A Malibu Soiree Under The Stars

Every now and then you see it – love in its truest form. Energy that you can feel through photographs. Raw, unguarded and beautifully authentic, we were completely swept up in the magic of Keegan and Tanya’s Malibu wedding.

Surrounded by a garden of vines and white roses, a Point Dume backyard imbued with personal sentiment was the perfect backdrop for the Summer celebration under the stars. Echoing the botanical theme, Tanya wore an alluring, floor skimming gown with textured details of blooms, delicately appliquéd.

Definitively avant garde, the garden reception used a simple palette of white linens for the tables, accompanied by vintage crystal glasses and silver cutlery. White flowers in clear glass vases were strewn across the long rectangular tables, adorned with candles.

Beautifully capturing every fleeting moment, were LANE handpicked photographers Forged in The North.

Our Story

Names / Tanya & Keegan

Wedding Date / August 6, 2016

Guest Numbers / 123

How we met…

We grew up in the same small town. Even though we both went to different schools, we had shared a lot of friends in common. Keegan claims to have always had a crush on me, and I was totally oblivious to it. It seemed like all my girlfriends had crushes on him, so I didn’t think much of it. We reconnected a couple of years later when he was moving in with one of my best guy friends. I immediately had liked him. We acted on our intuition and got together. I think it was our destiny to get together when we did.

Our Engagement Story…

It began as a normal Tuesday. We were walking on the beach in front of our house, like we do every morning. After a long kayak ride we were back on shore and he completely caught me by surprise. With our beloved dog by our side, he dropped down on one knee in the sand. After that he surprised me again by whisking me away for the night to my favourite hotel, San Ysidro Ranch, where we spent the whole time drinking champagne and celebrating each other.

Marriage to us means…

Solidifying that comfort and support system rooted in passion and love for one another.

The Details

Location

Point Dume, Malibu.

Our very first kiss was in the garden at his parents house. We had searched for locations that gave us a special feeling, but nothing spoke to us in the same way. It felt only natural to get married where it had all started for us. We decided to do a backyard wedding at his parents Point Dume house in Malibu. Lucky for us, their house and garden is absolutely beautiful. We had our ceremony and reception in his mothers magical garden overlooking the ocean. His father was generous enough to let us convert his recording studio into our dance floor, complete with a disco ball and open french doors letting in the sea breeze and moonlight.

Style

Evening botanical. Lush greenery with simple and elegant accents, all under a starry sky.

Photography

Keegan is an artist and photographer, so I knew whoever we picked to photograph our wedding would have to be amazing. I stumbled upon Forged in the North while looking on The Lane, and immediately fell in love with how raw and real their photos were. I knew right away Keegan would approve and after we got the photos back he was ear to ear smiling. They did a spectacular job capturing the emotions of the day in such a real way, and were such a pleasure to work with.

Fashion Notes

Bride’s Dress

A custom made dress by Thumbelina Atelier.

Bridesmaids’ Dresses

Reformation “Luma” dress. Simple floor length gown, with a v neckline, thin spaghetti straps, and a big but appropriate centre slit.

Wedding Rings

Keegan’s sister Katelin Gibbs makes incredible, soulful, beautiful custom engagements rings and jewellery. It was such an honour to wear her creations, someone we have so much love and respect for. Our rings felt extra special knowing someone we love so much made them just for us. As for the design for my engagement ring, it’s a classic solitaire silhouette with a modern approach. It’s 18k yellow gold, with six prongs holding a 2 carat brilliant cut diamond. The ring is accented with a small diamond placed in the bottom of the band, a little something I get to hold in my hand just for me. Our wedding bands are similarly classic and clean with a special touch. Inspired by my grandparents’ wedding rings, our 18k yellow gold bands are hand engraved inside with each other’s names and our wedding date in Roman numerals. Katelin led a very spiritual and emotion-filled ring ceremony with our closest friends and family in a tight circle in the garden a couple of days before the wedding. It gave us time to share all of our appreciation for each other, and to bless the rings with love. It was a sacred moment that is hard to put into words.

Accessories

I wore a tennis bracelet in platinum, lent to me by one of my best friend’s and bridesmaid. I also wore my mother’s round sapphire and diamond halo stud earrings.

Groomsmen’s Attire

Keegan’s groomsmen wore classic navy blue suits to complement his slightly brighter blue suit. They all wore their own shoes and Keegan gave them all matching socks.

Hair

My good friend Carina Williams did my hair on the day. I had my hair down with loose curls to give it a beach wave look, finished off with salt spray and dry shampoo.

Makeup

Jenny Bowker did my makeup and did an amazing job! I really wanted to make sure that on the day I didn’t have the caked on makeup look. I wanted to be sun kissed and have a very natural look. She created exactly what I had imagined, and gave me a little shimmer and dark eyelashes but I still looked like myself.

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Style Notes

Stationery

For the save the dates I had my sister-in-law Katelin Gibbs hand paint a beautiful watercolor floral crest with our date in it centred, followed by just our names, save the date, and location, Malibu, Ca. For our wedding invitation we mailed out foil letterpress invites with gold stars and a moon centred. It opened with “in the spirit of the celebration of true love” and concluded with “ceremony in the Garden, supper and song to follow under the stars”.

Favors

Keegan gifted his groomsmen wooden pocket knives with there initials hand engraved on them. I gave all my bridesmaids different white vintage handkerchiefs and 14kt gold bracelets with a simple round circle.

Flowers & Bouquet

I used six different types of greenery layered together to create depth and fullness for the arbors. These were accented with simple white roses for the vow arbor, and a mix of white flowers for the entrance arbors. The bouquets, both for the bridal party and the tables, similarly had a theme of variety and layers, loosely and asymmetrically assorted for a free and natural feel. My bouquet was filled with a variety of some tight and some loosely fitting roses, stock beach, Protea blushing bride, Lymimachia, queen annes lace, Astilbe all in white, cream, and blush colors as well as a touch of Lily of the valley.

Videography

Keegan’s friends filmed the wedding and Keegan is currently editing it himself to capture the best moments of ours.

Reception Notes

Ceremony & Reception Décor

We wanted to keep the decor simple to emphasise the already lush garden. The ceremony was kept simple, with an arbor covered in vines and white roses. Our guests sat in wooden cross back chairs, that had a bag of rice on each one to later throw at our exit. For the reception, I chose simple white linens for the tables, accompanied by vintage crystal glasses and cutlery. White flowers in clear glass vases were strewn across the long rectangular tables, with small candles glowing around us. The stars shone so bright that night that additional light wasn’t necessary.

Cake

A delicious two-tiered chocolate cake covered in vanilla buttercream frosting. Super simple, garnished with simple green leaves and flowers similar to the bouquets.

Wedding Song

For the ceremony, Keegan and the wedding party walked down to “In My Life” by The Beatles. Shortly after I walked down to “All You Need is Love” by The Beatles. Once the ceremony ended we all walked out with “This Must Be The Place” by Talking Heads. Our first dance was to our song, “Hold On” by Rusko.

Food & Beverage

Our speciality drinks were Whisky Ginger for him, Moscow Mule for her. We served a lovely three-course meal for dinner and had late night treats of mac and cheese with andouille sausage passed around on the dance floor. It was a crowd pleaser.

Entertainment

Keegan’s family friends and accomplished musicians played during the ceremony for the aisle songs and cocktail hour some funky jazz and jammed in general. In the evening, our friend DJ’d in the studio turned disco dance floor.

Special Details

Honeymoon

Bali is a place very special to us. We have spent many times together in love there, so we knew it would be the perfect place to unwind after the wedding. After several days of relaxing massages and hiking waterfalls, we decided to go to Japan for a little adventure. We spent time in Tokyo, Hakone, and Kyoto. We had an amazing time being lost in translation, feasting on endless sushi and ramen, and relaxing in the natural hot springs overlooking Mount Fuji. We loved starting our honeymoon on a relaxing isolated island and ending it with an amazing, colorful, bustling city – the perfect balance.

Celebrant

Our very close mutual best friend, John married us. He has been a friend to us since day one, and to have him marry us meant the world. We know that through the good times and bad he will always be there for us and will never take sides, with only the best interest of us loving each other in mind.

Source of Inspiration

I was inspired by the one and only, Kate Moss. Her wedding looked idyllic.

A memorable moment…

After the ceremony while all our guests were at cocktail hour, he took me into the second story balcony of the house overlooking the whole backyard. He stared into my eyes and re-read his vows to me slowly and privately. It was so incredibly intimate and special.

One thing I wish I knew before I started my wedding plans…

To enjoy the process and to not sweat the small stuff. Also to remember that everything will work out in the end.

If I could give Brides-To-Be one piece of advice…

To stay grounded. It’s really easy to stress out over little things or to lose yourself in the excitement and people surrounding you. It’s important to really enjoy every moment of the day and to breath and stay relaxed. The day goes by quicker than you think!