Whether it’s raising a child or uniting two people in marriage we see over and over agin that when it comes to true love, it takes a village. Read on to see how Maya and Michael’s Northern California wedding demonstrates this time-loved phrase.
Because the bride is a close friend of our Exquisite Weddings Magazine manager, we got the inside scoop on the couple’s special day. In honor of that, we wanted to let the bride tell the story in her own words.
“I wanted to keep things simple and true to our style, all the while keeping to budget and not accumulating anything that would go to waste after the wedding. Easily said and not so easily done. Our beautiful forested venue served as the primary inspiration, I wanted to let the trees speak for themselves! The theme started to really come together while I was staying at my dad’s place in Tahoe. We spent the afternoon cutting down trees on his property to create a firebreak, a first for me, and I’d say about the only time I would happily wield a chainsaw. I saw all that beautiful wood awaiting the chipper, and I think the Pinterest searching of the past months illuminated an internal lightbulb. I asked him to cut me some rounds for the centerpieces, which he later sanded and sealed to create our centerpieces. My mom and friends helped me to source small unique bottles from thrift stores and the Oakland White Elephant Sale in all shapes and sizes. For a guestbook I used a hand-bound book my husband’s family had given me as a gift many moons ago then I decorated the pages with some memorabilia from the wedding planning and painted small watercolor accents around the edges of the pages. Since the wedding I’ve printed our vows and added this to the book, I hope it is something I can treasure for a lifetime. What really made the planning and overall event special was our fabulous and incredibly talented friends that graciously offered their time and advice – officiant, photographer, DJ, florist and daily wedding inspiration provider (Jessica Jalowiec)!”
GET THIS REAL WEDDING STYLE:
Venue: Wildwood Acres, Lafayette, CA
Photography: Jess Krueger Photography
Hair: Amy Walkup, Artbeat Salon and Gallery
Makeup: Shena Woodall
Floral: Laura Nagle, Laura’s Floras (website launching in January 2015)
Day-of Coordinator: Tiffany Francies
