I want to become a society lady Rockin' a new rock?!

Rebekah’s wish was to have her wedding at a private estate, and her planner was able to secure a gorgeous venue in Bonny Doon, CA. She and Adam were working full-time jobs so they gave Naseem with Naseem Events full artistic freedom to create their dream wedding. They did, however, have a pretty tight budget (13k), but together with the other incredibly gifted vendors they achieved exactly that. Bonny Doon Garden Co. designed the loosely flowing greenery of the tablescapes, the bride’s sweet bouquet of anemones, and the pop of color on the arch which brought a simple but elegant vibe to this lovely wedding. And Amanda.Az was there to photograph all the special moments of Rebekah and Adam’s big day!

From Naseem at Naseem Events: Planning Rebekah and Adam’s wedding will forever stand out to me as one of the most special moments of my career so far. Rebekah hired me back in November 2016 to plan her wedding, taking place in June 2017. Rebekah and Adam both work full time jobs and had no desire for the nitty-gritty planning, so they brought me on as both their planner and creative director for all the design elements of their wedding. This is obviously a planner’s dream!

Rebekah’s only desire was to have the wedding at a particular private residence she loved in Santa Cruz. After a lot of digging and persistence, I was able to secure her dream venue at a private estate in Bonny Doon. And boy am I glad it did. It turned out as beautiful as ever. The venue was swimming in gorgeous detail from the minute you step onto the property.

Some highlights of the venue that really gave it a unique and personal touch included a taxidermy-clad “man-cave” for the groom and groomsmen to get ready, along with a gorgeous pool surrounded by a wood-fire oven for a truly Palm Springs-esque cocktail hour.

Teresa from Bonny Doon Garden Co. took care of all the florals and created a stunning bouquet of anemones for Rebekah. I had a vision for a romantic arch backdrop and she made my dreams come alive with her romantic drapery and floral work on the arch we got.

One of the hard tasks for me as a planner was to remain cognizant of Rebekah and Adam’s budget. This was quite the challenge as you come to learn that nice weddings are never inexpensive. I was beaming when I showed them our final budget checklist, coming in right at their mark.  My hope is for all new brides who see this stunning wedding is that they can remain hopeful in knowing that you don’t have to break the bank for the wedding of your dreams. Hiring a planner who has connections is key — and knowing where to spend and what to splurge on, vs. what to forego.

We opted for a buffet dinner for guests, but were able to splurge a bit on gorgeous chargers to adorn the tables, along with thank you tags I personally designed, attached to a greenery sprig. I wanted to include simple yet special elements to the wedding details, which included personalized honey pots and succulents for guests to take home as favors. Huge shout out to Andrea of Wilde Script for making my other vision come to life in her design of some gorgeous signage to accent the entire venue. I think one of my favorite touches were the seaglass blush escort cards!

The most memorable part of the wedding for the couple and myself personally was Rebekah’s father’s toast. They don’t get to see each other often since they live in different countries, but you could feel the love this father had for his daughter; and how happy he was to hand her off to Adam to protect her in their future. All of us vendors were holding back tears during this moment!

The best part of all was getting to work with my best friend, Amanda of Amanda.Az Photography to capture these dreamy photos. It was truly a magical day that ended with Rebekah and Adam dancing in the sunset, smiling from ear to ear.

Creative Direction, Planner, and Stylist: Naseem Events // Photography: Amanda.Az // Floral Design: Bonny Doon Garden Co. // Invitation/ Escort cards: Wilde Script // Venue: Private Estate in Bonny Doon, CA // Calligraphy/ Signage: Wilde Script // Wedding Dress: Watters // Makeup and Hair: Chau Nguyen // Cake: JustBakeCause // Cake Topper: alphabet canvas // Honey Favors: SouthernJamsandJelly // Groom’s Attire (Bowtie): Lam Fine Designs // Groom’s Attire: J.Crew // Catering: Barbara and Co. // Photography – Assistance: Kristin Lin // Live Music: Asher Stern // Rentals: Alexis Party Rentals