This Malibu garden wedding is delightfully vintage and full of charm! And may I just say, this couple just warms my heart. Very unfortunately, the night before their wedding, Nicole and Edward spent most of the night in the emergency room as the groom experienced a freak eye injury right before their rehearsal dinner. The end result, Edward had to wear an eye patch throughout the wedding. But with real grace and style, this wedding is an absolute charmer. I love this couple’s rich sense of history and personal touches like: the vintage lace linen for the canopy originally belonging to the grooms grandmother…hand-etched champagne glasses with each guests’ name on them…the Scottish “Oathing Stone” sculpted by the groom…or the Coconut Chiffon wedding cake baked by the bride herself. I mean wow, Nicole and Edward, you guys are amazing. Congrats!
Nicole + Edward | October 6, 2012 | Malibu, California
The Ceremony
We wanted our ceremony to be very personal, so we wrote everything ourselves and the groom’s father officiated. It was very emotional – we cried and laughed through most of it, including the guests. It took place on the lawn, surrounded by trees and gorgeous flowering bushes. It felt very lush and intimate. We blended Scottish and Jewish customs into the ceremony. The groom designed and built the modern, redwood, cantilevered chuppah himself and we used vintage lace linen from the groom’s grandmother for the canopy. The groom, a sculptor, also made the marble “Oathing Stone.” In the Scottish tradition, the bride and groom place their hands on an oathing stone while they state their vows. This is where the saying “written in stone” comes from.
In Sickness and in Health…
The groom got a freak eye injury right before the rehearsal dinner, the night before the wedding. We wound up spending the night before and the morning of our wedding day in the ER. We got home from the hospital at 4 am, got four hours of sleep, and got up to get prepared for the wedding. He had to wear an eye patch through most of the wedding. Not ideal, but certainly memorable! And the groomsmen surprised us with sympathy eye patches that they wore throughout the event. Some guests got in on the fun too.
The Reception
We wanted our guests to enjoy the gorgeous Malibu sunset, so we scheduled cocktails on the deck for the perfect time. We lucked out and the sky was amazing. We brought everyone back down to the lawn for dinner and dancing. There were a lot of vintage touches. The bride made faux mercury glass votives and vases, and also went antiquing for vintage linen napkins so each guest had a unique napkin at their place setting. For favors, we hand-etched champagne glasses with each guest’s name. The food was incredible. We had food stations so people could enjoy a variety of foods. The bride baked the wedding cake herself from an old family recipe for Coconut Chiffon Cake. The DJ was Mel Hammond, a House DJ from Chicago and a friend of the bride’s, who kept the guests dancing all night long.
Nicole’s Dress Search
I knew that I wanted a slim fitting sheath that had a vintage look and interesting beading and I found exactly what I wanted with Jenny Packham. All of her collections have a vintage vibe, and after combing through her site, I found what I thought was going to be my dress. However, when I went to the Jenny Packham trunk show at Saks and I put that dress on, I didn’t love it on me. After trying on a few more styles, the woman helping me at Saks pulled Muse and I knew it was the one as soon as I put it on. My sister-in-law was with me and she started crying, and other brides wanted to try the dress on after seeing it on me. I felt amazing in it and had to have it!
How Nicole Felt in Her Wedding Dress
Glamorous. Sensual. Distinctive.
Why Nicole Decided to Sell Her Wedding Dress
It would be a waste for it to live in a closet and never be worn again. It’s just too beautiful! It’s also a good choice for the environment and for my wallet. I tried to buy my dress on preownedweddingdresses.com too. Muse came up once before my wedding, but sadly, I didn’t get to it in time. Some other lucky bride beat me to it!
