[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]From the bride:
As someone who has a passion for dishes, I knew that I wanted to bring in my own fine china and teacups for the place settings. The pattern, Royal Crown Derby Royal Antoinette, helped to inspire the colour scheme of soft pinks, creams, sage and purples with gold touches throughout the day.[/field]
[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]From the bride:
Beau and I are both Canadian but I moved to the US in 2021 during Covid for work. We were planning on having one big wedding with around 150 people somewhere in the US in fall 2024, but then in December 2023 as I was getting ready to file my green card, we learned that we needed to be married in order to file together. This drastically changed our timelines. There was no way we would have been able to pull a 150 person destination wedding together in 3 months. So we decided to split the celebrations! Beau and I would elope with only family in April 2024, and then the following year in spring 2025, we would do a larger church wedding back in Canada with all of our friends and family.
The aesthetic was based on the venue and the fact that we were getting married in this beautiful garden in the mountains that also had these famous lavender fields right at the gate. I also took into account that it was a spring wedding one week after Easter, and SYR often has bumblebees and bunny rabbits running around. I sort of wanted an “Alice in Wonderland” feel without the “mad hatter” vibes. Alice in Wonderland has always been my favorite Disney movie and since SYR truly does feel like a magical place that doesn’t exist in the real world, it felt very fitting.
[/field]
[field title=”Proposal Story”]From the bride:
For 9 months leading up to it, I had been working on the biggest tech deal of my life. Two weeks prior on October 30th, I had left Canada to move to the United States which meant Beau and I were beginning a long distance relationship. Beau met me in LA on November 8th knowing the deal was soon coming to a close. Poor Beau scrambled to get to Burbank and back from Beverly Hills in rush hour traffic without me noticing to get my dads permission in person for the engagement while I was busy trying to get the deal closed. Finally, the next day, on Tuesday November 9th at the Beverly Hilton, I completed the majority buyout with my company, Kira Talent which does holistic admissions software for colleges and universities, to ETS, a multi-billion dollar not for profit. The deal closed and was followed by 3 days of press releases and total bliss.
On Friday, Beau and I got in the car and drove to Vegas for the first time together (he had never been). We spent the weekend at the Wynn and on Sunday evening, after a full weekend of celebrations with friends, he proposed on the beautiful rooftop balcony of the Legacy Club overlooking both old and new LV as the sun was setting. Literally, best week ever! (Until April❤️) [/field]
[/section]
[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]
[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]
[/board_carousel]
[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]From the Bride:
Seeing as how the wedding plans came together in less than 6 months, I knew that finding the perfect dress would be a challenge. I was looking for a beautifully feminine and romantic, yet non-traditional dress that would fit both the whimsicalness of SYR and the grandeur of Sunstone.
After trying on several Old Hollywood glam dresses from Oscar de la Renta and very floral forward dresses at Galia Lahav and Monique Lhuillier, I opted for a fitted lace gown by Berta with a gorgeous overskirt and full train by Ines de Santo to create an elegant contrast in shape. My mom wore a lace wedding dress which I always found romantic so wanted to have an ode to my mother in that way.
The reception dress was a short and flirty lace number by Galia Lahav.
[/field]
[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]N/A[/field]
[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]N/A[/field]
[/section]
[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]
[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]
[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]
[/board_carousel]
[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]The couple chose to elope and have an intimate dinner just the two of them in the famous Old Adobe at San Ysidro Ranch, but they invited their parents to join in beforehand for the ceremony and for a celebratory champagne toast. Each champagne glass was adorned with a die cut acrylic name tag as a keepsake for their families.
After the champagne toast and some photos in the lavender fields, the bride changed into her short reception dress and they made their way to dinner at the Old Adobe. The couple started with a little gem lettuce salad and slow braised venison agnolotti, followed by steak Diane and an herb crusted rack of lamb, finished off by their petite wedding cake for two.[/field]
[field title=”Florals & Decor”]The decor was inspired by Alice in Wonderland with lush garden roses and floral motifs that matched my personal collection of vintage china, which used for our wedding dinner.[/field]
[field title=”Wedding Cake”]Since the wedding cake was just for two, a miniature one was made decorated with wildflowers and the first tier was pink champagne chiffon with strawberries and whipped cream and the second tier was vanilla sponge with fresh raspberries and white chocolate[/field]
[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]From the Bride:
We kept the ceremony intimate, just us and our parents and my two aunts. In today’s day and age, when weddings have become so expensive and extravagant, I truly believe elopements are the way to go. I really appreciated having just a few people with us. Everyone who was there was so happy to be with us, and during the weekend leading up to the wedding day, we were able to spend so much quality time with each person that every attendee felt loved and appreciated. [Beau and I have even commented that we are afraid next year’s wedding will not compare to our elopement because there will be so many people and it will be hard to get real time with anyone + emotions, drama, logistics].[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #1″]On the morning of April 8th 2024, my mom and two aunts arrived early to the beautiful Acacia cottage where we were staying to get hair and makeup done for the big day. We kept our 6 person elopement to only a few family members, so I had my mom as my pseudo maid of honour and my two aunts as my bridesmaids. That felt so special since I knew at the wedding next year, I would be mostly with my girl friends. My aunts helped raise me in so many ways so I loved being able to have them as my little bridal party. We all got ready in our silk pjs that I had brought back from Florence two weeks prior and sipped our baileys and coffee while listening to everything from Dolly Parton to the theme from the Godfather. Beau got ready in his fathers room with an ocean view and was honoured to have his great-grandfather’s cufflinks for the occasion which were over 100 years old.
Our wedding day happened to fall on the day of the eclipse. When the eclipse started, the room and porch were filled with little crescents everywhere. That was UNREAL. Although Montecito only had a partial eclipse, it felt like our marriage was written in the stars and the little half suns were positively adorable. Also, I couldn’t believe how perfect the weather was. It was like God was smiling down on us the whole day. Montecito was 72 degrees and sunny with a light breeze. Utter perfection.[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #2″]We were married at San Ysidro Ranch, but went over to Sunstone for portraits in the early afternoon. The limo ride to Sunstone was special because Beau and I had 55 mins each way to ourselves. We played our favourite country songs, had snacks, listened to the Bible, took selfies, looked at the gorgeous coastal view, and just soaked in every moment together in happiness.[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #3″]Taking pictures in my reception dress and having the giggly “drunk on love” feeling! Just feeling on top of the world and like the day was a huge success was so amazing.
In the months leading up to the wedding, I probably spent 2-3 hours a day on various wedding websites and instagram combing through reviews, photos and video clips of other real weddings. Ultimately though, we chose the team that I thought would best bring to life our vision: photo and video that were bright yet soft and ethereal, and florals that were cloud-like and dreamy. Your photographer will be with you all day and can significantly influence the tone and feel of your wedding day. Before booking a photographer, I highly recommend getting to know them first over Zoom, in person, or through a call. Make sure you get along, discuss your vision, your hopes, your concerns, and truly determine if they will be the right partner for your big day! Consider how you want to feel on your wedding day and ask yourself if this person will enhance that feeling or detract from it. I also recommend allocating more of your budget to the photographer than you might have initially planned. A good photographer can capture you in your best light and can make anything look amazing (even bad weather, poor lighting, unexpected mishaps, wind—you name it!). You’re paying for their creative genius so that you don’t have to worry about planning every shot. Reflecting on our photos, there are so many unique shots that never would have occurred to me. Every time I share our wedding photos with friends and family, they can’t help but rave about the photography quality in addition to everything else.[/field]
[/section]
[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]
[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Reception”]
[/board_carousel]
Photography: Rebecca Yale Photography | Videography: Peyton Anne Frank | Event Planning: Courtney Elizabeth Events | Floral Design: Camellia Floral Design | Stationery: Letterland Studio | Ceremony Venue: San Ysidro Ranch | Makeup and Hair: TEAM Hair and Makeup | Location: Sunstone Winery & Villa