Oh boy, I know we say this a lot, but we have such a gorgeous real wedding to share on the blog today.

This one is luxurious, elegant, deeply personalised and full of inspired ideas.

Brittany & Tyler are a California couple who have known eachother since they were kids. Their wedding was a celebration of not just their marriage, but of their two, already close families, coming together. So as you can imagine, it was one heck of a party.

The Malibu wedding, held in the idyllic Saddlerock Ranch, was beautifully photographed by Studio EMP and planned and styled to perfection by Katie Webb of Intertwined Events.

With a shared family history in the world of scrap metal, hints of copper, steel, and rose gold were the starting point for the wedding decor, giving a glamorous twist on the theme.

Salvaged timber throughout the outdoor venue, was adorned in white florals and foliage garlands, with luxe lounge seating areas, mis-matched furniture, and lots of mixed metallic touches. (Just wait 'til you see the ceremony set-up!)

With an 22-strong bridal party (decked out in elegant rose gold and grey), a guest list of 300, and a family with an extensive shared history, this wedding was always going to a pretty epic one.

But what I love most was that, even amid all the beautiful decor and bustling party, Brittany & Tyler, with the help of their planner Katie, still managed to create an event that was so personalised, entirely bespoke, and incredibly memorable.

And that's a hard task to pull off!

Wedding Day Snapshot

Our Love Story

We have really known each other our whole lives. Our fathers met when they were in their early twenties and starting their businesses in the scrap business (my dad was the third generation in his family to go into scrap, and his dad was second generation). They worked together to start their businesses side by side. Tyler and I would see each other on family vacations and at birthday and holiday parties growing up. But I was the little annoying girl three years younger than him, and he and his brothers were the super intimidating and crazy older boys I was terrified of growing up. Eventually, as we got older and found other interests we didn't see each other as often, except maybe at his dad's annual Christmas party. In 2006 my family joined his family and other friends on a trip to Tahiti for his dad's 50th birthday. I was 18 and had just graduated high school, and he had just finished sophomore year of college. Suddenly, I wasn't the annoying little girl and he wasn't the scary older boy. Everyone in the party took a catamaran sunset cruise for his dad's birthday, and somehow only Tyler and I and his step-brother ended up on a boat together, while everyone else was on two other boats. We talked the whole cruise, and then spent the entire night together, talking and laughing under the stars, dancing, singing, and then watching the sunrise. My parents came out of their room to watch the sunrise as well and were quite surprised to find us sitting on the deck. That began eight years of adventures, traveling, and enjoying life together.

The Proposal

On June 11, 2014, a random Wednesday night, eight years to the day that I arrived on that trip in Tahiti, Tyler took me out for a "date night". We took a duffy boat out in Newport Harbor, where Tyler opened a bottle of wine, and pulled out a poem that he had written. It was the most beautiful poem outlining our relationship and ultimately asking me to marry him. Of course, I said yes! We had dinner at The Cannery restaurant, then got back on the boat to watch the sunset. Suddenly, a much bigger boat pulled up with all of our family and closest friends on it. I was so surprised and thrilled that we would get to share the night with those who had supported us to that point; it meant the world to us to have them there. We spent the rest of the night toasting and celebrating with all of them. And a year and a half after our engagement (and 9+ years after Tahiti) we finally got to marry each other in front of 300 of our friends and family. It was the most beautiful night that celebrated our family roots in the scrap business (surprisingly a large family-oriented business world; and Tyler has built a career over the last 8 years in the business), our adventurous sense of life together, our love of the simple things in life, but also our appreciation of the finer things. To me, the wedding brought together every dynamic aspect of us as individuals, and us as a couple, as we began our forever together.

The Inspiration

(From wedding planner Katie Webb of Intertwined Events)

The theme was rustic glam with the concept of metals being tied throughout. As you read above from their story, the metal business is a huge part of their life. ecause of this, we wove it throughout the décor from the paper goods, to the table numbers, types of tables and chairs. They are also huge country fans and love the outdoors, which set the precedent for the venue. Since we were bringing in some color and shine from the metallic elements, we kept all the other décor simple with whites and neutral touches.

Advice for Other Couples

If your budget allows, I definitely recommend hiring a planner, or at the very least a day-of coordinator. While I wanted the night to be beautiful, I really did not care to make every little decision myself. I was so lucky to find a planner (Katie Webb at Intertwined Events) who I immediately connected with; we had so much in common and I fully trusted her. Her team is more than qualified and they handled every detail without a hitch. I was able to show my planner things that I liked and communicate what I wanted, and she put it all together and made it happen. I knew she would honor my wishes and dreams, and I did not have to stress about every detail. It truly made for a stress-free planning period; we were able to enjoy being engaged and looking forward to our big day. The day of our wedding I did not stress at all; I knew that my planner and her team had it all handled. I never had a moment of worry, and if anything went wrong I honestly had no idea. I used Pinterest as my main source for inspiration, and it made it easy to share my vision with my planner, florist, etc. as well. I also used to get ideas for the wedding, bridesmaid dresses, and my bridal shower. I also loved finding unique pieces on Etsy. I purchased our flower girl basket, ring box, cake knife and serving set (engraved with our names and wedding date), guest book, and my garters, all from different shops on Etsy. Because we already lived together and had most of what we needed, I only registered for some things, and instead we decided to create a fund on Honeyfund to help us save money for our honeymoon, as well as remodelling our home in the future. The Honeyfund website made it so easy for our guests to send their gift of money; I really think they appreciated the convenience.

The Venue

We love the outdoors, traveling, and adventure; we can rough it but we also enjoy the finer things in life. When we found Saddlerock Ranch, we knew it was perfect. It was all outdoors, which was important to us; there were animals all around, which lends a sense of adventure, and driving to the venue felt like you were traveling to a grand destination. The venue really set the stage for what we wanted our guests to feel; we wanted them to feel as if they were going on a great adventure with us, but at the same time having a feeling of ease as if they were attending a party in our backyard.

The Ceremony

Our ceremony was tailored to us. Because the two of us are not particularly religious, we wanted a more casual ceremony that still honored the strong significance of our union as a married couple. Our very good friend performed the ceremony for us; he used humor at exactly the right times, while also perfectly outlining us as a couple, the union we were forming, and our future together. It was truly a heart-felt and heart-warming ceremony. Tyler and I also wrote our own vows, and he surprised me yet again with a poem.

The Music

Processional: 'Marry Me' by Train Recessional: 'Here Comes the Sun' First Dance: 'Memories of Us' by Keith Urban

The Photography

Honestly, both our photographer and videographer were highly recommended by our planner, and I fully trusted her. We met our photographer, Joel, and I loved his easy-going personality; I knew we would have a rowdy bridal party and guests, and I felt he would be able to go with the flow and capture it all. He has a way of capturing the small moments and details, and those are our favorites and most meaningful to us. It was also very important to us that our photographer was willing to give us full access to all of our pictures, without having to purchase every single one; and Joel was more than understanding and honored all of our wishes. Bottom line is, taking pictures can be super awkward, but Joel made us feel immediately at ease and it was actually fun! We thoroughly enjoyed our engagement session and our wedding day sessions. Our videographers were also highly recommended by my planner. We actually never got to meet them before our wedding day, but, like I said, I fully trusted my planner and her recommendations, so I wasn't worried. I watched a couple of "trailers" from other weddings that they had done, and I was so touched by them, I even shed a few tears, and I didn't even know the people! I knew that if I could be that moved by watching strangers, then my own "film" would be even better. They truly do "thread" everything together, as their name suggests. They perfectly captured our story, our wedding day, and the immense feelings of love, joy, and support that surrounded us that day and evening.

The Budget

Our budget was 200k. As for budgeting, I would say to choose the things that are most important to you to designate as "splurge" items, and then budget the rest accordingly. For me personally, aside from hiring a fantastic planner, pictures and videography were most important because I knew at the end of the day, that's all I got to walk away with. So those were our "splurge" items. We also knew that for us and our guests, we would have to have an open bar and a great DJ, so those were two non-negotiable items. We also wanted to make the whole process as easy as possible for everyone, so we provided transportation to and from the wedding, extra restrooms, multiple bars, and food stations to hopefully help keep lines and inconvenience to a minimum. One thing that didn't matter so much to us was dessert and a big wedding cake; so we got a very small, simple cake for us to cut, and some mini-desserts for our guests, and we were more than happy. We also didn't get any sort of special transportation for ourselves or the bridal party, we shared shuttles with all of the other guests, so that helped keep some of the transportation costs down. We also cut costs on paper goods; we did not have ceremony "programs" or printed escort cards, and we ordered simple Save the Dates and Thank You cards from websites such as Wedding Paper Divas and Minted, rather than spending lots of money on fancy paper goods. Those are just a few examples of how I decided to budget for certain items according to their priority to me.

The Decor & Details

(From wedding planner Katie Webb of Intertwined Events)

A few key décor elements:

• The florist refurbished old barn doors which we attached to the existing ceremony structure.
• Chalk boards were used as escort cards.
• Vintage lace napkins were used for each guest.
• There were three different table designs with different centerpieces, chairs and tables.
• A dessert station was a huge focal part of the evening with sweets from Sweet & Saucy.
• Custom tables were made with copper tops for the long wood tables.
• Custom table numbers were made by twisting copper into the shape of the table number.
• The groom made all of their lawn games.

Favourite Details

Our "theme" and decor felt tailored specifically to us. Because of the large part that scrap metal recycling has and continues to play in our life together, we had mixed metal decorations all throughout the wedding; from metal copper table numbers hand-made by a family friend, copper-covered tables, and mixed-metal chairs, to sparkly metallic tablecloths and mixed-metal pieces on the tables, it was all there. We also tied in a rustic and "masculine" vibe with cow hide rugs, hay bales as seats at the ceremony site, and a cigar "lounge" area. The "masculine" was complimented by the more "feminine" chandeliers and things that sparkled. Every detail of the decor fit us as individuals and as a couple.

The Flowers

Bouquets - garden roses, roses, dahlias, spray roses, and ranunculus. Centerpieces - garden roses, roses, dahlias, amaryllis, lisianthus, spray roses, hydrangea, greenery, garlands, grass, and sparkly straw bales.

The Refreshments

The signature drink was a Moscow mule which was served to everyone in copper mugs as they arrived. Starting off dinner with salads served in glass jars, we then served the entrée through customized stations - we had a BBQ station served on disposable cafeteria trays, flatbreads served in individual pizza boxes and a mashed potato bar served in large mason jars.

Favourite Moments

I had many favorite moments, but two in particular really stand out. First, after we made our "grand entrance" into the reception as Mr. and Mrs. Adams, the DJ asked everyone to join us on the dance floor; and EVERYONE did!! The dance floor ended up not being big enough (and it was big!). That moment of being completely surrounded by 300 people who had just watched us exchanged vows and were now celebrating with us was overwhelming; it was truly surreal to be surrounded by so much joy and love. The second moment that stands out was a more simple one; I made a point to step back and take in the night. After we ate dinner, and while others were still finishing up, we left our table and walked away from the party; we stood for a couple of minutes and just looked around at every table, sparkling light, and person that was there. It was so beautiful and truly took my breath away. No picture can ever capture what I saw and felt in that moment, and I am so glad that we took that little bit of time to ourselves to soak it in.

The Honeymoon

We both love traveling, especially together, so we decided to take a once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon. We have traveled all over the world, both together and apart, so we wanted to choose a place neither of us had been to yet; but we also wanted to tie in the feel of Tahiti, where our romance began, so we were looking for over-water bungalows if possible. My planner recommended Ever After Honeymoons, a honeymoon travel agent who helps to plan one-of-a-kind, unique honeymoons. Through working with Katie at Ever After Honeymoons, we decided to travel to Dubai, Oman, and the beautiful Maldives. She was able to recommend resorts that I'm sure we never would have thought to visit, and they were all amazing. Her services helped to take the stress out of planning the honeymoon, and I felt more at ease knowing that she had confirmed all of our reservations, transportation, etc. and we could travel to the other side of the world worry-free. I would definitely recommend a honeymoon trip for other couples as well. Even if you can't or don't want to travel far, take time at a bed and breakfast or small resort closer to your home, even if for a couple of days. We left two days after our wedding just because we wanted to be able to go home and switch bags, etc. after our wedding and before our honeymoon trip. But taking a trip right after your wedding helps to continue the "high" you feel after such a great celebration. I would not have wanted to come home from my wedding and go straight back to work. It felt like the wedding celebrations started and then led straight into my honeymoon, and it made the whole experience feel like a magical dream that I never wanted to wake up from.

Didn't we tell you it was pretty epic. That ceremony set-up and reception decor are just incredible, and I love how Brittany & Tyler took a moment to step away and take it all in. That's so, so important to do!

Thanks so much to Studio EMP, Intertwined Events and of course, Brittany & Tyler for sharing their show-stopping outdoor wedding with us.

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