The best part about 2021 – being able to celebrate love like this…

Let’s be honest, though we love micro-weddings, though we love celebrating love in all sizes – we also missed being able to celebrate with a bit more freedom. And, as things get better, we hope to capture more “hugs,” more “kisses” and more “confetti!”

Kristina and David are real life super humans. Having lived their engagement while in a pandemic, they showed so much courage and love. Following their stories on Instagram while I anticipated their wedding day at Hartley Botanica was a true treat, they are a special blend of fun and I cannot wait to see where life takes them!!

Check out highlights and inspiration from their day below!

Share your inspiration and the atmosphere you created for your wedding. 

We had a mix of different styles (Garden Glam, Bohemian & Luxe) that we wanted to incorporate, but wanted everything to still be very “Soft and Dreamy”. To get this, we made sure to incorporate whimsical florals, bohemian/jute textures and gold/rose gold metals to have just a touch of each theme we were trying to incorporate. We really wanted our guests to have a “destination wedding” type of experience without having to leave CA! The Hartley Botanica atmosphere gave us a mix of English Garden, Asian Tea Gardens and of course the Beautiful Paulili Garden that offered the Hawaii feel.

 

What was your color palette and your style vision? 

Dusty Rose/Mauve, Black, Blue & Nude

 

What unique elements or DIY details did you include? 

We had ALOT of DIY details and wanted to incorporate small details to add some “David & Kristina” details.

Our Logo – I am obsessed with animals (Particularly Llamas & Alpacas) and its always been an inside joke about my obsession with them & David is an amazing Fisherman. We designed a logo of two kissing Alpacas (One with a Fishing Pole) to resemble us. We had these logos printed on our Invitation, Programs and also laser printed on wood as our Cake Topper

The Bar: We also had a custom Bar Menu (Made by our close friends) with our Signature Drinks named after our Beloved Fur Babies (“The Harley” – Tequila Sunrise & “The Peanut” – Whiskey & Tea).

Seating Chart – Since our venue was all outdoors, we wanted the reoccurring theme of twinkle lights and candles. We made sure that the venue was filled with floating candles and our seating chart was made of empty wine bottles and twinkle lights! Each Table had its own Bottle with DIY Labels printed with our Alpaca Logo, Table Number & Guest names.

What was your favorite moment? Your favorite crafted detail? 

My favorite moment was the First Look. David and I were going back and forth if we wanted to do a first look or if we wanted our first look to be of me walking down the aisle to him or if we should have time before the ceremony to see each other. I am so glad we went with Vanessa’s suggestion with meeting before the ceremony – this made it so much more intimate and we didn’t have to worry about a bunch of eyes staring at us! It was just us two in the Rose Garden (and the photo/video teams – that were invisible!) and there were so many tears.

Favorite Crafted Detail – Our Signature Drink Doggie Menu!

Share about your flowers, your gown, your favors, your cake, etc. 

Gown – Martina Liana – A mix of Vintage & Modern. Lots of Beading (But subtle sparkle) and lots of soft lace!

Flowers – Bridal Bouquet had a mix of dried elements to make it a bit more boho. Cascading Orchids & Sandstone roses. I asked my florist to make an Organic (not so common) shape to my bouquet and Susie did an amazing job with this!

Centerpieces – We mixed up our tables with some having tall arrangements of Sandstone Roses & Hydrangeas on top of a Rose Gold Riser & others had a wreath with touches of roses and staggered floating candles. The variety made our reception space look amazing!

Groom & Groomsmen Boutonnieres – a mix of Orchids, Sandstone Roses & Dried Bunny Tail (Touch of Boho again!)

Cake – We went with a 3 Tier cake from Frost It Cakery! A mix of Modern Boho – Smooth Buttercream frosting with Dusty Rose & White Colors, decorated with sandstone roses & Dried Bunny Tails sitting on top of a Jute Placemat (and of course topped with our Fishing/Llama Logo!)

Share how (or why) you chose your wedding venue(s). 

We visited Hartley Botanica during a tour and completely fell in love. The game changer was the aisle! The tunnel of trees was so romantic we immediately fell in love. We wanted a different experience for our guests and Hartley had so much to offer! Each part of our night was held in a different area of Hartley & we received the most amazing compliments!

As soon as you enter into the driveway, you are immediately taken to a different world! All of our guests complimented on it being the best venue they’ve visited and most of our guests felt like they were in Hawaii!

Share about who you are and what unique details of your wedding day were based on your relationship.

We had a very multi-cultural wedding! I am Filipino & David is Korean.

During our Ceremony, we incorporated Filipino Traditions of the Veil, Cord and Coins Ceremony.

The Veil – “To Clothe Us as One”
The Cord – “To Bind Us Together”
The Coins – “To Bless our Future with Prosperity”

This was new to many of our guests and it was a nice way to show the Filipino Traditions.

During Cocktail Hour, David and I each wore a Traditional Korean Hanbok.

Sharing small segments of both of our cultures was one of the highlights of our day! It was a definite Crowd pleaser!

What was your favorite part of the planning process? (Please feel free to share how you adapted as COVID changed the entire wedding planning process!)

Our Favorite Part of the planning process were the final weeks leading up to the big day. Our planning process was extended due to Covid – after multiple reschedules and postponements our styles and idea of our perfect wedding day really shifted throughout the planning period. There were times during our planning process where we thought we didn’t want a big wedding anymore and almost cancelled it and were just content with Eloping. But as the final weeks came up, we were finally able to see the BIG PICTURE and were able to see all our hard work come together. The calls of going over our timeline really got us excited for the big day!

What is your most valuable piece of advice you can share with future couples? 

Our most valuable piece of advice to future couples is to really make the Wedding about your relationship and not about the wedding, decor or your guests. There are so many amazing inspiration photos to look at on Pinterest and some may be so extravagant. It can be a time that can be stressful to worry about all the little details but always remember who your teammate is in the planning. Take the planning process one day at a time and always remember the reason behind the wedding – ITS ALL ABOUT YOUR LOVE!

 

Congratulations Kristina & David!!

 

XO,

V