With a vision in her head, this Bride called upon Twine Events to help execute all those dreams and turn them into reality… and the results were even better than she could have imagined. Meghan Kay Sadler snapped it all up and Lens and Compass filmed it live, giving us a Vault gallery that leaves us breathless – see it all this way!
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From the Bride…
My vision for my wedding always focused on the little moments. At the end of the day, we knew it was going to go by so fast so when I thought of the day I would marry the love of my life and best friend of 11 years I imagined walking out the doors and seeing his face. It was so important for us not to see each other before the wedding because we have lived together for so long but this day was different. In our unconventionally wonderful life we have built, we wanted to keep a little tradition and save the first time we saw each other to be when those doors opened and our eyes could meet. When I envisioned my wedding, it was about creating memories. My vision prior to planning was always a nighttime moment. Something about dancing under the stars with white lights was a picture I couldn’t get out of my head. We wanted to get married in nature underneath the stars and after looking at a few places we went to brunch at my dad’s place in the canyon on the way to Malibu in Agoura Hills. Viktor and I walked outside and looked at each other and just knew this was it. This is my father’s home and it’s close to our heart. The fact that it had the space and everything we were hoping for and more made the decision easy. It would give us the opportunity to have a clean palette to play with and make it unique to us. It’s the gift that keeps on giving because we get to go back and stand in the spot we say our “I dos” and it is an amazing feeling.
The most important thing to us was having our wedding feel like us and nobody else. The scene I pictured was like a vintage fairytale and I got every bit of that and more. We wanted to get married in nature with as much greenery as possible. The backdrop was a creek with white lights and of course, the stars. The color palette was an homage to nature so it was mostly white with some blush and pink for florals and green for the the greenery that accented the menus and invitations. The running themes were floral accents and ferns drawn on custom calligraphied menus stations and printed menus on the tables so the theme of nature and romance flowed through the whole thing. The most important thing to us was that no element felt rented or that it has been seen at another wedding before. Each piece from the chipped picture frames to the exposed long wooden tables (no rounds at all so it didn’t feel like a banquet was important) with no linens made it feel natural and unique. No two votive candle holders looked alike so it felt like each place you looked was a different feel. The wooden tables were so beautiful so we wanted to let them to be seen. Instead of large centerpieces we spanned the long tables with beautiful eucalyptus sprinkled with white florals and placed mismatched votive candles which amped up the romance. We wanted the lighting to be an extension of the stars because we were lucky enough to be away from the city that we could be free from street lights and really be in nature. The stung white lights that spanned the backyard felt like an extension of the sky and really tied that romantic feeling together.
I decided to have my dress and veil made because there were elements I wanted that I could not find elsewhere. I had them made separately to go with the mismatched feel and it worked out amazing. The dress was lace with a very low neckline that made it feel unique to itself. The tulle at the bottom gave it that bridal element but the different colors of tulle underneath made it still feel… me. The music choices for the wedding were anything but conventional. Instead of tradition wedding music we decided to celebrate our day with songs that we loved instead. The groom and family walked down the aisle to “Delicate” by Damien Rice and I walked down the aisle to the acoustic version of “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran. The unique elements were the vintage suitcases sprinkled around the backyard and vintage couch and love seats we used for a seating area. We leaned a converted chipped green and white door to hold our keys with hand calligraphy names on them for our escort cards. They paired well with the custom doorknob table numbers so it had a cute lock and key theme. The place cards were vintage bottles with tea stained calligraphy tags on them. Inside the bottles were hand picked lavender sprigs to give it a nice touch. The bars and food stations were all themed (Mediterranean, seafood with sushi.. yum!, and a pasta station where someone would make it just to to their liking) with vintage mirrors propped against them with the menu items written in custom calligraphy to give it a unique feel. The two thing that people loved were the whiskey and cigar bar, and the s’mores bar. The cigar and whiskey bar was on the deck overlooking the creek with decanters and hand picked whiskey that my husband thought the guests would love to try. They sat in vintage smoking chairs and enjoyed the cigars and just got a little man time. The s’mores bar was amazing because we opted for a true fire pit to give it that outdoor nature feeling. People left their diets at the door and relished in the childhood treat. It allowed people who didn’t know each other to laugh and connect with something fun.
My favorite moment was the moment right before I walked down the aisle. When my dad and I just stood in quiet after everyone else had walked down. I saw my little ring bearer dragging the custom sign we made that said “here comes your bride” (intended for my husband to see). That’s the moment I remember. My dad and I having a good laugh at the planned moment that didn’t go as planned and that’s what made it so amazing. He literally dragged the sign down in the cutest bow tie and suspender outfit and you know what? I’m so happy it happened that way. Those are the moments that make a wedding.
My bouquet was natural and romantic. It contained ivory, blush, and soft pink accent florals to differentiate from the bridesmaids who had all ivory. They were tied with natural cotton ribbon (blush for the bride and ivory for the bridesmaids). Instead of perfectly formed centerpieces we did bud vises everywhere – from the bars to the sign in table… everywhere. They made the place feel whimsical and romantic. Eucalyptus lined the long wooden tables. Eucalyptus also framed the arch we got married under which was wrapped with twigs and accented with greenery and white flowers.
My gown was so special to me because I had it made and loved being a part of the process. Being able to go back each time and make little adjustments was so exciting and the final piece made me feel so proud to see it all come together. I love that I didn’t wear what everyone expected me to wear and was true to myself. The veil was something I didn’t know I would care so much about until I tried on the first one. It is what made me feel like a bride so I knew mine had to be dramatic and unique. The woman who made it (separate from the dress) captured my vison perfectly and sprinkled a waterfall of flowers cascading down. It was beyond special.
The favors were custom DIY s’mores boxes that my bridesmaids and I made a night of while finishing quite a bit of champagne. They were placed in brown boxes wrapped with twine that had tags that said “s’more love” and our wedding date. Inside were a variety of dark and milk chocolates with cinnamon graham cracker cookies and jumbo marshmallows. It was a nice way to tie in the s’mores bar.
We wanted the wedding cake to be more about taste than just something to look at so we opted for 3-tiered where the top and bottom was cream cheese icing and strawberry shortcake while the middle was Nutella and almond. The guests loved the unique flavors and I think it was a nice break from the expected. The cake decoration itself was a simple white buttercream. It was so beautiful and naturally draped with real florals on a vintage cake stand. The cake rested on a vintage dresser and adorned with eucalyptus and votive candles.
Prior to planning my focus was on finding people who understood us. Of course I initially contacted them based on their portfolio or recommendation of a friend but if we didn’t click we knew it didn’t work for us. We wanted the planning process to be enjoyable and didn’t want to be one of those couples who felt so stressed through the process. So, if they made us laugh or felt like old friends we went with that vender over someone else. That is my greatest piece of advice to any bride. They made my day and I never felt for a minute that I had to check on things because they had my best interest in mind on the big day. I still stay in contact because they mean a lot to me and I have every moment of my day to thank them for. They brought my vision to life and I never felt like my wedding was just another job for them. They made it unique in every sense of the word. Go with your gut… not with the most expensive or who someone else said was the best.
Photography: Meghan Kay Sadler | Videography: Lens and Compass | Event Planning: Twine Events | Floral Design: Olive & Blooms | Wedding Dress: R-Mine Bespoke | Cake: Sweet Escape Cakes | Invitations: Aerialist Press | Catering: Monrose Catering | Calligraphy: Angelique Ink | DJ: J.P. McLeod | Officiant: Officiant Eric | Venue: Private Home, Agoura Hills | Rentals: Smart Party Rentals | Ribbon: Tono Co | Veil: Julie Harris Designs | Vintage Rentals: Vintage Owl Rentals