Leanne and Matt invited their friends and families from all across the country to celebrate their marriage at Walnut Grove at Tierra Rejada Ranch. And, as the bride says, it was the “perfect setting to showcase our love and new state.” Booth Photographics captured both California and Leanne and Matt’s big day beautifully. Full of rich colors and rustic elegance, you’re sure to love this one!
What made the wedding special and unique?
Our wedding was special, because almost all of our guests were from out of town. My family is from Chicago and for many of them it was their first time to LA and the same goes for Matt’s family who is from New York. This was not only a special time for them to celebrate our marriage, but it was a great opportunity to show them our new home and how beautiful California is. I can’t think of a more perfect setting to showcase our love and new state than the Walnut Grove. The setting was absolutely perfect with the rows of Walnut Trees and the rolling hills in the background, our guests could not stop gushing about how incredible the backdrop was.
Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it!
This is a funny story… my wedding dress was actually the first bridal gown I ever tried on. I knew that I had loved it right away but immediately got nervous. I had never tried on a wedding dress before there’s no way the first one could be the ONE, right? So I spent the entire rest of the day with my closest friends, my mom & Matt’s mom looking for something that I already found. The next day I went back to see the dress (which I knew would be my dress), tried in on and bam came the waterworks. It was too beautiful and too perfect for me to pass up twice.
What were some touches added to make it personal?
Matt and I put a LOT of DIY work into our wedding. Everything from the table numbers to the seating chart and the coffee bean favors had hours of work poured into it. We wanted our guests to feel like we really took the time to make our day feel unique and special. We also created the entire playlist that was played during cocktail hour. When we first met with DART DJ and decided to move forward with them, we had sent them a playlist as a guide for what type of music we want played during our cocktail hour. I had no idea they were going to use the entire playlist and it made me so incredibly happy to hear so many of the songs that mean so much to us as we mingled through the crowd as husband and wife.
What was the most memorable part of the day?
There are two moments that stand out in my mind with a picture perfect memory. Walking down the aisle with Matt as soon as we were pronounced husband and wife, hearing John Mayer’s version of XO in the background, was my first clear memory. Everything else at that moment faded away with the exception of me & my new husband and John Mayer serenading us in the background. Secondly, was right after we got to the end of the aisle our fabulous wedding planner Marisa asked if we wanted to take a minute before the madness. I am so glad that she suggested we take a moment to ourselves because it was such a powerful few minutes together alone. Matt immediately started crying and laughing (and kind of looked like me when we got engaged hah) and all we could do is hug each other and say I’m so happy we just did that.
Tell us how you met and became engaged.
Matt & I met through a common friend in college. We had known about each other for a while, but it wasn’t until my graduation weekend that we were finally able to meet. We hung out all weekend with our friends and by the end of the weekend, I had told my cousin (and later to be Matron of Honor) that I felt different about Matt and that I had a feeling something amazing was going to happen. She said she could see it too. Although we lived in different states at the time, me in Illinois & Matt in New York, it was only a matter of time before Matt moved to Chicago for school and the rest is history. We got engaged in October of 2013. Matt had just picked me up from a rather stressful day of work (& I mean really stressful) and I could tell that my nerves from the day were starting to get on his nerves, he was definitely acting a little strange when he picked me up. When we got home, I walked into my apartment to a dozen red roses the cutest video montage of our whole relationship and a boyfriend (soon to be fiancé) down on one knee. It was the most simple proposal, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, because it was intimate and perfect for us.
MATT + LEANNE from Andrew James Abajian on Vimeo.
Vendors: Photography: Booth Photographics // Planning and Design: Marisa Nicole Events // Venue: Walnut Grove at Tierra Rejada Ranch // Caterer and Rentals: Command Performance Catering // Videographer: Andrew Abajian Creative // DJ: Dart DJ’s // Vintage China: The Vintage Table Co. // Hair and Makeup: Be.NYLA // Doughnuts: The Donut Snob // Cake: Sweet and Saucy Shop // Floral Designer: Little Branch // Officiant: Scott Mehl // Transportation: Jump On The School Bus
