Allie and Bryan’s wedding day at The Casino San Clemente is a little vintage, a little boho and filled with tons of style. Planned by Tres Chic Affairs and planned by the bride herself, the celebration was filled with details designed by the couple’s talented friends including the invitations, wood-burned vows, calligraphy signs, and the handmade wreaths that hung across the stage. Siren Floral Co. knocked it out of the part with dramatic, knock-out arrangements in blush, peach and white and accented by deep green foliage. Allie and Bryan hired Cory Kendra Photography to work her magic behind the lens and we’re thrilled to be sharing all the stunning images with you!
What made the wedding special and unique?
There are a few things that contributed to our special day. First, we are extremely lucky to have amazingly talented friends who were gracious enough to lend us their time and talent. They collectively contributed to the invitations, wood-burned vows, calligraphy signs, and the handmade wreaths that hung across the stage. Second, vendors are such an intricate part of your wedding day, it’s so important to find ones that you trust and we feel like we struck gold with ours. Each of our vendors truly cared about us, and having them as part of our team made the entire process, however chaotic, that much easier to navigate through. And lastly, our wedding party. Their love, support, willingness to lend a hand, and killer dance moves all contributed to making our wedding day as perfect as we imagined it.
Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it!
When I embarked on the search for my wedding dress I had strict criteria: A-line, statement back and it absolutely could not be strapless. As I was trying on all these beautiful dresses it was becoming apparent that my ideal dress wasn’t the ideal type for me. So many people told me to try on every style of dress because 1. When do you have an opportunity to try on amazing gowns? and 2. It may just surprise you. After much resistance, I finally gave in and tried on some strapless styles. And low and behold, I ended up falling in love with the exact opposite of what I imagined; a strapless, fit and flare Theia gown. I had the opportunity to purchase the dress from a local salon in San Diego, however, I decided to purchase it from Love and Lace Bridal Salon in Irvine because of Ramona and her team. Selecting vendors who you trust and have a special connection with is so important and I felt that from my first encounter with Ramona.
What were some touches added to make the wedding personal?
We love music and one of our favorite things to do is put a record on and dance in the kitchen while cooking dinner. We knew we wanted to somehow incorporate a record player into the decor but weren’t sure how to do it. We eventually decided to create an album cover of our engagement photos, which Bryan’s sister Kelsey made for us, and use it as our guest book. We then had a record made with all of the songs from the wedding and now it’s in rotation for our evening cooking and dance sessions.
What was the most memorable part of the day?
This is such a hard question to answer – the entire day is so memorable yet also went by in the blink of an eye. Among the moments receiving votes were, walking down the aisle, saying “I do,” and photos with each other and our wedding party. But, if we had to pinpoint one moment it would be our first look. It was so special, and amazing to have those few precious moments to ourselves before the ceremony and reception began.
Tell us how you met and became engaged.
From Bryan: We met through a mutual friend at a happy hour. And over the next few months our paths seemed to cross over and over. We started dating a few months after that fateful happy hour and were married just over three years later. Our engagement was a bit more unique. We love playing games and solving puzzles. One of our favorite things to do is take a blanket or hammock to the park and solve crossword puzzles together. Allie met me at the park and when she laid down on the blanket, I told her that I had a new crossword puzzle book and had already started a puzzle that I had bookmarked. She flipped to the page, and in the crossword squares I had written, “Allison, will you marry me?”
allison+bryan from Andrew Ducote on Vimeo.
Photographer: Cory Kendra Photography // Event Planner: Tres Chic Affairs // Floral Designer: Siren Floral Co. // Event Designer: Bride // Calligrapher: Lovely Little Letter Co. // Event Venue: The Casino San Clemente // Bridal Gown: Love & Lace Bridal // Groom’s Apparel: Nordstrom // Groom’s Tie: BeauTieUK