Warmer weather is finally starting to spread, which means one very exciting thing for the wedding world: more beach soirees! Jess and Nick are beach bunnies in their own right, so it seemed only natural they would exchange vows in the sands of California. With Sunday Romance behind the camera and Beau and Arrow Events taking the reigns for the design and installations, it’s no wonder their wedding day turned out as beautiful as it did!

From the bride, Jessica: Nick being an avid surfer and myself a beach lover have been to Nicarauga, Costa Rica, Australia, and Hawaii. This love for surfing, the beach, and for each other is what really inspired our style for the wedding. We wanted a laid-back but put-together ceremony and reception by the beach with our closest family and friends. We had ideas and a general feel, but couldn’t get the colors, general aesthetic, and decor to go together. I wanted a slightly rustic feel with nods to my childhood in Texas, so combining that element into a beach wedding was overwhelming to me. The Beau & Arrow ladies gave us a set color palette, design ideas & direction, and introduced us to the vendors who were the perfect fit to carry out our vision.

Relaxed and beach-y elegance with a touch of rustic is how I would describe our wedding style. Our color palette consisted of muted aquas, seafoams, beach glass inspired colors, silver, with white flowers, succulents and air plants. I also really loved the touches of mercury glass.

The big DIY project was the dessert backdrop that Beau & Arrow Events created for me. A fun scale pattern was used on some of my paper elements throughout the reception and to tie that the ladies came up with this idea. It also covered the main doors/windows to the actual house that was not utilized during the wedding. It was extremely time consuming as each circle was cut out of construction paper and then layered onto three 4×8 insulation panels that made up the one seamless backdrop on the day of the wedding.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? Be true to your style and spend your money on things that matter to you as a couple. And find a planner that shares your vision. Our planners helped us to find the perfect venue and vendors that created a wedding day that was completely us. We were able to stay on budget and get everything that we wanted, because our planners understood exactly what we wanted. If you hire vendors you trust and who match your style, you don’t have to micro-manage them and thus will be able to enjoy the planning rather than be stressed out!

We had one of our closest friend be the officiant. The ceremony was perfect because he knew both of us and was able to speak about our relationship from the beginning. It was way better than hiring an officiant that creates a cookie cutter ceremony.

Wedding Music:
Bridal Party Processional: “On My Way Back Home,” Band of Horses
Bride’s Processional: “She’s Everything,” Brad Paisley
Recessional: “Home,” Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Newlyweds’ Entrance: “It Takes Two,” Rob Base & DJ E Z Rock
First Dance: “In Your Eyes,” Jeffrey Gaines
Guest danced to a mash up of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sir Mix a Lot, and Journey for the reception

Wedding Location: La Jolla, CA / Wedding Photographer: Sunday Romance / Event Design and Styling: Beau and Arrow Events / Wedding Venue: The Martin Johnson House / Wedding Flowers: Root 75 / Wedding Dress: Pnina Tornai / Wedding Veil: Gorgeous Complements / Earrings: Crina Design / Wedding Shoes: Toms / Hair: Rachel Lehman / Makeup: Amy Clarke Makeup / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Dessy / Wedding Caterer: Coast Catering / Wedding Desserts: VG Bakery / Rentals: Moss Rentals / Wedding Music: Injoy Entertainment / Wedding Invitations: Sleepy Dreamer / Paper Goods: Brightly Designed

For today’s shoot, event stylist Jill took two objects and ran with them — you guessed it, feathers and wood. With a bit of help from photographers The Willinghams and florist Bare Root Flora, she was able to get a great deal of mileage out of the theme, coming up with this fresh take on the rustic phenomenon.

From the stylist, Jill: This styled shoot was inspired by the current bohemian trends and rustic romance of Colorado. Dramatic elements of leather and feathers were brought into the bride and groom’s accessories as well as in the beautiful florals, cake, stationery, and table settings. The result is an earthy, elegant, and achievable vibe with many do it yourself details that brides will love to make their own.

When it came to florals, Bare Root Flora wanted something textural and lush. We went with a palette of deep eggplant purples, wines, blush pinks, and creamy whites as a soft, feminine foil to the earthier feel of the leather and feathers. Gorgeous ranunculus, king protea, anemone, roses, andromeda, parrot tulips, sweet peas and viburnum gave the pieces the rich look we wanted–not to mention a fragrance to die for!

White chocolate fondant cake wrapped with edible sugar belts that look like real leather with metal buckles. The belts were textured, then antiqued with edible food color. The top of the cake is adorned with a single sugar feather.

Shoot Location: Denver, CO / Photographer: The Willinghams / Flowers: Bare Root Flora / Wedding Dress: Winifred Bean / Fashion Styling: Common Couture / Hair: Graham Nation of Jua Salon / Makeup: Stephanie Klasse Makeup Artistry / Wedding Cake: Intricate Icings Cake Design / Rings and Cake Cutter: The Reno Bros. / Furniture Rentals: Chairished Vintage Rentals

Goodness gracious, do we ever have a treat for you readers today. Bride Leslie set out to create a unique wedding, and that’s absolutely what she achieved with the help of her groom, Collin, and family members. She brought on the help of two photographers, Select Studios and White Lab Photography, to paint a perfectly distinctive tale of their vintage-inspired wedding which included masks, stilt-walkers, mimes, a fire performance, and oh-so-much more:

From the bride, Leslie: We wanted to create a unique wedding, a fun celebration! We have been together for 12 years; I met Collin when I moved to Houston from California. Since the day we met, we have not been apart! We currently live in Houston, TX but often travel to New Orleans, and we decided it would be a great city to have our friends and family from all over the states and Mexico to come visit!

We love anything vintage, antique, rustic, circus, masquerade, old films, vaudeville… so that was our theme for the wedding. As entertainment, we had mystery mimes, stilt walkers, a dog and clown act, and a fire performance! Our guests were a mix of high school friends, fashion industry friends, both of our families! We did a lot of DIY and involved our families and friends to help us as much as possible!

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Opus 23,” Dustin O’Halloran
Recessional: “Jump In the Line,” Harry Belafonte
Dinner Song: “Day-O,” Harry Belafonte
First Dance: “Fade Into You,” Mazzy Star
Father/Daughter Dance: “Come Fly With Me,” Frank Sinatra
Mother/Son Dance: “You Can Never Tell,” Chuck Berry
Bridal Party Processional: “Love,” John Lennon

Wedding Location: New Orleans, LA / Wedding Photographers: White Lab Photography and Select Studios / Wedding Coordination: Amanda Irby / Wedding Venue: Race & Religious / Wedding Flowers: Bride and groom’s mother / Wedding Dress: Jiozei H Reyes / Earrings: Anthropologie / Hair: Bianca Linette Rivas / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Zara and Jerri Moore / Groom’s Mask: Chad Landry / Groomsmen’s Attire: Zara / Wedding Caterer: 1st Class Catering / Desserts: Bride’s Aunt / Wooden Details: Bride’s father / Wedding Music: Tuba Skinny and Salvatore Geloso / DJ: DJ Dayta / Photobooth: Big Easy Photobooth / Wedding Invitations: Royal Steamline