The inspiration behind this wedding was the party in which Pride & Prejudice and Alice In Wonderland meet, which just so happen to be two of the most beautiful stories of all time, so I was fairly confident I’d be spending a whole lot of time in the gallery (only confirmed when I saw Found Vintage Rentals + 24 Carrots on the vendor list). As you can plainly see by Linda Arredondo’s images, I was not disappointed in the least!
From the beautiful bride… To me, a wedding is about family—and that is what we wanted: a small intimate gathering of friends and family celebrating our union. “A tea party,” he said, “but a vintage one in the forest as if we are in another, more magical world.” It was perfect; after all, Pride and Prejudice is my favorite love story of all time, and an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party sounded fun! We wanted our day to be perfect, not just for us, but for everyone. We would spend the next two years planning and coordinating every finite detail making sure everything was representative of who we are. It may sound like a long time, but our wedding was upon us before we realized.
Trying to find the just right details to match our vision was no small task. We explored the Internet searching for vintage teacups and teapots, lace runners, and Victorian furniture. Our vision was very specific, and unfortunately we couldn’t find everything we had envisioned online— luckily the groom’s family is very crafty. His mother created all the table runners, and his grandfather crafted the signs and posts, which guided our guests. The vintage silver trays, salt and pepper shakers, water urn and other linens were family heirloom pieces provided by the groom’s aunt, and the calligraphy on the signs was done by myself. In the end, every hand picked detail was more than we had hoped for.
Both having Celtic roots, we wanted to incorporate tradition into our ceremony by including the hand fasting ceremony. The hand fasting ceremony, where colorful chords of ribbon are tied around the couple’s hands, is the origin of “tying the knot”. We made ours even more special by using ribbon made of the groom’s Buchanan clan tartan. Being a small intimate ceremony, there wasn’t a dry eye to be found, and even the musician and officiant had to wipe away tears! The tender air of love could be felt by every heart at the wedding.
We really wanted everyone to have an amazing time so we came up with idea to incorporate a photo area. The photo area would double as entertainment and as our guest book. To keep every detail period appropriate, our guest book is a vintage, leather bound book rooted with portrait styled photographs so common to the era. Carrying on with the vintage theme, we provided a variety of props from hats, gloves, and canes to pearl necklaces, throws, and morning coats for guests to dress up in for their unique photograph. Everyone had so much fun with it that it took on a life of its own and became a highlight of the reception.
I could not have asked for a more perfect day. Our vendors did an amazing job recreating our vision and making everything go so smoothly. I can’t express enough our gratitude to them for their hard work. With each and everyone’s help and support, we were able to make our dream wedding a reality.
Photography: Linda Arredondo | Videography: New Classic Films | Event Styling: Art With Nature | Florist: Art With Nature | Bakery: Sugar Pine Bake Shop | Cake: The Cake Shop | Catering: Giracci Vineyards Farms | Hair Stylist: Hair Comes the Bride | Lighting: Mathew Kronquist - Southern California Lighting | DJ: SoundWave Productions | Officiant: Alan Katz | Ceremony Music: Subito Strings | Wedding Venue: Whispering Pines Estate | Bride's Gown: The Dresser | Dishware Rentals: borrowed BLU | Furniture Rentals: Found Rental Co. | Historic Costumes: Bianca's Costumes | Invitation Design: That Noise Gallery | MOH Gown: JLM Couture, Inc