Laidback Cali Wedding
Nicky and Gideon had a very hippie-chic wedding with Jane Austen flair and the result was a fun time with a laidback vibe true to a California wedding! Big thanks to Aaron Shintaku for sending this gem our way. We’re la la loving the ethereal look of Nicky’s dress!
From the bride: We wanted something completely unique and ethereal. Lots of trees, a sense of being in another time and place entirely. Like a fairytale or a myth. We wanted a great amount of attention to detail, and the feeling of complete peace and nature all around. We aimed for a natural/organic style mixed with a strong sense of the past….everything from the 60’s to the 1800’s, to the time of King Arthur!
Our colors were grey blue, sage green, and antique wheat. All of our lace tablecloth overlays were borrowed; many were quite old. My father attached cream colored, artfully cut out paper to each tablecloth with a ribbon that matched our wedding colors. My father hand-labled them each by writing to whom they belonged and the lender’s relationship to the bride!
The MOST important thing you can do to preserve your sanity is to keep a proper perspective! Remember why it is you’re getting married in the first place, and when things become more stressful than you feel you can handle, recall that at the end of the day, you will be married to your best friend in the world. What could be more precious and valuable than that?
Wedding Vendors (Huntington Beach, CA):
Ceremony and reception location(s): Red Horse Barn / Wedding planner: Jenny Jackson (949) 584-4181 / Florist: Karen from Blooms / Photographer: Aaron Shintaku / Wedding Dress: Ebay, no designer – bride’s friend Mikelle added details and designed and crafted bride’s headpiece and earrings, no shoes / Hair: Van Lam / Makeup: Sarah Joubert / Bridesmaid Dresses: Poplar Branch Dress by Maeve from Anthropologie / Bridesmaid earrings: designed by bride and made by bride’s cousin. / Groom’s suit: English Laundry shirt and suit by Believe / DJ: Teena Shoobs from Fly By Night (714) 698-8250 / Caterer: Tutto Famiglia (Chef Noel) / Wedding Cake: Tutto Famiglia / Wedding invitations: Alison Guidry from Threehouse design studio
Nicky, if you’re reading this, I just want to thank you! It’s so freeing to know that someone else wants to combine elements of different time periods! And you pulled it off so beautifully! 🙂 You have been a true inspiration for me to embrace my ideas of mixing eras and seeing that it can work.
Yeah! Thanks Amanda!
These photos are BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!! I love love love her dress, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like it!
A great example of how things can look just perfect together without “matching”.
I really must remind everyone that while smoking may look cool, it’s not 😉
Aaauughh… something SO romantic about these images!! LOVE. That dress definitely has an ethereal feel to it 🙂
g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s dress! and beautiful bouquet…love.
Stunning! What a great fusion of vintage and garden romance!
stunning dress and beautiful couple…
Thank you, “knitswift”, for the reminder.
I’m grateful that we have people like you to help keep us all in line!
That dress is drop.dead.gorgous. I have been on a mission for something just like this! where/who on ebay did you get it?
that back of her gown is so unique!
Beautiful images, that is a truly stunning dress.
I, like Stephanie, really really want to have a wedding with mixed eras because I love too many to choose one! I was afraid it would look too out-there, but this gorgeous wedding gives me hope, since it has been pulled off so beautifully 😀
What a stunning, personal, completely gorgeous wedding. Thanks so much for sharing the eye candy and inspiration.
Oh my goodness…………this dress, this look: transport it to our farm in Tennessee please!!!
Stephanie: Thank you so much for your kind words. You have no idea how much it means to me! I’m sure your wedding will be so unique and beautiful. 🙂
Rachael: The dress was described as a Mary L Couture Bias Cut Empire Dress, and (after looking on Ebay just now) they have at least two on the first page of search results (same picture as my original)! I must warn you, Mikelle is the only reason the dress looks as stunning as it does! The original looks like an entriely different dress. Mikelle was simply looking for a good “base” with which to work. 🙂
What an amazing work of art! I really thought the search for the dress was going to be super easy, but it’s been the toughest part. If Mikelle want a side job hook me up! So serious right now:)
OMIGOD Nicky, I can hardly breathe your dress is so perfect.. I have been looking for MONTHS for any sign of a dress I remotely like and WHAM there I see yours which seems to have been made for me almost!! Thank you for being kind enough to inspire us with your gorgeous idea!
I am going to get the base dress and try and re-create your dress – but to suit meeeee.. love it love it love it.. you are just divine, what a beauty!!
Wish me luck, and thank you :):)
Rachael: Mikelle’s link is in my list of vendors…feel free to contact her! 🙂 She’ll let you know if she’s able to assist.
Crystal: Thank you so much for your kind words! May your wedding/marriage be utterly blessed and everything you want in a dress come to fruition!!! 🙂
So beautiful! I, like so many others here, am positively swooooooooning over that gown! And my breath totally caught when I saw the ballet slippers. Nicky, I don’t know whether you wore those or were using them as a prop, but I totally want to wear ballet slippers for my wedding and haven’t seen anyone else do it recently! Thank you for sharing your gorgeous day. 🙂
Aaron, your images are an inspiration to a lot of wedding photographer out there. Great work working with natural light and capturing lovely expressions from the couple.
-KedR
These photos are incredible, the couple look really happy, it’s inspiring. I wondered if there was any way to have more information on the dress, I’ve never seen one like it and would love to find something similar. Thank you!
Rachel Lena: For more info on the dress, scroll up to a previous reply that I left for another gal. 🙂 I found the “base” dress on ebay; my friend, Mikelle, did EVERYTHING else that looks so lovely and magical. Feel free to email her with any questions. Her website is mikelle.net, and she is a florist/bead artist/designer in the Columbus area. Thank you!