Today I’m sharing a beautiful sunny California wedding filled with lots of color and beautiful handmade details from Christina Marie Photography. I love the bright color palette and how it goes perfectly with the old Spanish mission vibe.
From the start of planning our wedding, I knew I wanted for it to truly be an event that was filled with fun, lots of color, great food and drinks, and lots of dancing! I also have been a bridesmaid in many weddings so wanted to make sure that ours was unique!
Given I am the luckiest bride in the world to have so many amazing women by my side, I really wanted to make every girl feel special and unique a they are in my eyes. So I asked them to choose a dress that they would feel gorgeous in and boy did they succeed! I gave them the palette of metallics, golds and bronzes as I knew that would pair nicely with the classics of old california/spanish hues of the Darlington House.
The importance of family was all over the wedding. My engagement ring was the groom’s grandmother’s. My veil was handmade by my mother and included lace from her wedding gown. I also wore my grandmother’s blue sapphire ring as her something “blue” and “old” and “borrowed” because of course she had to give it back. I also held my great grandmother’s handkerchief as she walked down the aisle and attached to the bouquet was a “fish” charm as a symbol of the bride’s auntie being there too.
It was important to us to keep it if fun and as least stressful as humanly possible! Although my mom and I handled a lot of the details, it was also important to involve those we love… including the groom! We also had such a fun time with the planning process because we took our time. It was important to savor being engaged as that is huge part of couplehood that we didn’t want to ruin by being stressed over picking napkins (although that was interesting enough something we argued over :)
Our theme was very much old California/Spanish (think CA missions) with just a dash of country (from our roots of course) and pull all that off at a venue nestled in a beach town. From the very beginning that we wanted to host the wedding San Diego where we met and our love story began and knew from the moment we walked into the Darlington House that it was just perfect. We had wanted a gorgeous house with an amazing backyard- and that was just that and much more! The old california/spanish with a dash of Mediterranean combined all the colors I love and truly reminded me of old town Riverside where I grew up. Additionally, we went traditional and had a church wedding at the United Methodist just down the street. We filled the church with candles and rose petals that just added to the gorgeous architecture.
It was also important to not have a “one size fits all” kind of reception that you look at and think you’ve seen many times. So I made sure that certain details were very creative and were not cookie cutter. Of these included the variety of vases we found from craft stores, thrift stores, my aunt’s garage and church yard sales- which the florist then took our vision and painted, aged etc. to keep their uniqueness; hand painted table numbers by my mother in law; and escort card holders made with love by dad with a little wood, gold paint and chicken wire. We also chose a stations menu equipped with some of our favorite food from our childhood that allowed the guests to have amazing gourmet food throughout the night rather than a more “traditional” dinner hour that sometimes leaves guests wondering when they can get up to dance. Lastly we chose to have passed milk and family style trays of cookies for dessert (made by the groom’s mother and grandmother) because who doesn’t love cookies and milk?!
The best part was that we truly never stopped smiling! I loved that I started the day with the most amazing women in my life (all 14 bridesmaids.. plus moms and aunties), had an extremely special moment with my dad when we had our “first look” as I walked down the stairs after getting ready. The groom also got to start his day with the important men in his life and that in between we got to truly take in the love and support around us while dancing, laughing and taking it all in. We also agree the vows were pretty special, as we found time to smile and laugh while also taking in the true meaning of what we were saying.
Photography | Christina Marie Photography | Ceremony | La Jolla United Methodist Church | Reception | The Darlington House | Planning | Paige Jensen with Bliss Events | Florals | Rhapsody in Bloom | Cake | Michele Coulon Dessertier | Catering | Continental Catering | Rentals | Abbey Party Rentals & FarmTables and More | Invitations | Wedding Paper Divas | Entertainment | Glasz Productions | Dress | Pronovias from The White Flower | Hair and Makeup | BIJOU Beautiful | Transportation | Goldfield Stage Charter | Videography | Synergetic Media | Photo Booth | Mobile PhotoBooth | Lighting | San Diego Social Lights
