Is it just us or is that not the hottest little white dress you’ve ever seen? Myka and Georges had a FABULOUS modern white wedding in a rustic old barn and the contrast is so very easy on the eyes. From her yummy cocktail engagement ring, to the DIY ribboned booties and that big bloom atop her head, Myka is all about steal-worthy style and we are taking notes. Of course she is a fellow wedding blogger and party planning extraordinaire, so it isn’t surprising that her wedding is bringing the ultimate pretty. Photographed by Melissa Diep, these nuptials are going down in the DIY history books and we are la la lovin it. Want more of that dress? Click here for the full wedding.
{click here for ALL the juicy detailing from this style infused bash}
Georges and I have been dating for 10 years, yes 10 years. So I guess you could say, we’ve had a lot of time to think about our perfect wedding. And you know what, it wasn’t just the perfect wedding, it was the perfect day. For us, the perfection is in the details. We wanted to have a cocktail style wedding, no formal sit-down dinner, just drinks, desserts and lots of dancing. Our wedding invitation was inspired by old school concert posters, and our dear friend Cambria and I put together the design. She summed it up perfectly with the last line on the invite, ” come for the love, stay for dessert and cocktails”.
We found a music institute in Carmel Valley, California that graciously allowed us to host our closest 130 friends and family. What made the venue even better was their openness to allow us to bring our design aesthetic to the building. We are both into modern design and wanted those things to be a part of our wedding. We literally transported half of our living room to Carmel Valley (cake stands, platters, vases, artwork…we brought it all). The Institute looks like an old barn and was truly the perfect clean slate for us to add any personal touches we wanted. We wanted our friends and family to feel cozy, loved and happy. To help us generate this feeling, our wedding truly became a labor of love. Our aunts made appetizers, our moms made desserts, our uncles played live music during the ceremony, our cousins hung fabric, our siblings created floral arrangements and our best friends ran around town making sure everything was ready for our special day.
Without a formal sit down dinner, we wanted to offer our guests some yummy desserts to munch on. Our moms made dozens of baked goods. We also had apothecary jars filled with white taffy, marshmallows, rock candy and white chocolate covered espresso beans. Each treat was labeled with natural wood placeholders made by my step-dad. Every table was topped with moss, candles and locally bought yellow flowers. My sister and I created the boutonnieres and bouquets (using cotton as a base…a nod to my relative’s cotton ranch in the central valley).
Inspired by smile booths seen on Style Me pretty, we had a friend set up a camera staged with fabric, hanging globes filled with flowers, moss and feathers. Homemade mustaches and picture frames were used as props. These pictures are some of the best of the night. And some of the best “messages” of the night were captured on our two old typewriters that acted as a guest book. To close in the building and bring in our style, we spent hours putting together a 20 foot ribbon curtain that was placed near the bar and turned out better than expected. Opposite the curtain, my sister, brother and I created a two-tiered hanging floral.
The greatest part of the venue was the fact that they let us change the lighting for our night. We brought in four of our own Frank Gehry Cloud Lamps which were hung around the room. We also hung Tord Boontje lights that we cut up to dangle like garlands. Over the dance floor, several strands of lights were hung to set the mood.
As if we weren’t already extremely lucky, we actually won a wedding photography contest and the wonderful Melissa Diep flew out all the way from Chicago. She even had two of her friends drive over on the day of the wedding to help second shoot. We were so touched by their generosity.
We went back to the venue the day after the wedding and along with our families, cleaned the entire place. And you know what? I loved it! I know, what bride would ever want to go back to their venue and discover the madness of the prior nights shenanigans? But for me, it was so much fun to relive the previous night with our families as we were throwing things out. We were literally cracking up about the pictures taken in the photo booth, the dancing insanity and the funny conversations we all had at our wedding. I just didn’t want the fun to end…and I truly don’t think it ever will.
Photography: Melissa Diep Photography / Second Shooter: Danny Mendoza and Assistant: Yomi Foreman / Venue: Hidden Valley Music Institute / Florals: Sitting in a Tree (Bride’s company) / Wedding Dress: Aidan Mattox from Nordstroms (bride added extra ruffles and strap) / Bride’s Ceremony Shoes: Steve Madden / Bride’s Reception Shoes: BCBG (bride added the black ribbon) / Flower Hairpiece: Forever 21 / Groom’s Suit: Banana Republic / Tie, Shirt and Socks: Urban Outfitters / Groom’s Shoes: Converse / Invitation Design: Cambria Blakely Shaw and reply postcard photograph from bride’s great grandfather / Paper Goods: Sitting in a Tree / Food: Wholefoods / Cupcakes: Layers Bakery / Candy: A Candy Store / Day of Coordinator: Tori Hendrix of Sitting in a Tree (Bride’s business partner) / Painting of Bride: Kelli Murray / 8MM Videographer: Austin Hendrix Productions