California Helipad Wedding With Verdant Florals

haute couture bridal gown with long sleeves and navy groom suit with elegant outdoor wedding arch backdrop

Truth be told, we crave high school sweethearts and long distance lovebirds kinds of weddings. That’s why today’s matchmade union came as no surprise! Tracy + Andrew’s classic helipad wedding ceremony is heaven on earth, I mean, look at that gorgeous stone arch adorned with all-white florals and fresh greenery! And with rocky mountain views as your backdrop, it’s breathtaking.

Jeremy Chou Photography blessed our eyes with these beautiful, light-filled images featuring some pretty invigorating designs from The Elegant Ninja.

Here’s what Robert of Robert Michael Films says about the couple and their wedding: From how Andrew talked about how Tracy has brought him closer to his Vietnamese heritage to both dads’ touching toasts revealing how much pride they felt for their children, there were so many moments to cherish during Tracy and Andrew’s wedding day. But by far my most favorite moment was when Andrew paused mid-vows and said, “I’m so emotional right now.” That one moment became the cornerstone for how this wedding film was constructed as that exchange really summed up the way Tracy and Andrew feel about each other.

Acts one and two consists of the groom and the bride getting ready and exchanging their heartfelt vows, followed by an epic dance party reception during act three. Other favorite details of this wedding included the always amazing views and sunset at Malibu Rocky Oaks, floral installs and chandeliers that danced above the reception tables as the breeze gently rolled in across the mountains, and the multiple wardrobe changes made throughout the night. The bride and groom looked dapper for their ceremony with him in a tux and her in a long sleeve illusion lace wedding dress. They later changed into traditional Vietnamese wedding outfits before a final change with a short sleeve wedding dress and even matching jean jackets for the reception!

Through a string of not-so-ordinary events and Tracy’s friend’s matchmaking skills – who happened to work at the same company as Andrew – Tracy + Andrew were introduced to each other. Tracy did not initially jump on the idea of dating someone she had not met in person before. Andrew initially reached out to Tracy, and things were set in motion. After a few weeks of exchanging texts and emails, Andrew finally asked Tracy out on a date. While they were figuring out where to meet for their first date, Tracy, being an overly cautious person, began her detective work to determine if Andrew was actually who he said he was. She tried to find Andrew on Facebook and LinkedIn but failed to locate either account because Andrew named himself under a different alias and did not have a profile photo, respectively. (Tracy admitted years later that she made a fake LinkedIn account as to not look suspicious!) After asking her friend to give up a bit more information about his coworker, Andrew, Tracy finally gave up on searching for Andrew online and mustered up enough confidence to go on a date with him. And the rest is history! Over two years later, the couple decided to go on their first international trip together. What place could be more romantic than Paris, France?

First Proposal:
Andrew and Tracy visited Tracy’s relatives in Paris in June 2015. It was Andrew’s first time in France! While in Paris, Tracy planned to take Andrew to visit the Musée Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Garden), and Le Sacré-Coeur (The Sacred Heart of Paris). When Andrew and Tracy got to the last location, Le Sacré-Coeur, they found a park bench to rest and take in the view of the beautiful Church. Finally, feeling the time was right, Andrew realized it was a less busy and gorgeous spot, so he got down on one knee and asked Tracy to marry him! She responded, “Yes, but not right now.” Although they had been dating for two years, at the time, Tracy knew she wanted to respect both of their families. Tracy explained to Andrew that dating a bit longer would prove to their parents their strong commitment to one another. Little did Tracy know… Andrew would be planning another proposal which would happen exactly a year later… hoping Tracy would say “Yes” this time around!

Second Proposal:
Fast forward a year later…the new plan was set in motion. Andrew wanted to bring in an element to remind Tracy of the Paris trip, so he took her to a macaron cooking class at a Sur La Table store. As Andrew told Tracy, the plan was to make some macarons to bring to a picnic with Andrew’s roommate and his fiancé at the Japanese Garden inside Hermann Park. While Andrew and Tracy were at the cooking class, their friends were actually busy setting up a picnic at the Japanese Garden that recreated Andrew and Tracy’s first date – dinner at a local pizza restaurant named Capone’s. After the cooking class, Andrew drove Tracy to Hermann Park, and they started walking through the Japanese garden to the “picnic” location. They were crossing a small footbridge when Andrew stopped Tracy, dropped to a knee, and asked her to marry him! Once she was able to compose herself a little, Andrew and Tracy proceeded to a small Japanese gazebo, where the picnic spread (Capone’s Margherita pizza and sparkling grape juice) awaited the newly engaged couple.

From the couple, Tracy and Andrew:

Initially, when we were planning our wedding, we knew we wanted our wedding to be in California. Although we both live and work in Texas, neither of us are originally from Texas, so we decided a destination wedding would be the perfect option. We stumbled upon Malibu Rocky Oaks when searching for scenic venues in southern California. We also wanted to find a space large enough to serve as an all-in-one venue for ceremony and reception to alleviate travel strain/stress for our guest (as ~95% were traveling to California from out-of-state) and our aging grandparents. After taking a tour of the estate, we knew it was the perfect place. We knew we wanted our wedding to be classic, elegant, and timeless, so we wanted a very light and natural color palette consisting of ivory and light blue as our main colors and gold as our accent color. The greenery from the vineyard naturally complemented our color palette.

Additionally, we did not want any décor or bold colors to take away from the majestic views of the estate. With both of us being very detail-oriented, we naturally incorporated a lot of elements that were subtle ways of showcasing our style and personalities. Additionally, we wore our traditional

Vietnamese attire during the reception to pay homage to our families and their longstanding traditions. Although the cultural aspect was important to us and our parents, we made sure we remained true to our style. From custom-made invitations in two languages (in Vietnamese and English) to alma mater cufflinks for the groomsmen and groom to handmade patches on vintage

Levi’s denim jackets (for the grand entrance), we put a lot of thought and heart into our special day. It was also very important to me, as the bride, to include something old (my first pair of pearl earrings gifted from my mother), something new (my wedding dresses), something borrowed (a gold necklace from a relative for the Vietnamese dress), and something blue (my bridal shoes).