After 13 years of dating My & Mariza officially tied the knot in style at The Modern in Long Beach, California. The brides vision included an eclectic mix of geodes, prisms, and a few nods of their favorite things: Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and Disney just to name a few (see if you can spot them all).
They tackled their wedding design with simplicity and added meaningful details without going overboard. Seriously, you’re going to love this wedding captured by The Arandas. See + read more below, and catch a closer look in the full gallery.
from the bride
We wanted to approach our wedding in the same way we tackle everything together – with simplicity and meaningful intention. With that in mind, we focused on painting an open, light and fun atmosphere where we could connect with our loved ones, incorporate easter eggs of things we love and just enjoy the day together. Our guestbook was a nod to Disney’s Beauty and The Beast. We’re obsessed with Game of Thrones, so grey-tip wolf faux fur pelts were part of the decor. The pièce de résistance for the GOT reference, was a rose gold dragon egg case (instead of a ring pillow). We have an annual Harry Potter marathon, so we snuck in a Deathly Hallows symbol on a shelf. We had anime and Studio Ghibli instrumentals waft throughout the wedding.
Heartfelt ceremony
As magical as our first look was, our ceremony was the most heartfelt capsule in time for us. We wrote our own vows and one would think that after 14 years together, there isn’t much to say, but that was not the case at all. This day marked a new chapter in the already wonderful life we’ve grown. My is outgoing, lighthearted, strong, and compassionate. He’s always been the only one who truly understands me, but outwardly he doesn’t seem emotional to others. His vows really laid his heart on the table leaving not a dry eye in the room.
Creating Their style
Our aesthetic consisted of geodes, geometric prisms, and winter. This was complemented by a grey and rose gold color palette with pops of teal. We used geodes and cloudy, unpolished crystal quartz everywhere. The place cards were hexagons with rose gold calligraphy on teal watercolor, with crystal quartz stones adhered to them so that the healing/protective crystals could double as personalized giveaways. I couldn’t help but place a Sailor Saturn crystal at the guest book table since it went so well with the theme too. Watercolor was first used on our invitation suite and seating chart. We had invites raise printed on heavy linen cardstock. It then became a fun couples’ activity for us to hand paint each invite and RSVP card with watercolor.
kingdom hearts
Kingdom Hearts is a video game we both love and have played together! The OST from this game has some of our favorite songs and it truly means a lot to us. I added in a surprise to our wedding program for My. I sang a cover version of the Kingdom Hearts theme song. I asked one of my bridesmaids for help removing the vocals from the track. She went above and beyond by reproducing the track herself. The day before the wedding she flew in from Australia and had me record my own backup vocals! It was more than worth it! Just as the music started, he looked over at me and I saw tears welling up in his eyes.
Budget Breakdown
Curious what a wedding like this may cost you? The bride and groom were kind enough to share their budget breakdown with us below. Thank you!
Venue: $7,500
Catering: $16,075
Bar Service (with open bar): $2,500
Photography: $2,600
Videography: $2,000
Coordinator: $1,000
DJ: $1,580
Attire: $2,400
Make-up: $200
Stationary (invites, save the dates, signage, etc): Mostly gifted by family
Rentals (draping, linen, chargers, etc): Mostly gifted by family
Florals: Created by the mother of the bride
Cake: Gifted by family
Total: $35,855
