• Real Weddings

Chris and Helen were in the process of making a life changing move from Boston to California. Several days before their big move, Chris proposed to Helen among all their moving boxes, making it truly a new chapter in their lives.
With the move behind them they were able to have their dream up-cycled vintage wedding at Franciscan Gardens. It was styled to perfection by Simply Sweet Weddings & Events, and overflowing with some knockout florals designed by Queen's Flowers And Gifts. We are not going to lie, the full gallery is bursting with more fabulous photos captured by Leila Brewster Photography.

From The Bride:We love the upcycled-vintage look so much that we decided to incorporate our entire theme around the whimsical furniture and decorative pieces collected over the course of several months following our move to Los Angeles. Our guests were greeted with a variety of colorful flower arrangements (over 20 different types of flowers if someone took the time to count!) and numerous photo opportunities around the venue where we had strategically placed our props. All other details fell into place after much planning and deliberation with our wedding planner and florist, who are the true experts at knowing how turn our scatterbrained ideas into a reality.

We chose to get married in a Buddhist ceremony. Our families were more than happy to help us blend traditions and orchestrate one of the most unique ceremonies anyone at the wedding had ever seen. It was an exhilarating and brand new experience for the both of us, and one that we could never forget and feel grateful for.

We wanted our wedding to blend in with the historic and rustic scenery around the venue, yet maintain certain details that were unique to us. Much of our inspiration came from the abundance of upcycled furniture where we live, which allowed our imagination to run wild thanks to the many opportunities that we had to visit vintage and consignment shops in our area.

Helen and Chris continued with their up-cycled theme by using a vintage chalkboard to show guests which table they sat at. Bonus! They could easily use this in their new home together as well.

As you see, this wedding is chalk full of steal worthy ideas — including re-purposing the rustic hutch from the hors d'oeuvre station to the mini dessert station, and using a plant as a vessel for the dessert labels.

One of the main attractions at our event was the two-tier fig cake that Leila Brewster Photography beautifully captured. The cake sat on a red planter table that was hand-built around an original 1920's window made by a local artist that we discovered.

• Rentals: La Tavola Fine Linen
• Cakes & Catering: 24 Carrots
• Ceremony Musician: Sarah Maisel
• DJ: Dj Sota Entertainment
• Dress designer: Ann Taylor
• Flowers: Queen's Flowers And Gifts
• Groom & His Men: Men's Warehouse
• Hair & Makeup: Glam Oh Makeup
• Paper Goods & Calligraphy: Minted.com
• Photographer: Leila Brewster Photography
• Prop or Furniture Rentals: Found Vintage Rentals
• Shoe Designer: Lulu Townsend
• Specialty Linens: Designer Specialty Linens
• Venue: Franciscan Gardens