Brookside Equestrian Wedding

The second our eyes ran over these words, we knew we were in for a visual treat: “Our inspiration — think Notebook, meets Big Fish meets a summer carnival/fair.” So the bride describes her wedding day, and we have to say from looking through these images that she absolutely nailed her vision. Valentina Glidden Photography was on hand to capture all the goodness and details, so let’s jump in!

From the bride, Lisa: We were determined to make our wedding stand out from any other wedding! We wanted it to be unique, fun and to not feel so “wedding-ish.” Our inspiration–think Notebook, meets Big Fish meets a summer carnival/fair. There’s just something so romantic about carnivals, and what we imagined one to be like in the 1940s era. The lights, the music, the care-free summer nights and of course, riding the ferris wheel with your sweet heart!

Flower recipe: My aunt, who is a florist created all of our floral looks. She did all of the arrangements, bouquets, embellishments and flower crowns for the flower girls. We wanted a charming wild flower look to keep with the summery country vibe. We used Feverfew (miniature daisies) Daisies, Craspedia, Baby’s Breath, Dusty Miller, Yarrow, Scabiosa Pods and Solidaster.

Being that our wedding was a vintage carnival, we wanted it feel light, airy and fun. We wanted it to have the perfect balance of a carnival yet feel romantic, rustic and whimsical. Our general colors were muted reds, blues and yellows but we weren’t big on having everything matchy, matchy . We pretty much hand crafted most everything ourselves. Jake is a graphic designer so we were able to custom design our save the dates, invitations, programs and favors. Most all of the detail and décor we did ourselves too–DIY projects and antique store finds. My mom and I sewed fabric bunting flags and ribbon streamers. My dad helped with the construction projects such as collecting old scrapped wood which we painted and drilled to make signs as well as light up marquee letters from metal. We built a kissing booth that I hand painted for our guests to take photos in. I also constructed our cake topper and even designed my own wedding dress and had it hand made! My mom made the flower girl’s dresses and an assortment of over 2,000 homemade cookies for our “sweet treats” table. You can definitely say our wedding screamed DIY! We also hired a caricaturist to create caricaturists for our guests as a fun souvenir. But our favorite part—the ferris wheel! We knew if we wanted our look to feel authentic, we needed to have a ferris wheel which we rented from a local event company. It tied everything together and the guests just loved it! The open space of the venue with the oak trees, old barn and charming character created the perfect setting for our event and pulled everything together.

See Also

Intimate Autumnal Wedding With Luxury Textures and Al Fresco Dining

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? I’d say first things first, decide on the look or theme you are going for and let it resonate. That was the best thing we did. We decided on our look right away and spent a lot of time exploring flea markets, antique shops and etsy for the perfect ideas and accents. The more time you have to think about it, the easier it will come together and the more time you will have to make it work. Plus it’s a lot less stressful! Also, don’t be afraid to take a risk! If you love something, find a way to incorporate it into your wedding. It will make it the planning fun as well as your day that much more special.

Wedding Music:
Wedding Party Processional: “Married Life,” Michael Giacchiano (Up Soundtrack)
Bride’s Processional: “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” Ingrid Michaelson
Recessional: “Everybody,” Ingrid Michaelson
First Dance: “The Way I Am,” Ingrid Michaelson
Cocktail hour and dinner we played a lot of classic and folky hits from the 1940s – Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington to name a few.

Wedding Location: Walnut, CA / Photographer: Valentina Glidden Photography / Wedding Coordinator: Sandy McDermott and Aide Delgado of Rose Wade Events / Florist: Flowers by Sharen / Venue: Brookside Equestrian / Wedding Dress: Designed by Bride and constructed by Ann Seitz and Annette Constantino / Bride’s Headpiece and Shoes: ModCloth / Makeup and Hair: Foundation of You / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: ModCloth / Groom and Groomsmen Suits: Jack Threads / Caterer: Rose Wade Events / Wedding Cakes: Beverly’s Best Bakery / DJ: FLY BY NIGHT Disc Jockeys / Ferris Wheel Rental: LA Party Works / Caricaturist: The Cartoon Lady / Wedding Invitations and Paper Goods: designed by Bride and Groom, printed by Coastal Finishing