1. Real Weddings

Erika & Wayne: An Outdoor Wedding in Petaluma, CA

Erika and Wayne met on Craigslist. Wayne had posted a comment directly above one of Erika’s, and they started sending emails to each other. Emails tur

Erika and Wayne met on Craigslist. Wayne had posted a comment directly above one of Erika’s, and they started sending emails to each other. Emails turned into phone conversations, which turned into a first date. The Bride Erika Rubinstein, 34, school social worker The Groom Wayne Irby, 37, restaurant manager and artist The Date August 16 While the couple was visiting friends in New York City, Wayne surprised Erika by booking a hotel room near Central Park. They went to the park for a picnic, and as they watched the sunset, Wayne proposed. Erika asked her good friend Barbara Salzman, an event planner, to help coordinate the wedding. For the outdoor rose farm wedding, they chose a bright color palette of orange and yellow.

The handmade guest book was filled with tiny envelopes. At the reception, Erika and Wayne’s guests were encouraged to tuck notes for the couple into the envelopes.
Instead of a wedding cake, Erika and Wayne ordered multiple desserts. In addition to cookies and fresh fruit, three different kinds of cupcakes were served: raspberry jam with brown butter icing; lemon curd with vanilla icing; and vanilla with chocolate icing.
Erika’s bridesmaids, her two best childhood friends, wore strapless, cotton, orange J.Crew sundresses with circle embossed details.
Keeping with the wedding colors, the light orange ring pillow was covered with a bird-printed fabric in orange, yellow, hot pink, purple, and white.
The DIY escort cards were attached to yellow and orange polka-dotted ribbon with tiny wooden clothespins.
Erika carried a bouquet made up of red, orange, and yellow calla lilies, dahlias, roses, and gerbera daisies.
Yellow linens covered the reception tables, adding to the fun, colorful feel of the outdoor wedding.
Wayne’s groomsmen wore boutonnieres of cockscomb accented with berries.
The bridesmaids carried bouquets made up of yellow and orange calla lilies, dahlias, and roses accented with berries.
Wayne and Erika’s initials -- “W” and “E,” which together spell “we” -- were a recurring theme at their wedding. Guests took home hot-pink and orange monogrammed lollipops.
Erika and Wayne held their outdoor wedding ceremony at a rose farm. Guests sat in chairs set up on a brick patio and looked on as the couple exchanged vows under a huppah in front of the garden gazebo.
Orange, red, and yellow paper fans and a ceremony program were placed on each guest’s chair. To create a splash of color, paper pinwheels lined the aisles, and yellow and orange polka-dot ribbons were tied to the backs of the chairs.
After the ceremony, guests walked to a garden area for the cocktail hour. Large paper flowers and escort cards hung with yellow ribbon decorated the space.
The centerpieces were mason jars in various sizes, each holding a different type of flower. Fabric-covered picture frames displayed the table numbers.
Erika’s mom wore a wrist corsage, which the florist made using wire, beads, and flowers.