The Santa Monica Proper is so chic and really was the vibe we were looking for.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Young was born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to Los Angeles when he was 10 and has been in LA since. I (Sarah) am from San Diego, CA, but I moved to LA 7 years ago. Young is an Independant contractor and designer and i work in fashion pr + marketing. We love to travel together, go on walks in our neighbourhood, and ride bikes at the beach. Our favourite activity is to grab Korean food in Koreatown with our family and friends. Being with Young has definitely made my food pallet more diverse. I used to be so bad with spicy food, but I love it now! When we first started talking about getting married, we both agreed right away that we wanted it to be intimate with just our family. It truly was the most special and incredible day, filled with so much love and support. It felt bigger than celebrating just us getting married. It felt more like a blending/connecting of two beautiful families with different backgrounds, and that made it so much more special and heartfelt. It truly was a very our wedding, and that was all we wanted (it’s hard to explain, lol. I hope that made sense.)
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met at a bar on a Friday night! Everyone says that we met the old-school way. I was dancing, and Young came up to me and asked to buy me a drink. I really can’t beat the classic “Can I buy you a drink?”. I thought he looked so cool and swaggy. Young says I was shy but had a beautiful smile. We danced the night away together, and the rest is history! We haven’t left each other sides since ~ It felt right from the beginning.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
We both knew right away. I literally knew about it on our second date as I was sitting across from him at dinner. The saying when you know you know is really true, you feel it in your soul. There was a day when we were both lying down on the grass in the park, laughing and chatting and we both kinds of looked at each other and knew that we were seeing our futures in each other and agreeing that this was something special. It really feels like we have found our missing puzzle piece. I just love how much fun we have together; it’s just always been easy for us.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
We had picked out our wedding rings together a few months prior to the proposal, so I already knew he was going to propose soon, but I had no idea when. One weekend, we decided to go to Vegas on a whim and as we checked into our hotel room I reached into Youngs bag to look for sunscreen or something and accidnetly found the ring, whoops! Even with me kinda ruining the surprise and definitely not going according to Young’s plan, it ended up being the perfect night. We popped some champagne, turned on some music, danced in the room, Young proposed, and then we went to dinner newly engaged 🙂
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
Literally everything. From rings, dress, venue, etc., my mindset was that We’re only getting hitched once, so if something is/was pricey that we wanted, we were going to splurge on it!! I’m especially glad we splurged on our venue and photographers. The Santa Monica Proper is so chic and really was the vibe we were looking for. Our Photographers were incredible and really captured not only our love but the essence of that day of being surrounded by the people we love the most. We didn’t have to splurge on flowers because Young’s sister and uncle did them for us. They both enjoy making floral arrangements as a hobby, and they are so talented. For them, doing our wedding flowers and bouquets was beyond special and meaningful. They were so stunning; we literally still obsess over them to this day.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
Honestly, not really! The day exceeded my expectations and went surprisingly smoother than we could have imagined. Young’s dad had passed away a few years ago, and during and after the wedding, we kept saying to each other how we felt his dad was watching over us, making sure everything went/was perfect. His presence was definitely felt, guiding us.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story? The history of the ceremony dress…
Ever since before getting engaged, I have known I wanted to get married in a Vivienne Westwood dress. It was the third dress I tried on at Loho Bride, and I knew instantly. As I came out to show my mom she literally gasps and goes “this is your dress, it is so you!” Even after the night was over I didn’t want to take it off, I felt so beautiful!! Young had his suit custom-made to fit him. He didn’t want to go the traditional tux route and wanted a suit he could wear again for a different occasion. He is also wearing his dad’s glasses that he gave to him as well <3
LOCATION Proper Hotel, Santa Monica, California, @santamonicaproper PHOTOGRAPHER Kimberly and Raphael Molina – La Fin, @lafinstudio.co FLORIST Young’s Sister and Uncle – Shine Shin and Joseph Shin, @man_loves_flower CELEBRANT Dawn Foley – Terri Ties The Knot Wedding, @dawn.foley CATERING & SIGNAGE Proper Hotel, Santa Monica, @santamonicaproper; Palma Santa Monica, @palmasantamonica; Calabra, @calabra.santamonica CAKE The Butter End, @thebutterend RINGS Hani Jewelry, @hanijewelryla BRIDAL DRESS Vivienne Westwood, @viviennewestwood BRIDAL BOUTIQUE Loho Bride, @loho_bride BRIDE’S SHOE Manolo Blahnik, @manoloblahnik MAKEUP Kohnur, @kohnur; Tokiko Inoue, @tokikoinouemakeup HAIR Ilsa Lamberti + Francesca Divona, @hairbyilsa, @francescadivona CUSTOM SUIT & SHOES Hugo Boss, @boss
