Dating when you have a mutual friend is the dream! I mean, no background checks required. Double checks. What if that friend was a friend of your boyfriend? Would you still date him? Why not, right? If you both end up being single, then it’s fair game. Isn’t that the best part of Facebook? Kudos to our bride Erika for spotting her soul mate. She admits to always having a crush on Bobby. We are crushing on her wedding. She looks stunning wearing our Callista off-shoulder wedding dress. The fitted silhouette complements her gorgeous figure, and the fringe hem informs her guest that they are in for a fun time. Seeing how remarkable she looks, it’s hard to imagine that she originally wanted a flowy dress. I’m sure she would have been a knockout in whatever wedding dress she chose, but this dress is entirely her. We are also obsessing over the use of color in her bouquet and her bridesmaid dresses. Everything about her wedding is a win! She had us at churros being one of her must-haves. Read Erika’s and Bobby’s story and get inspired to follow your heart, and do it all your way.
Tell us, how do did you meet?
Erika: My husband Bobby and I met about 10 years ago from a mutual friend. I was actually dating one of his friends for about 3 years, but I always had a little crush on Bobby. Then years later when we were both single, he messaged me on Facebook and we went on a date! And the rest is history!
Tell us all about the proposal
Erika: It happened when my husband Bobby and I were climbing/camping in Joshua Tree. His original plan was to propose on the first day at the top of a climb but unfortunately, that didn’t go as planned. I was having trouble climbing up the first few climbs and the weather wasn’t great. Then the next day, there was a little bit of sunshine, so we decided to take a walk. He put the go-pro on one of the trees so we could take some pictures together (which we always do) and then all of a sudden he got down on one knee! It was absolutely perfect. And then of course, right after that, we went climbing again and I climbed right up to the top! Perfect weekend.
A romantic wedding at Leo Carrillo Ranch in California
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony?
Erika: Yes, we had my brother read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. About friendship in marriage!
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?
Erika: No, we did not write our own vows.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress
Erika: I never really thought too much about what kind of dress I wanted to get married in until I was actually engaged. At first, I was only looking for flowy dresses because I don’t like wearing tight clothes. So I found one and I was soo close to buying it until I came across the Dreamers and Lovers website and I immediately fell in love with like 10 dresses. I had one specifically in mind when I went to their store, but the one I ended up buying was so much different. It was tight, it was off the shoulder, it had a beautiful train and it had fringes. And it was mine! Erika is wearing the Callista Off-Shoulder Bohemian Wedding Dress and the Cindy veil.
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding?
Erika: My favorite vendor was our photographers. They’re a married couple up in mammoth and the love they have for photography really shows in their pictures. My husband is an awkward photo taker and they made it so much fun for him. I am so glad we decided on them! SierraWillowPhotography!
What advice do you have for other future-brides currently planning a wedding?
Erika: We had a long engagement and that helped us save more money. Also, all-inclusive venues are worth it.
How many guests did you have?
Erika: We had about 110 people.
Describe your wedding cake or dessert?
Erika: We had a small little lemon cake for the two of us topped with a cactus, a Mr & Mrs topper and a bunch of different colored flowers. Then we had churros for all the guests.
What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
Erika: Our wedding was Spanish themed and the first two must-haves were churros and the white papel picado banners. Those were the only two things I really really cared about.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?
Erika: I would say budgeting and maybe the guest list.
What’s next for you as a couple?
Erika: We’re trying to take as many little trips as we can until we have some little ones running around in a few years.
Tell us about your wedding flowers?
Erika: We had a family friend do our flowers and she did an amazing job. I sort of left it all up to her except for a few little details I had wanted. We had the perfect Fall mixture of flowers and colors. I was completely surprised on the day of and I LOVED them.
Feel free to share any additional info about your day
Erika: All of my family and friends who are married told me the day goes by very fast and it is 100% true. Just try to take it all in and have a good time. It’ll be the best day of your life.
Inspired by Erika and Bobby’s Spanish style wedding? Planning your own wedding? Check out another bride who had an amazing Spanish-style bohemian wedding. See more of this wedding here
Our featured bride is Emily, in his vows, her husband described the reason for knowing she was the one “because of her general dissatisfaction to accept the status quo”. What a compliment! They married in a laid-back ceremony at her parent’s house with 85 guests and had the most stress-free day. We loved that everyone walked down the aisle while being barefoot. Yayyyyy, for backyard weddings! We are big fans. Emily’s advice to brides-to-be is to hire a day-of coordinator. We’ve heard that from other brides, and here at Dreamers & Lovers, we are fully behind the idea. If there is someone or something that will make your life easier and will make you be fully present on your big day, just do it. As for the dress, she chose the Nellia because she wanted comfort, and loved that she felt like a woman wearing it. Yessssssssss.
From Emily:
I felt so happy and beautiful in my dress! Not to mention comfortable! Thank you to everyone who made my dress possible with such care!
Read on for more of Emily’s love story and bridal wisdom:
How they met:
We met online!
Was there a time in your relationship where your love faced adversity, and you thought it wouldn’t work out? How did you repair this?
I don’t know if there was ever a time we thought it wasn’t going to work out, but there have definitely been times we feel/felt tested. In these times we have each had to grow and learn how to be better partners for each other. We also recently found out I can’t have children and while it has been trying, it has also been very uniting and a testament to our strength together as a couple. We feel we can tackle almost anything together now!
How she found her wedding dress:
I actually worked very close to your first shop in Torrance and would drive by it on my way to work. Sometimes the door would be open and I could see the dresses and thought they were so beautiful. Then a co-worker told me she got her dress there and I knew I had to go. It was the first shop I went to. I tried on maybe 4-5 dresses. I fell in love with the Nellia immediately. I went to a few more shops, but could not stop thinking about it. I remember telling my mom I felt like a woman when I wore it. So we went back and that was that!
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony?
My cousin read the poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver. It is one of our favorite poems and something we return to often in times of stress or struggle.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?
We did write our own vows. I loved my husband’s vows. There are two lines I always think about. One he said he fell in love with me because of my general dissatisfaction to accept the status quo and that relationships are process and progress and that I will always have someone to process and progress with.
He says his favorite part from me was that the two of us make a family and we will always be a family no matter how our family looks or is made.
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding?
I loved so much about our wedding day! We honestly had the best team of vendors I could have asked for. It was such a stress-free day because we had such an amazing team!
What advice do you have for other future-brides currently planning a wedding?
Hire a day-of coordinator! You won’t regret it.
Tell us all about the proposal:
We were on a road trip from Redondo Beach to Washington. Our second stop was the Redwoods. We were on a hike in the Redwoods and he told me to look up at the trees and then to look down and when I looked down he had out an engagement ring. It was amazing. We were all by ourselves surrounded by the Redwoods.
How many guests did you have:
We had a family ceremony at my parent’s house with 85 people and then a larger reception with 175.
Describe your wedding cake or dessert:
We had custom made cookies and Pan Dulce.
Her favorite detail of the wedding:
I loved that we had the ceremony in my parent’s house in the backyard I grew up playing in. I also loved the flowers, my dress, and that everyone walked barefoot down the aisle.
Their next chapter as husband and wife:
Just continuing to enjoy life together. We plan on taking more bike rides on the strand, traveling, camping, climbing, exploring, and eventually figuring out how to start a family someday.
The wedding flowers:
My flowers were designed by Gingersnap Florals. They were succulent, earth tone, with soft pops of color, inspired!
Their mutual love for rhinos and wildlife brought them together. When they met, Noa was living in California, while Matt was visiting from his native South Africa. It was love at first sight! Noa would later move to South Africa to begin their lifelong adventure. What a beautiful couple, and we love all the gorgeous inspiration from this small intimate wedding in South Africa.
Their story as told by bride Noa:
How did you and Matt meet?
Their story began nearly two years ago during the fundraiser “Rhino Ride” when Matt was cycling down the west coast of the USA with a replica life-sized rhinoceros in tow. Matt, a South African citizen, was raising awareness on the declining population of wild rhinos in Africa, and one of his stops along the way was Safari West. Unbeknownst to Matt, Noa was a Zoo Keeper working with rhinos at Safari West. While taking him on a quick tour, she introduced Matt to her favorite rhino, Waldie, and voila! It was love at first sight! Our love and passion for rhinos and wildlife are what brought us together and what propels our continued explorations! Noa has since moved to South Africa, and together, we are adventuring on our forever safari.
Was there any adversity early on in your love story?
There was no adversity, but when I first moved to South Africa, it did put a lot of strain on our relationship trying to adjust to living in a third world country with only knowing Matt.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress
I only went to one bridal shop, which was Dreamers & Lovers, and knew even before my appointment that the Heather fringe Lace dress was the one. I only tried on five dresses that day.
What was your favorite phrase, verse, or line of your wedding vows?
I ended my vows with a quote from chaos in the stars “I didn’t fall in love with you. I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way. I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do things we’d choose anyway. And I’d choose you, In a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality. I’d find you, and I’d choose you.”
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding?
My wedding photographer was amazing. She captured such natural and candid moments!! Bron from Vanilla Photography.
Vanilla Photography
What advice do you have for other future-brides currently planning a wedding?
I know a lot of people say this, but please try not to stress; the day will turn out perfect, and it goes by so fast, so take everything in and let the day flow naturally.
Tell us all about the proposal
Matt proposed at a remote location off Long Tom Pass in South Africa. It was beautiful overlooking mountains after mountains.
How many guests did you have?
74 guests
Describe your wedding cake or dessert?
My wedding cake was a two-tiered natural-looking carrot cake. With succulents and rose gold flakes with a rose gold wooden cake topper of our Last name.
Tell us about your wedding flowers?
My flowers were succulents, proteas, eucalyptus, natural grasses, and roses.
What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
I had dream catchers and fairy lights everywhere; it made the rustic venue look so magical.
What’s next for you as a couple?
We are planning to extend our family soon! YESSSSSS to that!!!
Jackie and Hector’s parents had been friends since middle school, but the couple had no idea they would ever be together and hosting such a gorgeous Fiesta Wedding. Jackie visited us in our California studio, and everything about her was laidback and fresh, so we can attest that the relaxed vibe in her photos is authentic, and not just for the cameras:-) Everything from her wedding, including the vibrant pops of color, the groom’s Charro suit, and her Mexican Inspired Wedding Dress screams creative and unique. Get ready to be inspired, if a Mexican Style Wedding is on your wish list, by this wedding filled with Cactus and hosted in the California desert. They even had a Mariachi band, and Takis was on their menu…so much fun!!
Tell us, how do did you meet?
It was destiny that Hector and I met. My parents were friends with his parents ever since I was in middle school. Hector’s first memory of meeting me was during a camping trip that our families visited. However, my first memory of meeting him was a year later outside of our parish hall. We became close friends fast, and the rest was history.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress
The search for my wedding dress started when I went to a traditional bridal shop with my mom and sister on a day off from work. It was pretty early on in my engagement, and I just wanted to explore different styles. I tried on about six dresses. All of them looking beautiful, and the online pictures made them look perfect. However, not a single one of those dresses felt right on me. I felt discouraged, so when I got home, I googled “laid back wedding dresses,” and I found Dreamers & Lovers. I was SO EXCITED looking though the website. Even though I went to one more wedding dress shop after my first visit to Dreamers & Lovers, there was nothing that compared. I knew my dress was there, and I was so happy!
Did you write your vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse, or line?
We didn’t write our vows, but on the day of the wedding, our priest took us by surprise and said: “they have prepared their vows that they will share now.” The improvisation made for great vows because without having much time to think about what we wanted to say, the words came out naturally. I told him I was so excited for him to be my best friend for the rest of my life.
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding?
Honestly, the vendors we had were the best! It was such a blessing finding Dreamers & Lovers and finding a dress that made me feel comfortable and beautiful. We were so lucky to find a great Photographer/Videographer team-Poema Studios. They were the sweetest couple with such great talent. Finally, our florist was the best! She is my mother-in-law, and she put so much love into the arrangements and bouquets.
What advice do you have for other future-brides currently planning a wedding?
My biggest advice is to keep the process stress free. Remember what this day is about: you and your partner. It’s all about you guys and the love that you are celebrating.
Tell us all about the proposal
He planned a weekend full of activities, one of which included a picnic at the park on a Saturday morning. We were sitting on a blanket, eating salads and snacks, and he surprised me with the ring. After I said yes, our family came out to celebrate us from behind some nearby bushes. He planned a family dinner that same night. It was perfect because it felt so natural.
How many guests did you have?
We had about 250 guests.
Describe your wedding cake or dessert?
Real flowers adorned our wedding cake. We couldn’t pick just one flavor, so each layer was a different flavor.
What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
My favorite part of the wedding was seeing everyone that we love celebrating our love with us. Seeing everyone dancing & laughing the whole time was a testament to what our love represents. We had a blast dancing with our loved ones, and it’s a feeling I will never forget.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?
The only challenge that we had was that our first venue burned down due to the Malibu Fires in 2018. We had to scramble to find a new venue but ended up finding a great place.
What’s next for you as a couple?
Right now, we are both focused on our careers- Social Work and Marketing. Eventually, we would love to get a puppy! Also, we have a trip to Tokyo planned for our first anniversary. That’s super exciting for us both!
Tell us about your wedding flowers?
Our flower vendor was Rosa’s Flowers in Sylmar, CA- a small business that happens to be owned by my mother-in-law. I always joke that she’s a flower queen, but it’s true. Her talent and ability to put different flowers together is an art, and we were so blessed that she took our vision and created something beautiful.
Take a second and remember what you were like at 4 and 5 years old. It was a great day if you had playtime, yummy snacks, and finding your sleeping mat. For Amanda and Derek, they were starting their journey of finding their soulmates. These love birds went from playing sports together to then reconnecting after high school. It’s safe to say they had a strong foundation with a lifetime of friendship and memories. Amanda and Derek’s love story is one for the books, as was their recent wedding at the Condor’s Nest in California. Their wedding feature is full of inspiration for the boho bride-to-be. We especially love all the DIY details from the flowers to the cake. Amanda wears her Ophelia two-piece wedding dress. We feel she couldn’t have chosen a more perfect dress to match her personality. She looks incredible.
Photo: Erin Wiese Photography
The Proposal
Amanda loves hot air balloons, and was on a work trip in las vegas, and was surprised with a hot air balloon ride with a few of her co-workers… when she should up to the ride, Derek popped out of the hot air balloon basket to go on the trip with her. He proposed mid-air on the journey.
Photo: Erin Wiese Photography
The Wedding Dress
Before being engaged, I came across Dreamers & Lovers on instagram and had my wedding dress picked out before marriage was even talked about, haha. I know what I like when I see it 😉
Yes, we wrote our vows, I think my favorite line would be me telling Derek, “you are not only the best person in my life, but you are the best person in everyone’s life around you.” HE IS SO LOVED!!!
The Must-Have Detail
I dreamed of having a rug aisle for the ceremony that we were able to rent from witty rentals.
Make it as simple as possible for yourself, and take all the help you can get! LOL
The Guests
There were 140 guests!
Photo: Erin Wiese Photography
The Wedding Cake
The bride’s mother made both cupcakes and wedding cake. The wedding cake was carrot with cream cheese frosting, all homemade so yummy 🙂
Photo: Erin Wiese Photography
Favorite Details
Everything was perfect! More than we could’ve imagined, it was so awesome to see it all come together, knowing how much love went into every detail. Our thank you gifts were hand-painted rocks that we all helped out with; this took months to get done!
Photo: Erin Wiese Photography
The Next Chapter
We are ready to enjoy life! 2 weeks after the wedding, Amanda and Derek put together a brand new salon for the bride and her three business partners, then traveled to Bali for three weeks!! We are excited to enjoy each other.
The Flowers
All of our flowers and arrangements were artificial and silk! Besides the greenery. The bride’s cousin put them all together!
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