Good morning lovelies! We are going to start the week right this fine Monday morning, with quite simply the most gorgeous intimate Autumn wedding. Featuring hints of Art Deco, gorgeous hues of blue and beautifully captured on camera by husband & wife duo Chadwick & Jenika of Gantes Co., Amelia & Mark’s celebration brims with romance and is utterly delightful…..

Inspired by their gorgeous, history filled venue, Amelia and Mark created a vintage inspired, yet timeless, Autumn celebration for their nearest and dearest last November. You can tell, from each carefully considered and beautifully designed detail, that bride Amelia is an artist; and that she poured her heart and soul into creating their intimate affair. From the natural colour palette and the pretty rustic flowers, to Amelia & Mark’s chic style (did you see that Claire Pettibone wedding dress? *swoon*) and the DIY naked wedding cake, their wedding is heavenly! But it all started with finding the perfect spot…..

“The Ranch at Bandy Canyon was the first wedding venue we visited, and we were immediately charmed by its beautiful, lush green grounds mixed with the history and rustic feel of the Ranch (the Fenton Lodge’s original Mexican tiling and wood beams from the San Diego Pier).  We also loved the privacy of the property (we really had the whole place to ourselves), and how it could accommodate more than half of our guests from Boston overnight.” And after finding their venue, the vision for their wedding fell into place!

“We were inspired by the mix of styles at the Ranch:  rustic structures and market lights, Mexican tiles in the Fenton Lodge, succulents and lots of green! We wanted to compliment all of these elements without competing.  I also had the details of my dress in mind while designing the details of our day – touches of gold here and there with neutral florals.” In fact you can see Amelia’s wedding Pinterest board here and if you love the style of their big day it’s well worth a peek!

Before we take a closer look a few words from Chadwick & Jenika of Gantes Co., the crazily talented peeps behind these gorgeous photos….. “So much love for this wedding and this couple. They are truly sweet in the deepest sense of that word. They cared deeply for every person at their wedding and crafted a wonderfully intimate day. One of the best things about working with these two was their crazy sense of style. The entire day was gorgeous from beginning to end but also had such a relaxed feel that welcomed everyone in. We wanted their images to capture some of that intimacy and timelessness that pervaded throughout and had so much fun getting to know Amelia and Mark throughout the process. Definitely one of our favorite weddings of the year!”

Amelia’s wedding dress was a Claire Pettibone design from her Decoupage collection “At my first dress appointment, I tried a wedding dress designed by Claire Pettibone and knew that I would find the perfect one in her collection, so I scheduled an appointment for the next trunk show in LA.  The name of the dress is ‘Abigail’ and I tried it on 3 times before finally saying “I can’t say ‘no’ to this dress!””

“I purchased a headpiece at the Claire Pettibone flagship salon in LA.  It was made by PARIS and it coordinated so beautifully with the dress.  I almost wore a headpiece that was worn by my grandmother, but my sister insisted my dress needed something more delicate 🙂 I wore a simple silk tulle veil by Erica Elizabeth Designs, earrings by Ke Aloha Jewelry, a gold bracelet, light pink shoes, and a light pink shrug (after the ceremony when it got chilly)!”

Amelia & Mark’s lush wedding stationery was designed by Sweet Paper

“Mark wore a deep blue suit from J.Crew with a white shirt and gold patterned bow tie.  His Cole Haan shoes were a light taupe color that coordinated perfectly with my dress! And Mark’s groomsmen wore matching J.Crew pants with a white shirt and French blue tie, that coordinated with the bridesmaid dresses.”

“I did my own makeup because I wanted to feel like myself on my wedding day!  I went for a pretty natural look with a deep berry lip color.  My hair was perfected by Orrisai Welch (from Hyde-Edwards Salon) – I wanted a sort of flapper/1920s vibe with finger waves in the front.”

“My bouquet by Organic Elements had white peonies, ivory hydrangea, silver brunia, seeded eucalyptus, spiral eucalyptus, and dusty miller.  I envisioned something that was textural and pretty neutral in color to not take away from the details in my dress.”

For her bridesmaids bouquets Amelia went with a similar look and colour, created from white ranunculus, lavender succulents, dark centered white anemones and scabiosa pods.

Didn’t Amelia’s bridesmaids look lovely? I love those mismatched shades of blue! “My sister, as Maid of Honor, wore a grayish blue/green dress from The Reformation and my bridesmaids, my cousin and my best friend, wore French blue silk chiffon Monique Lhuillier dresses.  All three were floor length, which I thought was appropriate for a fall wedding, and the colors made them look like the beautiful, moody overcast sky on the day of the wedding!

I didn’t want my bridesmaids to look too uniform or matchy-matchy, and we tried to find a different dress for all three, but it was so difficult!  We found the silk bridesmaids dress after my sister’s, so it was mostly about finding the right color and style to suit both bridesmaids.  I am so happy that we finally found the perfect dresses (they all looked so beautiful!), but it may have been the most difficult and time consuming decision of the entire wedding!”

“We didn’t have a formal reading during the ceremony, my aunt said a little something about watching Mark and me grow together and our pastor said a prayer, but our original vows were the most important part of the ceremony.”

After the ceremony the couple had the prettiest intimate courtyard reception “There were market lights and the beautiful, natural grounds of The Ranch 🙂  It did not need much decor, so we focused on the tabletops! Each table had garland made with eucalyptus, seeded eucalyptus, burgundy scabiosa, and white ranunculus.  We gave our guests blue and white Mexican tiles turned into coasters, inspired by the tiles in the Fenton Lodge and set the places with blue glass champagne flutes and gold-rimmed water glasses that co-ordinated perfectly! It was all finished off with a sprig of rosemary on each napkin, and berries that I cut from a bush outside our house :)”

How scrumptious does their dessert table spread look? “I designed our wedding cake with my aunt, who baked and decorated it along with my bridesmaid.  It was a delicious 4-layer “naked” spice cake with cream cheese frosting, decorated with blueberries and rosemary. Yum!!!” Hmmm, it sounds just as delicious as it looks!!

Pearls of Wedding Wisdom from the Bride…..

“Don’t feel guilty about being particular about each detail – every element adds up to creating the perfect wedding, so don’t let someone else’s opinion get in the way of what you really want. Oh and, if you can afford to, hire someone to help design, plan, and communicate with all the vendors! This wasn’t really in our budget, but it could have saved me some time (and a few emails).  I’m glad we had a fairly small wedding (56 guests) and overall I’m happy with all our decisions, but I can now also understand why couples want to get married in the middle of the woods with 20 guests!!  ;)”

“Our musician, Ryan Hiller of SoCal Wedding Music offered live music for the cocktail hour and during dinner, and DJ-ed the reception.  A perfect balance! Our first dance was to ‘A Candle’s Fire’ by Beirut and it was one of my favourite moments of the day! Also, the moment we sat down for dinner after our first dance – it was so peaceful and quiet, and we had Ryan play live music throughout.”

“On the day some details of my vision weren’t perfectly executed, but overall everything went very smoothly! And despite the imperfections, our wedding was still more perfect than I could have imagined!  I think each little element, as well as all our guests, contributed to creating a really wonderful, loving mood for the day.”

It certainly looks that way to me Amelia! If you want to see more of this beautiful wedding, as well as photographer Jenika’s favourite moment of the day, do take a moment to watch their wedding video……

Amelia & Mark from Imagery with Impact on Vimeo.

Tell us a little about your photographer….

“Our videographer, Leylla, was one of the first friends I met in San Diego.  I originally asked her to do photography, but after seeing her first wedding video, had to ask her to switch!  It was one of the best investments of the whole wedding.  Our photographers are friends of Leylla’s, and they are immersed in the same creative community in San Diego!  We really clicked when I met them and of course loved their portfolio.  They go for a film-feel and captured all the beautiful moments!”

I wish loved up duo, Amelia & Mark, every happiness! A huge thankyou to them, and fabulous photographers Chad & Jenika of Gantes Co., for allowing me to share their delightful wedding with you. To see more of Gantes Co. work, pop across to their website www.gantes.co and you can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & Twitter.

I don’t know about you, but I’m off to peruse every gorgeous detail of this wedding all over again!…..

Amy

x

Photography ~ Chadwick & Jenika of Gantes Co.

Wedding Dress ~ Claire Pettibone in Los Angeles

Veil ~ Erica Elizabeth Designs

Headpiece ~ PARIS

Bridal Shoes ~ Coclico

Earrings ~ Ke Aloha Jewelry

Sweater ~ Hayden

Engagement Ring ~ Antique from Small Pleasures in Boston, MA

Wedding Rings ~ Satomi Kawakita

Groom’s Suit ~ J. Crew

Shoes ~ Cole Haan

Bowtie ~ The Tie Bar

Maid of Honor Dress ~ The Reformation

Shoes ~ Coclico

Bridesmaids’ Dresses ~ Monique Lhuillier

Videographer ~ Leylla of Imagery with Impact

Wedding Venue ~ The Ranch at Bandy Canyon, Escondido CA

Day of Coordinator ~ Diana Lasus of A Wedding by Di

Hair ~ Orrisai Welch

Bridal Makeup ~ Bride

Florist ~ Organic Elements

Wedding Stationery ~ Sweet Paper, printed by b.t. elements

Wedding Cake ~ The Bride’s Aunt Sharon

Fruit Tarts ~ Hostess Haven

Catering ~ Bellamy’s

Rentals ~ Caterer, Bride, & Farra of Hostess Haven

Musician ~ Ryan and Nicole, SoCal Wedding Music

First Dance Choreographer ~ Selena of The Ballroom Project

Officiant ~ Pastor Mike Mitschke

Groomsmen Trousers ~ J. Crew

Shirts ~ Hugo Boss

Tie ~ David Donahue