Julie and Christian’s wedding Franciscan Gardens

Julie’s dad convinced her to try online dating and wouldn’t you know that her first—and only—date ended up being the love of her life. Julie and Christian, both California transplants from the East Coast, celebrated their wedding at the picturesque Franciscan Gardens. Traditional romance with touches of blue add personalization, but the couple elt the stunning beauty of the venue grounds take center stage. We love the soft, voluminous white florals by Florals by Jenny and the bride’s lace gown and classic cathedral length veil, but it’s the always-amazing work of Natalie Schutt Photography that captures the beauty of the coupe on their big day that has us swooning.

What made the wedding special and unique?

We were very selective on choosing who attended our wedding. Our wedding comprised of family and only close friends of ours only, and I think having a smaller size wedding of 95 really made for a more intimate feeling and gave us time to chat with everyone.

Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it?

I knew I wanted a long sleeve dress and I chose a champagne color to really accentuate the white lace detail instead of choosing an all white dress that would have not emphasized the lace as much.

I originally found a similar style on Pinterest and once I had the designer name I went on a hunt to find who carried that designer. It ended up being a small boutique bridal shop in Torrance called Bridal Elegance. It was the second dress I tried on and it was a tough decision, but in the end I had to go with my gut feeling and what I initially envisioned because the assistants at the bridal shop make you try on a lot of different styles.

What were some touches added to make the wedding personal?

We really wanted personalized everything! We had personalized mints and chapsticks in the restrooms for when guests freshened up. We had personalized napkins for cocktail hour along with personalized seasoning at every seat to ensure our guests left with many goodies that reminded them of the good time. I have a very close eye when it comes to attention to detail and planned the whole wedding myself with my husband’s input of course!

What was the most memorable part of the day?

We couldn’t really pick a specific memorable time as I remember the day so vividly, but if I’d have to choose it would be the first look where we shared smiles, laughs, tears and an embrace that I will hold close to my heart for a lifetime.

Tell us how you met and became engaged.

Let’s start by saying Christian and I are both from the East Coast. New York and New Jersey. It is really hard to meet people in California if you didn’t grow up here, so needless to say I didn’t want to meet a guy at a bar or a club and my Dad actually told me to try match.com. This was in 2012 way before dating apps were a thing. Christian was my first and only date from that website and I knew it was fate. How do two people from back East meet on the far West Coast? He was everything I was looking for in a man. Genuine, kindhearted, stunning blue eyes and had the personality of an East Coaster.

It was March 17^,th 2017 and Christian’s mother asked if I could help out her real-estate friend by serving champagne after work for an open house. I agreed because you never say no to your boyfriend’s mother when she asks you for a favor. I practiced and watched YouTube in anticipation so my champagne opening skills were flawless. I arrived in a nice simple dress at the open house “before it started” to help set up and met with the realtor. The realtor expressed that we needed to go in the backyard where there were steps leading down to Crystal Cove state beach and he explained, he really wanted to “sell the view, so the set up will be down at the lookout.”  I mentioned I was very familiar with the lookout as my boyfriend and I always walk there every weekend. (On our walks we talk about life, goals and aspirations for ourselves/relationship). As we exited the gate, leading to the path there was a sign: “Honey, Hurry Up à” pointing in the direction of the look out where I saw a path of flowers with mason jars filled with candles and my soon to be husband awaiting my arrival at the lookout point. I started crying and pretty sure hyperventilating when I saw his friend pop out of the bushes taking photos of my reaction. I truly couldn’t believe what was happening to me at that very moment; it was a true out of body experience that I did not see coming. I thought I was popping bottles of champagne that night, never did I think I was getting engaged!

Christian & Julie | Highlight Film | Franciscan Gardens | San Juan Capistrano, CA from Emma Lynn Cinema on Vimeo.

Coordinator: Confetti Skies // Florist: Florals by Jenny // Photography: Natalie Schutt Photography // Invitation + Stationery: Minted // Venue: Franciscan Gardens // Wedding Dress Boutique: Bridal Elegance Studio // Bridesmaids Dresses: Weddington Way // Suits: The Black Tux // Beauty: Design Visage // Cinema: Emma Lynn Cinema // DJ: KIK Entertainment // String Trio: OMG Ocdamia Music Group // Catering: 24 Carrots Catering // Flower Wall: Wonderwall OC // Cake: Susie Cakes Bakery // Donuts: SideCar Doughnuts // Officiant: The OC Wedding Guy // Specialty Flatware: Signature Party Rentals // Lighting: Premier Lighting and Production