Vintage Bowling Wedding

Be still my vintage-obsessed heart. It’s true that the fifties is one era I will never tire of, but a wedding in a bowling alley is quintessentially retro. Jessica is a designer herself, so it was a no brainer she designed the most fun wedding stationery, setting the tone for her wedding bash. And here’s a hint: 3D glasses! Thank you Heidi Ryder for the beautiful images! Check out the rest in the gallery.

We’ve been asked why we chose the 1950’s as our wedding theme. To be honest, we’re really not sure. Maybe it was a love of the music, maybe it was a love of the style, or maybe it was Ryan’s love of Back to the Future. It’s hard to say for sure. It just seemed…natural.

Our venue–The Doctor’s House at the Brand Arts and Music Library–was a much more conscious choice. We’d lived in the Burbank/Glendale area for many years and the Brand Arts and Music Library offered us the beautiful outdoor setting we both wanted. It was also the site of the career retrospective of Ryan’s favorite artist, Joseph Mugnaini. And since we’re not the sit-down-to-dinner type, the reception was hosted at the Montrose Bowl. A private bowling alley, the Montrose Bowl has appeared in many television and film productions, including Pleasantville and Teen Wolf. We wanted everyone at the reception to have fun, play games and maybe feel a little nostalgic, and the Montrose Bowl was the picture-perfect venue for it. Along with open bowling lanes and our ‘photo booth,’ games such as Hungry Hungry Hippos and Tiddly Winks were scattered about to coax out everyone’s inner child.

With so many family and friends coming from out of town, we really wanted to share with them a true southern California culinary experience. And what else says southern California like a food truck? In this case it was Seabirds, a gourmet food truck. We chose Seabirds because of their impressive and delicious vegan menu. Seabirds vegan fare was a huge success. One guest even complained that she was “angry [she] couldn’t eat more!”

The wedding also had a green component. The bridesmaid’s bouquets, groomsmen’s boutonnieres, and corsages were made from colorful cut-up clothing catalogues that normally would have found a home in the recycle bin. The bridal bouquet was a blossom of broaches sent by friends from around the world. Realizing that many of our international friends would not be able to attend, I sent out a call for broaches, rings, and pendants. Each piece was symbolic of a cherished memory, a friendship, an absent family member.

Taking full advantage of the bowling theme at the reception, guests signed a bowling pin as opposed to a traditional guest book. And keeping with our desire to make the event both fun and memorable, we thanked each guest with a bowling trophy. The trophies sported either a male or a female bowler and were engraved with our names, the date, and the eye-roll-worthy pun “With Love to Spare”.

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designer herself, so it was a no brainer she designed the most fun wedding stationery, setting the tone for her wedding bash. And here’s a hint: 3D glasses! Thank you Heidi Ryder for the beautiful images! Check out the rest in View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Vendors and Venue (Montrose, California):

Ceremony Location: Brand Arts Music Library / Reception Venue: Montrose Bowl / Wedding Photographer: Heidi Ryder / Invitations: Little Hinka / Caterer: Seabirds Truck / Hairstylist: Miss Lowe / Wedding Dress: Dolly Couture / Wedding Cake: Babycakes

Heidi Ryder is a member of Blue Label.