Neutral Hues Filled This Romantic Sequel Wedding at Estancia La Jolla in California

After tying the knot with an intimate pandemic minimony in 2020, Bettina (Ina) and Andrew celebrated their union with a sequel wedding in 2021 once it was safe to celebrate with a larger group of loved ones. While the couple chose a colorful, tropical aesthetic for their minimony, they settled on a romantic vibe with a muted color palette for their sequel wedding at Estancia La Jolla in La Jolla, California. Green and white floral arrangements anchored the wedding design while peachy taupe accents added depth and elevated romance to the entire look. 

"The wedding was an amazing day for both of us," recalls Ina. "It was wonderful, magical, fun, and everything we hoped it would be. We loved sharing the day with our family and friends. One of the very first things I did in the wedding planning process was to pick out a dress, as I knew that would be the starting point for many wedding-related decisions; in particular, the design. After trying on numerous dresses, I ended up falling in love with an unexpected choice: a Reem Acra ball gown. Strapless with a slit in front, with flowers embossed on it that could only be glimpsed up close, the dress was traditional and classic but still modern and fresh and it served as the first main design inspiration for the wedding (although Andrew didn’t know it!)."

"The next source of design inspiration was our venue itself, the Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, which dates back to the 1880s," explains Bettina. "We loved the Spanish hacienda-style architecture, which felt otherworldly and intimate and a getaway from the usual; which we wanted for our wedding and our guests. Estancia also had luscious gardens, including a garden courtyard perfect for weddings. There was greenery and color and beauty everywhere we looked! What really cinched it for us, however, was the ballroom. We knew we wanted to have the reception indoors, which generally led us to hotel ballrooms in our venue search. Unlike most hotel ballrooms, however, the one at Estancia did not have a dated carpet, but had gorgeous herringbone hardwood floors and easy access to an outdoor patio; they were unique and added a lovely textural element overall. Between the dress and the venue, we realized that we wanted the wedding to feel classic, romantic, and elegant; timeless. But we also wanted it to feel fresh and not too fussy. Everything stemmed from there. From our neutral color palette (ivory and champagne, accented with green from the florals/greenery) to the clean, easy to read (sans serif) print on our signage, and even the living garden-esque florals we had, our design was all about keeping things beautiful but simple, elegant but not extravagant, and natural and easy."

Looking back on their sequel wedding day, Bettina and Andrew recall just how happy they felt being surrounded by all their loved ones who weren't able to be present at their initial minimony. "We got engaged in August 2019, and had planned for a September (Labor Day) 2020 wedding. Due to COVID, however, we ended up having to postpone our wedding to August 2021. We didn’t want to wait to be married, though, so we ended up getting married in a minimony with just our nuclear families present at Ina’s parents’ backyard on our original date," notes Andrew. "The most special moment of our sequel wedding, then, was just having all of our loved ones present with us. We each walked down the aisle, and we each will never forget looking out and seeing so many beloved friends and family sitting there. After spending over a year in lockdown, not seeing anyone, due to the pandemic, and having to have gotten married with only our nuclear families in attendance, having so many friends and family members join us at our wedding truly felt like a blessing. Ina’s grandparents even flew in from the Philippines! We will always be grateful that we got to celebrate with so many loved ones that day. We were also happy to see the wedding executed how we always imagined it would be. After 2 years of preparing, it was great to see our vision in action and just enjoy the day together and with our family and friends."