So apparently it’s California wedding week over here at La Belle Bride!  I’m going to throw on that new Katy Perry Cali song (I’m a Snoop Dogg lover) and just go with it.  And let’s be honest: Who among us couldn’t use a little California wedding inspiration?  Sunny skies, gorgeous florals…and is it just me, or is everyone cute over there?

Okay, permission to get a little mushy -  I’m going to ask  you guys to take a look at my favorite photo from this post.  It’s the one of Janelle and Bradley killing themselves laughing during their vows.  Literally, I love that stuff.  We just got a glimpse into what Janelle and Bradley are like on Thursday evenings, when it’s just the two of them eating take out and watching television.  They’re buddies.  They get a kick outta each other.  Check out those dancing pics for more proof.  I love it.

AS ALWAYS, hats off to Melissa Brandman, Southern California photographer extraordinaire for catching those amazing little moments that have turned me into a bit of a puddle.  xoxo!

Our bride Janelle: Brad and I both have a simply yet classy aesthetic. We wanted to bring in a country feel but with elegant undertones. To be honest – when I thought about my wedding, there were only a couple must-haves. I wanted my Dad to perform the ceremony, my best friend of 17 years to be my maid of honor, and I wanted to have dainty mints as a favor (a long time favorite of weddings when I was a kid). With that in mind, the entire wedding process was really easy in that there was nothing that “I absolutely had to have” and in the end we ended up having everything we could have ever wanted.

One of the themes in our wedding was a tree – from our engagement photos, to our invitations, to our wedding site – Brad and I loved the simple rustic elegance of big sprawling trees. Going off this, we really tried to keep a natural feel in our wedding – the backyard ceremony, the mason jars for drinking, spring blossoms and a bbq dinner just all seemed to fit.

Being on a budget, there were a couple of ways we were able to do it ourselves, save money and end up having what we really wanted. The first was in our invitations; Brad designed the tree themed invitation and had them printed at Vistaprint. Vistaprint is a fabulous website that lets you custom design save the dates, invitations, programs etc, and besides being inexpensive, they also often has free giveaways with your order. Brad also took the design from our invitation and designed the program, which we then glued on to popsicle sticks to make fans for our guests! I put together our favors by buying mini brown bags from Michaels, ordering a custom made tree stamp off etsy.com, and purchasing my favorite mints from Rite Aid! A couple of hours of assembly line and lots of laughter and voila! Adorable favors.

However my favorite Do It Yourself project actually was done by the hands of my amazing mom-in-law, Teanie. Teanie is a beyond talented seamstress (she made Brad’s sister’s wedding dress – talk about pressure) and after hours of pouring through bridal websites and finding nothing remotely close to what I wanted and being quite expensive at the same time, I asked her if she would take on the project of making the bridesmaid dresses. I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding miracle! I found a pattern that I had liked with a similar “crumb catcher” pattern as my wedding dress, and then with the help of Teanie, we found the perfect sunflower yellow and ivory fabric. I had wanted ivory on top, because lets be honest, yellow is not everyone’s color. Teanie was able to make the dresses for 35 dollars per dress! Talk about a steal!

Hahah I’ve probably rambled on enough – but I’ll leave with this, the whole day was perfect. It truly was. From a personal viewpoint – having both our Dads perform the ceremony and having our family and friends there and getting to marry my best friend, nothing could have topped this day. And from a practical standpoint – our vendors rocked! If you are getting married in the Southern California area I can not say enough about the beauty of McCormick Ranch, the tasty-ness of Green Acres and Skiff’s Cakes, the adeptness of Alvaron Entertainment, the tailored and delicate expertise of White House Florist, and the wonderful artistic skills of our photographer, Melissa Brandman.

Wedding Coordinator: Morgan Thrower  |  Venue: McCormick Ranch, Camarillo, California  |  Wedding Dress: Angelina Faccenda  |  Wedding Hair: Euodia Salon |  Wedding Makeup: Cathy James, Los Angeles Makeup Artist  |  Bridesmaid Dress: Teanie Benham (the groom’s mother)  |  Menswear: Mr. Tuxedo Rentals.  |  Caterer: Green Acres |  Wedding Cake: Skiffs Cakes |  Invitations: Designed by the Groom and printed at Vista Print |  Florist: White House Florist |  Entertainment: Alvaron Entertainment & Events |  Photography: Melissa Brandman Photography