Part three, y’all! If you’ve been following along with Ashley + Terrence’s wedding shenanigans today, we’ll bet you’re pretty excited to see the actual ceremony! And, in the case you haven’t seen the Bohemian Backyard Bon Voyage Party or Part 1 of the incredible wedding, check those out and then head back here. Ashley, the co-owner of Daughters of Simone delighted us with all the free-spirited and 60s/70s-inspired details. Plus, when we heard the big day was taking place at Lake Como in Italy, we about jumped for joy!
Bringing California vibes to the lake, Christine Cater crafted the most brilliant floral displays to frame the ceremony space. Ashley’s here to fill us in on the rest: We knew that whatever theme we would decide on would be unique and non-traditional. Most of the creativity evolved over time but we knew one of the main things we wanted to highlight was our shared love of fashion. We asked our guests to dress in their finest “runway attire,” I put a link to the Met Gala coverage for inspiration. We even set our ceremony up as though the guests were seated for a runway show and had our bridal parties walk down the aisle one-by-one so they could have their individual runway moment.
I designed many pieces for the wedding with “the runway show” in mind. I had a fantasy of my bridesmaids donning gold crowns, long pearled capes and luscious silks with flowing trains. I don’t know if it was from obsessing over too many Elie Saab runway shows or binging on Game of Thrones, but these were looks I pulled together, and they looked marvelous!
Let’s head to Italy in all the moments captured by our pal, Lilly Red!
The Ceremony Space
Christine, the event designer + florist, described this set-up as “the ultimate Fleetwood Mac fairy tale wedding.”
This truly does look like something out of a movie!
Processional: Cascades by Fleet Foxes + Shelter from the Storm by Bob Dylan
Recessional: Carry On by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
First Dance: Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show + Give Me the Night by George Benson
The Vows
My family is really into speeches, and there were so many wonderful ones throughout the wedding festivities. My two sisters, Courtney and Brittany, took it over the top by surprising us with a song. They passed out their edited version of the lyrics to, “Don’t Let the Kids Win” by Julia Jacklin, and performed the melody while Court played the ukulele. The whole crowd sang along and I quickly fell into happy tears.
I’ve been an avid fan of Elie Saab runway shows and pretty much envisioned this for my girls in the ceremony. I may even have been more excited about the bridal party looks than my own! I really wanted my girls to feel beautiful and sexy and imagined them wearing silky slip gowns.
I was fortunate enough to collaborate with the brilliant New Zealand designers, Greer & Chelsea of Leave Her Wilder and together we came up with individual looks for each girl. These collaborative looks with Leave Her Wilder will also be available in Daughter’s of Simone’s Fall collection.
Carousel
Carousel
My dad kept reiterating that we needed to be sure and focus on “the love” and that all the “extra fluff” didn’t matter. With this in mind, we took extra strides to make our wedding extremely personal. We asked two of my cousins to officiate the wedding, who also happen to be some of our closest friends. It was important that we had people who knew us really well as a couple to marry us. We also wrote our own vows and read them aloud individually, which made the ceremony even more special to us.
The Poolside Reception
The pool was transformed into a Midsummer Night’s Dream-inspired vignette. The team chose to go with non-conventional seating arrangements, by only have lounge areas comprised of vintage furniture, along with a few tables scattered about. Everywhere you looked were larger-than-life floral displays, along with sparkling string lights, and dripping candles.
I’d say jumping into the pool in my reception dress was pretty darn memorable. Our reception took place around the outdoor pool area and considering we had been hit with a relentless heatwave, the cool water had been calling us all day long.
I think once the guests got word that “the bride has jumped in the pool in her dress,” a crowd of people, right and left began corralling over. Every time I’d look up another one of my girlfriends was leaping in the air in her formal gown and a guy friend was making a splash in his finest tuxedo. The swim dance party soon turned into a conga line of 60 or so roaring celebrants chanting and howling to “Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting.” It was quite epic.
To top it all off, there was a table of fresh fruit + this delicious cake by Amandine Anglade.
Ignore all the rules and create a wedding that is uniquely YOU. Terrence and I had so many out-of-the-ordinary ideas for our non-traditional European wedding and in the end, we were able to create something totally new and completely us. I had never felt so vulnerable until I was the bride and I had to learn to trust my gut and go for what I really wanted.
Additionally, learn to let the little things slide off. There comes a moment during your wedding, and it may come in a different form than jumping in a pool in your clothes, where you’re determined to just have fun and celebrate marrying the love of your life.
That’s all, folks! Wasn’t that a STUNNER?! Congratulations to the newlyweds!
photography: Lilly Red // venue name: Villa Camilla, Lake Como, Italy // event design: Christine Cater // planning: Laura Dova // florals: Christine Cater // wedding dress: Daughters of Simone // bride's ring: Rebecca Overmann // bridesmaid dresses: Greer & Chelsea for Leave Her Wilder // hair stylist: Sinem Yavasner // makeup artist: Sinem Yavasner // groom's ring: Fiat Lux SF // videography: 2Become1 // paper goods: Carolyn Yocum // calligraphy: Inkpush Co. // catering: Amandine Anglade // cake: Amandine Anglade // tabletop rentals: Tableset Rentals // furniture rentals: Sofi Rent Design // music: Vincent // bridesmaids pearled capes : Daughters of Simone // bride + bridesmaids jewelry : Ashley for A.B.Ellie // groomsmen embroidery: Jackie Haug // vintage furniture: Narkisso // decor rentals: Rossodisera Events // invitation printing: Megan & Sebastian Mejia
Simply wow !
Love everything about this !!
Amazing wedding…. Bride and Groom’s dress, wedding cake and other things are incredible.