Posts Tagged ‘Forest’
Mount San Jacinto Engagement Session
From the photographer, Randy + Ashley: David + Malia laugh when they tell the story of how they met because it’s definitely not something either one of them were expecting! If you ask David, he’ll actually tell you that he replied to Malia’s Craigslist ad! But the REAL story is that once upon a time, Malia was living in Long Beach and she and her roommate ended up needing to find a new roommate for the third room of their house. Initially, Malia wasn’t too enthused about considering having a guy roommate (because hello – that could be kinda awkward), but when David came over for the interview – he immediately won Malia over with his fun and outgoing sense of humor. After only a few weeks of living together and becoming good friends, they both realized they had feelings for each other and began to date … and now, here we are! They chose to have their engagement session at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway because it’s the spot where David proposed to Malia.
A Fun Destination Wedding in California
From the bride, Alexandra: The thing we wanted most was a fun, outdoor wedding with our closest friends and family. That’s why we opted to do a wedding weekend (Friday through Sunday) and why we chose a venue where people could also stay the night. We rented out the entire venue for three days and filled all 50 rooms and cabins with our wedding guests. 
THE STYLE
We have a love for both the outdoors and international travel, so we wanted that to come across in our theme. Our theme was a mix of outdoorsy/rustic, boho, romantic, and travel. We knew right away that we wanted an outdoor, mountain wedding and chose a wonderful venue where the ceremony, reception, and entire wedding weekend could be carried out under the trees and stars.
THE FLOWERS
I knew I wanted a lot of flowers and greenery to match the outdoor venue. I chose mostly peonies and other flowers that were more boho, and avoided the traditional roses. My bouquet and floral halo were a mix of pink, coral, and cream flowers.
PERSONAL TOUCH
My mother, brother, and I were born in Japan. According to Japanese tradition, anyone who folds 1000 origami cranes will be granted a wish by the Gods. For the wedding, she folded 1000 origami cranes to wish Joel and me a happy marriage. We displayed the cranes at the ceremony and reception.
THE CEREMONY
The ceremony took place in a rectangular clearing in the middle of the woods. The trees lined the space and were the perfect backdrop. The arch at the front of the ceremony was made of wood and adorned with large floral bouquets. We also strung some of the origami cranes from the archway. We lined the ceremony walkway with flower petals to give a romantic feel to the space. My brother officiated the wedding and told our love story. We both wrote our own vows. Because we aren’t very religious, our vows were the longest part of the ceremony and were the most meaningful for us.
THE RECEPTION
Our reception was outdoors in a clearing right near the ceremony. Each table had lace doilies handmade by my great-grandmother and flowers matching the ones in the archways and bouquets. We also had a lot of green foliage on the tables. The tables themselves were dark wood.
THE TABLE NAMES & FAVORS
Joel and I have traveled to 18 countries together so far. For the names of the tables at the reception, we chose the names of some of our favorite international cities, like Paris where Joel and I got engaged. To find their table assignments, guests had to go to a table where we laid out golden compasses with the names of each guest on them. Once they found their compass, they had to open the compass to see what city they were “traveling” to. The compasses were also functional compasses and doubled as party favors.
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Clane Gessel Photography // Event & Floral Design: Quality Event Design // Caterer: Great Thyme Catering // Invitations: The Stylish Scribe // Venue: Chalet View Lodge // Video: Ben Ridpath Films
A Tree House in the Forest
Surrounded by a lush forest in the Pacific Northwest, this woodsy shoot from Luma Weddings has us wanting to leave the office for a field trip. Imagine skipping across bridges and climbing ladders to a tree house high in the pines – yes, please. And we love that you can hold your intimate wedding here, then spend your honeymoon in the tree house surrounded by nature – in luxe style, of course.
THE STYLE TEAM
Photographer: Luma Weddings // Planner & Stylist: Wild Spirit Events // Floral Designer: Bond in Bloom // Location: TreeHouse Point // Dress Store: Cicada Bridal // Makeup Artist: Yessie Makeup Artistry // Videographer: Peak Digital Cinema
Styled Shoot: Woodsy Vintage
From the photographer, Amanda Lloyd Photography:
I’m over the moon about the details in this styled shoot! Washington has its own element of outdoor romance and is the perfect place for an outdoor styled shoot! Dyan and Daniel were celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary and were so excited to do this shoot! Vintage was the theme and local antique shops proved to be exactly what I was looking for! We went for a neutral color palette: tans, browns, grays and colors with a hint of teal and yellow. Let me say that the weather for our shoot was total CHAOS! It was sunshine, then pouring rain! Then, we decided to head up to Summit at Steven’s Pass for insanely gorgeous snowfall! It was DOWNPOUR snow! Dyan and Daniel were complete troopers and totally rocked the shoot! The weather was typical of Washington, and I loved every bit of it!
Zong Her of Her Couture designed the gorgeous veil and all the amazing flowers. 
Dianne’s Delights in Seattle provided the seriously adorable cream colored ruffed cake, complete with a burlap banner style cake topper. 
I collected all the fun vintage pieces from the Old Main Street Spanaway Antique Mall and all the unique wood pieces, including the chevron cake plate were make by a local wood shop, From the Wood Shed. 
