Andrea and Daren wanted to create a community during their Southern California wedding, with the end result a true reflection of their individual and married personalities: artistic, nontraditional, deeply committed, and deeply in love. The couple aimed to remain equal partners throughout the entire planning process and personalized every aspect of their backyard wedding ceremony, keeping only the traditions full of meaning. The bride wanted only to hold her husband’s hands and went without a bouquet, but event planner and florist Jenn Staples filled the ceremony and reception with elegant birch branches, cool-toned greenery, and simple blooms in shades of red and blue. Using the metaphor of an oak tree to complete the theme of heaven and earth, this couple focused on a root system based in the support of their families with braches that stretch upward with love and possibility. Asher and Emily Photography captured every heartfelt and purposeful moment of this uniquely meaningful celebration. The Couple:
Andrea and Daren
The Wedding:
Private Residence, Southern California

While we were planning our wedding, it was most important to us to consider how we were going to create community during our wedding, since that’s what we do in our lives (Daren is a director, andAndrea is an actress). We really wanted our day to be a perfect microcosm of how we are as a couple: deeply committed, untraditional, artistic andcommunity-builders.

Since a lot of our fa...