Christina & Dan by Foolishly Rushing In

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…

Our story began at a small boxing gym in Los Angeles where Dan and I first met.

We were just friends during the months we worked out together (though Dan made sure to do a few extra reps when I was around). He ended up needing to leave the gym because of an injury so we didn’t see each other for about a year after that. However, one day an Instagram post of Dan rapping with a bunny caught my eye and strangely sparked a new interest. I considered reaching out, but didn’t. Flash forward a week later, and as I turn the aisle walking through Home Depot, there he was. Sparks flew and we both knew something beautiful was about to begin. Little did I know that Dan’s mom, who sadly passed away a few years ago, always told him not to worry about dating troubles and trying to find the right girl because one day he would just be walking through a store and there she’d be. And this is the story that Dan held onto for three years before sharing with me as he knelt down on one knee to propose on the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence at sunset. Cue ugly cry.

Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details…

We fell in love with our venue as soon as we stepped foot inside. The amount of beautifully kept courtyard and indoor greenery mixed with industrial and rustic elements was breath taking, so we really didn’t want to take away from the personality of the space with an overage of extra décor. There was a subtle vintage jungle vibe already in the venue, so we wanted to make sure our colors and accents didn’t clash and took a more minimalistic approach to floral. Our florist, Lizbeth Molina of Rawfinery, was the best thing that could have happened to our wedding. She took our vision and brought it to life in the most magical and unexpected way. From her incredible floral installment designed around our wooden triangle arch to the hand dyed table runners and unique assortment of single flower votives she brought to the center pieces, we were absolutely blown away.

And then there was the cake! I feel so lucky to have married into a friendship with the endlessly talented Emily Nejad of Bon Vivant Cakes. She makes some of the most uniquely designed and intricate cakes I have ever seen that are equal parts beautiful and delicious. We gave her free reign to make whatever she wanted because her creative cake brain works on a level we are constantly in awe of. We couldn’t believe what she delivered, especially having made the cake on the fly in LA for us without her own kitchen (her bakery is in Chicago). Every inch of the cake had incredible detail and was so personal to us. She drew inspiration from my artwork to create a stunning lacing effect, and nestled mini gold jungle animals around the icing that you would miss if you weren’t looking closely. It was beautiful and quirky and made us feel like absolute royalty.

Tell us about your main outfits:

I wore the Edie dress from Grace Loves Lace. I immediately fell in love with the fringe detail around the bottom of the dress and neckline. They’re elements that I had never seen before in a wedding dress and I loved that it was different. Dan and his groomsmen wore navy blue suits from The Black Tux with champagne ties.

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?

I think our favorite part of the day was just the incredible amount of love that we could feel from everyone around us and for one another. It ended up raining on the day of the wedding, so we had to put a giant clear tent up in the courtyard for the ceremony. It killed the garden aesthetic a bit, but also created a very unique intimate feel with everyone huddled into the space. The way the sunlight shone through the raindrops on the tent, mixed with the palpable feeling of love radiating from our closest friends and family created the most magical ambiance. I don’t think we’ve ever been with so many crying people in one room before, and we loved every minute of it.

Another memorable and definitely unique moment was the removal of the tighty whities, as opposed to the removal of a garter. We tried to make the wedding as us as possible, and nothing did that better than Dan flinging a surprise pair of oversized men’s underwear into the crowd. We’re a couple weirdos but we’re okay with that! One of the best decisions we made was hiring Foolishly Rushing In to document our memories through photo and video. Their goal is to capture the heart and real emotion coming from the couples they work with, and we’re so happy to have their work to remind us of the little moments that we would have otherwise forgotten about during the craziness of the day. The video they produced was so much more than any wedding video we’ve seen before. The way they created a storyline for the day through the vows they included and the music they chose spoke so perfectly to us as a couple and makes us weep every time we watch (which is a lot).

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?

You can stress out as much as you want in the months leading up to the wedding, but on the day of just leave it all at the door. Take every minute of your day in and let other people worry about any issues that come up. If you can, hire a day-of coordinator to keep everything and everyone organized and to put out any fires so you can just enjoy. We worked with Runway Events who absolutely killed it on the day of. If anything went wrong, we had no clue! They kept the train moving smoothly without any direction from us. Having peace of mind on your wedding day will be your best investment.

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