The prettiest of summer celebrations awaits you. Harutyunyan Events planned the perfect day, at the groom’s family home, done in a playful color palette of bougainvillea red, deruta blue, citrus lemon and orange, blush, pink, and stone. Of The Flowers designed the most utterly romantic floral moments that are sure to sweep you off your feet. Get lost in all the lovely pictures beautifully captured by This Modern Romance in the full galley.
From Harutyunyan Events… When Shelby and Kyle told me they wanted an Italy-inspired wedding, I aimed to create a color story that captured the essence of the country’s rich cultures and varied regions. Overgrown bougainvillea bushes, citrus fruits, Italian stonework and architecture, the stunning countrysides and coastlines, summer blooms, and Deruta ceramics all influenced the palette. The ceremony took place in the front yard of the groom’s family home. It was the perfect location because the lush lawn garden was surrounded with flowers and hedges. It also had the perfect curved stone aisle that led to a white gazebo. We really wanted to play up the beauty of the yard while still bringing in touches of Italian aesthetics. Felisa Funes from Of The Flowers decked out the gazebo with beautiful seasonal yet unexpected flowers that brought in texture, motion, and composition. We lined the entrance of the aisle and sides of the gazebo with an eclectic mix of potted flowers, reminiscent of the potted flowers you’d find in Tuscan villas or hanging from Venetian balconies. The reception took place in the home’s backyard and it was the epitome of summer al fresco dining.
The centerpieces were seasonal, beautiful yet unexpected florals in the rich reds, pinks, yellows, and oranges. To tie in with the theme of the Italian feast we incorporated tomato vines; olive branches (with actual olives blooming on them!); vases filled with parsley, cilantro, and basil; and a mix of lemons, oranges and grapefruits. The vessels for arrangements varied from Mediterranean ceramics, Italian olive jars, and sea blue glass – a nod to the lands and oceans of Italy. We used candles that were a spectrum of taupe, ivory, and sandstone as a nod to Italian architecture and stonework. Ivories, browns, taupes went well with the bright vibrant florals. We had touches of gold to really make the experience more elevated without being too glitzy. We brought in beautiful finished wood tables and chairs, being extra careful to not be so rustic but more polished and refined. We continued the aesthetic of eclectic potted plants by placing them around the table. All 16 menus (plus the bar menu) were done by hand calligraphy on handmade deckled edge paper with a rich, chocolate brown ink., which matched the napkin color. Each course was served in a different dinnerware collection – the colors being yellows and blues as a deconstructed Deruta experience. One VERY special touch was incorporating the wedding china of Shelby’s parents as the dinnerware for the main course.
From the bride… We met in middle school (Sept 2003) but we started dating in May 2010 after our respective friends started to date, and they needed someone to double date with! We spent our first 4 years dating long distance in college, Kyle in Arizona and Shelby in California. We knew from the start that our relationship was something special to work for. Kyle had planned on taking Shelby on a romantic beach vacation in March of 2020 but that was canceled! Instead, in April, he asked Shelby to go on a Saturday morning hike. They found a nice place to sit and chat, and started to talk about how nice it will be to celebrate with friends and family after the lockdown (hah!) and that’s when Kyle proposed! (Kyle also wants to note that Shelby did not want to go on this hike) Kyle proposed with Shelby’s mom’s engagement ring. We did plan our day as a micro-wedding initially. We both didn’t want to plan a large wedding for everyone’s safety and well being. Many of our friends had to reschedule so the biggest precaution we felt we took was holding off on the larger celebration until it could be done safely. We had our ceremony recorded live on Zoom for our loved ones who couldn’t join us. As soon as we were pronounced husband and wife, we gave a toast to everyone joining via zoom, letting them know we can’t wait to celebrate with them soon! There were a lot of locations discussed for our wedding, but there was something so special about using Kyle’s family’s house. Kyle grew up in this house, and we even lived there together for a few years.
This is the house we love to celebrate holidays in. Shelby’s family has been a part of the last few Thanksgivings in this house, so it already felt like we have been celebrating here for years! One of his aunts had been married there a few years before, so we knew we could make something work! The vision for our wedding was family, food, love, and Italy! We wanted to create an intimate and romantic wedding. We knew if we stuck to those two words everything else would fall into place. Aesthetically, we wanted something romantic, but modern with a touch of whimsy. Our wedding planner Hovik (Harutyunyan Events) had also helped plan Kyle’s brother’s wedding in 2014, and his sister’s wedding in 2016, so it was like he was already a part of the family! He made the planning process a dream! It was still pretty hectic, as we had decided to get married just 5 months after starting the planning process to have the date be our 11 year dating anniversary. Wedding planning as a whole is notoriously stressful, for a good reason! The overall stress was the hardest thing to deal with, keeping everyone happy. A big stress was knowing that not everyone could be invited, and still trying to make everyone feel involved, which is why we had a zoom element. The food was a highlight of the evening! We wanted the whole thing to feel like a very special feast. We went to Italy in 2012 and went to a restaurant in Positano that felt like we had gone to someone’s grandmother’s house for the best meal we had ever had. This was our attempt to recreate that occasion. We had a few choices for catering, but when we saw Wolfgang Puck Catering as an option, we jumped at the opportunity! We have been lucky enough to have tried his food before, so we knew the quality would be out of this world. We had the guitarist play during the guest arrivals, ceremony, and cocktail hour. During reception, we played music on a bluetooth speaker for the rest of the night! It was fun to get everyone’s requests as the night went on.
Photography: This Modern Romance | Cinematography: Light Up Video | Event Planning & Design: Harutyunyan Events | Floral Design: Of The Flowers | Cake: Porto's Bakery | Stationery: Truly Madly Inkly | Catering: Wolfgang Puck Catering | Beauty: Kelly Zhang | Guitarist: Aaron Copenhaguen | Rentals: MTB Event Rentals