I don’t even know how to wrap my head around the beauty of this wedding. For a few reasons. Aside from being heart breakingly lovely, with a bride that is as gorgeous as they come, girly goodness that just might make you cry, a style that is rooted in tradition and a sense of pure joy that pores out of each beautiful image by the beloved Austin Warnock. It’s also because the venue, CordeValle, just happens to be one of the first romantic getaways my now husband and I went on and has since served as the benchmark for what a vacation should be. This is pure SMP bliss and we’ve got more coming up next in Part II. But if you can’t wait, we won’t blame you.
From the beautiful bride…The inspiration for our wedding was a Spring garden somewhere in the French countryside or Napa to symbolize new beginnings. We found a beautiful venue tucked away in the Santa Cruz mountains with tons of natural beauty. We chose the date of our wedding to coincide closely with the day we first started seriously dating, and when the roses at the venue would be in full bloom. The weather could not have been more perfect on the day of our wedding, as it had rained the past few days leading up to our wedding, but miraculously, there was not a cloud in sight on our wedding day.
We wanted the mood to be intimate and relaxed, but still elegant, and with a touch of whimsy. I wanted the décor to have vintage elements, but still look modern. I chose a romantic color palette of soft blush, cream, grey, and sage green. This theme was reflected in many of my accessories, such as the vintage floral headpiece, handmade floral corsages that added a hint of pink to my ivory ball gown, and my cocktail-length pink reception gown. The flower girl donned a delightful pink tulle dress reminiscent of a tiny ballerina, while the ring bearer carried the rings in a handcrafted nest with robin’s eggs (my “something blue”) which I adorned with paper flowers and ribbon. The theme was further carried in the paper goods with bracket-shaped die-cut invitations tied with silk dupioni ribbon and butterfly-shaped escort cards. Our florist created beautiful arrangements showcasing some of my favorite flowers: soft pink roses, fluffy white stock, dusty miller, and branches of spring blossoms. I contracted an artist who makes amazingly lifelike clay flowers to create our cake flowers, so that we could save them as keepsakes.
Many of the details were lovingly designed and crafted either by myself or with the help of family and friends. I hand-calligraphed each of the invitation envelopes, escort cards, table numbers, and signs. One of my favorite projects was creating centerpieces out of vintage books and paper flowers to serve simultaneously as table numbers and menus. I wanted my escort card table to be a showpiece, so I dreamed up a way to display our butterfly escort cards by hanging some from blooming branches and having some “perched” among twigs propped in crates of moss. I had my mom, my aunt, and my sister-in-law helping me wire and glue down twigs up until the day before the wedding, but the result was worth it! I also had the help of family and friends to make our favors, which were lavender sachets hand stamped with the logo from our invitations.
FASHION: Bride’s Ceremony Gown: Vera Wang / Bride’s Reception Gown: Sarah Seven / Bride’s Headpiece: Whichgoose / Bride’s Veil: Teri Huang / Bride’s Corsages: Erica Elizabeth Designs / Bride’s Earrings: Anthropologie / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Bride’s Purse: BCBG / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Max Studio / Bridesmaids’ Corsages: J.Crew / Flower Girl’s Dress: Us Angels via Bella Bridesmaid / Groom & Groomsmen’s Suits: Banana Republic / Groom & Groomsmen’s Ties: Calvin Klein /
OTHER: Invitations: Foglio Press / Vintage Postage: Verde Studio / Escort Cards: Timeless Paper / Menus & Table Numbers: Bride / Calligraphy: Bride / Crossback Chairs: Hartmann Studios / Venue: Cordevalle / Florals: Ingela Floral Design / Cake, Cupcakes & Macaroons: Dolce Cakes / Cake Flowers: Keepsake Blossoms / Photography: Austin Warnock Photography / Videography: Artisan Production / Photo Booth: Magnolia Photo Booth Co / DJ: Joe Cannizzaro of Kelly Productions