"The venue itself is a statement piece so most of our design choices were based on what we thought would be complementary to the space. The space is heavy on wood, so we wanted to warm it up with lots of candles and darker colors, like burgundy and navy, with touches of gold. To soften everything up, we went with ivory, burgundy, pink and mauve florals. I really loved how everything turned out. The venue is pretty unique to Southern California. It's a historical building and a lot of the original architecture is still intact. It has an industrial vibe downstairs with a stunning ceremony space upstairs. We loved everything about it and it was the one space that we could envision ourselves getting married in." -Bride & Groom
How did you meet?
Brian and I first met our senior year in high school on AIM (Instant Messenger). We didn't go to the same school, but had friends in common because my friends and I had taken a group of his friends to various dances. He got my screen name from a mutual friend and randomly asked me if he could come to the next dance. I took him to Sadies and we had a great time. The night ended with us dancing to my favorite song at the time, 'Back At One'. We had a short fling afterwards, but went our separate ways for college. Almost 10 years later, I saw him at a birthday party for the same mutual friend. Four years after that, we were dancing to the same song for the first time as husband and wife.
What is the proposal story?
Brian didn't know this, but I knew the day he was going to propose. You know someone so well you can tell something's up because they're acting weird and taking you to your special beach spot when it's pouring rain. It was endearing. I played along because I didn't want to ruin what he had planned. But let me tell you, it wasn't easy waiting (im)patiently for the moment and shushing the voice in my head that kept asking if it was happening yet. I think we were both relieved after he finally popped the question. However, one thing that did catch me by surprise was the flood of emotions, especially after knowing what was coming. I never understood why girls cry at their proposals, but I totally get it now.
Tell us about the attire choices:
I always thought I'd wear a lacy, long-sleeved, sheath dress but it turns out the dress chooses you, not the other way around. My only regret is not having it tailored tighter below the waist and being afraid to show my curves. It was the opposite for Brian. He purchased the first suit he put on. We went in knowing exactly what we wanted and we were out of the shop in 20 minutes. So easy!
Did you splurge on anything?
The venue was a splurge, but we got great referrals from our planner for other areas, such as the DJ, signage, suits, jewelry, flowers, etc. She also did all the heavy lifting in negotiations with vendors so we didn't have to sacrifice or splurge too much in any one area.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
My favorite part was going out dancing with friends after the wedding had ended. By the time we made it back to our room I was starved and haggard. When I walked in, I discovered that my amazing planner and team had our room cleaned, saved us some cute souvenirs from our wedding, and, most importantly, had trays of leftover wedding cake, donuts, and pulled-pork sandwiches waiting for us. I nearly cried. We recapped the day in between inserting handfuls of cake and sandwiches into our mouths. It was the perfect ending.
Tell us about the flowers:
Picking wedding flowers was probably the most torturous part for me. Too much Pinteresting leads to bad, confusing times.
Any special traditions?
We performed a traditional Korean ceremony called Paebaek during the reception. It was very meaningful to our parents and elders. Our non-Korean guests enjoyed watching the ceremony as well.
Wedding planning advice:
Although weddings are a celebration of the couple, everyone else seems to have an opinion on how it should be celebrated. Unwarranted opinions and demands will be coming at you from all angles, but it's impossible to please everyone. Of course you want your guests to have a great time, but it's really not about them. Focus on your must-haves and fight for what you want, but if it's not going to kill you, just do that one thing your mom would really like you to do.
Photography: Gregory Ross Photography | Ceremony Venue: The Loft on Pine | Reception Venue: The Loft on Pine | Event Planning: P.S. & Associates Event Planning | Floral: Rosebud Floral Design | Stationery: Minted | Wedding Cake: Vanilla Bake Shop | Rentals: A1 Party and Event Rentals | Hair: Luong Lasting | Makeup: Luong Lasting | Signage: Simply Stated Stationery | Wedding Dress: Essense of Australia | Bride's Shoes: ASOS | Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Veil: le marriage couture | Groomsmen Attire: Al Weiss and The Tie Bar | Jewelry: Amazon | Submitted via: Matchology