Rebecca and Brett’s wedding day saw one of the worst rain storms in the Los Angeles El Nino season, with torrential downpours all morning and through the afternoon, but luckily the sun came out just in time for the ceremony and the lush grounds of The 1909 in Topanga Canyon sparkled. Even more gorgeous, however, are the rich colors in the handmade, artisan details. The bride, a designer, took to Instagram to find up-and-coming vendors with unique and artistic points of view like florist Pigsty and stationer Fabulous Fancy Pants. Complimented by perfectly executed DIY details and stunning photographs by Christine Donee this one is sure to delight.
from the bride: From the beginning, not only was look important – but substance. As a designer, I took great care to ensure that each and every detail was carefully thought out, curated, and crafted. Given our long history dating back to the age of 6, Brett and I wanted to make the day feel intimate and charming, with meaningful details that told our story and the story of our families. After all, we recognized this day wasn’t just about us, it was about our families and loved ones too. Given the fact that we were on a limited budget, many of our details were either handmade or found over the course of our year+ long engagement.
In my daily career, I have a particular passion for supporting small business, as I firmly believe that craft and the human touch creates a distinct beauty simply cannot be recreated en masse. Therefore, we sought to support small businesses and artisans for our wedding, and got to draw from some of the amazing talent that resides in Southern California. I took to Instagram to find vendors that had a unique and artistic point of view. This also helped us find a number of up-and-coming vendors which helped keep costs down and quality high.
A few of the details created for the day, either by me or by loved ones:
Handmade macramé made by friend and rug/macramé extraordinaire, Karen Flitterman. Karen also created the macrame & green overhead installation during the reception. This was particularly fun, because this macramé piece is technically a baby bassinet. Brett and I had just let our family know the day prior that we are expecting a baby in October, so this macramé piece was not just a beautiful ceiling piece dripping with greens, but also a tongue-in-cheek innuendo about the news to come.
The veil, bridesmaids’ bouquets & tertiary floral arrangements, hand-dyed flour sack napkins, invitations (calligraphy and illustrations), hand-dyed place cards, menus, table numbers, flower toss cones (fashioned from aged pages of a French love story) were all made by me.
Guest favors of homemade jam were made by my mother who used the fruit of the citrus trees planted by Brett’s father and late mother at the family home.
Leave a wish/Take a wish: To encourage guests to leave “wishes” we created a give/take jar. Guests left wishes and also grabbed beautiful quotes from Pablo Neruda, E.E. Cummings, and Goethe to name a few.
Other details:
Our wedding day saw one of the worst rain storms in the Los Angeles El Nino season, with torrential downpours all morning and through the afternoon. My dear friend (and planner) Bergen bought a bottle of Jameson as she drove to the venue and buried it upside down (southern folklore says that if you bury a bottle of whiskey at the site where the bride and groom are to be married it won’t rain on their wedding day). We crossed our fingers and prayed. The entire day had to be switched around last minute, swapping out cocktail hour with the ceremony and bringing the reception indoors. Luckily, the sun came out just in time for the ceremony and the lush grounds seemed to sparkle after the rain.
We were married by my oldest brother Tom and I was walked down the aisle by my other other two half brothers, Bob and John. This was a really poignant moment for us as a family as I spent the larger part of my adult life trying to find my brothers (we share the same father). I found them 6 years ago and it was a dream to have them be with me on the most incredible day in our lives.
My mother and Brett’s father gave readings during the ceremony; Brett’s father gave an unintentionally hilarious and mildly explicit reading from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin after Brett accidentally printed out the “unedited” version.
Brett and I wrote the ceremony and vows ourselves. My vows contained excerpts from my childhood diary detailing all the awful things I thought about Brett. But to make up for it, I presented him with a book during the ceremony that contained a list of all the things I love about him. I had been writing that list for 6 months leading up to our wedding.
To compliment the heirloom engagement ring from Brett’s family, I was married with my beloved grandmother’s wedding ring.
Our nephew served as ring bearer and rode down on a vintage style fire truck (a nod to my two older brothers who are both fire chiefs).
Photography: Christine Donee // Event Coordination: MB Emerald Events // Flowers: Pigsty // Paper (Invitations & Place Cards): Fabulous Fancy Pants // Venue: The 1909, Topanga Canyon // Calligraphy: Bride // Cake: Superfine Bakery // 1st Dress: Pallas Couture / Still White // 2nd Dress: Theia / BHLDN // Shoes: Valentino // Groom’s Suit: Custom DTLA // Bridesmaids: Various // Groomsmen: Custom DTLA // Bowties & Pocket Squares: H&M // Macrame: Karen Flitterman // Music: Young Hearts // Catering: Hungry Bear // Doughnuts: SK Doughnuts // Vintage Glassware: Otis & Pearl // Ribbon: Frou Frou Chic
photography @christinedonee // event coordination @mbemeraldevents // flowers @pigsty__ // paper @fabulousfancypants // venue @the.1909
calligraphy @rminteriorstyle // cake ig@superfinebakery // 1st dress @pallascouture / @stillwhite // 2nd dress @theiacouture // music @ynghrts // catering hungry bear @hungrybearcatering // vintage glassware @otisandpearl // ribbon @froufrouchic