An Intimate Malibu Rocky Oaks Wedding with a Stunning Neutral Palette

You mayyy recognize this beautiful, glowing bride from your TV screens and today we're lucky enough to share her Big Day with y'all! The adorable couple wanted their wedding day to feel like an intimate dinner party at home (love that), and with the help of the perfect venue, Malibu Rocky Oaks, and the perfect planner, All You Need Is Love Events, it was exactly what they dreamed of. Prepare for your jaw to drop when you see their ceremony set up arranged by JL Designs & Events (not to mention the breathtaking views!) See it all captured by Jillian Rose Photography below!

Tell us a little about you and Mitchell and how you met, fell in love and got engaged!

From the Bride... We've known each other since 6th grade, and fell in "love" for the first time in 8th grade. We had every class together and went to the 8th grade formal together! Then we went to different high schools and colleges, so we didn't speak to each other for almost a decade, when we ran into each other again by pure chance because his friends were a fan of a show that I was acting in (Mitchell had NO idea I was even in this show, or even acting at the time). We stayed in touch after that, and a couple years later we started dating. Fast forward 5 years, we took a trip to Paris which was the first trip we took together when we first started dating and the city where we "made it official". He proposed in a beautiful hotel room with the most incredible view of the Eiffel Tower, just the two of us, no crowds, no cameras. He even pushed the coffee table aside so he can get down on one knee! It's a moment we share together that we will never forget.

Tell us about the location and style you chose and why.

We kept explaining to people (and eventually to my planner Shannon Dexter) that I wanted my wedding to feel like an intimate dinner party at home, but really pretty! So from the beginning, We were really determined to find a private home/estate, somewhere we wouldn't see or run into anyone that wasn't part of the wedding. So when we came across Malibu Rocky Oaks, We were in pure heaven. The helipad really sold it for me, but we really loved how private it was. You go up that drive way through the gates and you feel like you're somewhere very far away. And for some reason, even though the house (mansion) is so beautiful and grand, it still felt like a space that we can make very personable and warm. It was the first venue we looked that, and our mind was completely set from the moment we stepped inside. As for style, Mitchell is more of a colors guy, but I LOVE me some neutrals, so being the wonderful guy he is, Mitchell agreed to go with neutrals (and lots of greenery!) for all of our decor and flowers. The views and everything at Rocky Oaks is so spectacular, we just wanted the decor to be something that compliments the views, not something that takes away from it. The biggest challenge for me personally was really putting a specific word for the style I wanted. I just kept blabbing on about how I wanted it to "feel cozy, and warm, and intimate, and very "us"- but still elegant and nice, but not too glitzy!" Luckily, Shannon Dexter is a mind reader and took all that and created the perfect ambience for our wedding.

Tell us about your decor elements, especially anything special that stands out.

One of the most special parts of our wedding was how much of a team effort it was. Especially for the decor, my sister (and maid of honor, AND officiant) did all of the signage-- AND she had a baby six weeks before the wedding! But somehow, she managed to make the most beautiful signs, invitations, menus, etc. One of my favorite elements was that we had wood cutouts of the guests' name on their plate settings. I think that really gave it that personal, dinner party feel I was going for! The welcome sign was also something SO unique and beautiful-- we had an acrylic sign, with white writing, and she designed wood cutout leaves to accent it. It's so hard to describe in words, but it was so cool, and with the added floral arrangements by our insanely talented florist Carissa Jones (JL designs) it was just pure perfection. I'm keeping that sign and putting it somewhere in my house for sure.

What were your favorite special touches from the wedding? Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?

I think our favorite "special touch" from our wedding was our ceremony. Our Maid of Honor and Best Man officiated the wedding, which we loved because we wanted someone that was the closest to us to marry us, not some random Judge we found online. My mom walked me down the aisle, which is obviously not traditional but she's the most important person to me in the world and the person who taught me to love as deeply as I do, so that was also something very special. But I think what was unique about our ceremony was that we had our bridesmaids and groomsmen a part of the ceremony. For the Declaration of Intent (the "I Do" part of the ceremony), we had each of my bridesmaids ask Mitchell a question and vise versa. It was really special to us to have all of the wedding party be a part of the ceremony because they are the ones that are going to be our support system in our marriage. And also our friends thought of some funny questions, which made for good laughs during the ceremony! I loved that our ceremony was what we wanted-- not what ceremonies are supposed to be like, or what is tradition.

What is your favorite memory of the day?

Every guest at the wedding will probably say Amy enjoyed the dancing portion of our wedding the most! (our band was awesome). But for us as a couple, I think it was when we finally got to see each other at the ceremony. We didn't do first look photos, so the ceremony was the first time we got to see each other (after a long day of getting ready!). Also, Mitchell cried when he saw me walk down the aisle, so that was really adorable :). But it really is hard to pick just one memory of the day, the whole day was so magical and fun because we had such an incredible team of vendors who were so talented, but most importantly, a joy to be around.