Inside: A Glamourous Wedding Weekend In Malibu

The Story So Far

Taylor and I met during the pandemic on Hinge in 2021. We had our first date at Auld Fella in Culver City (highly recommend), where we also ended up taking our stunning engagement photos. We both believe it was love at first sight since after that first date, we couldn’t get enough of each other.

We officially became boyfriend and girlfriend a week later, he said “I love you” two weeks after that— and nine months later, we were living together in Marina del Rey. It went by so fast, but it was the most incredible whirlwind of a romance, and I’m so grateful that it was my love story.

After over 2 years of dating, Taylor proposed on the cliffs of Malibu at sunset. He custom designed the ring himself, since he used to be a jeweller. It’s a 3 ½ carat pear shaped diamond with a low profile bezel setting all the way around. And as a gold girl, it of course had to be gold.

The Venue

We got married at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu— not only because it was one of the most gorgeous venues we had seen, but because we knew we wanted to get married in Malibu, where he proposed. It felt like the perfect full-circle moment to get married a few blocks away from where he asked me to be his forever.

Instead of a one day event, we wanted the wedding to be an weekend affair, so we kicked off our celebrations at lunch in Malibu on Friday with our family and wedding party. From there, we hosted an intimate rehearsal dinner at Westlake Village Inn, right on top of their lake— again starting with just our nearest and dearest, but then opening up to a large welcome party for all of our guests. It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend with all of our loved ones.

The day was truly magical! We stayed at Calamigos Guest Ranch in Malibu and got ready in a stunning room with my bridesmaids, mother, and mother-in-law. After a day of bridal prep, it was time for me to walk down the aisle, which I did by myself, and at the very end I saw my husband-to-be crying.

After a quick ceremony, my husband and I took an hour taking photos and then spent the night partying with our friends & family. When the wedding ended we kept it going by bringing our guests to Bogies Bar at Westlake Village Inn near Malibu, where we had a few cabanas and bottle service.

After a long night (and a short amount of sleep!) we ended the weekend with a stunning brunch on the water at Westlake Village Inn for all of our wedding guests.

The Fashion

I wore a non-traditional but absolutely gorgeous Prea James corset & skirt set in an off-white satin finish that perfectly matched my vintage inspired quilted Loeffler Randall platform heels, and to finish off the look, I wore a matching skinny silk neck scarf and veil from Amazon.

When looking for my wedding outfit, I knew I wanted something different. I don’t consider myself a traditional bride, and wanted something that felt like me. I tried on over 60 wedding dresses at over 15 stores until I finally found my set at Loho Bride in West Hollywood. I tried it on, and immediately knew it was the one.

During the wedding reception, I did a partial outfit change into a House of CB mini skirt— keeping the wedding corset on— and everyone loved it. It was easy to dance in and I felt so sexy in a shorter skirt.

This was another reason I wanted a set, rather than a traditional dress. I could style each piece separately, switch up my evening look, and still keep a part of my wedding ceremony outfit. I also plan on repurposing the skirt into a dress I can wear during milestones in my marriage, and will be wearing the matching corset on every anniversary.

The Jewellery

I didn’t wear any name brand jewellery, which for me was a different take since I am always wearing a ton of chunky gold pieces from Gorjana in my day-to-day. But to keep with the non-traditional vibe, I opted for simple Amazon diamond hoops and just the skinny neck scarf. I wanted to make sure nothing took away from my outfit and overall look.

Taylor designed and gifted me a gold heart necklace he made (which I wear to this day), and he also made our wedding bands using melted-down gold from my mother’s pieces .

The Bridal Party

My wedding party, bridesmaids, and both of our mothers were gifted Betsy & Adam and Xscape Evening black dresses of their choice. I feel lucky to have the parent company as a client of mine and they supplied all of the dresses, which I couldn’t be more grateful for. They all looked stunning!

The Tablescape

I wanted an incredibly simple yet beautiful tablescape, so I focused on baby’s breath and incorporated tons of stunning white sand candles. The entire tablescape looked gorgeous with the forest and wood setting as its backdrop.

I own a stationary and signage company so the table numbers, menus, and name cards were all hand made by me.

Food & Drinks

One of the main highlights of our wedding was our unique and incredibly tasty main course: a garlic soy grilled London steak with kimchi crispy rice, stir-fried Chinese broccoli, and quick-picked cucumbers. Our guests were raving about this meal, and we still get messages of people wanting to eat it again!

For our drinks, we had a full open bar with a handful of custom cocktails that represented us as a couple. The menu included spicy cucumber lime margaritas, lemon elderflower gin & tonics, Aperol spritzes, espresso martinis, and old-fashioneds.

The Music

Taylor and the wedding party entered to Simply the Best by Billiane, I walked down the aisle to Can’t Help Falling in Love by Haley Reinhart, and our post-ceremony song was Paradise by Bazzi— which Taylor and I call our song as a couple.

During the reception, our wedding party entrance was set to Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! by ABBA (which I *HIGHLY* recommend), Taylor and I made our debut as a married couple to This Is What Falling in Love Feels Like by JVKE, we had our first dance to the classic Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You by Frankie Valli, and our last dance was to Love of My Life by Harry Styles.

Beauty Regime & Wellness

Leading up to the wedding I used hydrating Tatcha products, since I have super dry skin. I also went to HeyDey for a facial. My incredible makeup artist was @cassidyeliseartistry who did an INSANE job and I looked so beautiful. We went for a Sabrina Carpenter-inspired old glam look.

Favourite Wedding Gifts

We asked for honeymoon contributions for our wedding, and we were so grateful to have received way more than we were expecting! Our uncle and aunt gifted us our invitation suite professionally framed which made me cry, especially since I made our invitations by hand. This was the sweetest gift and hangs in our living room.

The Honeymoon

Right after the wedding in Malibu, we had a weeklong mini-moon at our timeshare in Cabo San Lucas where we could unwind in the sun with margaritas, but our official honeymoon is in September. We’re spending two weeks in the Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, Florence, and Cinque Terre. We cannot wait!

Advice

Do what YOU want, not what other people want. Listen to who you are and what would make you most comfortable.
Don’t wait too late to book vendors, I waited too late to get a content creator and I wasn’t able to lock one in in time! This is one of my BIGGEST regrets.
Make sure your planner or coordinator knows every single detail. I missed a few details in my communication to my planner, so a few things that I wanted for the ceremony didn’t get put out. But I had the most incredible coordinator and she did absolutely amazing with everything.