Jorie and Devin's 'Botanical Meets Geometric' Modern and Creative LA Wedding by Mandee Johnson Photography

Happy Monday everyone, how was your weekend? I hope the sun shone where you are and you managed to get out and enjoy some of this glorious weather we are having! We had a lovely weekend in the sunshine. Saturday we went to Chatsworth House to the farmyard and then down to the lake where Dexter had a good old paddle in the water. Sunday we went to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which was boiling! We tried out their new play barn (with air con thank goodness) and then their new dinosaur themed restaurant! A wonderful weekend all round! I am starting off the week with the totally stunning wedding of Jorie and Devin. The whole wedding is completely beautiful from beginning to end! I just love everything. The ceremony backdrop, the dried flowers, the table decor, the modern theme mixed with the botanicals, it all looks amazing! And as for the wedding, so full of emotion and then one big old party to celebrate! So much fun, lets hope we are allowed back to big old, dance filled weddings soon! Big thanks to Mandee Johnson Photography for the amazing photos.

A wholly authentic intimate party that reflect who we are as people. Botanical, eclectic, relaxed, creative, and modern.

Jorie and Devin were married on 19th October 2019 at The Ruby Street – Los Angeles, CA. ‘We decided to get married in LA because it’s where we met and where we call home. Jorie had already bookmarked a few venues that she wanted if we were to ever get married in LA and The Ruby Street was at the top of that list. We were hoping to get married on our October 12th our anniversary but it was booked so we went with the next best thing which was October 19th. We had 125 guests. We worked with Jessica our wedding planner over a period of about 9 months to plan our wedding and she made the entire process manageable and stress-free. From our first meeting, we immediately noticed how incredibly organized and detail-oriented she was, and that she leads with both character and heart. From that point on we knew that our wedding would be in great hands.’

How they met
We met one random night in April of 2014 while out on the town with a mutual group of friends. We spent the entire night talking to each other but beyond that night, we didn’t keep in close contact for a few months. Then in September of that year we reconnected and made plans to hang out. A month of hanging out and building a true friendship made it all the more nerve racking to open up about how we truly felt about one another, but eventually we couldn’t help but say and we’ve been in love/best friends ever since.

The proposal
We ended up getting officially engaged on our fourth anniversary in October of 2018. Devin proposed during a home cooked meal while on a local vacation in Topanga Canyon to celebrate our anniversary. Funny enough, we technically had decided to get married six weeks prior, even began planning, but it was so casually agreed upon and more of a mutual proposal than anything.

How did you allocate your budget?
All other vendors were a matter of looking through our wedding planner’s top vendor list and seeing who matched our vibe the best/who was available/who we could afford.

How did you choose your photographer?
We already knew who we wanted our photographer to be so that was a no-brainer, we’ve known Mandee for years, and we were just lucky enough she was available!

The dress
Wedding Dress by Dreamers + Lovers. Gold Starbust clips by Stephanie Witter

The suit?
Groom’s Suit by The Black Tux with jade cuff links and rudraksha necklace.

Theme or colour scheme
Black and white with green and amber accents. We paired this with geometric touches, brass, gold, and a pop of Moroccan red.

Flowers
Dried palms, dried and fluffy grasses, hanging plants. Asymmetrical, wild, and textured arrangements featuring king protea, golden rain tree pods, bleached Ruscus, dahlias, spiral eucalyptus, and ranunculus. Foxtail Florals designed the incredible flowers and we went for a modern take on a neutral color palette. The wedding floral arrangements and Jorie’s bridal bouquet showcased King protea, golden rain tree pods, bleached Ruscus, dahlias, and ranunculus that were asymmetrical, wild, and textured.

Decoration
The impressive ceremony arch featured massive dried palms, dried and fluffy grasses and gold hanging planters.
For the reception we used Ruby Street’s custom wooden farm tables and paired them with their bistro chairs and rented almost everything else from La Pinata Party Rentals. We designed a modern Tablescape with clusters of plants and vases in unique pottery and planters for an eclectic and global feel. We set the table white ceramic plates, gold and black flatware, an amber wine goblet, and a textured white cotton napkin folded in a square and centered on the plate. We added a statement black and white table runner from Bright Event Rentals and it brought everything together.

Food
An Indian-Fusion Wedding Menu
Appetizers – Fundamental LA created an impressive Cheese & Mezze spread featuring artisanal cheeses, seasonal fresh fruit, and dried fruit. Crudite was served with an assortment of dips of lemon hummus, chimichurri & muhammara, pumpkin seeds, crudites, toasted nuts, pickled cauliflower, marinated olives, crostini and an assortment of breadsticks and crackers.
Tray Passed Appetizers included mini falafel with hummus and tzatziki, spiced shrimp skewers, and citrus-marinated beef skewers.

Dinner: – Their delicious family-style dinner included a Little gems salad, seasonal grilled veggies, basmati rice, slow-cooked chicken tagine with Moroccan spices, couscous stuffed roasted peppers, and sea bass in a brown butter caper pepper sauce.

wedding cake
For dessert, they skipped the wedding cake and served delicious Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches in a variety of flavors.

Entertainment
DJ by Dart Collective
Processional: In My Life – The Beatles
Bride Processional: Here, There and Everywhere – The Beatles
Recessional: This Must Be The Place – Talking Heads
Grand Entrance: Ain’t Nobody – Chaka Khan
First Dance: Harvest Moon – Neil Young faded Into Black & Gold – Sam Sparro
Last Song: Glowed Up – Kaytranada

Who supplied the stationery?
Simply Stated LA did the seating chart

Personal touches
Jorie + Devin personalized the ceremony by adding little flares of culture and tradition from both sides, such as blessings from their parents and a moment of recognition for our family members that could not be there with us.

Special moments
Jorie’s father had passed away and Jorie was planning to walk down the aisle by herself. We came up with a beautiful plan for Devin to walk down the aisle first, followed by his parents, and then Jorie’s mother and grandmother.
When it was time for the bridal processional, Jorie walked out onto the deck and about 1/3 of the way by herself and then Devin walked back up the aisle to meet her. They walked to the altar holding hands together. It was impossible not to cry at that very special moment.

Advice for other couples
Weddings get very expensive, very fast. Don’t bother to do anything or purchase anything that isn’t authentic to you as a couple!
If it’s within your budget, you should definitely hire a wedding planner. It will make the process of “getting married” much less torturous for you, and it’s the highest “value-to-dollars-spent” and if you’re getting married in the greater Los Angeles area you should hire Jessica!