Marissa + Michael wanted a casual, whimsical wedding day. Their romantic color palette incorporated calm blush tones + neutrals with layers of burlap + lace. And their wedding was a true DIY affair. Their friends + family built and painted wooden signs, made burlap bunting, wrote music for the ceremony, created floral headbands, and baked treats for the dessert table. Marissa designed the invitations + programs and spent many nights with Michael working on other projects for the day. And not to forget their amazing planner, Veronica from Ambiance Events , who went above and beyond for them in every way. From Marissa, “It was truly magical seeing everything come to life.” Big thanks to Bryan N. Miller Photography for the photos and congrats to Marissa + Michael!
Pretty robes by Plum Pretty Sugar – and love their sweet First Look captured below. :)
Michael proposed on our 7th year together, on my 27th birthday. We chose to marry on July 7th because it just felt lucky. Interestingly enough, this “lucky theme” has always played a part in our relationship. (When we first started dating, Michael used to separate the marshmallows from my Lucky Charms cereal because he knew they were my favorite. His grooms’ gift to me, oddly enough, was none other than a bag of Lucky Charms marshmallows!) We decided to go with a vintage rustic theme, tying in horseshoes and all things lucky.
One of our favorite things about our wedding was having our friend Doug marry us. Doug knew us before we started dating, and has always served as a mentor for us, so it was extra special to have him pronounce us man and wife. We couldn’t have asked for a more intimate ceremony. Instead of turning to our altar with our backs to our guests, we were asked to turn around and embrace everyone who came to celebrate with us. Doug spent time telling our story. The most special part for us was saying our own vows. We laughed, we cried, and we laughed some more. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was the happiest moment of our lives.
What brought the most joy was seeing our event adorned with all of the hand-selected treasures that Michael and I found throughout our engagement. We spent months before the wedding piecing together a collection of antiques and treasures to serve as décor. For the past two years, we worked incredibly hard to handcraft and personalize our event, and seeing it all come to life was the greatest pay off. Knowing that we worked together as a team to accomplish it was icing on the cake.
Our bridesmaids and flower girls were given two criteria when searching for their attire: 1) choose a dress that they absolutely loved and would wear again, and 2) choose a color in the blush-tone, neutral color family. It couldn’t have been more perfect! Our groomsmen wore gray vests and slacks, paired with a crisp white shirt. We loved how everything came together to create a unique, mismatched collection of textures and colors.
We wanted everything to be comfortable and free flowing, so we ditched the seating chart and went with belly bars, a few tables and multiple vintage lounge areas. Guests were free to mix and mingle throughout the night. We purchased pint-sized mason jars for each guest, serving as wedding favors and drink cups for the night. We personalized them by handwriting guests’ names on every jar. It was an unexpected element of surprise, and our friends had a lot of fun with them.
Years from now, when we think back on our wedding, what we will cherish most is all of the love and support that surrounded us. As soon as the planning began, so did the many wonderful offers from friends and family to help us prepare for the big day. Our nearest and dearest rolled up their sleeves, helping any way they could, and our celebration of love truly became a labor of love. Our weekends were spent scouring antique stores all over Southern California for the most unique collection of mason jars, vintage tablecloths, floral teacups and wooden crates. We found a vintage suitcase that became our cake stand, an rustic barn door that became our altar, an old-fashioned typewriter that greeted guests as they entered the ceremony, and old watering cans that became the main focal point of our dessert table. We spent our nights crafting fabric flowers, wrapping twine around mason jars, and painting various treasures found. These impromptu craft-nights became some of our most cherished moments with friends.
photography: Bryan N. Miller Photography // makeup artist: Evelyn Aguon // desserts: Maria Baldi of Sugarcoated // music: Aaron Turner, DJ Legend // officiant: Doug Matter // planner: Veronica Gomez Navarro of Ambiance Events // floral design: Ashley Elizabeth Floral Design and Styling // guitarist: Darryl Mendoza, Serendipity Wedding Services // signs: Nicole Jordan // food: San Diego Taco Company // flower girl headbands: Jessica Russell, The Button Jar // printing: Dave Marlow of Whitmar Electronic Press; Brandon Stapper, 858 Graphics // hair: Jaylin Youm, Juli Youm, Sokphavy Seng
Lovely! Does anyone know the dress/designer the bride is wearing?
Love your wedding girl!!!! It’s absolutely beautiful. I am totally copying the watering can and suitcase ideas for the dessert table, that is so gorgeous.
P.S. Love your dress!! I am wearing the same dress, so happy to see how well it worked out. you look lovely!
I’m in LOVE with that dress. Do you know who the designer is and/or style name?
I’m so in love with these photos! What a gorgeous couple. The dress, the flowers, the bridesmaids, the watering cans = perfection! So much inspiration here.
Thanks for all of your kind words! My dress was from Allure Bridals, Style: 8856.
Just to clarify :) Our cake was from Sugarcoated in Cherry Valley, CA: http://sugarcoatyourworld.com. Also, our wedding was planned by Ambiance Events (located in San Diego). Thanks again for featuring our wedding! It’s so exciting to relive it all over again!
Thank you for the info Marissa! You looked stunning! :)
Marissa … Where did the Guys get their outfits?
This is a stunning wedding! The soft color scheme, the gorgeous vintage details, the unique bridesmaid dresses…everything is absolutely beautiful!
What was your venue? I absolutely love the ambiance!
Their venue is the Ranch Buena Vista Adobe in Vista, CA.
Hi Cynthia! We were married at the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe in Vista, California.
So great to re-live Marissa and Micheal’s wedding today. Thanks for the feature, Jen!!
Her lace bridal gown is amazing!! Allure bridal gowns are always so stunning.. Picture perfect day! Congrats!!
I love this weddding! The thing i loved the most was the personalized mason jars! genius idea!
two-leaf-clover.com
the flowers are so perfect and romantic. love the ceremony backdrop too.
GORGEOUS couple!
GORGEOUS gown!
GORGEOUS bridesmaids dresses!!
Love it all, particularly the flowers and the dessert table, just stunning!
Gorgeous Couple and beautiful wedding! Amazing pictures!
So romantic and stunning pics. Thanks and there are many movements which shows that you both have enjoyed so much…
Marissa – I am looking at this venue and I am wondering what area of the adobe that you had your ceremony! I couldn’t tell by your photos. It looks like it is front of a tree, but not sure where that was! Thanks!
Hi Chelsea! We got married near the rose garden and the grooms suite in the back area of the adobe (the two tiered concrete patio). Our altar was set on the top level. We wanted to save the grassy adobe courtyard with the great big tree for our reception. The trees you see in the ceremony photos are near the long driveway. Our ceremony faced that direction. Hope that helps…Happy planning!
Marissa-
What a beautiful event. Am wondering where your groomsmen got their suits? Having the hardest time finding grey vests and pants.
Thanks and best wishes!
Hi Ashley! We lucked out and found the most wonderful, helpful woman who works at Perry Ellis in Cerritos, [and who just happens to also be a wedding planner!] She saved the day and was kind enough to help us (over the phone) find a full collection of suits that ended up being cheaper than renting! Her name is Aileen, and she is fabulous! We were so grateful that after the wedding, we stopped by her store to thank her in person on the way to our honeymoon! Hope this helps!
Hi! Your wedding was absolutely gorgeous! I was wondering how you did the process with the bridesmaids, did you give them a color swatch ? I have 9 bridesmaids so I just want to have them pick their own dresses. Ive been going back and forth with coral/grey or blush/grey, but I love those colors they have in that picture! Also where did they find them, at different stores? Your help is much appreciated!!
Hi Chrissy! I work as a graphic designer and was able to create a visual guide for my bridesmaids. It really helped everyone get on the same page.
The file I sent to them was a collection of dresses, swatches and lacy textures that I thought would look great together, based on what I liked on Pinterest and other online stores. I photoshopped different looks together and sent my bridesmaids a collection sheet to use while shopping.
As each bridesmaid found a dress they liked, I would add their dress to our bridesmaids collection, and then re-sent the file to everyone so they could see what others were wearing. It also helped me visualize everything since some of my bridesmaids lived further away.
I did not want them to spend a fortune on dresses and shoes so I let them shop wherever they wanted to. Many of my girls checked Forever 21, Asos.com, and Modcloth.com. They liked the fact that many of the online stores offered free shipping and free returns. Others wore dresses they already had in their closets.
Regarding shoes – I asked them to wear nude or blushtones. One of my bridesmaids wore glittery heels and I absolutely loved them! It made everything fun and lighthearted!
Each of the girls brought an element of whimsical romance to the overall look and I thought they looked so beautiful together!
Hi marissa,
I love your wedding. It’s beautiful! I was wondering how hard was it to find catering in vista county? My fiancé and I are planning on getting married at rancho buena vista but we are from San Diego and its hard to get the caterers we like out to that venue. Any advice or leads on a great catering company would be great. Thanks!
Hi Maribel, we lucked out with our catering. The owner was very flexible and didn’t mind traveling to North County. You may want to look into some of the more casual options in Vista/San Marcos or some of the restaurants that are already in that area. Phil’s BBQ is close by and I know they have catered at the venue before. Most caterers charge a small fee for traveling, and if you are upfront about it from the beginning you may be able to negotiate the traveling fee.
Gorgeous wedding! I’m getting married in June and absolutely love the idea of personalized Mason Jars! How did you get the names onto the jars?? Were they handwritten or are they stickers??
Thanks!!
Lauren
Hi Lauren, thanks for your sweet comment! Each jar was handwritten. I started writing with a sharpie first and then followed each up with a marker specifically for glass. I found the sharpie helped the words stick better. If your handwriting isn’t the best, you could print the names in a nice font and tape them to the inside of the jars to use as a guide for tracing. Hope that helps!
Wow, this wedding is beautiful!!! Love all the details!
Hi Marissa!-
Your wedding was absolutely gorgeous! I am planning a similar romantic feel… I’m using blush & ivory roses and peonies and I am wearing the same dress as well! Looking at your pictures made me even more excited that I chose that dress. :)
One thing I am struggling with are shoes! I was looking at ivory Kate Spade peep toe pumps with a bow. Could you give me an idea of what you wore? You looked beautiful and everything came together perfectly.
Congrats, Heather! How exciting! I struggled with my shoe choice, too. Originally I wanted to my something blue to be my shoes, but I kept going back and forth. I finally found some gorgeous sparkly shoes by Guess and I fell in love! They were silver toned and they made me so happy! I felt like Cinderella! In the end, I realized the shoes only showed when I lifted up my dress to show them off, and during the garter toss. Had I known that, I wouldn’t have spent so much time looking for my wedding shoes! Just buy a pair you love and will wear again after the wedding :)
I love the look of your wedding! SO beautiful and elegant. I was wondering where the long sleeve bridesmaid dress was purchased?
Thank you!
they truly lovely