A Fabulous La Jolla Wedding Celebrating The Couple’s Filipino Roots

Melissa Hammam
February 18, 2022
Categories: Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Fall, Real Weddings, Romantic, Seasonal Wedding Trend, The Blog

Love truly is in the details for this couple, from weaving their beloved dog into the theme of the wedding to paying homage to their Filipino heritage. After having to postpone the date three times due to covid, Radiant Love Events planned and designed a day worth the wait. This California wedding is full of so many heartwarming touches we just can’t get enough. With free-flowing, organic floral arrangements by Ven Nguyen seeming to grow from the floor and a show-stopping ice cream bar- these nuptials are nothing short of a dream come true. You’ll love every incredible moment perfectly captured by Jose Alvarado Photography, you can see it all in the full gallery.

From the bride… Rachelle from Radiant Love Events was on board with us from day one helping us organize our vision boards and draft our vendor dream team. We were searching for the perfect outdoor venue for us and she suggested we visit La Jolla Women’s Club. From our very first walkthrough, seeing the gorgeous garden spaces, amazing location by the San Diego coastline, and beautiful, historic architecture, we knew this was it. By the end of 2019, we had scored our dream venue and our vendor dream team and we were so excited for our wedding the next year. And then, the pandemic hit. Our 2020 wedding of 150 quickly transformed into a spring micro-wedding of 40. We frantically started sewing cloth face masks for our guests and brainstorming safety protocols, however, as the days went on we felt the need to prioritize the health of our loved ones. We officially became husband and wife in a quiet civil ceremony and postponed our celebration (for the second time!) to the fall of 2021. We finally got our wedding in October 2021 and it was more than we could have ever imagined! Our hearts were so full seeing all of the ideas brought to reality and the happy faces of our loved ones celebrating alongside us! From incorporating details of our dog, Oakley to infusing our Filipino heritage into the food and drink offerings, it was amazing to see the wedding visions come to fruition, we are forever grateful for Radiant Love Events for making it all come to life. We couldn’t have done it without our amazing vendor team for overcoming the obstacles of planning a pandemic wedding with us and making this day one we will never forget!

From Rachelle of Radiant Love Events… Celebrating a couple who postponed their wedding 3 times. With the extra time to plan their wedding, the couple decided to scale down their guest count down to half the original size, highlighting their dog who is such a treasured member of the family, incorporating their Filipino roots throughout the design (food, drink, attire, signage, ceremony), floor floral arrangements throughout the ceremony, sweetheart table, cake table and dessert bar, puns centered around the couple’s personality on all signage pieces and surprising their guests with a beautiful ice cream bar. Karen and Omar deserved the wedding of their dreams and I am so glad they finally got to celebrate with those closest to them. To save on cost, Rachelle suggested floor arrangements to repurpose from the ceremony to sweetheart/cake tables. The color palette of the floral pieces was filled of blush, neutrals, and mauves. The flowers included dahlias, roses, Queen Anne’s lace, red feather flowers, lisianthus, dusty mauve carnations, delphinium, snapdragons, veronica, eucalyptus, lemon leaves. For the reception centerpiece arrangements, it was important that we included a Filipino element so the bride’s family cut pieces of calamansi (Filipino lime) branches from their family tree. The Bride, Karen sang “Lemonade” by Jeremy Passion (a favorite of the bride and groom) as she walked to her soon-to-be husband while their friend Roby played the ukelele. It was such a special moment and you can see all the emotions captured from the Groom, Omar. It was important to Karen and Omar to include Filipino Traditions in their wedding ceremony. They incorporated Filipino veil, cord, and coin traditions. The veil is a symbol of protection and good health for your marriage. The cord represents unity and a reminder that you are one in marriage. The coins symbolize mutual support for each other the family they build together. Karen and Omar asked all the men in their families to wear a barong tagalog which is a national dress of the Philippines typically made out of piña (pineapple plant) fibers. The bride and groom also wore Filipino attire which included a Filipino shawl called an Alampay and a Barong Tagalog for Omar.

Rachelle sketched out the cake design back in 2019 and proposed the idea of a floral statement piece on the cake. Rachelle worked with the florist to design the bottom tier completely filled with florals and the top two tiers with cake that included a chic design of gold textured edges and gold flakes. Aud Bakes created the most delicious vanilla and strawberry cake that all the guests enjoyed. Karen is the sweetest bride and Rachelle wanted their drink menu to incorporate their personalities. Rachelle created fun puns “The Good Karen” because Karen is the sweetest and the most rule-abiding bride there is, “The Omar Goodness” is because the phrase “Oh my goodness” is often said by the groom, Omar, and “The Oakley” because we can’t forget their pup. Their drinks included Filipino flavors such as mango, passionfruit and calamansi. Their dog Oakley was a star. They wanted their dog to welcome their guests as they entered the venue. He quietly found his comfy hangout spot near the welcome sign, he was a happy sight to see for sure. The bride, Karen made a stamp of Oakley’s face and made goodie-doggie bags for all the guests to take home. All the guests took home chocolate chip cookies made by the groom, Omar. It was another sweet surprise from the couple that was so thoughtful. Karen and Omar love everything sweet. Omar’s favorite dessert is Stella Jean’s ice cream so the couple decided they wanted to surprise their guests with an ice cream bar. Rachelle repurposed all the florals at the end of the night to create a beautiful ice cream station. If you take a peek at the menu offering, it said “Because today is the best Sundae ever.” It was important that they chose their favorite Filipino Ice Cream flavor Ube and Pan De Sal which is a Filipino sweet potato mixed with a Filipino sweet bread. It was a guest favorite at the wedding. It was important to the bride, Karen to DIY and be hands-on with decor elements. Rachelle designed all the signage and stationery while Karen brought everything to life. The bride, Karen, and her dad cut out all of the smoke acrylic sheets by hand to create the welcome sign, seating chart, table number, and menu signs. Karen and her dad even cut out the large wooden frames and wooden sign holders. Karen loves arts and crafts and wanted to dedicate this time during the pandemic to make things unique to her wedding. Karen even cut out all of the vinyl wording and adhered it herself.