As a California girl born and raised, this floral-filled wedding holds a special place in my San Diego loving heart. And it’s just so dang gorgeous. Pairing a modern museum backdrop with garden style celebration coordinated by Details Darling and blooms for days by Compass Floral, dive into Meiwen Wang’s perfect photographs of the day. There’s even tacos!
From the bride… It all started when Tony and I met through a mutual church friend. At the beginning, we fostered a friendship mainly through social media platforms and group hangouts. Then, one summer day, we went to the OC Fair -a spur of the moment decision. We consider this our first “date.” At the end of the night, before dropping me off, Tony stopped to tell me he had feelings for me. Even though I didn’t have an answer for him then and there, his confidence and honesty started our story.
After one year of dating, I spent two years in Missouri for graduate school. Our long distance relationship was filled with daily FaceTime calls and countless flights. I actually moved back to California this May and we had our wedding in beautiful San Diego in June! I knew Tony was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with when he was willing to talk to me for hours about Marvel and Game of Thrones theories, when he binge-watched multiple seasons of Brooklyn Nine-Nine with me, when he spent hours with me playing Overcooked, when he sang along to my made-up tunes about my dogs, and most importantly, when he showed as much love, compassion, and sacrifice to my loved ones as he did to me.
Tony and I knew that we wanted our wedding to be representative of who we are as a person and as a couple. Throughout the planning process, we tried our best to incorporate our personal touch to various parts of the wedding, such as our invites and decorations. For example, we had our adopted puppy in our engagement photos and on our RSVP cards! We also had two of our other family dogs in our bar menu. We chose the New Children’s Museum because we wanted a fun and unique space. We’re both very much children at heart, so we felt like this was the perfect venue. We really wanted the big day to be not only about celebrating our union, but really thanking those who have supported us along the way. So, when I saw Dianuh (Chasing Linen)’s Instagram, I knew I had to provide the Live Art services for our guests. It was a big hit! I actually had Dianuh create our wedding suite as well as a lot of custom pieces for the wedding day and she really did a perfect job of making the day so so personal.
Honestly, every one of my vendors did such an amazing job and really helped for our dream wedding to come true. Taya (Compass Floral) was SO attentive and really made my floral vision come to life. Meiwen (Meiwen Wang Photography) and Brian (EtcProd) were so comfortable to work with, which is so important when the photographer and videographer follow you everywhere. The photos and video just confirmed what I already knew were perfect choices for photography and videography as well. :) They are so amazingly talented! Aubrey (Details Darling) was just really there for me throughout the entire process. She really made the day run smoothly and allowed us to focus on the bigger things. Continental Catering, DJ Bill Calhoun, UnionBooth, and San Diego Wine and Culinary also did an amazing job at making the day stress-free and memorable.
One really special detail of my outfit was my veil. My mom actually handmade my veil and surprised me with the gift the day of my bridal shower. Also, my Truvelle dress, the Cambie, was what I wanted to wear even before I got engaged! I happened to come across Truvelle on social media, and when I saw the Cambie, I knew I had to get it. Truvelle is a Canadian brand, but luckily Love and Lace Bridal, a local bridal store in Irvine carried the Cambie. The moment I tried it on, I knew it was the one.
My favorite moment of the day was just being able to take a moment with Tony to soak everything in before our reception entrance. Tony and I were overwhelmed with gratitude and love for our family and friends who came from all over the country to support us and celebrate with us. I also loved being able to just let loose and dance with my loved ones after all the scheduled events were over.
I am by no means a wedding expert, but as someone who has gone through the process before, my biggest advice for future brides would be to not stress over the little things! It’s definitely easier said than done. I know there were definitely things that did not go according to plan on the big day, but looking back, those moments were so insignificant and everything worked out, even if not in the ways I planned! I really only remember how perfect the day was.
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Photography: Meiwen Wang | Videography: Etcetera Productions | Coordination: Details Darling | Floral Design: Compass Floral | Hair & Makeup: Sharon Y. Park | Boutonniere Calligraphy: Lavender & Sea | Ceremony & Reception: The New Children’s Museum, West Island Avenue, San Diego, CA, USA | Film Lab: PhotoVision Prints | Paper Goods: Chasing Linen | Portraits: Balboa Park