Real Weddings

A Front Row Seat To This Modern Romantic California Wedding

December 18, 2017

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From the groom’s heartwarming reaction to seeing his bride during the first look, to the unique and beautiful eucalyptus-filled ceremony decor, prepare to fall in love with every detail of these picture-perfect Rancho Valencia nuptials! Bubbly rose gold Moet Chandon bottles popped throughout the day’s festivities while the bride’s favorite Diptyque candles had the reception smelling like home. See all the magical details here, captured by ART IS FOR LOVERS:

How did you decide on your wedding style?

"Chris and I agreed that it was most important to focus on guest experience in planning our wedding. While it may sound crazy to focus on everyone else on a day dedicated to the two of us, we knew that we would enjoy the day most if everyone else was having a great time. That being said we also spoke a lot about cultivating an energy of love and family/friendship that everyone would feel. Finally, it was important for us to keep everything authentic to who we are.

There were several elements that came together to achieve these goals. We kept the ceremony and reception space intimate so that everyone was close to the action and felt involved. We recited our own vows to each other, which we believe helped establish an air of love more so than canned vows would have. The venue played a key role in realizing our vision. As a tennis resort, Rancho Valencia fits with our early relationship (tennis buddies). Moreover, it maintains that tough balance between elegance and comfort. We kept the décor romantic, feminine and clean in order to complement the venue’s masculine characteristics. We created multiple unique areas that guests could experience with the couple. We love dancing so we wanted to craft a high energy and fun experience on the dance floor. Whereas the Terrace right outside the reception room was quiet and the cool June night lent itself to intimate conversations with fellow guests. From there a hallway illuminated with candles lead guests to a brick lined low lit wine cellar that was utilized for the photo booth and ice cream bar. Moreover guests were able to glimpse into our childhood and family life via photos placed throughout the room.

Finally, as a special request from my grandma we incorporated the traditional Korean “pye-baek’ into our reception. This nod to tradition allowed us to honor the bride’s heritage while also giving Chris’s family and the guests a taste of Korean culture."

Highlights of your day?

"Where do I/ we even begin?? There were so many highlights, First, getting ready with the girls, which was wonderful and relaxing. We all hung around, ate breakfast and got our hair and makeup done while watching reality TV. It almost felt like another day lounging around but with the bonus of getting pretty!

Second, the emotional walk down the aisle with my dad, reading our vows, and the kiss all felt so surreal. The ceremony was honestly such special moment for both Chris and I. I wish we could pause it and live that moment over and over again. We really did tune everyone out and just breathed with one another and took in the words we both wrote for one another. Together we felt so blessed and humbled by the entire day.
Lastly, the last dance of the night we all huddled together, Chris and I were like a burrito wrapped up by our last standing friends and family, and we all slow danced. We can’t quite remember the song name, but we will leave that for that moment in time when we knew it was the best day of our lives."

Songs:

Processional song - Pachelbel’s Canon
Recessional song - All You Need Is Love by The Beatles
First Dance song - Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran

Were there any significant decorations or parts of the design that you can tell us about?

"As mentioned above we wanted to keep the decor romantic and clean so the accents were summer flowers with a lot of greens to enhance the natural elements of the resort's surroundings. Rancho Valencia's masterpiece wine room was utilized as our memory filled backdrop. The room was adorned with candles that illuminated the long wood table, wine bottles and brick walls. Flower treatment kissed parts of the room and memories of the past and present were filled with mix and match picture frames. The rose gold theme showcased through the mini MOET Rose bottles that also served as escort cards. A signage that said 'Drink me and good luck finding your seat' will be the added as the silly touch. Finally, we wanted guests to feel like they were at mine and Chris' home so Diptyque candles (my favorite) created the heavenly scent in the reception room."