Grand weddings are great, but lately my heart has been beating for small and intimate unions. Take this duo, who decided to throw their original vision out the window for a sweet elopement – just the two of them. Dressed up in romance (and one terrifically tulle gown) they wed in a lush garden bathed in California sunshine and Honey Honey Photography behind the lens. Surrounded by fluffy blooms and endless romance, it’s a day I’ve deemed as the ultimate dream – see it all in The Vault!
From the beautiful Bride… Michael and I met in college through mutual friends. We just so happened to be at the same place at the same time and the rest, as they say, is history. It was a long journey through two business start-ups (I am the founder of both Mini Magazine and Tulle Magazine), three apartments, four gym memberships, five cars, six colleges and seven a half years later, we tied the knot.
We began by planning a traditional event— the big affair with a giant guest list and even more giant price tag—but after a few months, I quickly discovered putting together a magazine for other brides and their weddings was much more enjoyable than planning my own. So we threw out the entire idea!
While we still wanted a fun, intimate party with our closest family and friends after the fact, Michael and I agreed that a romantic elopement with just the two of us sounded like the perfect fit and the perfect way to begin our marriage. After all, when the veil and bow tie come off at the end of the night, the marriage is all that matters and we wanted our wedding to reflect that.
Thus, Me and You, Just Us Two became the theme of the day. We arranged the date at a private estate in Malibu, California. I found a stunning blush Monique Lhuillier gown, with layers upon layers of tulle, commissioned a custom 106” cathedral veil, shopped with Michael for a dapper, classic black tuxedo and that was that. Everything else seemed to fall right into place.
The day of our wedding was quite possibly the best day of my life, not to mention, incredibly stress-free. Is that even possible? Although it looked like rain all week, I watched the weather like a hawk and frantically texted our photographer to work out an alternate plan. But miraculously, the clouds broke and the sun poured through just before we needed to begin setting up.
We had coffee together in the morning and took a walk through the garden. I set up ivory pillar candles along an aisle in the citrus orchard and draped long, flowing linens over a table set in front of a tall row of hedges. The tablescape was coordinated with the dreamiest palette of whites, ivories and the softest hints of blush; the florals with lush garden roses and peonies from the Los Angeles Flower Market and lemon leaves gathered from around the estate.
We had the best team on that day— everyone from the photographers to the makeup artist to the officiant made everything so easy and I can honestly say, I didn’t have the slightest inkling of nerves. Even talking with Michael after the ceremony, we both mentioned how it felt like an out of body experience.
You never know until you feel it for yourself, but the wedding day does truly happen in a flash. I had heard this hundreds of times and so, I tried my best to be completely present for every moment. One of my favorite parts of our ceremony was just after we walked down the aisle and our officiant instructed us to “Take a deep breath and look around, because this all goes by so fast.” I don’t know if we ever stopped smiling or laughing, but that little tidbit helped us to focus on every word from there on out.
Photography: Ether & Smith | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Makeup: Radiant Makeup Artistry | Hair: Drybar | Groom's Attire: Calvin Klein | Venue: Private Estate | Calligraphy Sign, Invitation Suites, Decanter Tags: Sarah Ingram | China, Decanters, Glasses, Flatware & Candlesticks: Dish Wish | Floral Design & Styling: Kate Kirby Of Tulle Magazine | Ribbon: Silk and Willow | Tables And Chairs: Town And Country | Urn: Campo De'Fiori | Veil: Custom