Real Wedding: Lani & Reggie

Today’s real wedding, photographed by Raechel Denise Photography, pays tribute to where this beautiful couple grew up, where they met, and how their love story unfolded in San Diego.

Both Lani and Reggie grew up in San Diego, but they didn’t meet until 2008 when they both began working at The New Children’s Museum. Reggie planned an epic proposal to take place during an early morning hike through Torrey Pines on Christmas Eve that would include their close friends and family, but as (bad) luck would have it, Lani got sick, and Reggie instead proposed that morning at home with her daughter holding the ring box. “He told me how the proposal was supposed to go down and even showed me printed maps that he gave to our family to meet us,” Lani says. “I cried like a baby. A happy one.”

They selected Cuvier Park, a tucked away section of La Jolla Cove fondly known as “The Wedding Bowl,” for their ceremony. Though it may sound odd that they hosted their reception where they work, Lani and Reggie thought the New Children’s Museum made perfect sense. “Our story is so unique that we knew we had to do it,” she says. “Because the Museum is where we met, because the Museum is where he first met my daughter when she was only 4 (she’s now 10), because the Museum was where Reggie last saw his mom before she passed in October 2013, and because we loved the sight of having all of our family and friends enjoy the special venue with us on our wedding day.”

Their “summer-garden-vintage” vibe involved natural elements, like the ceremony arch Reggie made from tree branches in their backyard, thrifted mugs to hold succulents for the centerpieces, and seed packets as seating assignments. Take a look at their romantic summer soirée: