Today I have the perfect wedding to kick the New Year off with! A chic garden celebration, it is full of timeless romance and vintage-inspired elegance, as well as some of the most gorgeous details. In fact there are so many details to love, it is hard to know where to begin – I’m talking a floral ceremony arch, glass church doors, and a dreamy garden reception complete with hand calligraphed mirror seating plan! Just believe me when I say you will want your pinning finger ready for this beauty….

When it came to planning their wedding, Katherine & Daniel had the perfect spot in mind “Daniel and I lived in Mountain View for two years prior to the wedding and fell in love with Rengstorff House when we visited the Shoreline Boat House. We both grew up next to the water (Daniel grew up in Palos Verdes and I grew up in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong), there is just something so serene and beautiful with having water as part of the wedding backdrop.”

So with the lake as their backdrop, they set about creating a fairy-tale garden celebration, lush with flowers, and packed with swoonworthy details, whilst still keeping sight of the true meaning of a wedding. “I was extremely proud and happy that Daniel was so involved in the entire planning process. He filmed our engagement video and coded our wedding website from scratch, he participated in every single vendor meeting and had his say in all of the major decisions. Both Daniel and I wanted to make this wedding about us, as well as all our family and friends. I think sometimes it is easy for brides to get carried away with trying to plan the picture perfect wedding, and forget the importance of what it means to marry someone.” 

“My wedding dress was by Madison James and it was intricately bejewelled but in a very subtle way. Very art deco and unique design. It look and felt like a custom piece, and it made me feel extra special and beautiful. I didn’t wear a veil or much accessories because the dress was so amazingly intricate and unique, it was a statement piece in itself. The only accessory I wore were sentimental, which were my diamond earrings that my parents gave me as my wedding gift.”

“I gave my florist the following words: elegant, whimsical and romantic. She definitely made my dreams come true! I am a lover of all types of Roses, so that was a must. She used a mixture of Garden rose, Astilbe, Jasmin, Poppy, Sweet pea, Veronica, Hellebore, Scabiosa, Ruscus and Wax flower.”

“The groom and groomsmen all wore black tuxedos. The groom had a black bow tie and the rest of the groomsmen had matching royal blue bow ties.”

“I’ve been to many weddings, and have always thought that it strange when an officiant speaks about the couple when he or she barely knows them, so I decided to ask my brother to be our officiant. My brother and I were housemates at the time when Daniel and I met, and ended up being the very first person to know that we were dating, so technically, my brother has known Daniel as long as I have! My brother ended up doing an amazing job. Not only was he able to speak seriously about the topic of love and marriage, but he also threw in many personal stories as well as humour which really made our ceremony more memorable than others.”

“My bridesmaids were my best girl friends from all walks of life. My sister was my maid of honor, she is probably the person that knows me the best after Daniel. I also had Sylvia and Elina, two of my childhood best friends, who flew in from Hong Kong. Athena is my best friend from college days and Niki is arguably one of my best friends from law school.”

The couple held their reception at the same venue as the ceremony Rengstorff House. It was an intimate garden setting, shrouded with trees: serene and lush, which they completed with lots of gorgeous vintage rentals.

“We had lots of special and unique touches, including: beautiful vintage church doors, custom calligraphy work on a vintage mirror as our seating chart and an on demand poet that provided on demand poetry services on a vintage typewriter for all of our guests.”

Pearls of wedding wisdom from the bride…

“Picking great vendors is probably the MOST important thing in the entire process of wedding planning. I interviewed at least 5 different options for every type of vendor, and I am very happy that I chose to make that investment of time and energy, because the wedding went so smoothly and with no hiccups.

Prepare as much as you can beforehand, but when it comes to the day-of, you just have to relax and let go – trust the group of professionals you have in place to help you execute your dreams. The most important thing about your wedding is the celebration of the love, and not how expensive your flowers look. Try to enjoy the moment as much as you can! It will be over sooner than you know it.”

“I interviewed at least 5 bakers and finally chose Ally Cakes to make our wedding cake. Her cakes were absolutely amazing! I am a huge foodie, and even then, I have never derived so much happiness from cakes before. She only uses fresh, locally sourced ingredients, and you can definitely taste the difference. Because I wanted a dramatic 5 tier cake but was also being budget conscious, we opted for a cutting cake and sheet cakes, which helped us save a significant amount!”

Tell us a little bit about your photographer…

“Trynh is the most amazing photographer to work with! I can’t remember where I found her now, I’ve browsed through so many different portfolios, but when I landed on Trynh’s website, I absolutely fell in love with her work and her style. She photographs in film, and her photos are a true work of art.”

Don’t you just love it? Especially that incredible cake!!! (actually it reminds me a little of this stunner – don’t you think?) Many congratulations to the happy couple Katherine & Daniel, and special thanks to their lovely photographer Trynh who did such a beautiful job of capturing every gorgeous detail of their big day. If you would like to see more of her dreamy fine art photography head over to her website www.trynhphoto.com and you can find and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Yelp & Pinterest.

And if this romantic garden affair only whet your appetite, why not take a peek at this bright & beautiful boho celebration, or for more modern vintage inspiration you will love this floral filled terracotta styled shoot, and if it’s a garden wedding color palette you’re looking for, this one epitomises romance and this one would be perfect for the coming Spring!

Amy

x

Credits & Contributors

Photography ~ Trynh Photo // Wedding Dress ~ Madison James // Makeup ~ Amy Lee // Hair ~ Deanna Thai // Venue ~ Rengstorff House  // Officiant ~ Bride’s brother // Wedding Cake ~ Ally’s Cakes