Romantic La Jolla Beach Wedding

For someone who didn’t grow up envisioning her wedding day, bride Alex still managed to pull off a wedding straight out of any girl’s dreams. Her Nicole Miller gown with an oversized bow? Perfection. The tablescapes decked out in flowers from Adelaide’s? Genius. And obviously, the images from John Newsome Photography pieces the whole day together with brilliance.

From the bride, Alex: I was never one of those women who had always envisioned what her wedding would look like, so I was starting from scratch. Kris and I took our time enjoying our engagement and didn’t begin to plan until about six months after he proposed. I have a very strong design aesthetic and luckily Kris let me take the reigns. We’re both very drawn to the water, Kris is a surfer, and we live (literally and figuratively) at the beach. At the top of our list was a venue that had views of the beach and would allow us to host the wedding AND reception. After looking at several private residences, we found the Martin Johnson House on recommendation from a co-worker. The space and view was so incredible that I made conscious decision to not over-style it.

I love the idea of simplistic elegance, where it looks as if everything came together effortlessly – which it really did. We wanted a relaxed feel, like a big party rather than a wedding. So we went with farm tables without table linens, several floral centerpieces rather than traditional centerpieces and an absolutely delicious family style dinner with our favorite foods (charcuterie and imported french cheeses, kale Caesar salad, Mediterranean style pasta and roast chicken). A good friend married us (his children were our flower girl and ring barer), which made everything feel so much more intimate.

Our inspiration was a “garden wedding.” I kept on going back to the words “elegant,” “bohemian,” “romantic,” and “natural” as I planned the decor. Our color scheme – shades of off white, pink and blush – was inspired by a painting I saw at the MET on a trip to NYC- Roses in a Bowl by Latour. I also love laurel wreaths so that was a design component that was visible throughout the wedding from the invitation and escort cards to the table number holders. I was lucky to have help from friends & family- my mom and I collected a hundred milk glass vases at antique stores, a friend with impeccable handwriting wrote out the name of each guest on our escort cards, I filled hand-stamped linen bags with a “trail mix” from our friend’s farm, amazing craft cocktails from our mixology wizard friends and my husband’s step-father crafted an incredible arbor out of drift wood.

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Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Don’t put too much pressure on yourself for everything to be “perfect.” It’s all about celebrating your marriage and enjoying the day with your family and friends! We took our family/bridal party photos prior to the wedding so we were able to enjoy “cocktail hour” with our friends and family!

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Over The Rainbow,” Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole
Recessional: “Thank You,” Led Zeppelin
First Dance: “Better Together,” Jack Johnson
Father/Daughter Dance: “Wildflowers,” Tom Petty
Our “soundtrack” was very music festival influenced, I had gone to Coachella and Outside Lands (for my bachelorette) earlier in the year so I wanted upbeat music that was fun to dance to like Passion Pit, MGMT and Justice. Since my husband and I met in college our friends threw in a few fun tracks from when we first met- some Lil John and 50 Cent : )

Wedding Location: La Jolla, CA / Photographer: John Newsome Photography / Florist: Adelaide’s / Venue: Martin Johnson House / Wedding Dress: Nicole Miller via Lovely Bride / Bride’s Makeup: Kelsey L. Doonan / Bridesmaids’ Makeup: Lindsey Smith / Headpiece: Cult Gaia / Wedding Shoes: YSL / Bracelet: Custom made by Shel Couture / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Assorted / Groom’s Suit: J. Crew / Wedding Caterer and Cake: French Gourmet / Cocktails: Rumbling Tins Co. from Sycamore Den / Table and Lighting: Farm Tables and More / DJ: Michael Mae / Wedding Invitations: Bride, custom stamp from Antiquaria