Anytime I see Aaron Delesie’s name pop into my inbox, I just know it’s going to be a good day on SMP. Aside from the fact that he just “gets” us and knows the weddings that we are going to fall instantly in love with, Aaron also manages to score THE most beautiful fetes. Weddings that turn me into a TOTAL girl. A total wedding junkie. So with that said, it’s pretty obvious that there is a lot to love about Aaron and his weddings, but the very best part…are his photographs. His flawless, gorgeous, forever timeless photographs. And this wedding is the perfect example of just how awesome Aaron‘s work is. Click here to see even more!
Click here to see the full gallery of images!
After four years of dating and a very romantic proposal, Brian and I started looking for a place to tie the knot. Brian and I have lived in Los Angeles since we graduated from USC, and since Brian’s family is north of Los Angeles and my parents live in San Diego, we decided to keep our wedding somewhere in Southern California. Even though we weren’t going to have a true destination wedding, Brian and I both really wanted to enjoy a wedding weekend with our friends and family at a location where everyone would be at least a little bit on vacation and away from the daily grind. After visiting what seemed like every venue between Santa Barbara and San Diego, we went back to the very first place we looked at after we got engaged, the Four Seasons Santa Barbara, and knew that it would be the perfect site for our wedding.
What I envisioned for the look and style of our wedding changed a lot during the first several months that we were engaged, but once we decided on the Four Seasons for our venue, my vision became much more clear. I wanted our wedding to feel very soft, romantic and a little bit vintage, which I thought would compliment the 1920s Spanish Colonial design of the Four Seasons. For our color scheme I decided to use cream, ivory, white, soft butter yellow, and a light gray. I had so much fun scouring the web for ideas and shopping for bits and pieces and finishing touches. I especially loved designing the set for our “photo booth” and shopping for the the photo booth props (my favorites were the mustaches I found on Etsy… so cute!). I also really wanted to incorporate our families into our wedding, so I had a table set up with framed photos of our parents and grandparents on their wedding days, and added old cameras and a few other odds and ends to bring in the vintage feel.
From the first moment that I met Carissa of JL Designs I knew that she would be amazing to work with. From our brainstorming sessions she put together the design and the details of the day; she created soft, romantic flower arrangements and bouquets, picked out unique, vintage pieces of cut crystal to use in the centerpieces, found the lace that was incorporated in the ceremony and reception details, and designed the backdrop for the desert table (and so much more!). I really can’t thank her enough.
For our favors I chose tote bags because I wanted to give our guests something that they could take home with them and actually use. I wanted the bags to be personalized, so I asked Christina Reinersman, who I worked with to design all of the printed materials, if she could help me create a drawing of a “map” of Santa Barbara and Montecito that included details of our wedding and rehearsal dinner. Christina did a great job turning my thoughts into an image that represented our wedding weekend and I found a tote bag company that could print the map image on the bags in gray, to go with the wedding colors. I couldn’t have been happier with the way they turned out.
Another fun detail was the grooms cake that I surprised Brian with at the wedding. Brian loves to box and watch boxing matches, so Melody of Sweet and Saucy Shop made the cake in the shape of gray boxing gloves. The cake turned out perfectly and exactly as I had imagined it, and I have never tasted better chocolate cake in my life! Melody also made mini-deserts for the desert table that were delicious.
The wedding went by so fast, as they all do (especially for the bride), but a couple of moments that stick out for me were when I was waiting to see Brian for the first time before the ceremony, and when we toasted and cut the cakes during the reception. When I was waiting to see Brian for our “first look” before taking wedding photos, I was a little nervous and so excited to see him. The only time I had butterflies in my stomach the entire day was when I saw him walking down the sidewalk towards me, smiling. During the cake cutting and Brian’s toast I looked around the room at everyone looking at us, and I don’t think I have ever felt so much love in one place. I am so grateful to all of our family and friends that made our wedding so very special.
Venue: Four Seasons Resort, The Biltmore Santa Barbara / Venue Coordinator: Kellie Berdon / Flowers and Design: Carissa Jones-Jowett of JL Designs / Photographer: Aaron Delesie / Wedding Coordinator: Jenifour Jones of Go Get It Events / Wedding Design Consultant: Yelena Johnson of The Stylish Soiree / Wedding Cake: Four Seasons Resort, The Biltmore Santa Barbaraa / Grooms Cake and Mini Desert Bar: Melody Brandon of Sweet and Saucy Shop / Lounge Furniture Rentals: LUXE Event Rentals & Decor / Chivari Chair and Dance Floor Rentals and Lighting: ChivariChairRentals.com / Ceremony and Cocktail Hour Guitar Trio: Karl Grossman and Camino Rio / Band: Clockwork / Photobooth: SB Photobooths / Invitation and Printed Materials Design: Christina Reinersman / Invitation Letterpress: Kristin Walker of Twin Ravens Press / Cocktail Hour Linen Rentals: Elegant Designs Specialty Linens, Inc. / Reception Linen Rentals: Wildflower Linens / Dress: Junko Yoshioka / Shoes: Valentino / Bridesmaid Dresses: Priscilla of Boston via Bella Bridesmaid / Groom’s Tux: Hugo Boss / Groom’s Shoes: Gucci / Bride’s Make-up: Stevi Christine / Bride’s Hair: Christine Symonds