Wedding: Brooke and Monica

From Monica: I met Brooke when I was her cosmetology instructor in beauty school when we lived in Milwaukee WI. I immediately knew I was in trouble, as I fell in love.

We got engaged quickly and after a year we moved to Los Angeles. We finally set a date for our wedding a year and a half after moving to LA and started planning the most incredible experience of our lives. Not only was the wedding nothing less than perfect, the planning of our big day was amazing too. We decided that the wedding was to be very DIY and completely personal so our guests could share in our love but see and enjoy a wedding so very different than they had experienced. We wanted specialty touches and people to leave remembering our day!

The style we envisioned was very feminine and romantic. The day felt like this… Great Gatsby and Midsummers Night Dream crossed with a vintage yet modern feel. Soft lighting from candles, hundreds of crystals hanging in birch trees, mason jars, paper lanterns, feathers, and pale pink flowers. We released Chinese Lanterns into the sky after dark and danced our first dance with sparklers surrounding us. For our guests we had a warm fire, karaoke, a full dessert table with vintage candies-to-go, signature drinks including Popsicle Champagne Floats, Pink Grapefruit Margaritas and Upside Down Pineapple Wedding Cake.

When I look back on that day, it was the best day of my life. It was an unforgettable day with our families and friends. But even better than that was getting to have Brooke become my wife. I wish I could do it all again!

Photographs by E Finlan Photography and Bridget Paul Photography