Romantic Victorian California Wedding

kiss under the veil photo

A few months before the wedding, Charlie and Crissy visited Paris for New Year's Eve and instantly fell in love. They decided their aesthetic would be a mixture of french Victorian with a California feel. This was great to blend our European and California roots together.
Every element of their big day exuded soft romance and a love shared amongst family, friends, and newlyweds. Get the scoop on all their romantic Victorian California wedding details in the full gallery here, photographed by Hayley Anne Photography.

white and pink wedding bouquet

pink dahlia bridesmaids bouquet

cute wedding photography

A Beautiful California Venue

After looking at venues in Half Moon Bay, Mill Valley, and San Jose - I stumbled upon Ramekins in Sonoma - which looked beautiful. Being so close to the date - Ramekins was not available but they told me about their sister property next door called The General's Daughter. After just looking at pictures, I knew it was exactly what I wanted. The former home of General Vallejo's daughter and her husband, the first California wine maker, is a Victorian style home that had been refurbished but still holds the elegant charm.

romantic white wedding ceremony ideas

the wedding kiss

Take Your Time

Because we were on a short time frame I really wish I had more time to spend planning for the wedding. It was a stressful time starting a new demanding job and I had also just got engaged so having only 6 months from engagement to wedding was not very long. I suggest brides who live in same country as their spouse to really take a year to plan and get ready. Being engaged is fun but also stressful when rushed.

world map guestbook

little framed escort cards

Fig And Honey Wedding Favors

For our favors, I worked with a raw culinary honey company based out of Atascadero on the Central Coast named Therabee. Working with Martha was a breeze and she created a special flavor or Smoked Fig and Rose that had hints of blush to match our color scheme. On the mini jar she also included a custom label that said "Meant to Bee" with our names and date. On our own we added a small bow made of burlap for a rustic California feel. As for the styling of the rooms in the house - we wanted it to feel intimate and exude the old french Victorian feel.

cute soft pink wedding reception

dusty blue and pink reception

custom rose honey wedding favors

Read on to see how much this romantic Victorian California wedding cost. Please note that costs change as the years go by, and prices are subject to change. This is just one couple’s breakdown to give you a rough estimate on how much a wedding like this may cost you.

I know that all brides have different budgets, and for mine I wanted to make the most of mine by putting money in the areas that I thought would really impact the wedding. The majority of the budget went to the food and alcohol for the wedding. The food and the alcohol was most important to me as I wanted my guests to eat good food and also have a merry time without having to pay for drinks. The catering company was a culinary school so their food package was awesome with very nice appetizers and a main course. We also brought out late night snacks for guests that included hamburgers and fries or cookies. Photography and florals was the second area I spent more money because pictures were very important to me to capturing the event for people who couldn't attend and florals were a big part of the decor of the wedding. Where I spent maybe less than I expected was on favors, decor, videography, and DJ. Anywhere I knew I could create things myself or use a less famous (aka expensive) vendor on I did. Which really really helped.

My whole journey to getting married started with an amazing surprise engagement from my husband Charlie two days before my birthday. He lives in England and surprised me at a hotel, thinking I was getting a "massage" with my twin sister. When I went up to the room, there was a video on an iPad from Charlie waiting for me telling me how sad he was to not be there for my birthday but included a few "clues" or surprises in the room. After flowers, cupcakes, a card, and champagne - I returned to the room where Charlie burst out of the closet and thinking he was just there to surprise me for my birthday - he proposed. This was only after about 6 months of dating but it was the easiest decision of my life.

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