“What a beautiful day it was for Megan and Chad! The two wed at a private residence in beautiful Del Mar. The beautiful wooden invitations hand stamped by the bride, set the tone for the day. A romantic, beautifully-lit evening filled with DIY wooden elements {mostly travel related, as they traveled a lot together growing up and Chad currently works as a pilot!}. We began the day with Megan getting ready on location in the upstairs master bedroom. After the bride had donned her beautiful dress and veil, finishing touches were made by her bridesmaids. Her Father and her then shared an emotional first look. Next, Megan and Chad shared their first look at the front entrance of the house. After some time spent together in the beautiful afternoon sun, we met up with the bridal party and family for some more portraits. Their short and sweet ceremony was followed by some fun moments, laughter, exchange of rings and prayer, these two were married! Their first kiss was followed by much celebration and cheers of joy from their closest friends and family, who were gathered to witness their big day. All the DIY elements and personalized details were amazing! Once all the guests were seated and the sun had almost set, the bridal party made their grand entrance into the reception, and Megan and Chad went right into their first dance, followed by dinner and toasts. Finally, after all the reception events were completed, we stole the newlyweds away from the party for a romantic end of the night shot! It was such a marvelous day for such a wonderful couple and we wish them many years of joy and happiness!” – Peterson Design + Photography

What is your favorite wedding day memory?

My favorite memory was walking down the aisle with my dad. It was a really fun moment for me to experience that with him. We wanted a nice wedding, but didn’t want to break the bank. Our main concern was spending so much money on a day that would be over so quickly. We wanted a full weekend experience for our wedding, so we rented a large estate where all of our bridal party and their guests stayed for the entire weekend. It was great to get to spend so much time with them. We understand that being in a wedding often means you have to spend quite a bit of money, so we thought we could at least take care of the accommodations. The home was amazing and allowed us to have out of town friends and family over all weekend to enjoy!

What did you DIY for your wedding?

We DIY’d pretty much everything! I printed and cut all of the stationary {programs, menus and place cards}, arranged and created the bouquets, we also purchased all of our own linens and wine glasses as it was cheaper than renting, plus we can sell them! Lastly, all of the signs and decor were DIY’d!

Something old, new, borrowed and blue?

We had a something old and something borrowed. For our something old and borrowed, we used Chad’s parents’ cake topper and we had my parents’ cake topper on display at our guest globe table.

Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?

I knew I was tackling a lot doing everything myself, so I got started really early on. I worked diligently throughout the entire year prepping and planning so that I wouldn’t be too stressed out. The only thing was tough was the flowers. I was really worried the night before our wedding that all of our hydrangeas were going to wilt and die. We purchased them in bulk and I was responsible for keeping them alive. I read horror stories online about how sensitive they are and when the first couple started to wilt, I had a slight breakdown. I spritzed them all with water and we only lost a few. All of the others, including those in our bouquet, made it through the full wedding day. -Megan, the bride

Event Credits

Photographer: Peterson Design + Photography // Venue: The Zuffinetti Estate // Event Coordination: Elizabeth Metcalf // Rentals: Allie's Party Rentals // Officiant: SoCal Wedding Guy // DJ: Cake Entertainment // Favors: Totally Wedding Koozies // Invitation Materials: Paper Source // Wooden Cards: Cards of Wood // Catering: Hunter Steakhouse // Cake and Desserts: VG Donut and Bakery // Videographer: Jennifer Brehan from Rendevous Video Productions // Engagement and Wedding Ring: King of Jewelry // Bride's Attire: David's Bridal // Bride's Veil: David's Bridal // Bride's Shoes: Macy's // Bridesmaid's Attire: David's Bridal // Bridesmaid's Shoes: Payless // Hair and Make-Up: Lindsay Ann Makeup // Groom's Attire: Joseph A. Banks // Groomsmen's Attire: Joseph A. Banks