• Real Weddings

When Brandon and Lily first got engaged they laid out all their options. Big wedding, small wedding, indoor, outdoor, destination, courthouse. They considered all possible options, which made them realize what they really wanted - a wedding that was not fussy, a wedding that was truly Brandon and Lily. As you will soon see, they got exactly that thanks to the incredibly talented YEAH! Weddings.
They were runners up in the YEAH! Weddings Free Wedding contest.  So they got hooked up with the Smilebooth for capturing their photobooth, along with Cruz from The Flashdance to get the dance party started, and Shark Pig to film said dance party.  Amazing ... right? Read on to hear so much more from Lily and you have to see all the photos in the full gallery from YEAH! Weddings.

What would of done differently:I wish I would have planned for me and my bridesmaids to get ready at the venue before the wedding. We got our hair and makeup done off site, so I felt really stressed out and anxious sitting in LA traffic trying to get to the venue in time to get dressed and take pictures before guests started to arrive.  It would have been nice to sit back and relax a little bit with my bridesmaids and reflect on my last hours as a single lady and all of the excitement ahead. I think it would have made me more present that evening. Once we got to the venue, it felt like I blinked and the night was over.

Our wedding truly was a labor of love. There were very few pieces of our wedding that weren't created by us or someone we love dearly. Our amazing friends at Cotton Flower Press created our invitations, menus, name cards, and all other printed materials. My grandfather officiated the ceremony, which added a really lovely personal touch. Lets just say there were lots of tears and laughs.

I pictured a simple evening dinner party with 90 of our closest friends and family. And that is exactly what we ended up having. We found Elysian near one of our favorite parts of town that had a cozy courtyard space with climbing vines and draping lights. The moment I saw it, I knew our perfect evening dinner party wedding would become a reality.

Even our food was made by our friends who own ungry Bear Catering! This part was super important to us. We got to work with the chef directly to create a menu of family style plates for the dinner. Our wedding was in August in Los Angeles (read that HOT) so we wanted lots of light salads and vegetable dishes. The food was inspired by Mediterranean tapas, so it was perfect for our little garden dinner party.

Some vendors didn't want me to share since the amounts have changed since we worked with them. And also since some vendors were friends we got discounts, or paid only for cost of items used but not for cost of time/ labor, etc.
Flowers: $800 for table table arrangements and brides bouquet. $100 for flower jars/ pots from IKEA. Made bridesmaids bouquets myself ($50) and purchased additional greenery ($40)
Venue: about $3000
Valet: $600
Wedding Dress: $600
Flags: Purchased canvas tarp, paint and wooden sticks (about $100)
Catering and Dish rental: about $8,000
Rentals: $1500 for about half of the chairs, tables and bar (other half were already at venue)

• Dress & Apparel: Jenny Yoo Collection, Inc.
• @lovely: Elysian
• Bride Shoes: Madewell
• Caterer: Hungry Bear Catering
• Cinematography: Shark Pig
• Coordinator & Cake: Friend of Bride and Groom | Officiant: Bride's Grandfather
• Dessert: Cake Monkey Bakery
• DJs: The Flashdance
• Event Designer: Heads Above Water
• Flowers: Clementine Floral Works
• Groom & His Men: J.Crew
• Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Blushington
• Hair: Drybar
• Jewelry: Kate Spade
• Photo Booth: Smilebooth
• Photography, Cinematography, DJ, Photo Booth: YEAH! Weddings
• Prop/Furniture Rentals: YEAH! Rentals
• Stationery: Cotton Flower Press