Tim and I were set up through mutual friends and met while Tim was still stationed in Hawaii and I was living in Los Angeles. We had a long distance relationship for about a year, lots of letters, phone calls and frequent flights to and from the islands. During that time, I convinced Tim to get a puppy to help cope with the loneliness of being in a long distance relationship. We got our dog Kimokeo together when I came to visit Tim in Hawaii and when we decided to get married; we knew we had to have Kimo with us. Even though we would have loved to get married in Hawaii where our story began, that would mean flying Kimo as well which made things much more complicated. Our search for the perfect venue was difficult, especially when we knew we wanted someplace that felt like a getaway but close enough to have all our family and friends join. We knew we wanted to be surrounded by nature and Ojai felt like the perfect place. We found gorgeous pictures of The Dent House on a blog and decided to see it in person. When we visited the property we saw the potential of an amazing wedding and Kimo had a blast running around and enjoying the Ranch.
We didn’t really go with a particular style or theme; we just tried to keep everything as organic as possible. I told our florist what I liked and asked her to use flowers you could easily find in the surrounding area. I let the bridesmaids pick their own dresses and told them to stick to a neutral color palette, which is what we did with the “styling” of our tables as well. We really wanted the food, flowers and natural surroundings to stand out so we kept things to a minimum. It’s so easy to get wrapped up into what people think your wedding should be like, you have to take a moment and really decide what YOU want it to be and do your best to stick with it.
There was a ton of work involved since we had to bring everything in and coordinate every last detail, but our family and friends all pitched in which really made it a once in a lifetime experience. We loved every moment of our wedding weekend, from the secluded environment we shared with our guests, to the love that was poured into making it all come together. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Photography: Kurt Boomer // Venue: The Dent House at Matilija Canyon Ranch, Ojai // Planner: This was truly a team effort, many family and friends pitched in to make every detail run smoothly. // Cake: Grand Casino Bakery & Café, Culver City // Floral Design: Krista Ward-Sell at Petaling a dream Dress: Angelina Bridal Couture from Panache, Beverly Hills The dress was actually two pieces (a slip and the lace overlay) that I had made into one complete dress. I had the straps of the slip cut off and attached the entire slip to the overlay lace of the dress // Veil and alterations: Marie at West Coast Couture // Shoes: Jeffrey Cambell, trudeau // Makeup and hair: Renee Loiz Makeup // Grooms suit: Custom made, Nordstrom – Tim picked every detail of the suit himself, from the fabric to the inner lining and even the stitching and our embroidered wedding date on the inside pocket. It was definitely a fun experience for him // Grooms shoes: Frye, James lace up boot // Groomsmen suits: Marc Ecko, Mens Warehouse // Bridesmaid’s dresses: I let the girls each pick their own in any shade of nude, ivory, peach or cream. The only thing I asked of them was to get a dress they loved and that they would wear again and again. I love how each dress reflected their own individual style. The choices came from Anthropologie, Zara, Forever 21 and Kensie // Caterer: Eco Caters // Homebrewed beer and Wedding website: Cousins of the Bride- Vanessa and David Shanks Created by David Shanks // Save the dates, Invitations and beer labels: Graphic designer/artist and cousin of the bride- Alina Stempa, alinastempa@gmail.com, available for hire! // Lighting: Ideal lighting and sound // Rentals: Ventura Rentals // Music: The Get Down Boys – welcome reception, ceremony and first dance // DJ Eddie Polhill- edward.polhill@gmail.com dinner and reception.
