Danielle Fishel + Jensen Karp’s Romantic + Whimsical Wedding Day

You know how sometimes it feels like a certain person would be your best friend if you ever met them in real life? That’s how we feel about Danielle Fishel —someone who has brought a lot of laughter and joy into our living rooms. She’s stepping behind the camera these days, directing Disney Channel favorites like Raven’s Home and Sydney to the Max (premiering 2019), and she left an imprint on America’s heart as Topanga in our TGIF fave, Boy Meets World. SO…when we heard she recently got married, we were so totally over the moon!! Jensen is the Executive Producer and creator of the TBS show, Drop The Mic, and the Executive Producer of the upcoming Unqualified (also on TBS) starring Shaquille O’Neal and Ken Jeong. And LA locals will recognize his voice from KROQ’s Kevin and Bean weekday morning show. Basically, these two are total rock stars and today we are SO excited to share an exclusive first look at their dreamy wedding at the Carondelet House in Los Angeles!

Danielle gave us the goods behind the day’s details, beginning with a look at how the wedding design came together:

The design process for us was all about hiring great vendors who pulled the design together. Each one added in a little something fun and unique so we ended up with a look that was completely custom and really fit us as a couple. Our planner, Lisa Gaskarth, took our ideas and expanded on them to design this romantic fall aesthetic with some really unique pieces. For example, when we picked linens out at La Tavola, we decided to use their rodeo linen which has little horses and cowboys all over it. It was an out of the box, quirky idea that we took a chance on and it ended up kind of being the inspiration for the whole wedding. We loved it so much we’re even using the fabric to make pillows for our new house! 

Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unexpected of places! Jillian McQuerrey of B.O.B. Photography captured all those fun details of the day and some seriously sweet moments between D + J—let’s have a look!

Delightful Details

We came into the planning process with a few personalized pieces in the works like our custom pins and logo by Clark Orr which is a play on our last names, both including fish!

Danielle wore a little something blue in the form of these Bella Belle shoe soles!

Jensen custom designed Danielle’s engagement ring and their wedding bands were from XIV Karat in Beverly Hills.

The Wedding Party

Danielle’s bridal party included Sabrina Carpenter, Jamie Leff Choi, and Danielle Robb. The gals donned black gowns and carried some seriously gorgeous fall-boho bouquets by Honey & Poppies!

The groomsmen, Justin Siegel, Matthew Robinson, John Mayer, and Chris Bentz, wore black suits of their choice. D + J wanted everyone to be comfortable and were less worried about being perfectly matched.

Aren’t they so sweet?!

And HELLO, doesn’t she look stunning? We love Danielle’s approach to her hair + makeup:

I only knew that I wanted to feel like a prettier version of my everyday self. I have worked with Laurie Heaps and Julie Cuomo for YEARS and not only are they incredibly talented, but they are also dear friends for life. I didn’t have a hair or makeup trial as I just trusted them to work their magic and I knew I’d love it. Julie got my skin wedding ready with a few peels at her spa, Jolie Beaute Wellness Spa, and then she did incredible skin prep before even starting my makeup (which she also executed flawlessly).

I only told Laurie I wanted to wear my hair up (it was a request of Jensen’s to see my whole face) and I had no idea what she planned to do. I also have no idea how she did what she did but I almost cried when I looked in the mirror at the end. I am absolutely obsessed with the Jennifer Behr pieces she used and my hair stayed perfectly all night and was very comfortable.

A Romantic + Whimsical Ceremony

We wanted our florals to be unique, romantic, and whimsical and we really wanted a dramatic floral hanging piece above the area where we said, “I do.” It was also the backdrop for our sweetheart table. We (Danielle, Jensen, and Lisa) met with Megan from Honey & Poppies and told her those super basic details and she absolutely ran with it. At every turn, we were amazed at what she had done and now we’re asking her to make us a permanent version of the hanging ceremony piece as art in our home. All in all, the venue felt so warm and full of love that day and that’s what mattered most to us.

My brother was our officiant which was really special to both of us. Of all the aspects of the wedding, our ceremony seemed to be everyone’s favorite element. My brother did such a good job (his first time as an officiant) and he was personal, funny, touching, and just the right length. We wrote our own vows and I think they were the right amount of engaging and sentimental. I can’t wait to relive it on video.

The Newlyweds: Mr. & Mrs. Karp!

SO stunning, these two!

Wondering about Danielle’s utterly dreamy dress? We’ve got the cute story behind her look!

Shortly after Jensen proposed, I asked him what kind of wedding dresses he liked. He genuinely had no idea as he’d literally never thought about it. He said, “I don’t know. My favorite ‘you’ is jeans and a t-shirt you.” So I quickly googled “t-shirt wedding dress” and the WHITE x Vera Wang for David’s Bridal dress popped up. I stupidly turned my phone around and showed it to him and he said, “Oh my God, I love that!” I made a mental note to try that dress on when I started my search and it ended up being the dress I loved. I had my seamstress (A Stitch In Time) change the sleeve to a slightly longer, scalloped sleeve and close up the open back a few inches. I ended up being so happy with it and felt comfortable all night.

A Candlelit Reception

D + J opted to skip several traditional wedding moments like speeches, dances with parents, and cutting the cake in favor of more opportunities for conversations over the table and lots of dancing!

For us, the most important part was that we became husband and wife. After that I just wanted everyone to have an amazing time and not be interrupted with more words and photo opportunities I don’t love anyway (I knew I wouldn’t frame a cake eating picture for my home)!

We’re definitely onboard with this cowboy linen from La Tavola Fine Linen!

Danielle turned to borrowed BLU to help hand select each piece for the tablescape. From chargers and plates to copper water tumblers and rose gold flatware, the fall romance seeped through in every detail!

How fun is this reunion!!

Oh, and the perks to having John Mayer as one of your best friends? The best first dance in all of history, of course. John sang his cover of Beyoncé’s song XO as it was a personal fave of Danielle + Jensen.

And definitely don’t miss their gorgeous wedding film by Atomic Tangerine! So magical….

To Danielle + Jensen, we’re so thrilled for you and in awe of your beautiful wedding! Congrats from all of us at GWS!