Beautiful floral and garland arrangements on their tables, an amazing golden light, and two lovely families gathered as one, Kuelli and Ed are sharing their nature inspired wedding in California photographed by the talented Brown Paper Parcel…
“Ed and I met in business school. We actually sat next to each other in several classes during our first year – as he will tell you, that was no accident. However, he didn’t actually take things to the next level and, you know, TALK to me until our second year. During one of the long school holidays in the fall that year, we finally got to know each other better – I was on crutches and unable to travel, and he was also staying local because it didn’t make sense to fly all the way back to Australia. With me effectively trapped, he started wooing me and then remained persistent.
We finally started dating a few months later. Deciding he was “the one” was a pretty gradual process, but I think the clearest moment is when he proposed. Rather than responding with the usual joy and excitement, my immediate response to his asking me to marry him was to panic and blurt out “can I think about it?” Without skipping a beat, he immediately and calmly said “no!” Apparently, he had been expecting just this sort of freak-out from me – it turns out he knows me better than I know myself, and he handled the situation perfectly !”
” Ed planned a long weekend in upstate New York, ostensibly as a chance for me to finally learn to ski. My family is from the Caribbean so the idea of cold weather vacations has never made much sense to me. As luck would have it, it turned out to be the coldest weekend in New York history – it was so cold your snot would freeze while walking one block. As I was seeing the weather reports, I actually asked him if we could cancel the trip but he was absolutely insistent that we go. I figured out why on the second night when he proposed in our hotel room – by giving me a book he had made which told “the story of us.” After it all sank in, we went to dinner and begin calling our friends and family – it was a really lovely night.”
“One of my favorite moments of the wedding weekend was actually the rehearsal dinner the night before. I had been a little stressed leading up to the weekend – how were all these people from different chapters of our lives going to get along ? Would the logistics work out as planned ? Would people have fun ? I was still feeling all of that right up to the rehearsal dinner, but when I finally saw it all coming together live I suddenly remembered that all of my friends and family were in place to celebrate me and Ed, that we were in the most stunning location with incredible vendors, and that we had a great plan ! I finally started to relax and realize that the magic of the weekend was in all of the organic and special moments I could never have planned or predicted. In particular, my dad and brother pulled together an incredible “wedding band” for the rehearsal dinner that played several songs with deep emotional significance to me and my family. There was one point early in the night when their band was playing “Everything’s Going to be Alright” by Bob Marley, and I looked around and nearly everyone in the audience was both dancing and crying – in that instant, I could tell the weekend was going to be incredibly special ! “
“Well, there are many funny stories that probably aren’t appropriate for the web, but one fun fact is that there was apparently a live snake on the dancefloor at some point in the evening! Thankfully, everyone from family to friends to vendors was kind enough to shield me and Ed from such stressful episodes during the evening. We experienced the day as blissfully smooth”
“Expect to go over your budget, so set the initial budget accordingly. That said, it really is the best weekend of your life, and at least in our case it absolutely felt worth it. Even though we spent more than we initially wanted, we wouldn’t really change anything. “
Photographer : Brown Paper Parcel | Dress : Liz Martinez | Shoes : Loeffler Randall | Suit : Hugo Boss | Coiffure et maquillage : Wash & Brush-up Co. | Jewells : Adorn | Rings : Victor Canera | Wedding planner : Sasha Souza Events | Flowers : Lily + Mint | Stationery : Every Little Letter | Venue : Campovida | Caterer : Elaine Bell catering | Wedding Cake : Andrea Koweek, Crisp Bakery | DJ : Robin Applewood
