Lush California Garden Wedding

Lush plant life, old-growth orchards, and expansive outdoor grounds framed Christine and Nathan’s relaxed wedding day captured by Pamela Tatz Photography. Christine, who works as a wedding planner, felt overwhelmed by the pace of current trends and set out to keep their celebration simple, elegant, and timeless. The day before the wedding, they held a Korean Paebaek ceremony. Traditionally, the ceremony centers on the bride and groom serving tea and paying respects to the groom’s family. For Christine, who had dreamed of this moment her whole life, the tradition was expanded to include both sides of the family. The following day, they hosted their wedding at Tivoli Italian Villa in Fallbrook, California, with a ceremony set beneath dappled light filtering through the trees and distant mountain views. A record-themed seating chart read: “For the record, we’re so glad you’re here,” and featured albums from artists and bands the couple had seen live. Desserts included a cake, a donut wall, and at Nathan’s request, a Dippin’ Dots vendor. With more than a decade of experience planning weddings for others, Christine found the support of friends and family to be the most beautiful gift of all.

“The bridesmaids were in different shades and prints of green, I let them pick whatever style made them feel the most confident and comfortable.”

“A favorite memory was the first time seeing each other at the altar. I cry a lot, so I was already crying while walking down. Nathan has not cried since he was a child/pre-teen, so seeing him tear up when I walked down the aisle was monumental.”

“Our seating chart was “for the record, we’re so glad you’re here,” and each record cover assigned to the table numbers was the artist we’ve seen in person or met in person. So we put a picture of us at that concert next to each record.”

“We focused a lot on wanting everyone to enjoy their time, but our favorite thing was feeling how incredibly loved we were. It was a very emotional day filled with so much laughter and tears at every corner. Rather than focusing on how we looked or how the wedding looked (of course, we cared, but it wasn’t the focal point), we really just truly enjoyed the presence of everyone and their love.”