A Musical Festival and a Green Couch Inspired This Couple's Whimsical Garden Wedding in California

Kiana and Chaz first met in 2010, in Cornell University's library, where she was studying and he was a barista at the cafe. They stole a few glances before Chaz offered Kiana a sample of an iced white raspberry mocha. She was surprised that she enjoyed it, and kept coming back for more—drinks and flirting, that is. Eventually, their schedules changed, and Kiana considered Chaz "the barista that got away."

And then fate intervened: Their paths crossed again at a music festival on a cruise ship in 2016—and again in 2018 at a mutual friend's wedding in New York. The next thing Kiana and Chaz knew, they were sharing a first date in Manhattan, enjoying hours of conversation and a glass of wine on Kiana's green velvet couch. Two years later, he proposed in the same spot.

The couple wanted their wedding to feel like a music festival in an enchanted garden in Tuscany with mid-century modern touches as a nod to their New York City apartment. "Vista Valley Country Club had the Tuscan-inspired architecture and lush garden feel that felt the most special and romantic to us," Kiana says. "We especially loved the drama of the massive French gates and the majestic creaking sound as they open to let guests into the ceremony area!"

They teamed up with Amorology's planners to coordinate their 100-guest, May 21, 2022, wedding in Vista, Calif., which featured a color palette of deep emerald, mint green, butter yellow, and pops of citrus tones and neutrals.

Sweet Suite

The couple's letterpress stationery suite featured an illustration of the venue's French gates, created by one of Kiana's bridesmaids. The detail card also featured an illustration of the duo's matching sneakers (a nod to Kiana and Chaz's reception footwear), courtesy of the bride.

Kiana and Chaz hand-painted each invitation with an ombré watercolor pattern. "It took up a comical amount of space in our apartment!" the bride says.

Here Comes the Bride

Kiana wore a backless Berta wedding dress with a V-neckline and delicate embroidery design. "It felt comfortable and romantic, but not overly formal, and so unique with the fun appliqué detail!" Kiana says.

Something Green

As a nod to the couple's beloved green couch, Kiana had custom suede pumps made in the piece's exact hue. "I spent hours shopping for the perfect pair of elegant green bridal shoes and came up short," Kiana says. "I found a shoemaker on Etsy who then sent me photos of dozens of fabric samples, and ended up custom ordering a new one so we could get the color just right." They added a pearl strap to the shoes as a way to bring in the same detailing from her gown.

Bright Touches

Yellow, cream, and peach colors filled Kiana's floral arrangement, made by Jane of Blue Pansy Floral. "The bouquet was constructed the morning of Kiana and Chaz's wedding day and accented with flowers grown and harvested that morning from Blue Pansy garden," Jane says. The result included a loose cascading bouquet, filled with garden roses, hellebores, butterfly ranunculus, scabiosa, and sweet peas.

Dashing Groom

Chaz went with a classic look for the wedding: a black tuxedo with a matching bow tie. On the day of their nuptials, Kiana asked one of the photographers to deliver Chaz a custom compass as a gift. "It had our initials engraved on one side, a photo of us on the inside, and a cherished song lyric engraved on the back: 'Call Me If You Get Lost' by Tyler, the Creator," Chaz says.

Blooming Boutonnière

A small peach ranunculus embellished with hydrangea and textural elements like larkspur accented Chaz's boutonnière, which played off the colors seen in Kiana's bridal bouquet. "Adding special homegrown blooms to our couple's flowers are a way of us connecting and sharing a piece of our heart, hard work, and excitement for their wedding day," Jane says.

At First Glance

Kiana and Chaz shared their first look in front of a fountain at the venue's entrance. Since Kiana ran a bit behind schedule, their private first look plans turned into more of a spotlight moment. "It happened right at the time that all of our family was arriving," Kiana says. "We ended up having a pretty big audience for our 'private' moment."

Time to Party

The bride envisioned her bridesmaids in different colors, so she created a spreadsheet with each of the shades from their wedding-day palette and let the girls decide their color and dress style. They each held a smaller version of Kiana's bridal bouquet, with added tendrils of baby's breath. The groomsmen wore black tuxedos to match Chaz for a timeless look.

Ceremony Views

The couple's outdoor ceremony took place in the garden, where crossback chairs lined the natural stone aisle. The stone pergola was embellished with a growing floral swag, while the aisle had smaller organic floor arrangements.

Loving Words

After Kiana walked down the aisle with her father, she and Chaz tied the knot in front of their loved ones in a ceremony officiated by their close friend, Amar.

Time for Two

To limit the amount of time spent away from their guests, Kiana and Chaz took a few couple's portraits after the ceremony and booked a day-after session with their photographer to snap more shots.

Welcome to Vista Fest

A custom escort card display read "Welcome to Vista Fest," incorporating the pair's music festival aesthetic. The display featured illustrations of key elements of their relationship, including their velvet couch, symbols for the trains they often took to see each other in New York, and their dog, Noodle.

Calligraphed cups were set up on the escort display with a "Bees Knees" cocktail. "Guests had to drink or share the contents so they could find their table number on the bottom of the cup!" Kiana says.

Signature Sips

At the cocktail hour, guests enjoyed passed appetizers including coconut shrimp, ahi tuna tostadas, mushroom empanadas, and caprese skewers. The couple also served two signature cocktails: The "KikiTini" was a cold brew cocktail—and a play on the drink Chaz made Kiana every day in the Cornell library coffee shop. Chaz chose a Mezcal paloma drink with a gummy bear garnish as his signature drink.

Painting the Picture

The couple created a custom paint by the number design as their guestbook. They asked guests to paint a section and add their name with a sign that read "You Color our World Happy."

The Head Table

At the outdoor reception, a natural wooden pergola marked the head table. It held a baby's breath cloud installation and a variety of mid-century modern lamps. While the head table was covered with an ivory runner, the surrounding tables were draped in marigold velvet linens.

Center of Attention

Centerpiece arrangements were placed in low white vessels and paired with taupe-hued taper candles and ribbed votives.

Perfectly Placed

Each place setting included mint green plates, white-and-gold flatware, and terra-cotta woven napkins with gold napkin rings.

Lounging Around

A lounge area with comfortable seating and pillows was set up underneath the trees. A vintage yellow phone was placed on the side table, so guests could leave voicemails for the happy couple.

Relax Your Feet

The couple added a note to their invitation suite encouraging guests to bring sneakers or comfortable shoes to change into for the reception. They provided a shoe caddy for guests to store the extra pairs.

Dancing the Night Away

Kiana and Chaz worked with their DJ to plan all of their wedding-day music. For their first dance, they decided to tap into their love of the French DJs Polo & Pan. "We decided to perform latin-hip-hop fusion choreography to their song, 'Canopée,'" the bride says. "We got help from a professional dance teacher with the salsa and bachata parts and we choreographed the hip hop parts ourselves."

Garden-Inspired Treats

Lara from LILA Cake Shop created the newlyweds' three-tiered wedding cake with a buttercream garden growing from the bottom. Garden-themed cupcakes were also served.

Cool Kicks

Kiana and Chaz changed into matching custom Comme des Garçons Converse sneakers for the reception, as seen on the details card in their invitation suite.

Sources

Photography, Ether & Smith
Venue and Catering, Vista Valley Country Club
Event Design and Planning, Amorology
Videography, Grimace Films
Florist, Blue Pansy Floral
Invitations, Percolator Letterpress
Paper Products and Guestbook, Four Things Paper
Bride's Dress, Muse by Berta
Bride's Jewelry, BHLDN
Bride's Shoes, Jade Bridal Shoes
Reception Shoes, Commes des Garçons x Converse
Bride's Hair, Katie L'Heureux
Groom's and Groomsmen's Attire, Generation Tux
Engagement Ring, Stonemangems
Wedding Bands, Melanie Casey
Ceremony Music, Seaside Strings
Reception Music, My DJs
Cake, LILA Cake Shop
Rentals, Nuage; Folklore;Catalog; BBJ
Transportation, SD Charter
Lighting, Social Lights