From the Bride:
“We were introduced by our parents via email while we both were studying abroad in Italy during our junior year of college. Aubree’s mom and Travis’ dad used to work at the LA Times together and discovered that both their children were studying abroad in Italy at a reunion dinner. Naturally, our parents thought that because we were in the same country, we would meet up, visit each other’s respective cities in Italy, and maybe grab some gelato while practicing our Italian skills.
Aubree was studying abroad in Rome and Travis in a small town an hour outside of Florence, so this vision didn’t exactly pan out. We did connect via the internet during and after our time abroad and after a lot of emails and instant messages, a Christmas party and a few dates (that Aubree did not initially realize were dates), we started dating long distance. Travis finished his degree at Cal Poly Pomona and after another year, Aubree completed her MBA at the University of Denver and moved back to California.
After more than four years of dating, Travis used a family trip to Italy as an opportunity to take our love back to where it started – sort of. He proposed on one of Aubree’s favorite lookout points in Rome as the sun was setting over the city, and read some of our first emails to each other before popping the question. We were both sweating bullets as it was one of the hottest days of the summer, but thankfully she said yes!
The wedding planning process was fairly easy for both of us. The wedding is hopefully going to reflect and meld our two distinct (and sometimes opposing) styles. Travis is a landscape designer and really wanted a lot of natural elements and materials (hence the location, the cork on the invitation, the floral arrangements, the use of geodes, etc). Aubree is very much a girly-girl who loves metallics – you will see her style in the use of chandeliers, the bridesmaid dresses (full length sequin dresses in Rose Gold), the tablecloths, the candles/candleholders. We call the style “Glamorous Garden”. We also designed the space to try to make a wedding for 275 people feel intimate – the scale of the floral arrangements, the round shape of the dance floor with surrounding lounge areas for non-dancers to watch all the action, the chandeliers/candles/”sexy lighting” are all intentionally put together to make everyone feel comfortable and ready to mingle and boogie.”
The Team:
Venue: Ojai Valley Inn
Planner/Designer: Alissa Hussey
Floral Designer: G Fiori Floral Design
Photographer: Suzanne Ofeldt
