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French garden inspired wedding: Aaron + Shauna

January 27, 2014
French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Ours was just great, and now we’re ready to start the last week of January with a major beauty, captured by Braedon Flynn Photography. Event design powerhouse teams, Jesi Haack Designs and JL Designs are teasing us with this one. We easily mistook it for a French countryside wedding, but nope. It’s just a stones throw from Catalina Island. The Maypole ceremony, the baguette cart used as escort cards, the pie display, and garland of cups decorating the dance floor, love!

Tara Keely wedding dress | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357

Bridesmaids in polka dots, total win!

French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 Tara Keely wedding dress | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357

And did we mention that Aaron is also a wedding photographer? Love when they’re on the other side of the camera.

French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357

Sweet invitations by Thorn + Sparrow.

French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357

Right!? Doesn’t the Catalina View Gardens venue feel like it could be in the French countryside?

French bread escort cards  | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French bread escort cards  | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357

How they saved: We kept the guest count low! Its the hardest thing to do when you start to look at all the friends and family you would love to have. By keeping it to the 80 people that were nearest and dearest we were still able to afford the amazing food and rentals we really wanted. We also hired a bartender that came with the necessary permits, licenses and service without the alcohol ‘everything but the booze.’ This allowed us to provide the exact alcohol we wanted without a caterer markup.

French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 Pie dessert table | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 Pie dessert table | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 Pie dessert table | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357 French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357

How sweet is this super8 video from Braedon Flynn?

French garden inspired wedding | Southern California wedding | Photo by Braedon Flynn | Read more - http://www.100layercake.com/blog/?p=67357

From Shauna: I know brides hear this all the time, but just to drive it home one more time- your wedding day is about you and your husband – don’t worry about what everyone tells you to do. Think really hard about what you want YOUR day to be like and make it happen. All of the planning and hoopla we brides put ourselves before the wedding won’t matter when you are standing before God saying your vows to each other. And honestly, some of our favorite memories from the day were completely unplanned!

The best thing we did for ourselves was to pick vendors we really loved. Finding people you love to work with and can completely trust is everything. Creative people thrive on being given direction and TRUSTED to really make awesome things happen. We gave our vendors some inspiration and set them loose. We loved being surprised on our wedding day with all the things they came up with that we would never have imagined on our own.

Love to hear that more couples are starting to give creative freedom to their trusting wedding team, don’t you? Congratulations Aaron + Shauna!

For more inspiration check out our Wedding Ideas section + Pinterest boards.

Photographer + Videographer: Braedon Flynn  / Ceremony & Reception Venue: Catalina View Gardens / Event Coordinator: The Love Riot  / Event Designer: Jesi Haack / Invitation Designer: Thorn & Sparrow / Hair & Makeup: 1011 Makeup / Florist: JL Designs / Pies: Polly’s Pies / Catering: Whoa, Nelly! / Rentals: Archive Vintage Rentals / Signature Party Rentals / DJ: JP McCloud / Bartender: Sunseri’s / Wedding dress: Tara Keely purchased at Mon Amie Bridal / Wedding shoes: Jimmy Choo / Veil: Princess Bride Couture / Flower crown: JL Designs / Earrings & bracelet: Nordstrom / Guys Suits: J.Crew / Groom’s Tie: Klien Epstein & Parker / Grooms’s Bowtie: Klien Epstein & Parker / Shoes: Sperry Topsiders, J.Crew / Bridesmaid dresses: Anthropologie