We gasped in excitement more than a few times at this lovely, indie wedding from Jenna Elliott of One Eleven Photography. Smogshoppe, as always, provides such a fun graphic backdrop, but we especially love the way Savannah and David softed the look with a palette of gorgeous, muted pastels in abundance of florals by The Little Branch. We’re also crazy about the cake by The Butter End Cakery. When in doubt—a gilded deer topper is a definite showstopper!
What made the wedding special and unique?
I feel like our guests are really what made it special and unique. Both my husband’s family and my family were able to be there. I have a very large extended family on the east coast. Though they could not all make it, almost every family had a representative in attendance! In addition to that, my husband and I both have many friends from all over. Just seeing everyone we love all there in one space was pretty fantastic. There was so much joy and happiness. Our friends and family have continued to tell us how much fun they had. As the bride, the day kind of goes by in a flash and you don’t always get a chance to notice everything going on. So knowing everyone had such a great time made the celebration that much more meaningful.
The venue also was extremely special and unique because it was like a hidden urban jungle in the middle of Culver City. Both my husband and I love plants and nature and wanted to get married in the woods, however it wasn’t quite feasible to do that with people flying in from all over. Our venue, Smogshoppe, was completely covered in floor-to-roof planters with large green succulents and other plants. It was the best of both worlds – close to a major city and totally green!
Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it!
My gown and top were from BHLDN. I started the dress search about six months before the wedding. I had this idea in my head of exactly what I wanted and I had searched and searched online to no avail. I was a little particular about the dress, but you only get one chance to wear it so I wanted it to be perfect. Luckily, BHLDN released a new collection of dresses about two months before my wedding. And the one I had dreamed of was there! I went and tried it on and bought it that day. I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out!
What were some touches added to make it personal?
I’m a bit nostalgic and sentimental, so I added a lot of personal touches. On the gifts for all of the guests, I put a lyric from a different love song. I picked the song based on the person or a memory with that person. It was fun figuring out a line for each guest and the guests loved comparing theirs with each other! I made all of the gifts with my husband and some of our friends. The gifts were little air plant holders – something you can expect from a couple in love with plant life! We also had a “Make Your Own Sundae” bar in honor of my late grandmother (and in honor of my obsession with ice cream!). My family is a music family – almost every aunt, uncle, cousin, parent will break into song at any given moment. Some of my favorite memories are singing and dancing with my family. I picked a lot of older music for the day because I absolutely love older music and it reminded me of those times. There were a lot of songs that people reminisced and sang to, young and old. My husband had the brilliant idea to get my younger brother to dance down the aisle – and he enthusiastically did! He got the crowd standing to “Get On Up” by James Brown right before my father walked me down to Van Morrison’s “Sweet Thing” (another personal touch as my parents raised me on Van Morrison). My husband and I really love adding special details and I think that every moment that day felt like us.
What was the most memorable part of the day?
So many! It’s hard to pick one. But I’d have to say the Best Man and Maid of Honor’s speech plus the video they compiled of our friends and family congratulating us. My dad’s speech was hilarious. My mom sang a beautiful song about my name. And my uncle performed “I’ll Be Loving You Always” which is sung at everyone’s wedding in my family.
Tell us how you met and became engaged.
We met through mutual friends at a party on St. Patrick’s Day. We got together a couple weeks later and have been together ever since! He proposed in Boston, MA while we were on vacation. We had gone to see a band at their St. Patrick’s Day concert that I had wanted to go to for over ten years. The band has a song called “Forever” that they sing on their live album right after an on-stage proposal. Years ago, I had told my husband about the live album and the song and the surprise proposal and how sweet I thought it all was. Little did I know, he took that story to heart. He proposed there at the concert (not on stage because he knew that would terrify me haha) on St. Patrick’s Day – three years after we’d met! And, of course, he had already arranged for the band to sing “Forever”, which they did, along with a engagement congratulations!
Photographer: Jenna Elliott of One Eleven Photography // Flowers: The Little Branch // Invitations: Sienne Josselin // Cake: The Butter End Cakery // Caterer: Eco Caters // Dress, Top & Bridesmaid Dresses: BHLDN // Bride Shoes: Aldo // Groom’s Suit & Groomsmen Suits: Friar Tux // Hair & Makeup: Sweet Adeline Beauty // DJ: Skyline Entertainment // Venue: Smogshoppe