The couple: Amanda and Louis

The Wedding: Ralston Hall Mansion, Belmont, CA

What three adjectives that best describe your wedding? Sizzling, swanky and spectacular (and so, so, so, so FUN!)

What inspired your personal wedding style, and how were your personalities incorporated into your big day? We went with a black and white color palette because we really hoped to have a classic and timeless event. The ceremony, on the front lawn of our reception site, had a garden party feel which transitioned into a fun evening soiree. The Ralston Hall Mansion is a beautiful historic building and we were able to make the reception feel like a combination of A Midsummer Nights Dream and Parisian Art Deco. I own my own clothing boutique and have always been really into fashion, so I wanted to give people a reason to dress up. While planning I kept going back to the word swanky but really wanted it to be fun and unpretentious, and for the decor to be beautiful and fun, not stuffy or formal.

Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most about your wedding? We wrote our own vows and that became such a special part of the wedding. Being able to share with our guests why we were making this commitment to one another was really important to us.

We are very friend and family oriented so we really wanted to bring all of our loved ones together to celebrate, and to create fun for all ages. The band was such a great decision, and the photo booth was a wonderful way for all of our guests to interact with each other and have a memento to take home with them as well. Near the photo booth we put out scrapbooking materials so our guests could personalize a page with their photos inside our guestbook. We still love to pull the book out and flip through it!

Color Palette: Black and white with a hint of yellow and silver.

The Wedding Team:

Photographer: Michelle Walker Photography
Event Planner: Kristina Taheri Special Events
Ceremony Venue: Ralston Hall Mansion
Reception Venue: Ralston Hall Mansion
Officiant: Rev. Gerald P. Caprio – White Robed Monks of St. Benedict
Invitation Designer: Joanne Lee – Joanne Lee Designs
Catering: Componere Fine Catering 
Florist: Jonathan Gomez – Asiel Design
Cake and Mini-Cheesecakes: Dragers Bakery
Wedding dress: Lazaro from Trudys Brides
Bridal accessories: Birdcage Veil from etsy.com, Guess Shoes from zappos.com
Groom and groomsmen apparel and accessories: The Mens Warehouse
Hair and make-up: Hair by Jaclyn Chase of Mission 6 Salon, Airbrush Make-Up by Sara Pena of Blush at Bloom Beauty Boutique
DJ: Elite Entertainment
Live music: Livewire
Transportation: El Paseo Limousine
Rings: The Shane Company 
Photo Booth: Photo Works Interactive
Videographer: Thomas Hughes
Table setting and Linen Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Favors: We created a candy buffet of personalized M&Ms in our wedding colors, gummy penguins, lemon drops, white chocolate covered pretzels, black and white hard candy sticks, silver milk chocolates and yellow hard candy sticks. I bought penny candy jars, tongs and scoops for the display and made favor bags out of frosted plastic coffee bean bags decorated with labels from our graphic designer Joanne Lee.

Thank you Amanda and Louis!

To find inspiration for your own personal wedding style, don’t miss our wedding image gallery!

All images above by Michelle Walker Photography