In Love + Shipwrecked: Part 1

A few months ago, Maddy from Nonpareil wedding magazine contacted me and asked if I would be interested in being a part of one of their upcoming issues. They were asking some of their favorite wedding bloggers how they’d envision the perfect Big Day. Since I look at hundreds of weddings each week, I am always changing my idea of what my “perfect day” would be like (even though I’ve already had my perfect day, a girl can dream right?!). :) One thing though that I am always drawn to is the smaller more intimate weddings. The ones were the couple chooses details that mean something to them and the day is designed with lots of style.

For my “perfect day” I wanted the wedding to have a California Bohemian theme. It’s a style I love that I haven’t seen done a hundred times. I created a board with a palette of mint green, sage green, mustard and pale pink. I dreamt of feathers, bohemian braids, airplants and dahlias with vintage elements + pretty typography. I was planning on designing out the whole shoot also, but with my work shedule and the timeline for the issue, I unfortunately wasn’t able to bring my idea to life. The other cool thing about this idea though was we were asked to pick our dream team to help bring the idea to life. I selected some of my fave vendors I love + trust and they were all open to being a part of it – thank you so much guys!! When I found out I couldn’t design the shoot, there was one person I thought of immediately who I wanted to take my idea and bring it to life – that was Cortnie of Canvas and Canopy Events (formally with Lollipop Designs). Cortnie took my idea and created something even more amazing. I just love the direction she took my board! I think this is why it’s so importnat to hire vendors for your wedding day that you trust 100%. I didn’t have to worry about anything else and with this team, I knew it would be amazing. So, here it is…my perfect day:

couple on a bed on the beach

groom with a boat

bohemian bride

Cortnie took my inspiration a step further + created a story behind the look to turn it into a real life fairy tale. What if this gypsy like couple were sailing around the world together, collecting souvenirs from each country, then this couple were shipwrecked onto a beautiful destination. How would they incorporate their treasure trove into a tablescape and into their wedding day? This led to an unconventional table design adorned with treasures from their romantic seafaring journey on their boat together. This whole plot inspired the story book romance of a shipwrecked nomadic look which I just love! Oh, and you may have guessed, but if not, the photography is by none other than Elizabeth Messina! She blows my mind every time with her beautiful photos!! Thank you Elizabeth for capturing this shoot, your romantic vision was just perfect for this.

vera wang wedding dress with romantic bouquet

wedding table airplants

bohemian braids hanging on chair

Meg from La Partie Events was responsible for the unique flowers they used. I just love Meg’s approach to flowers and knew she would do an amazing job. :) The different grasses that grow in or near the shore inspired Meg to incorporate these unconventional textures into the table. Grasses such as sorghum broom corn, curly willow, zebra grass, pampas grass and bear grass were used in the design. Cortnie also collected found treasures for the tablescape including vintage bottles topped with soldered seachells, vintage gothic crosses that could have been collected along the voyage from a church in Rome, vintage brooches that may have been found on the streets of Paris, and strands of pearls that reminded them of seafaring pirates. Meg added to this treasure trove of souviners with vintage bottles, mini treasure chest jewelry boxes overflowing with strands of vintage pearls, and old liquor and medicine bottles to hold the flowers. Other non-traditional flowers were used such as green berzelia, peach spider mums, leucadendron gold strike, kale, tulips, dahlias, amaryllis, fern, ranunculus and freesia. I just love the rustic yet elegant shipwreck theme!

shipwrecked wedding table design

bohemian wedding design ideas

The color palette of peach, mint green, sage, mustard, and grey also played a key role in the design. I love what Cortnie did with the chairs! Fabric was torn into strips and dyes in a sofe sage green, then tied into knots around the bottom rung of each chair almost resembling seaweed. The leftover dyed fabric was tied into a braids, knotted and draped around the top of the chair, taling on a nautical rope feel. The chair was again accessorized with braids, made from fluffy yarn in strands peaches, greens, mustard, ivory and grey, adding further to the breezy boho vibe. Returning to the old days of pirates, each menu was hand calligraphed in silver by Laura Hooper Calligraphy and each place setting was mismatched with a variety of vintage pieces from different time periods.

bohemian beach table design

bohemian wedding

The bride + groom table was wrapped in grasses as in the table has been there for a hundred years and was being overgrown by nature. Pieces of broken china were mixed with floral arrangements and a large iron nautical candelabra.

couple wedding table

.pretty elopement

pretty romantic bouquet

island wedding

Be sure to check out part 2 here!

Vendors
Photography: Elizabeth Messina
Event Design & Coordination: Cortnie Purdy from Canvas and Canopy Events
Floral Design: Megan of La Partie Events
Hair & Makeup by: Jaimi Brooks, Fiore Beauty
Cakes: Sweet and Saucy Shop
Fashion Styling by: Stylish Silhouette + Canvas and Canopy Events
Vera Wang gowns provided by Bliss Bride
Calligraphy: Laura Hooper Calligraphy
Bridal Headpieces: Lo Boheme
Props/Rentals: OC Prop Girl, Urban Barn, Classic Party Rentals
Venue: Santa Barbara Historical Museum


Fiore Beauty is a Featured Vendor of Green Wedding Shoes. For more information on how we select our Featured Vendors, click here.

Explore: