Everything was going exactly to plan for high school sweethearts Daniel and Theresa. After some hardcore wedding planning and multiple DIY projects, their big day had finally arrived. Terracotta details, rattan accents, and crisp white and tan linens blended perfectly with the desert backdrop at their Palm Springs-inspired wedding. That's when it happened...a city-wide blackout! They always say to plan for every possible scenario, but even the most skilled wedding planner or experienced venue wouldn't know to plan for this.
Based on these stunning photos by Kaylee Chelsea Photography, you'd never know that this day went anything less than smooth. Details, Darling beautifully orchestrated this couple's dream wedding and made sure that the day was absolutely perfect, even with the blackout. Layered Vintage created all of the amazing florals using both dried and live flowers and Aldous Photo filmed this special day at The Grove Of Redlands. You can see all the images in the full gallery. Read on to hear more from the bride, Teresa, about how she and her husband planned this spectacular boho wedding and how they handled the blackout! Spoiler Alert: It's a happy ending ;-)
Daniel and I are high school sweethearts, we met at church our junior year of high school and dated for 6.5 years before getting married! The overall vibe of our wedding was a mix of boho, modern, and desert style with touches of natural elements. I have always been a sunset fanatic and a lover of neutrals, so the combination of the two was my vision from the very beginning. Choosing Kaylee Chelsea Photography was hands down the best decision we made, as they captured the style and details of our day flawlessly. We chose The Grove Of Redlands for our venue, as Redlands is where we both grew up and met each other at 17 years old, and it definitely gave us the Palm Springs vibe we were hoping for. It is our favorite little town that will always be home to us.
On our wedding day, my girls and I started the morning in the most lovely shortie sets from Plum Pretty Sugar. My wedding dress, The Whispers & Echoes 'Milano' Gown from BHLDN, was the perfect combination of romantic and elegant, yet casual, and SO comfortable! The ivory and almond color combo made for a stunning look. I wore my Nana’s earrings which were passed down to my mom and my three older sisters before me! In order to get the color phases of a sunset, my bridesmaids were in a broad range of colors and textures from Anthropologie, Show Me Your Mumu, and Lulus. The Beauty Pair gave us all a beautiful natural glow and Alexandria Contreras made my boho braid dreams come true! Daniel and his groomsmen were styled in tan Tommy Hilfiger suits. For our ceremony, Layered Vintage flowered up the pergola with palms and a mix of dried/live florals in neutrals, peaches, and terra-cotta tones in addition to the hanging rattan lanterns giving a more boho feel.
My favorite part of the planning process was designing and doing DIY projects to make our day as personal as possible! To make sure it all came together, we hired Details, Darling for the final months of planning and of course to execute our special day. They truly helped make sure every detail was exactly as I had envisioned, and it all came out even more perfect than I could’ve ever imagined. The first DIY of the day was our wedding favors that were given during cocktail hour. Daniel’s dad is a head chef, so we decided to create our own mango habanero hot sauce recipe with him. Seeing as we were having tacos (our favorite meal) for dinner, we thought the hot sauce was not only a practical favor but a great way to add a personal family touch.
Next, our friends and family were escorted to their seats by viewing our guitar wall escort display made by Wild House Ink. I wanted to surprise Daniel with something special, seeing as he let me choose the majority of the details. Daniel helps lead music at our church, and when we first started dating I bought him a little guitar pick keychain that said, “I’ll always pick you” (cheesy high school romance). I had to bring that memory back and Wild House Ink made my vision come to life. It was by far one of my favorite details of the day!
Lastly, when our guests arrived at their seats, they were greeted with personalized name cards. We really wanted everyone to feel special and know how much they mean to us, so we decided instead of just simply writing their name, to add in 3-4 things to describe them!
Some of our favorite memories of the day include being surrounded by our closest family and friends as we said I do, seeing our guests read their name cards, and the blackout! Yes, a blackout! For about 30 minutes all the electricity in the entire area went off. As crazy as that sounds, it was so beautiful seeing the tables lit up by candlelight only and we were able to chat more with our family and friends. We even enjoyed our gorgeous minimalist cake by LILA Cake Shop during the blackout and ice cream sandwiches by Miho Catering Co. Daniel and I are lifelong ice cream lovers, but we still wanted the tradition of cake cutting. So, we decided to go for a small one-tier cake, while our guests were able to enjoy an ice cream sandwich! Everyone made the most out of the blackout until, thankfully, one of our friends had a generator! It was an imperfect perfect moment that we will definitely remember forever!
My advice to future brides and brides planning is to truly relax and enjoy every single moment on your day. All the planning is done and now it’s time to let the professionals you hired handle it all! Also, pick vendors who work together! Doing this made such a huge impact on how our day turned out. Vendors love working with their friends and that not only helps their day go smoother but of course it helps your day turn out just as you had imagined!