We’re loving Alexia and Sam’s delightful outdoor wedding and celebration at a private residence in Santa Paula, CA. Designed and planned by La Fleur Weddings & Events, the floral-driven details are absolutely beautiful—especially the gorgeous pink and green ceremony arch by florist Forage Florals and the tiered, floral-lined cake by Sweet Lady Jane. The white, rustic details of the rentals and tablesettings are a nice compliment to the breathtaking scenery and we’re obsessing over the tiniest of details—the little local oranges on the table. Lucky for us, Jennifer Fujikawa Photography, was the lady behind the lens capturing these gorgeous images.
What made the wedding special and unique?
We think all the personal touches we added to the wedding made it so special. We got married at Sam’s parents’ place in Ojai, which right away I think slated the event as a very homey and personal gathering. We wanted to make sure guests felt comfortable and ready to celebrate with us.
Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it?
I must have gone to at least 7 different wedding gown stores (in combinations of: mom, with a bridesmaid, with my mother-in-law). I finally decided to go by myself and really see how I felt about the dresses without anyone else’s opinion and ended up going to a bridal store in Glendale called Lovella Bridal. I tried on a dress that I had tried on at two other stores (unknowingly), but because she “pinned” me into the sample dress well enough to get a better vision of how the dress in my size would look, I knew it was my dress. It was a Martina Lliana dress that I took a chance on and got with sleeves that I couldn’t try on, but it ended up being perfect! It had a huge train we had to pin, and I’m actually proud that it got so dirty in the end. I had a blast.
What were some touches added to make the wedding personal?
We really wanted to make our wedding feel like it came from our hearts, so we did a lot of little personal touches! All the signs were handmade by me and my bridesmaid, Elise. My mom made tiny jars of her marmalade jam that we gave out as favors (with local Ojai oranges), we had photos of the older generations of our families at their weddings, and our escort cards were photos of us at the ages that matched the table numbers that we printed out in polaroid templates and hung up on strings for people to find their seats. I’m also pretty proud of our cake topper that pretty much encompassed us as a couple: the topper is very classic from the front, just a porcelain bride and groom. But when you look at the back, the bride is sneaking a butt-grab! No one even noticed, it was our little secret.
What was the most memorable part of the day?
The dance floor! As soon as the “first dances” ended and that first song came on, the dance floor FLOODED with people! It was so fun to see people let loose after all the scheduled parts of the wedding/reception. And as a couple, it was the first dance. It was definitely the point where we both took in the fact that we had just gotten married and really took a moment for ourselves.
Tell us how you met and got engaged!
We met through a mutual friend while I was studying theater at UC Santa Barbara. We were in a group setting and I think we said like two words to each other, but I felt like we kept looking at each other. So after the party, we both (unknowingly) had asked our mutual friend about each other. We started dating, moved to LA together, and 5 years later, Sam asked me to marry him while we were doing a mini-vacation at the Bacara resort in Santa Barbara (full circle!).
Alexia Dox & Sam Cornwell from Mawwiage Films + havaCreative on Vimeo.
Photographer: Jennifer Fujikawa Photography // Event Planner: La Fleur Weddings & Events // Floral Designer: Forage Florals // Venue: Private Residence // Caterer: Seasons Catering, CA // Cake: Sweet Lady Jane // Equipment Rentals: Town and Country Event Rentals