Rose gold lovers must see this sparkling California wedding

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Today’s real wedding has just about every top thing I love in life – sparkles (obviously), California sunsets (who doesn’t?), amazing food (roasted pig, oh my!) and my guiltiest pleasure, donuts. That alone would make this wedding the perfect match for my heart but add in a super sweet couple, cliffside venue, super stylish multicultural wear and man, what can a girl do but swoon?

We must begin with the sparkles. Lauren’s rose gold princess cut (which cut is that? Find out here!) engagement ring was the inspiration for the whole wedding style. Allowing her girls to choose a gown that fit their best bits, and their budgets, they were given two stipulations – rose gold and sparkle, please – and boy did her ‘maids sparkle in that California sun.

Lauren and Homer were styling themselves! A tea length Justin Alexander gown to match her vintage do and a gold slightly shimmering traditional Barong Tagalog for him. The looks are both so obviously personal but compliment the whole scene flawlessly. Major style points to you Lauren!

Our Love Story

Lauren and Homer first met while working at Ventura CRT in October of 2011. Lauren was training Homer and oriented him to the program. Two months later, Lauren went to work for the county and Homer asked her out on their first date.

Lauren and Homer knew soon after they started dating that they were each other’s soulmates. They had talked about marriage frequently throughout 5 years of dating but knew that they wanted to wait to get married until they were both done with school and getting their licenses. In August of 2015, Lauren obtained her license as an LMFT and Homer obtained his license as an LVN. From August 2015 to March of 2016 – Lauren and Homer spent a lot of time ring shopping and discussing their next steps. In March of 2016, Homer proposed over a breakfast burrito with the most beautiful ring, a rose gold princess cut solitaire.

The Dress & Styling

I had a vision to have a rose gold wedding to match my engagement ring that was rose gold.

I also knew that I wanted a non-traditional dress and that we would have the men wear the tradition Barong Tagalog’s to incorporate the Filipino culture, which matched perfectly with the rose gold theme. I wanted my bridesmaids to have freedom in picking their dresses that fit their body type and was affordable so I set the guideline that they could get their dresses wherever they wanted as long as they were long, gold or rose gold sequins.

I have to also give a shout to my hairstylist, Deborah Allen, from Coco Bardot Salon in Ventura. I have been going to her for 6 years, ever since I moved to California. She was amazing to work with for the wedding! She knows me so well and knew that I wanted a vintage hairstyle and makeup look. She came to our hotel the morning of the wedding and also brought her makeup stylist. This meant so much to me because it allowed me and all of my East Coast bridesmaids to get ready together before the wedding. It was a special moment that I will never forget!

The Venue

I knew I wanted to have a low-cost wedding that incorporated both aspects of our cultures. I also knew I wanted to make a whole weekend out of it to show off Ventura, California since my family was driving from the East Coast.

Our decision to have the wedding at Serra Cross Park was very meaningful to us as we had our very first date there so it was a no-brainer to exchange our vows in the same spot of where we started our relationship.

Special Moments

The day was so Homer and I since it was a day wedding (we go to bed super early), it was in the spot we had our first date, it incorporated both of our cultures, we wrote and read our own vows (I even spoke a line in Tagalog). We did not really focus on “traditional” aspects of a typical wedding but really wanted to make it our own, and most importantly, we wanted the day to be stress-free and fun…and it was!!!

The Details

A friend referred me to Sarah Pugh from A Vintage Heart, and thank god they did! Sarah helped me develop the vision for my rehearsal dinner, which I knew I wanted to do at Oxnard Beach Park. Sarah had the brilliant idea to turn the rehearsal into a Luau themed dinner so we hired a Mai from Mai’s Café to create the Hawaiian & Filipino dishes such as Lechon (a whole roasted pig!) Sarah, Kate, Kelly, and Haley really made my vision of a rose gold wedding come to life!

Hiring Bruce Barrios as our DJ and DJs Catering for food and rentals was a no-brainer as well. Not only are they voted best in Ventura County, but they also volunteer their services at the Casa Pacifica Food and Wine Festival every year, which is the non-profit that I work for that serves abused and neglected children. Bruce and Doug were so easy to work with and really helped finalize and deliver the vision I had with amazing music, food, and rentals.

The Photography

As soon as I got engaged, I called Kate Farley from Devon and Pinkett (our amazing florist), who I have known most of life, she is a very good friend of mine and I am best friends with her younger sister, Kelly. Kate and Kelly immediately referred me to Haley Richter for photography and I knew I needed her as my photographer as soon as I looked at her work.

I completely trusted Kelly and Kate because I have seen Kate’s work and Kelly is just as talented. And boy did Haley deliver!

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Photo by Haley Richter Photography via Bridal Musings

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Advice for Other Couples

We had our beautiful wedding on a budget and we were also really lucky to have close friends as vendors but either way I would hire all of my vendors again in a heartbeat. I can honestly say that I did not stress or worry the day of the event due to all my amazing vendors. Number one advice is to hire a wedding coordinator – that is advice that I had gotten and I don’t regret hiring Sarah one bit, it was so worth it! Sarah really went above and beyond.

I also can’t express enough to hire someone like Haley – she pulled out all of the stops to capture the time from our engagement to the wedding. She captured the most beautiful engagement pictures in Big Sur, California, she captured my bridal shower in Pennsylvania, she even came to our rehearsal dinner to capture that special moment and the Luau, and she helped me re-live the wedding day over and over with all the gorgeous pictures of the wedding!