I am a self-confessed gold junkie through and through so the second I spotted this boho bride and her glamorous “goldie” dress from Sarah Seven, I was hooked. And the day behind that sparkling gown is equally as fab. It’s a beautiful mix of modern art gallery meets floral halos by Butterfly Petals and glam details planned by Hello Gem. Head to the gallery captured by Elizabeth McDonnell for so much more.
From the Bride… When you marry into the surname Gold, you are basically hand-fed the perfect wedding theme. From there, it was simple: Sarah Seven “Goldie” wedding gown, chunky ByAMT classic gold wedding bands, a neon “Stay Golden” sign, and gold foil invitations. We wanted our wedding to be like our relationship: deeply intimate, frolicsome, and unorthodox. Originally when our creative backbone/day-of-coordinators Hello Gem asked what I envisioned, I told them I wanted our wedding to look like Juliet’s bedroom in Baz Luhrmann’s take on Romeo & Juliet.
A Golden Affair was structured around the idea of throwing a modern, industrial bohemian party in the desert. We chose the Icehouse as our venue for it’s exposed brick walls and ceiling ducts. Our florist Butterfly Petals, assembled a bougainvillea trellis to serve as an alter piece, and we lined the open-ceiling ceremony space with an ombré runner, candles, and wooden pews to create the illusion of an old, deconstructed cathedral. The white column room allowed us the creative space to hang a light installation that pooled onto the concrete flooring and suspend hand crafted, dimly lit clouds from the ceiling beams. White geodes and terrariums were collected to create the centerpieces. The head table was lined with forty Louis chairs to seat our bridal party and their respective dates and faced the dance floor, naturally delineated by family-style wooden picnic tables, adorned with wildflowers and candles.
Perhaps our favorite element of the wedding was the ceremony. I walked down the aisle under a cotton candy-colored Arizona sky to “You’ve Got the Love” by Florence + the Machine live at the Royal Albert Hall. The ceremony itself, inspired by a traditional Buddhist wedding, incorporated mindfulness and a collection of readings we felt captured the intellectual spirit of our meeting and union. We chose Chito’s cousin, Tara Martell, a yoga instructor and a close friend, to officiate our wedding, for her positive energy and free-spirit. We wrote our vows together, based on the virtues we believe make for a blessed and happy union. In the beginning we collectively settled on three components which we believe make a wedding enjoyable for others: good beats, toothsome food, and a limitless open-bar stocked with the holy trinity of booze-whiskey, tequila, and champagne. By far the most difficult task for us was finding a DJ; we wanted Erykah Badu meets Adventure Club. We ended up flying out DJ Smiles Davis from Los Angeles and were enamored with her beauty, energy, and ability. Our very talented and close friend, chef, and restaurateur Aaron May of BLTconcepts designed a menu of gourmet comfort food items served buffet style. In lieu of a wedding cake, we opted for a dessert table of our favorite confections including: lemon meringue tartlets, doughnuts, strawberry rhubarb pies, and très leches.
I wore “the Goldie” dress by Sarah Seven from Lovely Bride in New York City; a headpiece of purple peonies; Olcay Gulsen lavender suede scalloped pumps with gold piping; a favorite vintage gold cross my deceased mother purchased in Santorini, Greece one summer during my childhood, as well as her gold Rolex watch, paired with a Cartier love bracelet that was a wedding present from my father and his current wife. Chito, the groom, wore a midnight blue tuxedo made-to-order from Brooklyn Tailors in Williamsburg, and Dsquared2 patent shoes. Each of the ten bridesmaids wore a unique white dress, because, honestly, what is sexier than a woman in a sundress? The maid-of-honor, my sister, wore a vintage floral kimono from our parent’s wedding in the 1970’s. Half of the bridesmaids wore floral headpieces, and the other half metal headpieces made by Pamela Love and Jacquie Aiche. Our friend Alexis, owner of Avenue Boutique, in Tucson, gifted each bridesmaid a unique necklace, bracelet, or set of earrings. Each girl carried a simple bundle of lavender, cabbage, or wildflower. The flower girls wore apron dresses, caftans, and rompers by Tutu du Monde with floral headpieces. Former brides always give you terrific advice for the day-of: take time to eat something, don’t get too hammered, embrace the madness, etc. At the end of the day, we really felt like we put such a tremendous effort into creating this gathering of our most beloved and intimate kin, and we made a pact to be present in the moment and enjoy the fruits of our labor. We sat down and ate together, had conversations with the people we love, danced, and sipped champagne. Afterwards we sat and discussed our favorite moments: His was our un-choreographed, puerile first dance to the Montmartre remix of Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” because he said it was the only time he felt alone with me; mine was him sprinting outside insisting that I come dance because Smiles Davis was playing “Flawless” by Beyoncé (do you see why I married him?).
Photography: Elizabeth McDonnell Photography | Event Planning: Hello Gem | Floral Design: Butterfly Petals | Wedding Dress: Sarah Seven | Cake: Aaron May | Invitations: Jay Strehlow | Ceremony Venue: The Icehouse | Reception Venue: The Icehouse | Catering: Aaron May | Make Up: Glam Lounge | Hair: Lisa Fresa Palacios | DJ: Smiles Davis | Bridesmaid Gifts: Avenue Boutique | Photography - Assistance: Kelsey Shirley Photography