With just 7 of their dearest and nearest there to witness, today’s beautiful couple exchanged vows above the clouds at one of our all time favorite venues – Malibu Rocky Oaks. With the help of Lavish Weddings, the bride designed her own wedding blooms consisting of neutral toned roses and pops of pampas grass, perfectly complimenting the pastel painted sky. To see all the swoon-worthy moments, head to the full gallery of inspiration all captured by the lovely Natalie Bray Studios.
Malibu Rocky Oaks is truly breathtaking. It was my first choice for our wedding celebration pre-covid. Unfortunately we couldn’t move forward with the venue due to our 150 person guest list. Then in March of 2020 lockdown hit and our wedding plans came to a screeching halt. My then fiance and I were crushed but still wanted to celebrate our love on our day the way we had planned, however intimate the vow exchange may be. I took a chance and reached back out to Malibu Rocky Oaks and then this seemingly unattainable dream came to life. That day, above the clouds, in the watercolor sky declaring our love in front of 7 family members will go down as the best day of our lives. The gorgeous photographs captured by Natalie Bray and the stunning video by Spiritmade Visuals are priceless and take me right back to that incredible feeling. Christine from Lavish Weddings managed everything flawlessly so that we could enjoy every moment of our day.
We had a small window of time to set up the ceremony site so I put together the floral arrangements the night before and brought them to the venue. With a few quick instructions, Christine from Lavish Weddings executed my vision perfectly. I wanted the florals to appear like they were floating in air and the look fully came together with the crystal ghost chairs from APR Boutique Event Rentals.
Stephen and I had planned a trip to Italy with my parents to celebrate my 30th birthday and my father’s 60th. Our itinerary was to begin in Rome, then to a villa in Tuscany, then to a home in Sorrento with a 180 degree ocean view, then to gorgeous Capri and back to Rome. When we first arrived we checked into an exquisite boutique hotel in Rome called CasaCau and popped a bottle of Champagne. The following day we spent the morning exploring Rome and spent the afternoon visiting The Vatican. The last stop on our tour was St Peter’s Basilica where the ceiling by Michaelangelo left me in complete awe. On our way out, we wanted one more photo together in front of the Basilica during sunset. I handed my phone to my mom and asked my parents to take our photo. Stephen took out his film camera and handed me a small film canister and asked “can you help me open this?” Thinking nothing of it, I opened the film canister to find the most beautiful oval diamond ring at the bottom and when I looked up, Stephen was down on one knee. I cried, he cried and my parents were crying while doing their best to capture the moment on camera. Stephen proposed on the first official day of our vacation and we spent the rest of the trip celebrating our engagement all over beautiful Italy.
My journey to finding “the dress” was a very long but fun one. Before ever trying anything on, I had a vision of what I wanted but was pleasantly surprised when I found what I felt looked best on my frame. I visited nearly every bridal boutique in San Diego and Los Angeles. I probably tried on a hundred dresses if not more. I’m an extremely picky person and the smallest details down to the thickness of a strap, or the beading could deter me from a dress entirely. When I tried on the Zimi gown by Jane Hill during their trunk show at Kinsley James in West Hollywood I was floored. The dress felt elegant, timeless, effortless and opulent all at the same time. Most importantly, I felt like my best self while wearing it. The dress is a work of art.
Photography: Natalie Bray Studios | Event Planning: Lavish Wed | Floral Design: By the bride | wedding gown: Jane Hill | Ceremony Venue: Malibu Rocky Oaks | shoes: Gucci | rings: Brilliant Earth | suit: Givenchy | earrings: Chanel | heels: Yves Saint Laurent | rentals: APR Event Rentals