When it comes to rustic romance, this next outdoor affair from LB Event Planning takes the cake. Despite enduring unrelenting temps, this intimate gathering nestled amongst a hidden forest is overflowing with cool details. From the eucalyptus leaves place-cards that were sourced from the Bride’s childhood home, to heirloom antiques dotting the day, Shannen Natasha has it all waiting for you in the gallery!
From LB Event Planning… This wedding was set on one of the hottest days in October in Ojai amongst the trees in a hidden yoga retreat. There was little air conditioning involved but the nerves and excitement were plentiful. The vendors worked like a well oiled machine during set up and throughout the entire wedding to ensure that everything was perfection. The highlight certainly was, once everything had been set out and sunbeams dripped out from behind the mountains and through the tree branches, when the bride stepped out from the retreat house gripping her father’s arm – it was like magic. The day only got better from there on, I’ll let the bride tell you all about it.
From the beautiful Bride… I am a lover of words, so adjectives were a natural place for me to start my planning journey. After discussing what we both hoped the wedding would be, my husband and I settled on vintage, rustic, elegant, whimsical, and comfortable. An intimate gathering in a beautiful outdoor setting was always our goal.
While we loved the idea of getting married in a remote forest, practicality was also important to us. Ojai was a perfect fit: nestled at the base of the Los Padres National Forest, an excellent weekend get-away for our out of town guests, and within 2hrs of our home in LA. Once we found our venue, the challenge was to make décor choices that would celebrate, rather than distract from the amazing surroundings.
Our mission was to find vendors who understood and were excited about our aesthetic and goals for our wedding. Kiersten, with LB Events, was the perfect team captain. She’s the only coordinator we met with, and we are still so impressed with how she and the LB ladies put all of the pieces together. Our vendor search was a mix of doing a lot of research and then throwing it out the window and following our gut.
In retrospect, this was one of the most important things we did. Weddings have so many moving parts; it’s unavoidable for some things to go wrong. For us, the crisp fall wedding we envisioned turned into a balmy California heat-wave wedding. We were so lucky to have people like Kiersten and Wildflora on hand to find ways to still accomplish our foresty-found-object aesthetic while negotiating the unrelenting heat.
Nature was definitely an over-arching theme for our ceremony and reception. For me, following a natural aesthetic meant eschewing the matching elements you often find at formal events. This was especially evident in our china, florals, and wedding party attire. My bridesmaids were asked to choose their own dresses in a neutral color scheme. I had a lot of fun assembling a Pinterest inspiration board for them and they did a pretty amazing job! The groomsmen wore their own black suits and we gifted them white wrinkle-resistant shirts, so that they would still look cohesive. The groomsmen’s wacky socks were an homage to my husband, who is a passionate collector of vibrant socks, and my getting ready robe was borrowed from my MOH, who wore it before her wedding.
People didn’t realize it, but the eucalyptus leaves we used as place-cards were actually taken from my childhood home, which was sold during wedding planning. Most of the antiques were originally my parent’s and the books were from my personal collection. My mother passed away when I was in elementary school and the family photo and “In Memoriam” projects I had planned ended up being really hard for me. My bridesmaids and officiant rescued me 2 weeks before the wedding, picking up all supplies from my house and assembling everything in a secret wedding-party pow-pow. It meant a lot for them to step in and create such beautiful pieces for our wedding.
Using a vacation rental was a lot of extra work, but gave us the flexibility to have a rehearsal dinner, after party, and post-wedding brunch without obliterating our budget. Having our friends from all over the country hang out like old friends turned into one of the most rewarding parts of the weekend. We had a low-key, taco-cart catered rehearsal dinner onsite (best decision ever!) and spent that evening eating left-overs and finishing projects. Our wedding after-party started on the dance floor (thanks, Wes!) and ended in the kitchen, eating what remained of MJB’s amazing desserts.
Photography: Shannen Natasha | Coordination: La Boheme Events | Floral Design: Wildflora LA | Wedding Dress: Leanne Marshall | Cake: MJB Cakes | Stationery: Minted | Catering: Danny Douglas Catering | DJ : Red Shoe LA | Rentals: A Rental Connection | Table Numbers And Welcome Sign: Etsy | Table Top Rentals : Dish Wish