Elegant burgundy and green winter estate wedding in Fallbrook, California

Leena and Brittany had a winter estate wedding in mid-January with a burgundy and forest green color scheme, a waterfall, lots of flowers and a donut table.

Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?

Our wedding had a bit of a winter theme. Our colors were burgundy and forest green. Our venue was this beautiful outdoor area with lots of greenery, flowers and waterfalls, so we went with a theme that would complement the natural beauty of the venue.

Let’s talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

Our ceremony took place in front of a gorgeous waterfall surrounded by flowers and greenery. We didn’t want to distract from the natural beauty so we only added rose petals along the walkway. All of our flowers from the bouquets, rose petals, boutonnieres and table florals were all done by Leena’s Aunt Sara. She did such an amazing job, we couldn’t thank her enough.

What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?

All of our flowers from the bouquets, rose petals, boutonnieres and table flowers were all done by Leena’s Aunt Sara. She did such an amazing job, we couldn’t thank her enough. To coordinate with our wedding colors, all of our florals were heavily green with accents of red and white flowers. Our table florals were done in the style of garland to continue with the winter them. To add an even more meaningful touch to Leena’s boutonniere Leena’s cousin added a picture of her dad, aunt and grandma who had all passed away within the past few years. Adding the pictures was such a beautiful way to include Leena’s loved ones who sadly are no longer with us on our special day.

Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?

For dessert, we didn’t want to go with the traditional cake route as neither of us is a big fan of cake. So we decided to book a donut vendor who created an amazing donut dessert table for us that was such a huge hit with our guests! We also booked a s’mores bar through our venue that was so much fun. Guests could go up to the s’mores bar and make an over the top s’more with strawberries, Reeses, coconut or whatever their heart desired. It was so much fun.

We also wanted to really make a memorable wedding favor table. We wanted all of our wedding favors to be useful and not something that would just be clutter or end up in the trash. We ended up offering hangover kits, water bottles with Advil, bags of Popcornopolis, lotion, shower gel and chocolate bars. Our favorite part, though, had to be the reception.

We loved our DJ and Emcee. They kept the dance floor full and had such amazing interactions with our guests, including busting a few moves on the dance floor themselves. We have so many beautiful pictures by Chrissy of all of our guests on the dance floor. We will treasure all of the photos and memories during our marriage.

Let’s talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.

Leena knew she wanted to be in a burgundy suit and all of the fellows to be in a burgundy suit as well. After some searching, we found a great burgundy suite at Friar Tux. They all had burgundy jackets, pants and white button-ups with black bow ties and white pocket squares. It looked great on everyone. I knew for my dress that I wanted a mermaid fit, lace, sleeves and a dramatic back. It ended up being pretty difficult to find so I had to get a dress customized at Jaclyn’s Bridal. I found a dress with a back and a cut that I liked then the boutique was able to add sleeves and a slip to make it a mermaid fit. It was perfect for me. I was so happy with the dress.

How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.

Leena and I met at a chance encounter in line at Starbucks. We started chatting in line, Leena paid for my drink and we continued talking after we got our drinks. We ended up hanging out that night and exchanged numbers. The very next day, I moved to Colorado for college. We talked and did long distance for a while. After a year of dating, Leena made the jump to move to Colorado with me. After seven years of dating, we went on a trip to Germany and France. During our visit to Disneyland Paris, Leena dropped to one knee in front of the castle while we were getting our photos taken. It was a perfect moment.

What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?

I think one of the funniest and biggest surprises at the wedding was Leena’s routine for the garter toss. Leena busted out moves as soon as the song “Pony” came on. Then once she went to pull out the garter she surprised everyone, including myself, by pulling out a large pair of underwear. It was so funny and executed so well that everyone thought I was in on it.

Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?

I really recommend trying to figure out what is really important to you and what is lower on your priority list and be flexible with what is lower on your list. Also figuring out what you can make yourself versus purchase can save you a lot of money. All of our wedding favors were handmade which allowed us to customize them and also save some money. Leena and I decided early on that our DJ/ Emcee and photographer were extremely important to us and spent a long time looking for the perfect vendors and gave ourselves a larger budget for those two vendors. We received so many compliments on our DJ/Emcee and our photographer that it was definitely worth it.