Today’s real wedding is an absolute stunner from not one, but two Junebug members! We adore weddings from the talented team at La Fete – they are always the most elegant events, but magically, they are also charming, warm, and whimsical. Add in the romantic images captured by Melissa Musgrove, and you have Melissa and Jonathan’s beautiful Santa Barbara wedding, which we’re completely crazy for.
The Goals: Our main goal was to create a very intimate, personal event centered around our closest friends and family, to be able to spend time with each guest, and for everyone to have tons of fun all weekend long. We chose the venue, a private villa near the ocean, because it could accommodate our entire immediate family for the whole weekend, and because we could envision our guests swimming in the pool, hitting balls on the driving range, lounging around the fire pit and generally having a great time there. From that vision, our absolutely incredible team of planners and vendors began to help us realize our dream of an elegant Santa Barbara-inspired wedding full of personal details.
The Vision: We wanted to incorporate a little bit of everything Santa Barbara had to offer, so after our traditional ceremony in a beautiful Spanish-style church, our guests were transported to the villa where they were offered cocktails and passed hors doeuvres in the villa gardens, enjoying the California sunshine and views of the Pacific ocean. Because we were inviting our guests into a private home, we envisioned the reception as an elegant dinner party with a mix of traditional and personal touches and without the rigid structure and timeline wed experienced at so many larger weddings. We wanted the main focus of the reception to be conversation, food and wine, and for our guests to feel as if we were inviting them into our own home.
Camilla, our florist, created centerpieces using various flowers, fruits, figs and artichokes that could have come fresh from the villa garden, accented with many small candles to add a romantic glow. Our planner, Colette of La Fete Weddings, suggested decorating the two long feasting tables in warm shades of plum and burgundy to add color to the white walls of the dining room. Duo Catering created an amazing seven course tasting menu complete with pairings of local wines with each course. The glass in which each different wine was served was left on the table after each course so that by the end of the dinner, the wine glasses also became part of the table decor, a striking sight that had many of our guests snapping pictures by the end of the evening of the beautiful table full of flowers and sparkling crystal wine glasses. The dining room was lined with glass doors, which we opened to the patios on either side to give the dinner an airy feel as the fabulous music of the Dwight Kennedy band floated in from outside. After dinner we invited guests out to one of the patios for cake, coffee and a dessert station. The evening ended on the lower level of the villa where guests danced, played pool and mingled at the bar and on the outdoor lawn. As guests boarded a shuttle back to their hotels at the end of the evening, they exited the villa via a path lined by an intricate scroll design of glowing candles.
The Look: Before shopping for a dress, I had pictured myself in a simple, modern gown but the dress I ended up falling in love with was incredibly soft, airy and romantic. I loved the many delicate details of the gown, particularly the french lace overlay that cascaded into layers upon layers of soft, shimmering tulle in the flared skirt and train. To show off the beauty of the dress, I kept my accessories minimal. I wore no necklace, crystal teardrop earrings, and a lattice beaded headband. I wore an equally simple veil with a blusher which, when it was pulled over my face, gave the veil the illusion of floating over my head and caught the sunlight beautifully. In order to not distract too much from the dress, I asked the florist to use shades of white, cream, ivory and very pale pink in the bouquet, which was also quite romantic to match the dress.
My sisters served as informal bridesmaids. I asked them to choose their own long, black gown and gifted them necklaces and earrings custom made by K. Amato with raspberry accents to match the color scheme of the wedding. Rather than bouquets, I gave them sequined black clutches to carry down the aisle.
Jon wore a traditional custom-made tuxedo. Our brothers served as informal groomsmen, wearing black suits with black and white polka dot ties and white pocket squares.
The Moments: The ceremony was without a doubt the most special part of the day. While we lit the unity candle, an organist played Jons grandmothers favorite hymn, and we took a moment to take a breath and talk to each other. Jon told me how beautiful I looked and we laughed quietly about an inside joke before returning to the solemnity and reverence of the ceremony. Those little, private moments we had to ourselves throughout the day really made it ours. I also loved getting ready for the day with my sisters, my mom and mother-in-law and my best friends. We clowned around, laughed and generally fed the excitement of the morning. Seeing my mom and mother-in-law getting their makeup and hair done and being pampered in a way they rarely have was so special. They both looked and felt beautiful, which made me beyond happy. There were so many funny, touching moments like when my dad came into the bridal suite where all the girls were getting taking pictures or when Jon came up to get a shirt hed put into the dryer and sent us all running to hide in the bathroom or all the overheard comments from guests about the details they loved or memories they had of time spent with Jon and me.
The biggest success was just seeing everyone so happy and having so much fun. Im so glad we made the efforts to incorporate our family into every detail of the day and to take the time to let each and every one of our guests know how much they meant to us. Colette had the fantastic idea of writing a personal note to each guest that they would open when they sat down at their seat for dinner. We spent two days writing the notes and reflecting on what each person meant to us and it really hit home how many people were there to love and support us and how much we shared with so many special people. It was the most amazing way to start our life together and it couldnt have been more perfect!
The Pros: Please visit Melissa and Jonathan’s page in our Real Weddings Library for all of the details on their talented wedding team.
Thank you for sharing your stunning wedding with us Melissa and Jonathan!
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