Hello!

My husband Ryan and I were married on the beach in Malibu and had our reception at the Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga, CA. Ryan's mom, a Unitarian minister, married us and his uncles played acoustic guitar for the event. We wanted our guests to feel relaxed so they sat on white sheets amongst colorful pillows on the sand. We also provided beach snack boxes with PBJ sandwiches, chocolate pudding and other nostalgic goodies, wrapped with decorative paper to tie in with the rest of the colorful decor. The umbrella is from one of our favorite places on earth - Bali, Indonesia - and we sewed the aisle from IKEA curtain panels for a unique and personal touch. We created a "favors buffet" of fortune cookies, candy necklaces, rings and coin purses from Chinatown and colorful matchboxes and mint tins. The bridesmaids dresses were fun and unique and best of all - from Forever 21! Our after party was in a suite at the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica and we had a picnic the day after with the In-N-Out truck! I did all my flowers, decor and planning. It was a blast but a TON of work.

Meg

Here's a fun idea for a beach wedding...give your guests snacks to hold them over until your reception. Our wedding was at 12pm so we knew people would be hungry. Each snack box included a crustless PBJ sandwich, apple slices, pretzles, a ring pop, chocolate pudding and a small water. We wrapped them in decorative paper from Artichokes and Co. to tie into the colorful decor.

We went to Bali, Indonesia, and it was our favorite place we've ever been. I was inspired by the temple umbrellas there and found an importer in downtown LA where I bought this one and one more to shade our snack boxes. It's hand-painted and looked gorgeous with the sun light coming through it.

During our trip to Bali, I was also inspired by towers of fruit that the Balinese presented at their Hindu temples. I bought these wood disks at IKEA and the oranges at Costco. Some guests even took oranges after the ceremony, which I was happy about since I didn't want them to go to waste.

These were from Forever 21 and only cost $39!

Peonies were late last year so I had to have these special ordered from New Zealand. Some people asked if they were fake since the color was so vivid!

I made bouquets of white peonies, white china mums, white roses from my mom's garden, mini pink amaryllis, bright pink sweet peas and green viburnum and kept them loose for a more natural, organic feel.

I made this from a wood disk from IKEA. My friend did the writing.

I bought pillows on sale at West Elm and my mom made a few of the pillow cases from IKEA fabric. Guests lounged amongst the pillows and it added to the relaxed, colorful feel of our special day.

My mom sewed 8 king-sized sheets together on each side of the aisle (16 total) and they were secured with plastic stakes on the corners. We also sewed the aisle from white curtain panels from IKEA with a plumeria design. I created 12 aisle arrangements on each side to frame the aisle. We used a Balinese temple umbrella at the front instead of a traditional arch!

I found this statue at our reception site at the Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga, CA and placed my bouquet there for my photographer to capture!

My good friend and first boss gave this to me as a wedding gift. It went perfect with the beach theme.

A great deal at Target...and I still get use out of them!

I found these old fashioned perfume bottles at Anthropology and included them in my bridesmaid gift bags.

I made these using MS Word and by cutting up some cute stationary I found at Anthropology, then making the copies at Kinkos.

I was hesitant to wear a veil but decided to wear one for the ceremony only. I am so glad I did! It added such a nice touch to my simple dress and it looked especially nice blowing in the ocean breeze. My advice is to go with a veil because you'll only have one chance to ever wear one...or one chance per wedding, at least! :)

We created a "favors buffet" of coin purses, fortune cookies, and jewelry from Chinatown, candy necklaces, retro/colorful themed match boxes and mint tins and other goodies. I bought colorful dishes and dish towels on sale at Anthropology for display and also made a small arrangement of sweet peas in an Asian-inspired vase for decor. All of the women and girls LOVED the rings from Chinatown!

These were the candy necklaces we included in the favors buffet.

Example of one of the many funky Chinatown rings we included in the favors buffet.

I covered a TV tray with fabric from IKEA and bought a vase and two pitchers from Crate and Barrel.

Our reception was at the "Inn of the Seventh Ray" in Topanga, CA and the restaurant has a very distinct decor feel to it. So, I kept the centerpieces a simple white and green. I used white China mums, green lotus pods and green elephant grass. I bought the white lattice candleabras from West Elm and stuck basic clear vases inside of them to hold the flowers and water.

My dress was Watters Watters from Jaclyn's Bridal in Costa Mesa.  Mindy, the owner of Jaclyn's Bridal, is amazing and she added lace in between the v-neck to make it less revealing.  The dress is made from horizontal strips of grosgrain ribbon.  Pretty amazing and unique, I thought.

Pink peonies and light pink mini amaryllis.

We borrowed my mom's hip mini cooper.

White china mums, white ranunculas, bright pink sweat peas, green viburnum, white garden roses.

Chinatown umbrellas were provided for shade.  We also provided modern white folding chairs from IKEA for the older adults and our immediate family members.

My husband wore a suit from Banana Republic, Rainbow sandals (manufactured in my home town San Clemente), a tie and shirt from Men's Wearhouse and I created a fun boutonniere from a mini amaryllis bloom tied in a braid pattern with raffia.  Part of the groomsmen gifts were Rainbow sandals and the ties.

Ryan's mom, a Unitarian minister, presided over our ceremony and she did a fantastic and touching job.  She wore a purple and pink ikat shawl that we bought her in Bali, Indonesia.

Here are our vows, which we wrote with help from several books, and repeated back and forth to each other...

VOWS
I will turn to you when I'm in need and care for you when you are.

I will take strength from who you are, recognize who you are not, and remind you who you want to be.

I will be your partner as we explore this beautiful world together and I will support you when you need to explore it on your own.

I will relax with you, laugh with you, dance with you, learn with you, and find peace with you and beside you.

I will try to remember, whether sunk in sorrow or distracted by the day-to-day, what I feel at this moment, my sense of good fortune, my sheer joy at being with you.

Knowing my family and friends surround me...

Knowing who I am and who I want to be...

With this strength and certainty, I say to you...

I have only one life...

And it is only so long...

And I choose to spend it with you.

You can get a peek at my enagagement ring here.  I wore it on my right hand for the ceremony.  It's an antique ring from the 30s from an estate jeweler here in Santa Monica called Nobel Gems.

But it's actually Topanga Beach in Malibu, CA!

Just chillin' after the ceremony...

Entrance to Inn of the Seventh Ray, in Topanga Canyon, where our reception was held.

Ryan and my "baby" brother.

We placed white china mums, white garden roses and green lotus pods in the fountain at our reception site.

Our photographer, Michele Andersen, came up with this one.

I used a rustic box and filled it with white china mums, green viburnum, green lotus pods and grass.

We opted to serve three flavors of cheesecake and a fruit tart instead of a traditional wedding cake.  We still cut this tiny one though.

These adorable munchkins belong to my bridesmaid Amy, who is now pregnant with her fourth!!!

A shot of one of our ceremony readings, against a colorful handmade fan that we bought on a trip to Merida, Meixico.