Multi-Cultural Greystone Mansion California Wedding

Melissa Hammam
June 2, 2022
Categories: Cultural Beauty, Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

We can’t help but swoon over this California love story. The couple met at work and bonded over a shared love of humor. Their love then blossomed into a picture-perfect wedding day at Greystone Mansion. Blooms by Azalea at Wild and Behold have us feeling like we’ve stumbled into the prettiest of fairytales, and Ether & Smith artfully captured every beautiful detail in artful imagery that is sure to stand the test of time. You can see every breathtaking moment in the full gallery.

From the bride… In between Excel spreadsheets while working at the same accounting firm our eyes met. It was an unlikely match because Stephen mistook Rebecca as another intern who was shy and quiet while Rebecca thought Stephen had too much facial hair (it was no-shave November). Their first conversation was during a work lunch at a ramen noodle restaurant where Rebecca kindly asked if Stephen knew how to used the chopsticks, and he replied with “Do you know how to use the fork?” In that moment, she knew he was special. Jokes aside, that really was Rebecca and Stephen’s first conversation when working at the same accounting firm. I (Rebecca) was shocked at his reply but it was also so well-played and funny that I felt an instant attraction towards Stephen. But the attraction for him was disrupted when we are matched as Ping Pong partners for a work social event and he rolled his eyes at me when I missed the game point. To this day Stephen still denied this happened. Falling for each other was surprising since we are very different at first glance. He is a big meat eater and hates seafood and I turned Pescatarian 6 years ago for animal welfare. Our biggest wedding disagreement came when selecting the dinner menu, thankfully our caterer was able to customize the dishes to our specific taste – minimal mushrooms on the meat and dirty rice with the seafood. Despite our differences, our biggest similarity tied us together – our love for humor and each other’s silliness. Neither of us cried during our vows because we were both trying to out-funny the other person. But thinking back this just demonstrated us so much more – competitive in a light-hearted way, making questionable jokes at very important events with very important people watching.

Our proposal story was not as glamorous as our wedding. It was 2 months into COVID shutdown and Stephen proposed at home after I came home from walking our dog, Albert. I am still a bit upset that Stephen chose a time when I was in sweatpants and headband. But it was nonetheless very sweet and funny because Stephen asked “would you accept this rose from me?” as he holds out a rose(we watched a lot of Bachlor/Bachlorette during the stay at home mandate) What was your inspiration and vision for the wedding? The style of the wedding I wanted was that of French Chateau Garden – romantic, classy, timeless with a hint of vintage. I wanted our guests to enjoy the surrounding as much as the wedding itself. I thought Greystone was the perfect venue for this because it has such a beautiful garden for the ceremony, relaxing space for the cocktail, and romantic setting for the reception. The rentals that I picked for each segment was to help bring out the atmosphere at each interval and expand the overall experience for the guests. For the ceremony, I chose clear chivari chairs so to not clash with the beauty of the garden. And we hired a harpist for the ceremony music because it just fit the vibe so well.

For the Reception, I chose blue table linens and gold Napolean chairs to give the castle a vintage fairytale look. I didn’t want too much decoration, so I thought the blue linen and the Napolean chairs were both functional and beautiful for the courtyard. Last but not least, I chose a variety of large roses to go with everything. Greystone allowed us to decorate the reception fountain with our floral arrangement, and I thought that softened the reception area and was also a perfect contrast to the blue table linens. We did two dances for the wedding – our first dance and a traditional dance. When we chose our first dance, we wanted something different. I picked the song “I Put a Spell On You” for its fun and slightly mysterious vibe. Our dance instructor even put a slight storyline in our dance! I was like a puppet being woken up by a magician/prince and he put a spell on me. But eventually, we fell in love. We had twirls and dips and pick-ups all in one minute. Stephen and I practiced every night for 2 months to lock down the dance moves and I was so proud and happy we pulled it off, together. For our “traditional dance” – we did the Scottish highland dance to a modern bagpipe remix. This was so much fun because he was wearing his Scottish kilt and I was wearing my traditional Chinese wedding dress. We were looking at each other for the next dance move since we were both kinda drunk by this point. Definitely, something special to remember it by. My advice for planning couples is to be yourself!! I do think that there is a certain formula to weddings – walking down the aisle, exchanging of rings, hosting the cocktail hour, doing the first dance, etc. While most couples would opt into these traditions, I find it very important to include the couple’s authenticity in these elements. Such as adding personal stories to the vows, maybe even singing your vows, having your dog/cat walk down the aisle, have your grandma as a bridesmaid. Not feeling the traditional first dances? Do something else. Love to dance? Do multiple dances! I think when planning weddings we often get absorbed by the “musts” and forget that the most important moments are the ones that reflect us the best. We see something similar at every wedding, but it’s always the authenticity that both couple and guests remember.

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