Thoughtful & Inclusive Wedding in a 'Tree Chapel'! ♥

Aya is originally from the suburbs of Tokyo, growing up in Japan and San Diego. Conrad is originally from New Jersey. The pair currently live in Santa Monica and decided to exchange vows in a thoughtful, inclusive wedding ceremony at the absolutely breathtaking Wayfarer's Chapel. The architectural beauty of the Wayfarer's Chapel, which is a 'tree chapel" set in the midst of forest's natural sanctuary, speaks for itself . You'll see exactly why in these spectacular images by Figlewicz Photography. Rather than choosing a theme, the couple wanted to keep the look clean, simple and modest to reflect their taste. They worked with a palette of ivory, gray, muted purple for decor and florals: "The floral displays was our only de facto decor. We absolutely loved Be Buds Florist, our florist."

It was important to the couple that they make their day as inclusive as possible: "We asked for the verbiage to be gender neutral ("spouses" instead of "husband and wife") to reflect our advocacy for gender neutrality." The lovely couple also had three entree options (including vegan), four ice cream flavors to chose from (again, including vegan), and several scented vegan soaps from Soaptopia to chose from as favors. How awesome is that?!

"We wanted to make sure our guests were comfortable and felt appreciated, as the majority of them traveled from afar. We chose La Venta Inn as our venue so that all could enjoy the an undeniably stunning view and made sure that there was a variety of music for all tastes to enjoy during the reception too."

Romantic Wedding in a forest 'Tree Chapel'

Figlwicz Photography captured a beautiful photograph of my mother buttoning up my dress.
I chose the Francine gown from BHLDN because the buttons on the back were delicate and pretty.

Romantic Purple, Ivory + Gray Wedding

Love Story. We met on eHarmony. We share a few defining experiences that make us compatible including elements of our upbringing, and having our straight-A egos destroyed by UC Berkeley during our young adulthood. A couple months into dating he bought me a giant teddy bear from Costco for my 25th birthday as a joke. A few months after that my company decided to transfer me to Milan. I knew he was the one when traveled from LA to Milan with the Giant teddy bear the month after I made the trans-Atlantic move. We got engaged on my 27th birthday.

Hair and Make Up: I wanted my makeup to look natural, and my hair to be in a low bun to highlight the buttons on the dress. The hair and dress together created a 1920's vibe, an unintended creation I am pleased with.

Advice and Tips for Brides:

Bouquet: My key words were "muted purple" and "garden". Taka at Be Buds Florist made it happen.

Bridal Party Styling: The bridesmaids wore long chiffon dresses in muted purple. They were encouraged to wear minimal makeup to highlight their natural beauty. The groomsmen wore gray suits. The bouquet and boutonnieres tied the look together.

Groom's Attire: He wore a matching grey suit as his groomsmen. He wore an ivory bow tie for the special occasion.

Wedding Ceremony: We went with the chapel's humanist ceremony.

Wedding guest book and seating chart: We asked our guests to take selfies on an Instax and paste them on the guestbook. We bought the guest book and photo corners at MUJI (minimalist retailer based in Japan).

Wedding reception: We decorated the place card table with wedding photos from our parents' and grandparents' weddings. Taka at Be Buds Florist did an amazing job with the floral decor.

Wedding Playlist: We played the Polish Wedding March as we walked into the reception to follow the Polish wedding tradition. Our first dance was Norwegian Woods by the Beatles, which is the tile of my favorite novel by Haruki Murakami. The rest of the wedding playlist was a mix of Bhangra and popular American tunes.

• I would advise not to let tradition, convention or others' expectations inhibit you from seeking what you want. It's your day!
• Having our ceremony at a beautiful chapel allowed us to keep our florist cost down. We would have spent more on flowers if we had our ceremony at our reception venue, as we would have wanted to add flowers to the otherwise barren gazebo.

♥ ♥ ♥ Vendors ♥ ♥ ♥

Photographer Figlewicz Photography // Venue La Venta Inn // Bridesmaid Dresses David's Bridal // Dress BHLDN http://www.bhldn.com // Brides Hair & Make Up Beach Bridal Beauty // Brides Make-up Beach Bridal Beauty //
Flowers Be Buds Florist // Cake Sweet Rose Creamery // DJ NYCDJ's // Decor DIY // Favors Soaptopia
Stationery Wedding Paper Divas // Shoes Anthropologie // Suits Friar Tux Shop