An Elegant Al Fresco Wedding Featuring The Most Adorable Pup

Melissa Hammam
February 14, 2022
Categories: Fall, Real Weddings, Romantic, Seasonal Wedding Trend, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

What could be a better addition to your wedding than man’s best friend? For their special day, Grace and John envisioned a chic California day with a muted pastel color palette and an incredible surprise from their pup Leo! Lauryn Prattes Styling and Events created a day designed with mixed patterns and special touches that will still your heart, like real pressed flowers on each guests’ escort card. Plenty Of Petals filled the croquet lawn at Rancho Valencia with lush blooms on top of bare tables for a refined, rustic look. Every magical moment was artfully documented in the imagery by Cavin Elizabeth Photography, see it all in the full gallery.

From Cavin Elizabeth Photography… Grace and John’s wedding features a gorgeous color palette that’s not too soft yet not too bold. It also has some of the most beautiful mix-match bridesmaid dresses that will be sure to inspire any bride looking to break out of the traditional bridesmaid dress mold. Their wedding is truly a classic al fresco affair with a stunning head table under a smilax-covered structure and a mix of round and long tables. Oh, and I cannot forget to mention a surprise visit from their puppy Leo! To kick off the weekend, the wedding party and family met at Duke’s La Jolla for a rehearsal dinner. It’s a beautiful restaurant that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Guests ate family-style and conversed over tables that were decorated with paisley napkins and small cacti. All of the wedding guests were given welcome boxes that were filled with water, cookies, biscuits, electrolyte drink mixes, and an immune support mix. The boxes were tied in a beautiful blue ribbon. Speaking of blue, their wedding invitation suite featured blue envelopes, inside of which featured a gorgeous chinoiserie liner design. The suite itself was letterpressed with blue ink.

Grace and John held their ceremony at St. Therese of Carmel. Ceremony programs were bound with a blue ribbon in keeping with the blues woven throughout the wedding design. Grace walked down the aisle in a cathedral veil that John lifted off of her face to fully unveil her gorgeous Carolina Herrera silk bow gown. Cocktail hour was held on the Sunrise Terrace of Rancho Valencia. A large floral arrangement was the focal point of the escort card display. On each card, a real flower was pressed above the table number and name of the guest. The rest of cocktail hour’s space was full of belly bar tables covered in printed gray linens topped with small yet lush floral arrangements. Two signature cocktails, including one named after Leo, kept guests refreshed until the reception.

Hues of blue, pink, green, and ivory filled the croquet lawn at Rancho Valencia for Grace and John’s al fresco reception. The head table and the guest round tables were left bare for a refined rustic look, while the guest long tables were covered in a light linen to provide variety in the design. Lush floral arrangements topped each table. The head table’s blue patterned plates further wove the blue theme of the wedding throughout the overall design. A grand blue bar served guests libations throughout the evening and two comfy lounges provided them spaces to relax in between events. Last but not least, the couple’s beautiful two-tier cake was covered in mauve flowers and looked almost too beautiful to cut!

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