Love is in full bloom at this beautiful flower filled day. Brooke Keegan Special Events planned an event that brought this couple’s Big Day dream to life in the most beautiful of ways. Filled with floral arches and a ceremony aisle lined with blooms, Oak And The Owl created floral installations that were simply stunning. You can feel the love shinning through the imagery by Joel Serrato Film Photographer, head to the full gallery to fall headfirst into the real-life fairytale.
From the bride… Nick and I met at work. We were both working for a biotech company in San Diego at the time. On our first date, we realized that I already knew one of Nick’s close friends who coincidentally went to CU Boulder with me. Small world! Even smaller world was that this same friend ended up transferring to Chapman University and was friends with my younger sister. After about a month of secret lunch dates, the cat was out of the bag as our coworkers caught on to a budding office romance. The rest is history! Nick proposed on his family’s annual ski trip in Utah. There was a group of 9 of us snowmobiling on our last day. What I thought was leading up to a family photo-op, turned into the best surprise proposal at the top of a beautiful secluded ridge. My parents, who were vacationing in Hawaii at the time, were eagerly awaiting our phone call to announce our engagement. Nick had asked my dad for permission just a few days before our trip. He even asked my mom separately that same day if he could be her son-in-law (she wholeheartedly said yes – cue the happy tears!). Nick and I keep a jar of wine corks at home – dated and signed to help us remember the special occasions we celebrated in the past. I remember one of our friends coming over and joking of an old wives’ tale where once the jar is full, engagement will follow. Lo and behold, our precious jar of corks was planted in the snow where we were taking our “family photo.” I spotted the jar as I walked closer and was immediately overcome with emotion when I connected the dots. As I looked down, inside the jar was a ring box sitting on top of the corks. When I turned around to look at Nick, he was on one knee with the actual ring box asking me to marry him. We celebrated with champagne on top of a mountain surrounded by family. It was picture perfect!
Our wedding planner, Brooke Keegan Special Events, was a superstar and made the entire planning process seamless and enjoyable. Brooke’s innate attention to detail made all the difference – who knew a seamstress to help with our wedding party’s wardrobe would end up being the vendor we didn’t know we needed! We absolutely loved all our vendors and are so happy with the way everything turned out. Our wedding weekend was hands down the best weekend of our lives. We kicked off the wedding weekend with a Welcome Party and greeted our closest friends and family on Hotel Californian’s rooftop. Guests still rave about the steel drum band! Our wedding ceremony and reception at San Ysidro Ranch exceeded our wildest expectations. Everything from our signature cocktails (blood orange margarita and SYR New Fashioned) to the 12-piece band made it an evening to remember. The beautiful rose gardens behind our rose and hydrangea adorned altar made for the perfect wedding ceremony backdrop. We wanted an intimate ceremony and it was just that. One of my favorite memories looking back on our wedding day was when Nick grabbed my hand to walk above the rose gardens away from the crowd. We took a few moments together before our reception dinner to really take it all in and enjoy the bird’s eye view of our guests enjoying cocktail hour.
I also loved when our wedding planner pulled the two of us aside after our ceremony and invited us up to our reception lawn to see the decor before any of our guests. Seeing our wedding vision come to life after a year and 8 months engagement (thank you Covid!) was overwhelming to say the least. I will cherish these moments forever. Before our special day, friends reminded us to soak up every minute because the big day is gone before you know it and it really did go by too fast. We honeymooned in Bora Bora. It was everything we hoped it would be and more. The Four Seasons resort was an absolute dream! We embraced the island’s adventure side and did all the activities (tennis, snorkeling, scuba, ATV tour, swam with stingrays and black tip reef sharks, and jet skied across 50 shades of ocean blue). We dedicated time to relax on the private beach or in a poolside cabana. Sunset cocktails hit differently at the Four Seasons Bora Bora which made them a daily must – we will definitely be back one day!
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Photography: Joel Serrato Film Photographer | Floral Design: Oak And The Owl | Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Lighting: Lighten Up | Entertainment: West Coast Music | Transportation: Empire CLS | Beauty: Janet Villa | Bridal Stylist: Maradee Wahl | Ceremony + Cocktail Music: Angelica Strings | Dance Floor: Chiavari Chair Rentals | Linens: BBJ La Tavola | Location: San Ysidro Ranch | Paper Goods: Studio Luzance | Photo Booth: Mir Mir | Planning & Design: Brooke Keegan Special Events | Rentals: Town And Country | Rentals: The Ark Event Rentals | Sound/Backline: Design Sound | Video: Elysium Productions