Romantic Rancho Santa Fe Garden Wedding
Their families were longtime friends, and this handsome Groom even attended his future Wife's first birthday party back when they had no idea what the beautiful future held for them. I'm a firm believer in fate and if you ever had any doubt, this sweet story could convince you in seconds. Bryan N. Miller captured the romantic result of their courtship, and it was nothing short of wonderful, from the lovely La Tavola linens to the beautiful blooms. See all this garden gorgeousness in our VAULT right this way!
From the Bride... The story of how Ryan and I met is a bit unconventional, but we can only know that fate truly brought us together. Our grandparents migrated to the US from Cuba in the 1960s and not only all moved to LA but became connected as part of the Cuban community that established itself in the area. As our grandparents became friends, our parents grew up knowing each other and became friends as well! Our moms went to highschool together and were in each other's weddings so it was only natural that when they had children of their own they would set play dates and be at events like birthday parties. It wasn't until high school though, that Ryan and I felt like we "met" each other since his family had moved further away in our young age and we fell out of touch. After we were re-introduced by our parents, it was definitely a "love at first sight" type of feeling so we began dating in highschool and eventually both attended USC and the rest is history. But our favorite thing might be that around the time we had started dating, one of my grandmothers stumbled upon an old photo of Ryan and I at my first birthday party! He was hugging me around the neck and their story goes that I had not stopped crying during the party except for in that moment for that photo.
When it came to beginning the process of wedding planning, I could not wait to get started and felt very inspired from Style Me Pretty, Pinterest, etc. I almost had too many ideas and knew I needed some direction to really make the event cohesive and beautiful. As soon as I met with Krystel Tien at Couture Events I knew I had to hire them to help design and coordinate our day. After Krystel scoured my Pinterest (a hefty task), and created four different design boards, they helped me hone in on a garden style as well as choose a specific color palette of neutrals in order to convey the ethereal, dreamy and vintage feel I loved for our outdoor wedding at the Inn. With all that decided, I knew that florals were going to play a big role in the event and were one of the more important areas to me. After meeting with Alise at Sweet Marie Designs, I also knew that she would have to be included in the process. I don't think that I really knew beforehand what an important role the florist can play in the overall design of your wedding and I was so lucky to have Alise. Not only did her designs totally wow myself and all of our guests but she was accommodating during the entire process, had such helpful suggestions and ideas and completely understood the vision I had. With Bryan Miller there to capture it all I really felt like I had a dream team of vendors!
Because of our love story and history, Ryan and I knew we wanted to pay special tribute to our heritage and family in some ways. I ended up taking some of the lace from my mom's wedding dress (both of us taking scissors to her dress was definitely a bonding moment! eek!) and I asked Ryan's grandmother and great aunt to use the lace to sew my garter and ring pillow. I loved that someday, hopefully, I have the option to pass these two things down to my daughter as something old and blue! Ryan's dad custom made a corn hole set as well for our cocktail hour on the front lawn. At our reception, we had a vintage hutch from Archive Rentals that showcased the wedding photos of our parents and grandparents surrounded by votive candles, and Ryan's great uncle blessed our dinner with a family prayer we sing before all big family meals at Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving. Lastly, I knew we had to have my favorite Cuban guava pastries from Porto's Bakery as part of our cake table as they instantly remind me of my childhood when my grandpa would bring them especially for me.
The entire day was a dream and ran flawlessly thanks to Couture - great coordinators make all the difference! Exchanging our written vows, the first look with my dad, dinner under the stars, seeing our favorite people from our sweetheart table and dancing the night away to salsa music are just a few of our favorite memories from the day.
When it came to beginning the process of wedding planning, I could not wait to get started and felt very inspired from Style Me Pretty, Pinterest, etc. I almost had too many ideas and knew I needed some direction to really make the event cohesive and beautiful. As soon as I met with Krystel Tien at Couture Events I knew I had to hire them to help design and coordinate our day. After Krystel scoured my Pinterest (a hefty task), and created four different design boards, they helped me hone in on a garden style as well as choose a specific color palette of neutrals in order to convey the ethereal, dreamy and vintage feel I loved for our outdoor wedding at the Inn. With all that decided, I knew that florals were going to play a big role in the event and were one of the more important areas to me. After meeting with Alise at Sweet Marie Designs, I also knew that she would have to be included in the process. I don't think that I really knew beforehand what an important role the florist can play in the overall design of your wedding and I was so lucky to have Alise. Not only did her designs totally wow myself and all of our guests but she was accommodating during the entire process, had such helpful suggestions and ideas and completely understood the vision I had. With Bryan Miller there to capture it all I really felt like I had a dream team of vendors!
Because of our love story and history, Ryan and I knew we wanted to pay special tribute to our heritage and family in some ways. I ended up taking some of the lace from my mom's wedding dress (both of us taking scissors to her dress was definitely a bonding moment! eek!) and I asked Ryan's grandmother and great aunt to use the lace to sew my garter and ring pillow. I loved that someday, hopefully, I have the option to pass these two things down to my daughter as something old and blue! Ryan's dad custom made a corn hole set as well for our cocktail hour on the front lawn. At our reception, we had a vintage hutch from Archive Rentals that showcased the wedding photos of our parents and grandparents surrounded by votive candles, and Ryan's great uncle blessed our dinner with a family prayer we sing before all big family meals at Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving. Lastly, I knew we had to have my favorite Cuban guava pastries from Porto's Bakery as part of our cake table as they instantly remind me of my childhood when my grandpa would bring them especially for me.
The entire day was a dream and ran flawlessly thanks to Couture - great coordinators make all the difference! Exchanging our written vows, the first look with my dad, dinner under the stars, seeing our favorite people from our sweetheart table and dancing the night away to salsa music are just a few of our favorite memories from the day.
