Vintage-Inspired DIY Wedding: Chandra & Brandon

Remember this vintage engagement in Half Moon Bay? I do, and not just because the bride’s name is also Chandra. It set high expectations for what their wedding would be like. Well now this couple is back with their lovely vintage-inspired DIY wedding and it definitely lives up to my expectations. And the images from Vinh Nguyen Photography will have you swooning.

I went back and forth about seeing Brandon before the wedding. My mom and sister were both opposed to the idea because both were very used to the obvious tradition of the groom waiting to see the bride walk down the aisle. In the end we both chose to see each other before the wedding and it was amazing. I enjoyed getting most of our portraits done during this time and enjoying our time together before the ceremony.

Advice for couples planning now?  We can offer the best advice that was given to us: plan a wedding that you and your husband love. I was torn between having a wedding in my hometown, including ancient traditions, and adhering to antiquated wedding rules that I didn’t even like. One of the hardest things for us was cutting people from our guest list. In the end we wanted a very intimate wedding with people that we want in our lives ten years from now. 

What did you do to make your wedding personal and unique? DIY. Our favorite “DIY” was our wedding invitations. My friend Fabian designed and letterpressed all the invites in Brooklyn for us and Brandon and I lined all of our envelopes together. My Auntie Marilyn hand addressed all of our invitations for us. I also grew the succulents for my bouquet and potted the succulent favors. I found a 1920’s dresser on Craigslist and my sister-in-law repainted it and painted the mirror with chalkboard paint to use for signage. The groom and groomsmen had boutonnieres made of berries from Brandon’s grandmother’s backyard. We also had a caricaturist for our guests during cocktail hour. My husband is a web developer and his friends had just started making the now popular Wedding Party App and gave us beta access, so our guests used their iphones during the wedding to capture and share photos.

How did you make your wedding YOU? 

From the beginning we did exactly what we wanted and not what was traditional. We made a list about things that were important to us (food and family style seating at the reception, people in attendance, ceremony) and made sure to focus on those things. Our cocktail pianist played theme songs from Brandon’s favorite video games, and the reception musical selections paid homage to my family’s love of soul, Motown, and R&B tunes. We planned our wedding in under 6 months, but the true planning and final touches didn’t come together until the last week of the wedding (which is also us…ha!)

Love the bride’s sparkly Kate Spade bow heels as much as I do? You can buy your own here. See even more of this sweet wedding in the gallery below and in the highlight film from Tri Luu Films. And Chandra is sharing her story about finding her wedding gown and making it exactly what she wanted over on her blog today. Congrats to Chandra & Brandon, who will be celebrating their one year anniversary in just a few weeks!

{Vendors} Venue: Falkirk Cultural Center San Rafael California / Photographer: Vinh Nguyen Photography / Videographer: Tri Luu Films / Flowers: Petals of Love Photography / Caterer: Little Chef Counter / Hair and makeup: self / Dress: Allure Bridal (My dress had cap sleeves; I ordered an extra yard of lace and a seamstress added 3/4 length sleeves to it.) / Veil: Trudy’s Bridal / Shoes: Kate Spade / Invitations: Fabian Grateroles / Decor: Fabian Grateroles, Annette Herras, and Bridgette Herras Luna / Caricaturist: Zach Trenholm  / Pianist: Timothy Nelson  / Cake: Krumbs Cakes / Groom’s Suit: Indochino / Groom’s Shoes: To Boot New York / Groom’s Shirt: Faconnable / Groomsmen: Pants–Gap, Shirts–Nordstrom Rack, Blazers–H&M, Shoes–Florsheim via DSW / Bridesmaids: Dresses to skirts via an unknown branded dress from eBay, shoes Victoria’s Secret, Cardigans 14th & Union