Now that you’ve had a chance to fall in love with this SoCal duo via their adorable boardwalk engagement sesh, it’s time to dive head first into the wedding that followed. From the bride’s dreamy Vera Wang gown to the boatloads of ivory blooms a la LA Premiere Flowers, it’s a wedding straight from the storybooks and Sylvie Gil didn’t miss a beat. More right here!
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From The Bride…The magic of our wedding night was beautifully captured by the setting. Our vision for the wedding was to keep it classy and elegant–something that will withstand time and trends. I love neutrals, whites, and gold, and I wanted our wedding to feel like a mix of organic beauty with a touch of glam. Our incredibly talented florist and coordinator took my vision and transformed it into a magical wedding and utterly blew us away with the design and set up–it was truly unbelievable. I remember the moment of seeing all of our planning come together with such beauty and perfection–it took the wind out of us. It was visually stunning, and it perfectly matched that height and depth of emotions that were running through the day!
Our relationship has hometown roots that make it very special. Before dating, we had known each other for over 10 years, went to cross-town high schools, the same undergrad college, and the same law school — all by chance! It was my dream that we had our wedding in our hometown where we grew up, and as a result, our wedding was a very special gathering of friends from both of our sides that was eclectic but also cohesive. A lot of mini reunions were held at our wedding, and it was such a fun and heartfelt night. There was even a lot of inter-generational partying! I didn’t expect our older Korean and Taiwanese guests to participate, but seeing it was so amazing! Our DJ did an awesome job of keeping everyone moving all night.
With some of our guests flying in from around the country and even internationally(!), we wanted to make sure every guest felt included and special. We printed a bunch of old photos of ourselves with our friends and family who were at the wedding and placed them out in white photo frames during cocktail hour for our guests to find and take home as a cute little keepsake. We also tried to think of as many ways as possible to keep our guests comfortable in the heat–we handed out little personal battery fans and paper parasols for our guests to stay cool in the sun. And for the kids, we placed toy cars and bubbles on our nieces and nephews’ seats to help keep them entertained–their parents appreciated that!
It’s difficult to pinpoint a specific moment a midst the blur as the most memorable, but I will always cherish our first look. I am so happy we did it–it was such a special and intimate time for us to really take in the day and go through all the emotions we were feeling together without any of the other distractions. I also love that we have so many beautiful photos to relive our first look moment for the rest of our lives. Those few moments were really just for us, and they were so special.
As an extra bonus to our already perfect day, my dress was utmost perfection. Leave it to Vera to create a dress that is classic, whimsical, and dramatic all at the same time. I wanted something fitted and dramatic, and my mom was pushing for something more classic with lace. The only dress to deliver on all fronts was the Leda by Vera Wang. The million layers of lace and the dramatic train mimicked the outdoor leaves and nature of our venue, while the fit was modern and classy.
Our team of vendors were special to us–many of them were very close to us and exceeded our expectations by tenfold. We gave creative control to our florist LA Premier and merely gave her our color scheme, and she surprised us with the most lush and beautiful floral designs that I have ever seen. Truly astonishing and more than any bride can ask for. Our event coordinator Belinda from Bookt Events was impeccable–we are still getting comments today about how well run and organized our wedding was! She was integral in making our vision come to life from start to finish,and I can go on for days detailing how amazing, professional, fun, and talented she is. It brought tears to my eyes to physically see how much care and love my florist and coordinator poured into our wedding, and cannot commend our vendors enough for creating the best day of our lives. Our photographer Sylvie was a dream to work with all day, and she is the reason I get to relive the day’s memories in such beauty. In the end everything came together to be a smashing success–everyone left full of joy and delicious food and drinks, which was our goal to begin with.
Photography: Sylvie Gil Photography | Videography: Anything Everything Productions | Event Planning: Bookt Events | Florals: LA Premier | Wedding Gown: Erin Cole | Wedding Cake: JJ Bakery | Shoes: Louboutin | Lighting: Akjohnston Group | DJ: DJZ Productions | Venue: Shady Canyon Country Club | Macaron Tower: Piipa Cakes | Photobooth: Mobile Photo Booth | Rentals: Signature Party Rentals | Rentals: Found Rental Co.