A Dark + Romantic Wedding: Lindsey + Nate

bride and groom

Lindsey + Nate’s wedding was romantic and dark, dripping in personal details from start to finish. From the beginning, Lindsey and Nate didn’t want a traditional wedding – Lindsey wanted her wedding to be a fun affair with none of the formalities she had seen in other weddings. The entire wedding was themed around what Lindsey + Nate love. Lindsey’s back tattoo was the inspiration for the wedding decor as Nate said the branches symbolized her being dark, while the roses symbolized her girly, beautiful personality. The ceremony was held during an extended cocktail hour and only a few pews were set out for immediate family to be seated. Guests knew what they were getting into the second the Officiant, Lindsey’s brother, started the ceremony with a quote from The Princess Bride “Marriage. Marriage is what brings us here today”, funny accent and all!

Big thanks Katie of Intertwined Events for the gorgeous event design and to Britt Rene Photography for the photos!

bouquet

white bouquet


Whenever there is a formal affair, Nate’s family wears various colored bowling shoes with their suits and this big day was no exception! Lindsey and Nate also picked out custom suspenders for each of the groomsmen and fathers to reflect their personalities.

groom wearing bowling shoes


The inspiration for our décor was based on a painting by our favorite artist, Ivan Albright, “The Door”. This painting is so detailed, hauntingly beautiful, emotional, and vintage… and that’s how we saw the setting for our wedding. However, our main focus was on how to make the actual wedding day reflect us. We knew many of the choices we made were non-traditional, but we didn’t focus on what others expected for a “wedding”, but rather what we wanted for a celebration (party) with our family and friends. Everything we incorporated had a story behind it and it was so amazing to be surrounded by things so personal on our big day.

church pews outside

church pews outside

lace wedding dress

vintage door altar

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

For me, the most memorable moment was when Nate slipped the ring on my finger. I was so nervous that I didn’t even notice, until everyone started laughing, that I was bouncing up and down in anticipation. It was just so exciting! For Nate, his most memorable moment was towards the end of the night. After dancing the night away, shoes started literally flying off. All the shoes somehow ended up in the middle of the dance floor and everyone danced in a giant circle with him dancing in the middle. It was exactly the kind of moment that we expect from our family and friends to end the night.

wedding party

bride wearing striped socks

bride and groom

bride and groom

Our Musical Choices

Processional: All of My Love (The London Philharmonic version) – Led Zepellin

Recessional: To Lose My Life – White Lies

First Dance: The Way I Am – Ingrid Michaelson

vintage couch lounge


Nate’s love of constellations was reflected in the picture frames on the tables. Because Nate is a geologist, guests signed and wrote well wishes on rocks and placed them in a vintage suitcase as a guest book. For favors, guests were given post it notes with “…to the Eskimo Nebula” written across the top – first of all, that is Nate’s favorite constellation and from the beginning of their relationship, he would tell Lindsey “I love you to the Eskimo Nebula and back”; second, there was a point in their relationship when they were dating long distance and when they would stay at each other’s houses the guest would hide post-its all over so that the other would continue to find them for weeks or months after.

mr. & mrs. pillows

vintage trunk

astilbe flowers

centerpiece


Lindsey is absolutely OBSESSED with twinkies – like eat a box every week, obsessed – so for dessert, there was no other option then to create a custom twinkie cake for the cutting and then guests were able to partake in a twinkie sundae bar – and obviously the extras did not go to waste! Into the night, guests danced to songs like The Time Warp, got silly in a polaroid photo booth, and enjoyed hot pretzel late night snacks!

twinkies wedding


When the big day arrives, try as hard as possible to let all those expectations go. If you focus too much on what you planned for, you will miss what is actually going on around you… the best moments are those you didn’t plan. Just surround yourself with who and what makes you happy… and leave everything else to the professionals.

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

#1… Hire a Wedding Planner/Coordinator!!! It was essential for our wedding. All the great ideas that you see in magazines and blogs can become overwhelming. A planner will help make it cohesive and ensure everything goes smoothly. Also, make it fun and about the two of you. We started the planning process by thinking of what things should be at a wedding, but then started thinking about what we wanted at a wedding. After that, it became more fun rather than stressful. My mother still shakes her head at the thought of Twinkies and ice cream, stripped socks under my wedding dress, and Nate in bowling shoes… but it was so us and we loved it!

Nate’s advice, take the budget your bride gives you and double it in your head… be prepared. :)

event planning + design: Katie Webb of Intertwined Events // photographer: Britt Rene Photography // venue: Franciscan Gardens San Juan Capistrano, California // rentals: Found // makeup artist: Kacee Geoffroy // florist: Floral Occasions // entertainment: DJ; Steve Burdick // bakery: Sweet Gems // paper goods: Amber of Pitbulls and Posies // catering: 24 Carrots

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