Photo: Gia Canali
Time slowed to a halt... I knew I'd fallen in love." So began the "script" that Adam Reynolds, 28, a Los Angeles-based film-production manager, began reading to Sharon Reid, 29, after a drive up the Malibu coast. "We were on a mountain overlooking the ocean," says Sharon, a family therapist who'd met Adam six years earlier at a Syracuse University frat party. "I almost told him to be quiet and enjoy the sunrise." Good thing she didn't: His "script" turned out to be the story of their relationship, complete with a boy-gets-girl ending—in this case, a bended-knee proposal and a resounding "Yes!" from Sharon.
Photo: Gia Canali
Cut to the wedding, which took place on July 23, 2011, at San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California—an intimate property covered in lavender and eucalyptus. Its Mediterranean-style grounds were the perfect place to pay tribute to Adam's Italian heritage—and preview their Tuscan honeymoon.
Photo: Gia Canali
What wasn't in the script: the location's 60-guest limit. However, all the agonizing over whom to invite proved to be worth it at the garden ceremony, when Sharon paused before walking down the lavender-lined aisle: "I realized that every single person there was important to us," she says.
The ceremony took place at the ranch's Upper Hacienda Garden, where wedding bells—rigged into a flowering trellis—were rung when Adam kissed the bride.
Photo: Gia Canali
Lazaro Press tote bags—decorated with a custom map of the area—were delivered to guests' rooms before the wedding.
Photo: Gia Canali
The bride wore a wedding dress by Badgley Mischka. "After we got engaged I started calling Adam 'Fifi'—short for fiancé. When I found out that was also the style name of a Badgley Mischka gown I loved, I knew it was the one!" says Sharon.
Photo: Gia Canali
It took a chocolate-chip-cookie bribe to get the ring bearer, Adam's godmother's grandson, down the aisle.
Photo: Gia Canali
"We went back and forth about what the guys should wear, but when we found sage-and-lavender plaid Burberry ties at Bloomingdales, it was a done deal," says the bride.
Photo: Gia Canali
Sprigs of lavender were incorporated into the boutonnieres.
Photo: Gia Canali
The bridesmaids wore lavender-colored gowns from J. Crew.
Photo: Gia Canali
The couple displayed family wedding photos at the cocktail hour.
Photo: Gia Canali
After the alfresco cocktail hour, everyone ambled over to the Hydrangea Cottage, where guests—seated at long farm tables—tucked into angel-hair pasta, Parmesan-crusted halibut, and filet mignon. "The room looked magical!" says Sharon. "There were flowers and candle everywhere."
Photo: Gia Canali
Air-mail escort cards containing mini postcards from Italy hung from a screen outside the dining cottage.
Photo: Gia Canali
In lieu of table numbers, the grooms father sketched six different Italian herbs—keepsakes that now hang in the couple's kitchen.
Photo: Gia Canali
Dahlias and olive leaves dressed up the bride's and groom's chairs.
Photo: Gia Canali
Arrangements of clematises, eucalyptus, jasmine, lavender, and fig and olive branches topped the long dining tables. "Kate Holt of Flowerwild transformed the space and made it even more beautiful than it already was," says the bride.
Photo: Gia Canali
For dessert, Sharon and Adam chose a buttercream-covered wedding cake with chocolate and lemon tiers.
Photo: Gia Canali
In keeping with Italian tradition, each guest received a Jordan almond-filled sugar cone favor, along with a poem.
Photo: Gia Canali
The end of the night was reserved for dancing to funk and classic rock on the stone patio, but first came a toast from Adam's production-assistant brother, Andrew, that turned into the evening's most cinematic moment. "In the middle of it, he announced he was going to film our first post-ceremony kiss," recalls Sharon. As he shot the "scene," audience members from the movie industry-heavy crowd yelled out, "Quiet on the set!" and "Action!" "It was an unplanned moment, and we got to share it with the people we love," says Sharon. "How wonderful is that?"
Venue, catering & cake: San Ysidro Ranch || Day-of coordinator: Twine Events || Bride's dress: Badgley Mischka || Bridesmaids' dresses: J.Crew || Groom's suit: Hugo Boss || Flowers: Flowerwild || Stationery: Tiny Pine Press || Ceremony music: Ybarra Music || Reception music: Goodbeat Productions || Hair & makeup: Julie Morgan || Photography: Gia Canali Photography
See more California real weddings.
—Hillary Quinn
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