The Guests Picked the Music at This Jukebox-Inspired California Wedding

Annie and Brian shared an instant spark when mutual friends introduced them the first time, but "we had to meet twice to get it right!" says Annie. "We connected unexpectedly on our love for the Richard Linklater Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight film trilogy and I immediately knew he was special. But timing is everything, and Brian was leaving the city at the time. We met again a year and a half later, and that second chance turned into true love." Two years after their second meeting, Brian surprised Annie with her dream proposal, pulling out the ring during a picnic in Paris. "I had to conceal the ring in hotels in three different countries before proposing, all while keeping Annie off the scent," says Brian. "I kept my hands full of picnic supplies on proposal day so she couldn't get close enough to feel the ring box in my pocket. It was all worth it for the surprise."

As the couple began planning their wedding, they had several elements in mind: a domestic destination that would wow their East Coast friends and family, an al fresco ceremony and cozy dinner, and carefully-curated musical selections. "We wanted to curate an experience that was nostalgic and immediate at the same time, as if you're experiencing a memory," says Annie. "We wanted the affair to feel intimate and personal, where everyone in attendance is a close friend or family member who can appreciate all the small details woven into the day that are a reflection of mine and Brian's relationship and our personalities."

The couple booked Holman Ranch in Carmel Valley, California, for a 45-guest wedding planned for July 2020—and rescheduled for July 25, 2021—before they ever traveled to the venue in person. "You know when you're willing to commit to something sight unseen (risky!) that you've really found something special," says Annie. "It felt like the most beautiful villa you could find in the European countryside, but it was also a quintessentially California locale, nestled in the mountains so close to iconic Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey."

Annie and Brian incorporated their love of music into their wedding by taking inspiration from their first date, at Tokyo Record Bar in New York City, where each customer chooses a song to hear during the meal—creating a never-the-same-twice playlist for the meal. They asked guests to submit "jukebox requests" with their RSVP, and added the songs to the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception lineups. "We wanted to recreate this experience for our wedding guests, that feeling of giddiness and excitement when your song comes on," says Annie.

At the reception, the couple screened clips from Before Sunrise and Before Sunset in an outdoor movie lounge; set out boxes for guests to pack up vanilla macarons (a callback to their Parisian engagement) and other sweets from a cookie table; and toasted with their friends and family. "The day was pure 'magic' in every way—it truly was all a dream," says Annie. "There was palpable joy and love emanating from every person at our wedding—it was the greatest gift to see our friends and family reveling in all the small details we spent years planning. Everyone still talks about the magic of our wedding."

Annie's sister, Tiffany June Wang, designed and produced the couple's invitation suite around an Ernest Clayton painting of a California poppy. "It was such a striking, vibrant portrayal of something so quintessentially California and a reference to the poppies that bloom behind the Holman Ranch altar," says Annie. "I wanted to create something that was evocative of California with a vintage aesthetic, and also incorporated elements of our love story—she brought this vision to life so beautifully." A laser-cut insert in the shape of a 1950s-style jukebox held a card that guests returned with a song they'd like to hear during the wedding; the bride and groom incorporated the songs into the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception playlists.

The bride and her ensemble got ready in sweet something-blue ensembles and matching heart-shaped sunnies; Annie stood out in a mid-length gingham frock.

When Annie spotted her Berta rose-motif, lace appliqué wedding dress with off-the-shoulder sleeves, a v-back silhouette, and full ballgown while scrolling through bridal images on Instagram, she knew it was the one for her. "I instantly had goosebumps," she says. "It was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen—wedding dress or otherwise. It had all the dualities I was looking for in a dress: not traditional white but still bridal, formal yet effortless, fitted yet sweeping, timeless but also 'me.'" Still, she says, "I loved the hunt, and I must have tried on over 50 gowns," before she saw her first choice in person. "Once I put her on, I knew there could never be another dress for me," she says. "To me, the dress is all about mixing aesthetics—taking something classic and demure like floral lace and making it instantly modern, dimensional, and alluring by overlaying it on a nude tulle instead of something more monochromatically white and traditional."

The bride wore Tabitha Simmons lace heels—which matched her gown—for the ceremony, and changed into Loeffler Randall bow pumps for "frolicking in Holman's vineyards during golden hour." Other fashionable accents included Jennifer Behr star-shaped Swarovski bobby pins and a pearl-shaped purse. "My love for dresses is rivaled only by my love for handbags, so for my big day, I carried a Simone Rocha egg bag with a pearl strap, which was such a lovely complement to my wedding attire, but also added an element of curiosity and intrigue," says Annie.

Annie asked her attendants to choose their own outfits in shades of pale pink and taupe. "I wanted them to choose styles that would reflect their distinct personalities while letting the color and tone create cohesion," she says. "I love how it all came together—the champagne tones they chose complemented the nude undertones of my dress wonderfully and the blush tones added a feminine pop of color."

Brian donned a custom suit and dress slippers from SuitSupply. "His suit was made from a vibrant blue wool-silk fabric that had a unique, eye-catching cross-hatch design," says Annie. "The groomsmen wore light gray summer suits and brown dress shoes—Brian also let his groomsmen choose their attire. One of his groomsmen even chose to accessorize with an ascot!"

The couple describes their intimate first look as "such a pocket of tranquility amidst the bustle of the wedding day." "The moment that I saw Brian, all my wedding nerves melted away," says Annie. "It was the start of our day together (at last!) and we just embraced and kissed and exchanged 'I love yous' in the sunshine for what felt like forever. There were a lot of happy tears."

"We were so swept up in emotion," adds Brian. "We just looked at each other and knew how much we loved each other."

Simple wooden folding chairs faced the terrace where Annie and Brian held their ceremony, while arrangements of white and ivory blooms, textural dried grasses, and greenery were installed low to the ground to mimic a growing garden.

The couple invited Annie's goddaughter, Hayley, to join their wedding as the flower girl, and Brian's baby nephew, Noah, to participate as an honorary ring bearer. "He was too young to hold the rings—he might have tried to eat them!" says Annie. "Hayley wore a darling flower crown in the same tones as my bouquet and a lace-cap sleeved dress with tulle skirt. When we were waiting to walk down the aisle, she was just patiently holding my hand; she had been waiting for this day for months! It was such a small, but special moment, just the two of us."

Annie walked down the aisle by herself, as the string quartet performed Pachelbel's "Canon in D." "I've dreamed about walking down the aisle to this song since I was a little girl—it's probably the only concrete vision I ever had for what my wedding would be—and the moment was entirely surreal because it was even more beautiful and full of love than I ever could have hoped," she says. "I'll never forget the way Brian looked at me as he waited for me at the altar. I'm going to remember that look for the rest of my life."

Framed by a semi-circular floral installation and sweeping views of the nearby mountains, Annie and Brian exchanged their own vows in a ceremony officiated by Brian's sister. "Reflecting how in sync we are as a couple, and the way we both talked about our story and our love, it was almost as if we had written the vows together," says Annie.

At the close of the ceremony, the newlyweds recessed to "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence and the Machine. "It felt like the perfect soundtrack for our new beginning as a married couple—and it was my sister's jukebox request!" says Annie. The next part of the day included some of the couple's highlights, which Annie describes as the small moments in between the big moments: "The quiet moment Brian and I shared taking in our ceremony views after our guests had left for cocktail hour, the moments we spent practicing our spins on the cocktail hour terrace after our guests headed to dinner, and looking out on the vineyards and mountains hand-in-hand from the most beautiful vista during golden hour."

His-and-hers cocktails at the reception were "the perfect embodiment of us in drink form," says Annie. The bride's sip, called "It Was All a Dream," included a blend of gin, prosecco, ginger, lemon, and poppy tincture. "I loved incorporating poppy into the cocktail as a recurring motif in our wedding," says Annie. "Brian's cocktail was a refreshing mango mojito that he named 'Island Vibes,' because he's happiest on a beach in the Caribbean—he wanted a delicious option that our guests could drink a million of on a summer's day." But the bartenders were happy to accommodate off-script requests, too. "Our loved ones could go up, tell them what they like—fruity, floral, etc.—and the bartenders would craft a bespoke cocktail just for them," says Annie. "All our guests were raving about the drinks all night."

Petite lounges, flanked by florals, offered celebrants a comfortable place to rest during the interlude.

The couple enlisted the Monterey String Quartet to provide music during their ceremony and cocktail hour, handing over a list of their favorite tunes and guests' requests. "As a lifetime guitarist, music has always been important," says Brian. "Live music has been part of our relationship since the very beginning, from live jazz in the park on our first date weekend to all of the concerts and music festivals we've been to over the years. Since I couldn't perform on my own wedding day, I found the next best thing—they were the perfect mix of Old-World elegance with a modern twist. We spent hours listening to string adaptations and working on our musical selections and sequencing." The resulting playlist included The Cranberries "Dreams," Weezer's "Island in the Sun," "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, and the Game of Thrones theme song—"a smash hit with our guests," says Annie. "We were so excited to join in on cocktail hour because we couldn't wait to hear the string quartet—they later told us how much they enjoyed learning our song choices!"

After designing save-the-dates inspired by vintage travel posters, Annie and Brian sourced stationery in the same style to use in lieu of a guest book. "Brian and I love to travel and explore the world together," says Annie. "We asked our guests to write messages to us on the back of vintage travel postcards—places we've been and loved, and places we have yet to but want to go—with recommendations for where we should go on our next adventure. We even had a white mailbox that they could use to 'mail' us their postcards."

The venue's open-air courtyard held long wooden tables arranged in a U-shape and accented with neutral runners.

"We wanted the reception to feel like a rather grand dinner party on the rose patio that spills organically out onto the lawn, where guests could talk and mingle under twinkling lights and enjoy the myriad of activities we created in lieu of dancing," says Annie.

Centerpieces from Amanda Vidmar Design, placed in white ceramic vessels, included anthurium, garden roses, dahlias, sweet peas, and tulips in blush-and-ivory tones, and were complemented by scalloped chargers, gold flatware, and custom menus.

Choosing the flavors for their two-tier cake from Layers Monterey became of Annie and Brian's favorite parts of wedding planning. "What could be better than eating cake all day?" says the bride. "We took a box of cake samples on an idyllic picnic in Carmel Valley with my toddler goddaughter and indulged in every flavor together. I loved judging the deliciousness of each option from her gleeful expressions and whether she demanded extra bites." The winning flavors? Lemon cake with lemon curd, which the couple chose for the top tier, and white cake with raspberry purée on the bottom tier, all covered with vanilla buttercream. "We loved our cake so much, we took it with us on our honeymoon," says Annie.

Though they held their wedding 2,600 miles away from Brian's hometown of Pittsburgh, the couple "honored his roots" with their own take on a Pittsburgh Cookie Table—"a local wedding tradition more beloved than cake," says Annie.

In addition to the couple's favorite cookies—like black-and-whites and snickerdoodles—they offered vanilla macarons with hand-painted poppy illustrations in an homage to their wedding theme and engagement in Paris; baseball-themed sugar cookies that nodded toward their shared love of the game; and sugar cookies designed to look like Taco Bell hot sauce packets that read "I do." "Brian and I have a shared love of Taco Bell, and before we got engaged, I carried around one of their "I do" sauce packets in my purse for months just in case he proposed and I needed an answer!" says Annie.

As a surprise for the newlyweds, friends placed a pair of stuffed otters from the Monterey Aquarium at the couple's seats. "We are affectionately 'significant otters,'" says Annie. "They set the otters at our place settings during dinner as a sweet reminder of how otters stay together by holding hands."

Cozy fire pits and comfortable lounges provided guests with space to relax and socialize after dinner, while an outdoor movie area showed clips from Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. "I have a deep and abiding love of popcorn, so we had little popcorn boxes made with our couple's cartoon and the phrase 'Butter Together,'" says Annie.

"One of our favorite things to do in the summer is outdoor film screenings, and after we got engaged, we went to a rooftop screening of Before Sunrise in New York City—we knew right away we wanted to replicate this experience in some way for our wedding. We wanted our day to evoke the feeling and experience of love at first sight."

Photography, Rebecca Yale Photography
Venue, Holman Ranch
Wedding Planning and Event Design, Jacqueline Hallgarth Events
Catering, Paradise Catering
Flowers, Amanda Vidmar Design
Stationery, Tiffany June Wang
Cake, Layers Monterey
Music, Monterey String Quartet, Kelly Productions
Rentals, Chic Event Rentals; Found Rentals; La Tavola
Bride's Gown, Berta
Bride's Accessories, L'Fay Bridal veil; Loeffler Randall shoes; Tabitha Simmons shoes; Jennifer Behr jewelry; Simone Rocha purse  
Hair and Makeup, Kelly Jo Makeup & Hair
Bridesmaids' Dresses, ASOS; BHLDN; Reformation
Groom's Attire, SuitSupply
Menswear, Express; SuitSupply
Transportation, Main Event Transportation
Engagement Ring, Parker Square
Favors, Sweet & Saucy Shop cookies
Menu and Welcome Signage, Fiori Belle
Wedding Rings, Sydney Evan