Loading...

This Leonard Lake Reserve Wedding Among the Redwoods is Pure Romance

March 16, 2018 | Junebug Weddings

There are so many perfect locations for a wedding in the Redwood forests of California, and Leonard Lake Reserve is one of our new favorites! Jem and Peter took full advantage of the lakefront property, the private cabins, and the dreamy woodsy spaces to host an unforgettable wedding weekend. It’s not hard to see that this wedding was all about community. Every element, from the decor to flower arrangements to the reception dinner, were made by Jem, Peter, and all their friends and family. We adore the unique look Jem and Peter created by making everything themselves, and we especially love their twist on traditional wedding style. Jem’s blush Leanne Marshall gown and Peter’s red and blush Beckett & Robb suit added both a level of whimsy and a pop of color that looked beautiful against the woodland landscape. Paige Nelson Photography nailed it in capturing every detail of this wildly romantic California wedding!

The Couple:

Jem and Peter

The Wedding:

Leonard Lake Reserve, Redwood Valley, California

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

The venue was one of our main priorities. We wanted a place that could host us and our guests for a weekend. We didn’t want people to have to travel once they got to the site. We also wanted somewhere outdoors. Peter and I love spending time in nature, and we started falling for each other on a camping trip. I knew I wanted either the ocean or a forest, and eventually decided on redwood trees in particular, and Peter requested that our venue still have a body of water. After a long search for venues with redwood trees and a body of water that met our requirements, we landed on Leonard Lake Reserve. The place was a dream!

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

The most memorable part of the wedding day for me was during the ceremony. I had asked our officiant (Peter‘s step-dad) to include a moment early into the ceremony for Peter and I to take a deep breath, slow down, and turn and look at our guests. This allowed me to be really present and soak up the loving support of our guests. Being able to share this special moment with our wonderful community was very important to me. So much of the day can rush by quickly, so having that moment carved out was really lovely.

When I asked Peter what the most memorable part of the day was for him, his first response was, “Only one?” I asked him to think back on the day. What is a memory that came to mind? Then his answer was, “Dinner.” I asked him if there was anything particular about the dinner — the toasts, the food. His answer, “Eating with guests. Just eating it.” Peter decided early on that he wanted to serve tacos at the wedding. We both love tacos, and it fit in well with our wedding theme! In all fairness, he did add, “Besides you being my wife, right?”

Our advice is to start early, especially with securing a venue! But I would also say dream big first. What is your dream wedding? What are the themes/concepts you can distill from that dream? Take those and edit it down to something that is more manageable. Consider feelings, not just how something will look. It helped Peter and I to discuss our priorities early on, and also our budget. Remember that it’s the groom’s day too, so include him as much as he wants to be included! Lastly, if you can, definitely make a weekend of it! Peter and I were able to spend a lot of time together on the actual wedding day, because we were able to hang out with our guests the night before and the day after.

To save money, and also because our venue was basically a destination wedding, we ended up DIY-ing a lot. It was really a community affair. I hand-lettered all the favor labels, escort cards, and place cards. I made hot cocoa mix to go with campfire s’mores. Peter, his cousin DJ, and I pickled a bunch of vegetables, which we served for our Plowman’s lunch platters. A couple day’s before the wedding, I went flower shopping with our friend Lynn and then home we de-thorned and de-leaved a bunch of the flowers so they would stay alive and healthy for the wedding day. On the day of the wedding, a bunch of our guests came together to do the wedding flower arrangements. They were gorgeous and extra special because I felt the love that had gone into making them. 

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

For dessert neither Peter nor I wanted cake. So we asked his aunts, who are the best bakers ever, to make us pies, and thankfully they said yes! We seriously had the best guests and could not have pulled off this wedding without them.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Paige Nelson Photography
Venue – Leonard Lake Reserve
Florals – Urban Flowers and San Francisco Flower Mart
Stationery – Forever Fiancés
Wedding Dress – Leanne Marshall via Lovely Bride SF
Bridal Accessories – Lovely Bride SF
Groom’s Apparel – Beckett & Robb
Bow Ties – Brackish
Rings – Teri Lee Jewelry and D&H Jewelers
Rentals – Party Tents and Event Rentals
Favors – RP & Associates

 

Congratulations to Jem and Peter, and a special thanks to Paige Nelson Photography for sharing this incredible forest wedding with Junebug! Love the whimsical details and looking for more inspiration? This whimsical Crete wedding transformed Agreco Farm into a Greek wonderland!

Sponsors
Email [email protected] to advertise on Junebug Weddings

5 Ways to Include Your Favorite Wedding Traditions in Your Elopement

March 15, 2018 | Junebug Weddings

photo by Maggie Grace Photography

Just because you’ve decided to elope doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include some of your favorite wedding traditions in your big day. In fact, eloping gives you a golden opportunity to pick the traditions you love and leave that ones you don’t. Whether you’re saying “I do” with just a minister present or you have a handful of your nearest and dearest around you, adding one or more of these wedding traditions will make your elopement feel extra special.

photo by Lindsey Noel Photography

Wear White

We’ll be the first to admit that there are few things that make a wedding feel more like a wedding than the bride(s) in white. Even if your fiancé is the only person to see you, you should choose a wedding dress that makes you feel like a bride. For some, that means a lavish wedding gown they’ve had their eyes on for years. For others, that means a simpler dress, such as one of these wedding dresses under $200, a handmade gown from Etsy, or even a little white dress that they can wear beyond the wedding day. No matter what you’re looking for, this handy list of elopement dress inspirations is sure to help you find the wedding dress of your wildest dreams!

photo by Emily Kirke Photography

Indulge in a Wedding Cake

Hopefully this goes without saying, but you should never pass up an opportunity to eat cake! And you definitely don’t need a room full of people to justify getting a wedding cake you’ve always dreamed of. We are obsessed with these wedding cake trends for 2018 and think any of them would be perfect for any size celebration. You don’t even need to go for the full-out wedding cake if you know you two won’t be able to finish it. Simply ask your bakery to make a small-scale version of your favorite design so that you have a little something sweet to enjoy on your wedding day and freeze the rest for later.

photo by Kayla Rocca

Have a First Look

A lot of couples that elope choose to get ready together on their wedding day, which we absolutely love! But, if you’ve had your heart set on that emotional and exciting moment when your husband- or wife-to-be sees you for the first time in your wedding dress, we say go for it! You could even have the best of both worlds with a relaxing morning and breakfast together then go your separate ways to get ready before your first look. Depending on where you’re getting married, you might even be able to do one of these first look alternatives and save the reveal for the ceremony.

photo by Nicole Veldman Photography + Video and Kelly Breann Photography

Include a Ceremony Reading

In addition to your wedding vows, make your ceremony one to remember by reading a meaningful passage that reflects your understanding or wishes for marriage. If you need a little inspiration, we have a list of unexpected wedding ceremony readings from famous books, TV shows, and movies to get your creative juices flowing. This is also a great place to include any witnesses that will be attending. You can either ask them to read a meaningful passage or ask them to write a little something special for you two, such as a prayer or their best marriage advice, and read it before you exchange your vows.

photo by Kristen Kaiser

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue

While a lot of old-time wedding traditions have gone out of style, the sentiment behind something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue has stood the test of time. Traditionally, your something old should reflect a connection to the past, such as a family heirloom or childhood photo you can carry with you during your elopement day. Your something new signifies optimism for your future and can be anything from your new wedding attire to a new piece of jewelry or a even simply a new haircut. Look to your grandparents, parents, siblings, or dear friends for something borrowed to show respect for the support your loved ones have given over the years. And, finally, get creative with showing your love and fidelity through your something blue. If you’re stuck for ideas, take a peek at our round-up of the best something blue ideas for your wedding day.

Are you planning an elopement and looking for ways to include your loved ones? We’ve got some tried and true ways to keep your family and friends involved when deciding to elope.

Happy planning!

Sponsors
Email [email protected] to advertise on Junebug Weddings

This DIY SmogShoppe Wedding Gives a Subtle Nod to Wes Anderson

March 15, 2018 | Junebug Weddings

Kristen and Keith’s DIY SmogShoppe wedding is full of whimsical and quirky charm. Their green and gold color scheme made for a fun reception space full of succulents from The Succulent Source, candles, and a few DIY projects – like a custom built sweetheart table completed by Keith! Embracing some Wes Anderson vibes, these two opted for an untraditional cake topper of foxes on their Butter Cake Shoppe wedding cake. The fun and carefree reception went on without a hitch thanks to Falon B Weddings coordinating and Premiere Events Group DJing the evening. John David Weddings photographed the many special and unique details and big love between Kristen and Keith.

The Couple:

Kristen and Keith

The Wedding:

The SmogShoppe, Los Angeles, California

We DIY pretty much EVERYTHING at our wedding. Kristen designed and printed all the invitations, the RSVP cards, the menus, the bar menu, the “well wishes” cards, and the programs – all herself.

The part we both remember more clearly than anything else is the first look. I (Kristen) just remember being so nervous for everything up until that point, but right when I saw Keith my nerves just melted away and everything felt right. It was such a personal moment and we’ll never forget it.

Kristen is obsessed with BHLDN. Everything she wore (with the exception of the necklace Keith gave her during the first look) was from there. I (Kristen) had the idea of a boho fairy princess. Weird, I know, but I wanted to incorporate the wedding colors without it looking gaudy. The Reagan dress from BHLDN is so beautiful, I didn’t want to add much sparkle to it.

Trust yourself. Keith and I paid for the wedding almost entirely ourselves, so we had the final say in everything. What matters most is what YOU want your wedding to be. Other people can chime in with their advice, but remember it’s YOUR day – so ultimately, you should have the final decision.

I cannot say enough about how kind and inspiring JD Swiger is. He is SUCH a pro. I found him through a friend and hired him to do my sister’s wedding in Dallas back in 2015. I knew when I got married I had to have him at my wedding – so we flew him to Los Angeles from Austin, and I’m so glad we did. He’s fast and BRILLIANT. He also couldn’t be sweeter and more polite. His candids and portraits are some of my favorite pictures from our wedding. And he worked overtime, too, just out of the goodness of his heart. We love him to death.

Keith‘s friend of 15 years, CJ Pomerantz, was our officiant. Keith‘s background is Jewish, so we “broke the glass” in an Etsy bag Kristen ordered that said “Keith and Kristen just smashed it!” We also wrote our own vows – which makes a ceremony much more personal than you could ever imagine.

It’s funny, I (Kristen) am from Michigan but I’ve lived in L.A. for the past eleven years. My husband (Keith) is from L.A. So Los Angeles is a huge part of who we are. We connect to it. We wanted the wedding to just feel like us – a little quirky, a little whimsical, and a whole lot of fun. If nothing else, we wanted people to walk away from our wedding and say, “That was so Keith and Kristen.” And I think we accomplished that.

We’re not really formal people, and we wanted to incorporate our love of Los Angeles into the venue. We’re also not religious so a church was out of the question. The SmogShoppe had everything we wanted: an L.A. vibe and a whimsical and romantic feel. It was perfect for our wedding day. It ended up fitting our colors (sage green and gold) perfectly, too!

Keith literally built from scratch the sweetheart table and the easels that held our “guest book” poster and escort table (carpentry is a hobby of his).

SHOP THIS POST

 

 

The Wedding Team:

Photography – John David Weddings
Day of Coordinator – Falon B Weddings
Venue – The SmogShoppe
Floral Design – The Succulent Source
Catering – Border Grill
Cake – Butter Cake Shoppe
Officiant – CJ Pomerantz
DJ – Premiere Events Group
Live Music – Angelica Strings
Videography – Nowadays Pictures
Makeup Artist – Lindsey Dickenson
Hair Styling – Sierra Garman
Wedding Dress – BHLDN
Bridesmaids’ Apparel – Adrianna Papell
Groom’s Apparel – Vera Wang
Groomsmen’s Apparel – Calvin Klein
Rings – Helzberg Diamonds
Rentals – A Rental Connection
Favors – The Succulent Source

 

Thank you to Junebug member John David Weddings for sharing this eclectic wedding with us! If you can’t get enough of the Wes Anderson vibes, then you’re in luck! This Lord of the Rings meets Wes Anderson wedding is every nerd’s dreams.

Sponsors
Email [email protected] to advertise on Junebug Weddings
← Older Entries
Newer Entries →