{"id":653931,"date":"2017-12-17T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2017-12-17T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/?p=653931"},"modified":"2017-12-05T08:43:07","modified_gmt":"2017-12-05T14:43:07","slug":"this-heaven-and-earth-inspired-southern-california-wedding-was-all-about-equality-and-intention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/this-heaven-and-earth-inspired-southern-california-wedding-was-all-about-equality-and-intention\/","title":{"rendered":"This Heaven and Earth Inspired Southern California Wedding was All About Equality and Intention"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653954\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/07\/0a\/070a740d81c1bda9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p>Andrea and Daren wanted to create a community during their Southern California wedding, with the end result a true reflection of their individual and married personalities: artistic, nontraditional, deeply committed, and deeply in love. The couple aimed to remain equal partners throughout the entire planning process and personalized every aspect of their backyard wedding ceremony, keeping only the traditions full of meaning. The bride wanted only to hold her husband&rsquo;s hands and went without a bouquet, but event planner and florist <a href=\"http:\/\/wcep.us\/staff\/jennifer-staples\/\">Jenn Staples<\/a> filled the ceremony and reception with elegant birch branches, cool-toned greenery, and simple blooms in shades of red and blue. Using the metaphor of an oak tree to complete the theme of heaven and earth, this couple focused on a root system based in the support of their families with braches that stretch upward with love and possibility. <a href=\"https:\/\/asherandemilyphoto.com\/\">Asher and Emily Photography<\/a> captured every heartfelt and purposeful moment of this uniquely meaningful celebration.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><em>The Couple:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Andrea and Daren<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><em>The Wedding:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Private Residence, Southern California<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653944\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/cb\/5f\/cb5f6023aecafe48.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653945\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/1d\/36\/1d36a0c02107c6a4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653946\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/cf\/76\/cf763309d82dc571.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653948\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/24\/02\/2402755afcb6960c.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>While we were planning our wedding, it was most important to us to consider how we were going to create community during our wedding, since that&rsquo;s what we do in our lives (<span class=\"il\">Daren<\/span> is a director, <span class=\"il\">and<\/span><span class=\"il\">Andrea<\/span> is an actress). We really wanted our day to be a perfect microcosm of how we are as a couple: deeply committed, untraditional, artistic <span class=\"il\">and<\/span>community-builders. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653949\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/3f\/6d\/3f6d208a678d351a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653950\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/3f\/6b\/3f6b97dd7e9cdbb0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653955\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/5a\/cd\/5acd3c6a4d741b91.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653956\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/58\/9f\/589f33b17b769141.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653957\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/52\/19\/5219caf5b73fe189.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653943\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/f2\/0d\/f20dbf385c5bbb01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653939\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/0c\/15\/0c154979a9ec604b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>Since a lot of our family was traveling from opposite ends of the US to attend, a lot of them were meeting for the first time. So we had a huge game night for our rehearsal dinner, a ton of ice breaker games, <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> a killer food truck. That way, when it was wedding time, we had a huge group of friends instead of separate family groups. For every aspect of the wedding, we focused on how we could bring our family along on this wild journey. We are madly in love, <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> wanted everyone to experience the magic of it, <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> be actively enrolled in supporting it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653958\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/92\/1a\/921a40b70feba78c.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653959\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/8b\/6b\/8b6b1bd4fc7b40ed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653960\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/c9\/3c\/c93c59db187a8a3a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>We wrote the entire ceremony alongside our officiant over the course of a few months. Instead of rushing through to get to the party, or making it super traditional, we personalized it completely. It was really important to us to enroll our guests in the process as well, so we included a section of vows for them! We wanted to honor <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> include our family in the process, instead of as a passive witness. To invest everyone in such a personal moment, <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> combined with the fact we wrote our own vows- there wasn&rsquo;t a dry eye by the end of it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653961\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/f0\/37\/f03758a01e5a980d.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653962\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/b4\/74\/b474624c9ca2c350.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653964\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/54\/31\/5431f5b1b44adb36.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653965\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/b1\/b2\/b1b2dbe8723c5aa1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653966\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/ac\/83\/ac83f4d3ccda8ea0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653969\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/aa\/69\/aa69aee95f349c85.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653970\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/08\/4e\/084eef199faab6df.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653971\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/ac\/53\/ac531a0021b7e834.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>It&rsquo;s paramount for us as a couple to do everything with intention, <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> that included our wedding especially. We didn&rsquo;t do a single thing for &ldquo;tradition&rsquo;s sake&rdquo; unless it meant something deeply to us. People would try to tell my husband, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s HER day,&rdquo; <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> he would just laugh. We are equal partners, through <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> through. If we didn&rsquo;t feel strongly about something, poof, we cut it! We listened to people&rsquo;s advice, of course, but the most liberating thing about planning our wedding was being able to say, nah. This is OUR day.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653972\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/04\/ef\/04efce06d68f6f12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653975\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/0e\/eb\/0eeb644c4346f866.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653979\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/5c\/c4\/5cc486e64a1fb0ee.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653980\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/d7\/f3\/d7f31c51a98d26e9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>The theme of our wedding was Heaven <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> Earth. We used the metaphor of an oak tree during our ceremony, with a root system that is the our base in the earth, strong from the support of our families with branches that stretch upward in love <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> endless possibility. So for our favors, we had these beautiful wooden bookmarks made by a friend of ours with a laser cut image of an oak tree <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> our names engraved on the front. We are also story tellers <span class=\"il\">and<\/span>huge bookworms, so a bookmark was the perfect choice for us.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653982\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/5c\/46\/5c46f15248fe0aaa.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653983\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/70\/39\/7039e5239d0f0680.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653986\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/e9\/85\/e985def855ad8fc2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653988\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/27\/01\/270198bc565d575d.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"goldbox\"><em>The ceremony was the most magical, but our first dance was pretty special. We are both martial artists, so instead of a first dance, we had a first fight! As we prepared for our the &ldquo;dance&rdquo;, he pretended to step on my foot, I pretended to get mad at him, <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> then I threw up my hands <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> shouted &ldquo;Fine, let&rsquo;s fight about it!&rdquo; Two of our best friends threw us bo staffs, we caught them <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> proceeded to have a choreographed stick fight, still in our wedding attire. Our guests just lost it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653990\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/06\/55\/065533254ab09386.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"1050\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653992\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/37\/6a\/376ab2711da9cef8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-653993\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/7c\/f5\/7cf54a35c9ece9cb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"goldbox\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><em>The Wedding Team:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Photography &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/asherandemilyphoto.com\/\">Asher <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> Emily Photography<\/a><br>\nEvent Planning &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/wcep.us\/staff\/jennifer-staples\/\">Jenn Staples<\/a><br>\nVenue &ndash;&nbsp;Private Residence<br>\nFloral Design &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/wcep.us\/staff\/jennifer-staples\/\">Jenn Staples<\/a><br>\nCatering &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/wcep.us\/\">West Coast Event Productions<\/a><br>\nCake &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ktrunnerstrom.com\/tiered-cakes\">Katie Runnerstrom<\/a><br>\nVideography &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kayleelamoine.com\/\">Kaylee LaMoine Productions LLC<\/a><br>\nHair Styling &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.michaelmhaase.com\/\">Michael M Haase<\/a><br>\nWedding Dress &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/stelloofficial.com\/\">Michael Costello<\/a><br>\nGroom&rsquo;s Apparel &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.balanicustom.com\/custom-suits-los-angeles\/\">Balani Custom Suits<\/a><br>\nRentals &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/signatureparty.com\/\">Signature Party Rentals<\/a><br>\nFavors &ndash;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/michaelrahban.com\/\">Michael Rahban<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Congratulations to Andrea and Daren and special thanks to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/asherandemilyphoto.com\/\">Asher <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> Emily Photography<\/a>&nbsp;for sharing this incredibly meaningful wedding with Junebug! For more emotional and intentional wedding inspiration, check out this<a href=\"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/heartfelt-oregon-wedding-at-wallowa-lake\/\"> heartfelt Oregon wedding at Wallowa Lake!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-653932\" src=\"https:\/\/images.junebugweddings.com\/99\/89\/998984f4c92bb185.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"77\" height=\"47\"><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Andrea and Daren wanted to create a community during their Southern California wedding, with the end result a true reflection of their individual and married personalities: artistic, nontraditional, deeply committed, and deeply in love. The couple aimed to remain equal partners throughout the entire planning process and personalized every aspect of their backyard wedding ceremony, keeping only the traditions full of meaning. The bride wanted only to hold her husband&rsquo;s hands and went without a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"kia_subtitle":"","footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1067,1368,1149,1466,1076,1080,1081,1082,1303,1005,1327],"tags":[1107,1104,1108,1114,1103,1099,1113],"class_list":["post-653931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alternative-wedding","category-backyard-wedding","category-california-wedding","category-diy-wedding","category-elegant-wedding","category-glamorous-wedding","category-intimate-wedding","category-modern-wedding","category-multicultural-wedding","category-real-weddings","category-southern-california-wedding","tag-bright-red","tag-dark-blue","tag-dark-red","tag-ivory","tag-light-blue","tag-sage-green","tag-white"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653931\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/junebugweddings.com\/wedding-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}