A Glamorous Garden Wedding at the Riviera Mansion in Santa Barbara, California

For their Santa Barbara, California, wedding, Andrea Ortiz (29 and a compliance associate) and Mariko Sola (33 and a senior director of global sourcing) anted to celebrate their love and the lush Southern California scenery. “We knew we wanted both the ceremony and reception outside to take advantage of the sun,” Andrea says. The couple chose the Sunken Gardens at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse for their ceremony, followed by a backyard reception at the nearby Riviera Mansion for 145 guests. Plenty of lush floral arrangements and a soft palette of dove gray, blush pink and touches of warm copper made for a romantic, garden-inspired affair. The brides described the theme as “simple but chic, rustic but kind of modern, elegant but not overwhelming.” At the reception, guests sipped wine from copper cups engraved with a special logo made for the newlyweds by Stacey from Willhouse Creative, who also helped design the invitations. The cups doubled as wedding favors. Family and friends dined at tables adorned with shiny copper bowls filled with roses and peonies and leafy green smilax runners. “Don’t stress about the small stuff—no one will notice or remember if you got mashed potatoes instead of roasted,” Andrea says. “Enjoy the day, because it will go by so incredibly fast. Take mental snapshots and really try to be present.” At the end of the night, the newlyweds honored their home city, San Francisco, with a final dance to Journey’s “Lights.” —Carolyn Meers