California Wedding By Clayton Austin

By Magnolia Rouge

I naturally gravitate towards neutrals� always have. And neutrals with delicious textures like in this stunning wedding by Clayton Austin which features in the current issue of Magnolia Rouge Magazine, make me one very happy girl!! This bride has some serious style! Love the wheat bouquet! And those photos in the trees� utter magic!! Clayton is one crazy talented man!

Although they first met in Delhi, India and got to know each other over rickshaw rides to visit the slums, whilst they were there separately on humanitarian mission trips, it wasn't until Andrew had returned to his home in California that his relationship with Julie started to develop. Over the next year, thanks to Skype chats and long-distance movie dates, they realised they had something special. With a story that revolved around their mutual love of India, it was natural that the wedding would take inspiration from the richness of Indian heritage and the delicate intricacies of their wares. Julie sourced most the items for their wedding decor from Indian street markets; from elaborately etched tables vases to hanging Moroccan candle lanterns, it all journeyed half way around the world to play it's part in their big day.

�When I met Andrew in India, he wore a 1939 wheat penny on a string around his neck. When he found the penny in 2008, he kept it - he never took it off, and he became known for it. On the day before I left India, the string broke and he gave me the penny to hold on to. I bought a chain and wore it around my neck every day. As the wheat penny is such a tender part of our story, I decided to use wheat in the design and styling of our wedding, so I ordered some dried bunches and used them to make bouquets for myself and my bridesmaids, boutonnieres for the men, and to add to the Indian centerpieces on the tables. As for the actual penny - I wore it in my shoe on the day to fulfill the bridal rhyme, "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue - and a penny in her shoe!"

My great-grandmother passed away while I was in India. I was so heartbroken that she couldn't make it to our wedding, but I decided to use a cameo brooch of hers on my bouquet in her memory, along with brooches owned by my paternal and maternal grandmothers.�

�I had seen a beautiful dress by a French designer online long before I met Andrew. I knew I wanted something similar, with long billowing sleeves and an open back. With the help of my contacts in Delhi, I found a shop that specialized in custom wedding dresses. I showed them the picture and even got to go with one of the errand boys to pick out my own fabric from the import market at the heart of the city. We skyped my mom in for my first fitting, which is one of my fondest memories of the wedding planning experience. It was a whirlwind - I didn't get the traditional dress-trying experience, but I did get my dream gown custom made for a bargain price.�

The ceremony was my favorite time of the day. I planned the wedding timing around the lighting in the beautifully quaint white chapel we found in Yolo, California. The timing was perfect and all of the white simplicity and all of our dearest friends standing in support of our union was just such a special thing for us.�