From the bride… James and I got married as a result of a good old-fashioned setup. His parents were hosting a party for some mutual friends and my parents were in attendance. My mom met James that night and decided we needed to meet given that we were both alumni of USC. Mother knows best, as they say. A few weeks later, James reached out to me via email, and little did he know his email would be featured on our save the date a year and a half later. We both had no idea what to expect for that first date, but we ended up chatting for four hours straight until we were ushered out of the restaurant at closing, and from that moment on we became inseparable.
A little over a year into our relationship, James took me to Carmel-by-the-Sea for the weekend. On our first morning, James suggested we grab a coffee and take a walk down on the beach. One minute I was checking out the waves crashing and the next minute he was down on one knee. It was all so sweet and perfect and we celebrated our engagement for the remainder of the weekend in one of our favorite places.
Once we returned home to Los Angeles, the wedding planning began. Some of our best memories were made in Northern California so we knew that was where we wanted to get married. We fell in love right away with Beaulieu Garden and the privacy and beauty it offered. We started making wedding plans soon thereafter.
We really wanted our wedding to be unique and personal and a hands-down fabulous party for our 250 guests. James’ dad married us, which was so special and something we will always treasure. We wrote and recited our own vows and managed to not lose it up there. (It wasn’t easy.) We also had one of our closest family friends and James’ aunt and uncle give readings during the ceremony. James and I both agree that the ceremony was the very best part of the day for us.
Food and wine were a major priority. We love oysters, so Hog Island shucked fresh oysters during our cocktail hour. Also, one of our favorite meals is a charcuterie board so each guest was given their own personal board as the first course of our sit-down dinner. It featured our favorite meats and cheeses and other local accompaniments. Each board was engraved with our names and the boards were returned to guests as favors as they boarded the shuttles at the end of the evening. Paula LeDuc served our favorite wines throughout dinner and also set up a spectacular champagne tower, poured when we cut the cake.
Music was another main priority. We hired an orchestra, including a baby grand piano, for the ceremony and cocktail hour. We also love the bagpipes, which began with a trip to Pebble Beach during one of our Northern California trips, and we hired a bagpiper to escort our guests from the cocktail hour to the reception. Our band, Project M from Elan Artists, rocked the whole night and the dance floor was full, even before dancing officially started.
We feel so lucky to have celebrated our wedding in a beautiful location with all of our closest family and friends. Without trying to sound cliche, it was a dream come true and perfect in every way. We wouldn’t have changed a thing!
