking through flowers and stumbled upon a simple baby’s breath bouquet and that pretty much started it all. I kept the flowers pretty simple– pale pinks and peaches, along with wood and fresh greens. My mother would tell you I was channeling my grandmother throughout the planning of the event. Both of them were very creative, delicate, wonderful women and inspired me throughout the planning. I got my love of the color pink from them. Over time I started collecting details and images that helped me to find the vision I wanted. This wedding was a celebration of our families and friends. Not about our son and us. But our opportunity to show all the wonderful people in our lives how much they mean to us and what they have all done for us. A way to thank them for being in our lives.
DIY’s oh geez. I can tell you that after this wedding my father never wants to see me craft again. I mean like ever. There was little I didn’t do myself. When you have 2 years to plan a 320 person wedding there is a lot of thought that goes in to “what will make this special for each person attending”. So I hand-dyed and put together each garland, stained the wood baskets, hand-painted the signs, designed the wedding invitations, painted the cake labels and signs, created the favor bags, collected mason jars, handcrafted our vow box with Matt, and the ring bearer box. I also got to collaborate with my wonderful friend Jessica Murray to design the Bridesmaids dresses, which was so special! Each girl got to pick a style and then Jessi, my sister and I went to purchase the fabric in LA. Such a fun experience and it really let me have some special moments with my wonderful bridesmaids. Wow I can’t even remember everything I made now. But it was a majority of the details. Which was great. I enjoyed every minute of it.
The invitations were a project I worked on with Joy Laforme. I contacted her after meeting through an Alt class and asked if she would put together some florals for me. I told her that we would be using baby’s breath and Juliette roses in our bouquets and our wedding colors were pale pinks, peaches, salmon and gold. She immediately got back to me with the wonderful flowers used in the invite. It took a while to perfect it but once we did we had a great invitation suite.
The cake table was a collaboration between myself and Jennie from Pop Culture desserts. I don’t think I can tell you how amazing Jennie is. She really captured my idea and with our props combined she created the most incredible dessert tables and treats ever. Jennie also supplied the macarons for our wedding favors. For those I purchased some simple muslin bags and using iron on paper, I created our “Love is Sweet & So are you” logo. Ironing on 320 of those bad boys was a process but definitely worth it!
I also hoarded mason jars for two year. Really I think we currently have about 200 mason jars. All different shapes and sizes. They held water on the tables and flowers all over the venue.
Matt and I made these wonderful activity books for all the kids, which was really fun. Quite a few parents told me they took some home and their kids played with them for days.
Our vow box was designed & created by Matt. We filled it with our written vows, our hand fasting ribbon, a copy of our ceremony readings & quotes, and a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label whiskey to be opened when we need a reminder of our decision to be joined forever.
Our wedding day truly was the perfect day. I remember someone asking me at the rehearsal dinner what I most wanted on my wedding day. I told them besides marrying the man of my dreams, I wanted to see all of those wood tables under the Oak trees filled with the people we loved. I wanted to see them smiling and laughing and having the time of their lives. And we got that. It was incredible. The entire evening was filled with so much happiness and joy. And the speeches– all were so incredibly special and meaningful. We were laughing and crying, but in a good way. My sister’s was especially touching. Something I will never forget.
One moment that brought me an immense amount of joy was the father-daughter dance. I surprised my father by choosing our special song, Moon River by Andy Williams. This song holds a lot of meaning for us and the meaningful smile that I got from my father proved that this was not only the day I dreamed of, but his as well. And then he spun me around and my smile just kept getting bigger (as you can see in the pictures).
I am also eternally grateful to my aunt Katherine who officiated for us. She and I have always had a great relationship and as a Buddhist she brought some very special insight into our ceremony. She gave me strength and confidence as we embarked in our marriage. It meant so much to have her there with us.
The night ended when the Vintage Rolls Royce pulled up and everyone created a tunnel for us to run through before being whisked away to the Montage for our wedding night. Matt had planned all that for us, which was so so special. Cuddling up next to him in the back, sipping champagne, while the rain came down, and he was finally my husband. That might have been one of the most special moments in my life.
[dotted]
Wedding Photography: Katie Beverley, Associate Shooter for Jessica Claire | Wedding Venue: The Parker Ranch | Styling: The Bride, Emily of Could Be Interesting | Floral Design: Browne’s Flowers | Coordination: Jane Chong of Jane Events and Design | Catering: Martin Fiero Asados | Desserts + Favors: Jennie Parker of Pop Culture Desserts | Wedding Invitation Suite: Design by Bride with Illustration by Joy Laforme | Wedding Dress: Watters {Austin Gown} |Groom’s Suit: {J.Crew Ludlow} | Bridesmaids Dresses: Jessica Murray Designs |Groomsmen Suits: Alfani Red via Macy’s | Rentals: Baker Party Rentals | DJ/Entertainment: Michael Maruca of OC Dj Company | Bartenders and Servers: Pro Bar Services | Videography: Scott Sinnett and Isaac Zoller of LEAF | Makeup: Mercedes Moorman | Hair: Dana Wilkes of Legends Lader | Airstream: SoCal Airstream|