Late last summer couple Heather and Ryan tied the knot at Heather’s parents’ amazing private estate in southern California. Surrounded by family, friends, and bold and beautiful event design, production and planning courtesy Kristin Banta Events, Heather and Ryan celebrated their love in tremendous style!

The Goals: Heather and Ryan wanted to balance fresh, modern fun with sophistication as they planned their late August wedding at the brides parent’s breathtaking private estate in sunny La Canada Flintridge, California. We wanted an intimate affair that represented family. No place did that better than the home I was raised in. And a backyard wedding! Nothing is more intimate and fun.

With the lush garden backdrop offering soft, natural splendor, event planner Kristin Banta incorporated a chic black and white damask print to add depth to the black, white, and yellow color palette. The stylish damask pattern was also used in the lighting to create fun patterns along the walkways and on the dance floor. It was the couple’s hope that the classic appeal of the whites in their design would pair well with the more vivid, graphic black and yellow accents. We wanted to walk the line of bold and modern, still playing to the softness of more traditional white elements.

Banta described the overall feeling of the evening as one of decadence but in a way that feels relaxed, spontaneous, romantic and fun. The cocktail lounge-style reception was intended to invite conversation and intermingling with low-lying seating and coffee tables in addition to the higher tables and reception decor. The creative geniuses at Mille Fiori provided the gorgeous floral pieces for the event. Our guests overall experience was our number one priority. We didn’t want anything too stuffy – we wanted bold and beautiful, yet whimsical and fun.”

The Design: The fun, intimate feel of a backyard wedding was elegantly juxtaposed with bold black columns, chiavari chairs, and a dramatic black chandelier as the couple exchanged vows in the private front yard. During the ceremony, members from the acclaimed Los Angeles Philharmonic performed as a trio: a harpist, a violinist, and a cellist. The harpist, a dear family friend, had her son write a touching modern arrangement of Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours for the couple.

Another testament to the couple’s preference for fun over fancy was their unique selection of food. An Catering provided hors d’oeuvres including mouth-watering sliders and grilled cheese sandwiches served with gazpacho shooters. In place of the traditional wedding cake, guests were treated to an exciting dessert tray offering lemon bars, fresh chocolate chip cookies served with milk shooters, mini apple crumb tarts, and adult popsicles in flavors like mojito and strawberry daquiri made on-site. Perfect for the hot August night!

Throughout the evening, the couple and their 150 guests danced their hearts out on a custom black and white dance floor to music from Red Shoe DJs. Guests happily posed for pictures in the photo booth near the aviary and took home the photos as favors to remember the night.

The Look: Heathers bridal look was unquestionably elegant yet simple. Her sweetheart neckline dress was a Maggie Sottero original she found at Marilynn Bridal in Pasadena, California. Heather’s favorite parts of her look were her beloved Jimmy Choo shoes, her something new, and a breathtaking family heirloom necklace, her something borrowed. The one-of-a-kind necklace featured diamonds from both her grandmother’s and great-grandmothers wedding rings. Heather recollects, Nothing meant more than to wear that on my wedding day.”

The Moments: Little did the bride or the groom know, the wedding officiant, Greg Mohr of You May Kiss the Bride, had privately asked each of them to write down three things they loved about the other before the ceremony. Both Heather and Ryan were completely surprised to hear the officiant recite the other’s sweet thoughts at the altar!

At the end of the night, guests lined the driveway to create an illuminated path for the newlyweds to exit through. Heather and Ryan ran toward their town car as their family and friends waved bright sparklers against the dark night sky. It was a great way to end an incredible day.

The Pros: To learn about all of the wedding professionals who were a part of this wonderful wedding, please visit Heather and Ryan’s page in our Real Wedding Library.

Thank you Heather and Ryan for sharing your day with us!

To plan your own Southern California or Seattle area wedding, browse our Plan Your Wedding Hotlists! And to find a dream wedding photographer for your wedding anywhere in the world, be sure to check out Junebug’s World’s Best Wedding Photographers Hotlist!