Southern Weddings

We can always count on Mark Brooke to make our day a bit brighter, and he definitely doesn’t disappoint with Heather + Chris’ California nuptials at the Bella Loreve.  There are so many things we love about this weeding: the jaw-dropping beauty of the Tuscan villa where the couple exchanged their vows, the dramatic purple bridesmaid dresses from Alfred Angelo and equally stunning arrangements from Hearts Bloom… the list goes on.  In fact, we like this autumnal West Coast wedding so much we had to make it a three-part post.  Enjoy!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  Chris and I grew up together. He was childhood friends with my older brother, Shawn, so we met when I was 7 and he was 9. We didn’t hang out much growing up, and ended up losing complete touch after he graduated high school. But, thanks to modern technology, I found him on Facebook.  About 6 months later, we started dating, and 6 months after that we – he proposed!
Describe the proposal. He took me to Mazatlan for New Years 2009. We had been there a couple of days already, but on New Year’s Eve, we decided to have dinner on our hotel balcony overlooking the ocean to catch the fireworks. Once they started, I jumped up and leant over the railing to watch. I turned around to look for him, and he was behind me on his knee with a ring in hand. I ended up screaming and got on my knees too and hugged him, almost tipping him over. He laughed and asked “So is that a yes?”  I was in such shock I forgot to even answer, and started screaming “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” I couldn’t stop staring at my ring the rest of the trip. We waited a day to call our families, although mine already knew because he had asked my Dad before we left. It was amazing.

Written with love by Lara Casey

My favorite thing about Mindy + Dave’s wedding, sent to us by the darling Meg Perotti?  Their whole shindig looks like so much fun.  And so them.  From Mindy’s amazing dress, to the sculptural centerpieces the bride made herself, to the warm and inviting candlelight scene at the end of the night, it’s definitely a party I’d like to jump right into.  The deck of the Rancho del Cielo turned out to be a great venue, didn’t it? P.S. Isn’t it amazing that the cupcakes (made by the Lark Cake Shop) match Mindy’s dress?  See the rest of this Malibu wedding here!

Describe your wedding cake: We served cupcakes instead of a cake!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Trying to stay within our limited budget with a huge guest list while still making everything very personal.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?  We had a Jewish wedding, so we incorporated many Jewish traditions in our ceremony, starting with a chuppah that my mom made for us and our friends and family held it over us while we exchanged vows. 
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  The entire ceremony was so moving and special. It was all very intense. 
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We are having a baby in February, so that is definitely the biggest change in our lives. 

Congratulations and best wishes, Mindy + Dave!

I love working on features with Meg Perotti because she is as sweet as she is talented.  And, judging by this most recent wedding she sent us, she has the privilege of working with couples just as sweet and talented.  Let’s all have a collective moment over Mindy’s dress, shall we?  Amazing.  Amazing.  Amazing.  It is, of course, an Oscar de la Renta (and purchased at a second-hand store to boot — score!).  Besides the dress, it’s really the florals that pop, isn’t it?  Mindy herself made eight different bouquets and let each of her maids pick her favorite to carry down the aisle.  Wait until you see what she dreamed up for the reception centerpieces!

Three adjectives that describe the day are: Dreamy, romantic and surreal.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  The venue where we were married is called Racho del Cielo, which means “house in the sky,” so I wanted to use that and create a dreamy, cloudlike feel for our wedding.
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  The natural landscape mixed with our cloudlike decorations.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I’m not a conventional bride.  My friend found an image of a dress she liked online and we went to my favorite high-end second hand store looking for dresses.  Unbelievably, they had the exact dress in the back!  I tried it on and knew it was the dress.  
Describe your wedding flowers: We didn’t do a lot of flowers since I didn’t want to be wasteful.   Instead of flowers as centerpieces, I made sculptures and bought a mix of flowers from the flower mart a few days before the wedding to make the bouquets.  We had a large wedding party so we made each bouquet a different color and each bridesmaid choose the one she liked best.  I wanted everyone to feel like themselves and didn’t want everyone to look too matchy-matchy.