Aqua + Pink Carlsbad Wedding

Any time Color Me Rad signs on to photograph a wedding, I’ll be jumping at the bit to see the result. Add in styling by lace and likes and handmade decor by the bride, and how could I not be giddy? This California wedding is packed with teal, gold, and pink, and everything our wedding dreams are made of.

From the bride, Taryn: Justin and I grew up in the same neighborhood in San Diego and our parents have been friends our whole lives. We really became close right when I graduated high school; unfortunately that was when I moved away to Colorado. When I moved home seven years later, we both found ourselves single and reconnected – the rest was history. Needless to say, our parents were thrilled. Plus with the four of them already being buddies, it made the planning process so easy!

We really wanted to incorporate the feeling of family, including everyone, our community and neighborhood we grew up in. We asked a former neighbor (a friend of our parents and a dad two our friends who were in the wedding party) to get ordained and officiate. We also had our parents join us during the vows and take a vow to support our relationship too. Justin and I had been to a lot of weddings and I have also worked for a wedding coordinator in the past. We know what gets over done and what we love at weddings. We wanted a laid back, super-awesome party than reflected us. We threw everything out the window and started from the ground up. We had a food truck serve sliders and parmesan truffle fries (that everyone raved about) and opted for a churro stand instead of a dessert table (Justin’s favorite dessert).

My BHLDN *dream dress* was everything I could have hoped for – it felt more like a gorgeous evening gown than a typical wedding dress. And my gals got to pick their own dresses (one of them even snagged hers on clearance for $20) in a mint scheme. They all felt comfortable and looked gorgeous. As an Art History major in college, I’ve always been a huge fan of color and texture. The Ranch had about 40 peacocks walking around so I wanted to reflect their colors but not too literally. I used mint as an overall umbrella and threw in a punch of blues, teals, pinks, greens and purples and pulled everything together with glittery golds. I also used fringe, metallic and mismatched fabrics (seen in the table runners and groomsmen ties my mom sewed).

See Also

Monogram Magic In This Textural & Earthy Wedding With Elevated North Carolina Flair

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? I would tell couples planning now that it’s all worth it. I would have past brides tell me, “Oh, relax and don’t stress out,” which would irk me since I distinctly remember them pulling their hair out and refilling their Xanax prescriptions just one year ago. Yes, you will fight, you’ll wonder why you’re not eloping and you might (okay, definitely will) cry. But that moment I turned the corner with my dad to walk down to my new husband and saw all my friends and family who travelled to come support us all smiling at me – I just let out a huge sigh of relief. All our hard work paid off and nothing could get me down now. We were ready to soak it all in and enjoy ourselves. Also: get glowsticks. Highlight of my night was jump roping (in my wedding dress) to a string of glowsticks. Moral of the story is the night is what you make of it – have fun!

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Skinny Love,” Bon Iver
Bride’s Processional: “Heartbeats,” Jose Gonzales
Recessional: “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels),” Arcade Fire
First Dance: “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” Death Cab for Cutie
Father/Daughter Dance: “It Won’t Be Like This for Long,” Darius Rucker
Mother/Son Dance: “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams),” Dixie Chicks

Wedding Location: Carlsbad, CA / Photographer: Color Me Rad / Second Shooter: Katie Gardner / Event and Floral Design: lace and likes / Wedding Venue: Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park / Wedding Dress: BHLDN / Veil and Hairpiece: veiledbeauty / Wedding Shoes: Seychelles / Hair and Makeup: Paperdoll Salon / Bride’s Nails: Lush Wax Boutique (hand painted by Martha) / Groom’s and Groomsmen’s Suits: Macy’s / Groomsmen’s Ties: Mother of the Bride / Wedding Caterer: Curiocity Catering / Wedding Cake: Elizabethan Desserts / Churros: Churros El Tigre / DJ: GarDouble Productions / Rentals: Allie’s Party Rentals / Linens: La Tavola / Videographer: Josh Hamilton / Wedding Invitations and Decor: Bride, Twinkle and Toast