Weddings are all about the union of two people. But this Orange County affair is home to more than just one marriage… it is the joining together of family and friends, elegance and the outdoors, burlap and lace. Brought to us by Kevin Le Vu Photography it’s a true vision of vintage rustic romance. Inspired by her grandmother’s antique engagement ring, the bride and her mother created a homespun celebration full of sweet details and playful personal touches. See all the rest right here in the gallery.
From Kevin… Brianna and Chris were married in September 2012 at the Jones Victorian Estate. The bride was greatly influenced by Style Me Pretty and wanted her wedding to have a personal touch. The venue they chose matched their perspective of being rustic, unique, and vintage. To add more character to her DIY setup for both the ceremony and reception, Brianna’s mom handmade all the props and exterior designs. Each table had a centerpiece with Scrabble letters saying love, romantic, etc. Even though the weather was quite hot in September, an intimate outdoor wedding was perfect for this bride and groom.
From the bride… When Christopher and I started planning our wedding we wanted the focus on sharing this special moment in our lives with our closest family and friends in as intimate of an outdoor vintage setting as possible given the size of our guest list. The Jones Victorian Estate was the ideal venue. It is beautiful, vintage, and secluded. Our wedding couldn’t have been more perfect!
The primary inspiration behind my wedding was my grandmother’s wedding ring. A few years back, my grandmother passed down her wedding ring to me, being the oldest granddaughter. From the moment I looked at it I was in love and adored its antique style. When the time came to look for an engagement ring with Christopher all I could think about was an old-fashioned ring with a modern twist. The wedding theme grew from there; from the small detail of my wedding ring to the modern vintage look of the bridesmaid’s dresses and groomsmen.
Christopher and I visited a few estates and parks for venue options over the course of several months and finally came across The Jones Victorian Estate. Christopher was hooked from the second we started driving up the beautiful scenic driveway. Our love for the venue just grew as we were shown the property. One of the many things I loved about the property was the diverse scenery for photographs. I knew I would be looking at my wedding pictures for the rest of my life, and I wanted options. The estate provided several romantic backgrounds,including the long tree filled driveway and romantic couples swing, various fun settings like the palm forest and phone booth, and some classic décor inside the estate house. The Victorian home provided the ideal backdrop for what I imagined, and provided an intimate setting for us and our guests.
One HUGE benefit of having our wedding at The Jones Victorian Estate was the owner and wedding coordinator, Michelle Gregory. We instantly fell in love with her. Michelle’s time and commitment to us as the bride and groom made choosing this venue well worth it. At times I found myself indecisive regarding small details, such as napkin colors and cake size, and she made each decision feel easy. As she quickly gained my trust I began to leave many decisions in her hands. Michelle’s and her staff’s attentiveness from our first “meet and greet” to the day of our wedding was remarkable. It was definitely a big factor in what made our decision to choose the Jones Victorian Estate. We got an amazing venue and the luxury of having a personal wedding coordinator, something I thought I would never have been able to afford.
For the most part, I worked hard on making sure that a little of Christopher and I were represented through each detail of our wedding. I researched millions of ideas from Style Me Pretty, Pinterest, and other wedding sites to gather vintage and rustic ideas that I was in love with. Since the venue was Victorian, I came across invitations with Mr. & Mrs. Silhouettes and possibilities grew from there. Every aspect of our wedding was hand-made by my mother, mother-in law, family friends, the wedding coordinator, and my-self; but mostly my mother. I decided that I was going to have a 6-foot tall Manzanita tree displaying images of our parents and grandparents on their wedding day, to show the generations of love that Christopher and I came from. Most of my grandparents have passed away and one was not able to attend my wedding. Having these photos displayed gave me a sense that each of them was there and a part of my special day. That was truly important to me. The centerpieces were chosen because I wanted the décor to tie into one theme. The ideas for the centerpieces were created from there. Half of the centerpieces were mini Manzanita trees and the other half were boxes displaying our initials, which were burnt into the wood by hand.
Since Christopher was great during the planning and basically let me make most of the decisions, I wanted to do something special and show a big part of him in the wedding. Christopher loves to have fun and loves games; poker, board games, puzzles, video games. I thought what would be a better way to include a touch of Christopher than to use scrabble pieces for table names. After I created the table names I worked at incorporating scrabble tiles into any decor I could, without going overboard. Our guests loved it and so did Christopher. Christopher also wanted to do a few superhero photographs and all of the groomsmen, and the ring bearer, wore different superhero costumes (t-shirts) under their tuxedos. Those pictures came out great and showed off our fun side.
In planning the wedding, I was adamant on having an event that was unique and different, I worked hard to place my own spin on each idea I found to ensure that every detail was exclusive to our day. Our wedding day was beautiful, unique, and romantic. We could not have imagined anything more perfect, than what we experienced. Luckily, due to the talent of Kevin Le Vu, we can relive our wedding day through our photographs.
Photography: Kevin Le Vu Photography / Ceremony + Reception Venue: Jones Victorian Estate, Orange, California / Event Design + Planning: Erica Gregory-Presley + Michelle Gregory of Jones Victorian Estate / Floral Design: Allison of Flower Allie / Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero from Jinny’s Bridal, Huntington Beach, CA / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Hair: Diego Ortega of Joshua Christopher Salon / Brides Jewelry: Neil Lane / Make-up: Jennifer Marquez, M.A.C. / Bridesmaid Dresses: Alfred Angelo / Bridesmaids’ Necklaces: Etsy / Groom & Groomsmen: Men’s Warehouse / Groom’s Watch: Burberry / MC/DJ: Jon Carlo Muir, Dolce Entertainment