Mark and Joshua’s wedding at The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, was a stunning display of elegance and luxury. The theme, centered around forest green and metallic gold with accents of burgundy and ivory, created a sophisticated atmosphere.
The floral arrangements, featuring jewel tone flowers, added a touch of opulence to the event. The upscale vibe was complemented by a focus on guest comfort, ensuring a memorable experience for all attendees.
This wedding was a perfect blend of style and sophistication, leaving a lasting impression on everyone who was fortunate enough to be part of this celebration of love.
Where did you get married?
The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California.
Why did you choose to get married at The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum?
The library has an exact replica of the White House’s East Room featuring 3 beautiful chandeliers, 4 fireplaces, and floor to ceiling gold curtains. The library also has a beautifully maintained rose gardens by the reflection pool and and Nixon’s birth home. Fun picture moments in the museums replica Oval Office and Marine 1 helicopter outside.
What was the most memorable part of your wedding day?
The most memorable part of the wedding for me was the private reception reveal for the grooms. It gave us a chance to see all the fruits of our planning and see all the beautiful work before guests disturbed things. Imagine the double doors opening and you see 19 tables with crushed champagne linens with a mix of tall and short jewel tone flower centerpieces surrounded by candles. Each setting included gold charger, gold utensils, and an ivory napkin in a tuxedo fold and gold bow tie laid on custom printed menu’s. A white dance floor splits the room centered under a gigantic chandelier with our wedding seal in gold vinyl on the dance floor.
A white stage covered in flowers and candles featured the sweetheart table in gold lace linen and green velvet chairs for the grooms. A live pianist playing the grand piano to set the mood. To the side of the stage, our ivory 4-tier wedding cake with black acrylic silhouette of the grooms and our cat Karen cake topper. Room is lit with amber up lighting and each fireplace has LEDs to simulate the real look of a fire. The mantels adorned with more flowers and candles, including personal pictures of the couple on each.
Mark, paint us a picture. What was the theme, style, colors, and overall vibe of your wedding day?
Our theme was elegance and luxury with our primary colors being forest green and metallic gold. Accented with burgundy and ivory. The flowers were made with a variety of jewel tone flowers. The vibe was upscale and focused on guest experience and comfort.
What was your favorite part of planning your wedding?
The Planning was a long process and for someone like myself, I am very detail oriented and spent a lot of time and effort getting the details just right. I enjoyed finding different ideas online that I could work on myself and do leading up to the wedding. I enjoy the DIY and creative aspects.
What was the best investment you made for your wedding?
The best investment was getting a wedding planner. I do have to say, for someone who is an organized person, I probably didn’t need to have the “Partial Wedding Planner” package and could have saved a little money and just had the day of coordination. The day of coordination is 100% worth the investment. Just takes so much of the stress away from the couple.
Is there anything you would have done differently?
I would have given ourselves more time prior to the ceremony to take pictures. We took too long getting ready that we just ran out of time to take photos of us and with family. I would have paid the venue for additional time in the “bridal suite” so the photographer could arrive earlier and get more pictures in.
What was your favorite part of using WedSites for your wedding?
WedSites was amazing to keep all the guests names, contact details, and responses all in one place. My favorite feature was the messaging system. I could easily create personalized messages and choose which guests to email. It made sending out details and reminders to RSVP so much easier.
Mark and Joshua’s custom designed wedding website
Wedding planning is notoriously stressful. Now that you’ve gone through the process, do you have any advice or words of wisdom for couples who are currently in the midst of planning theirs?
Wedding planning is very stressful, be smart about what you take on yourself. If you aren’t a DIY person, don’t expect yourself to suddenly be a craft wizard. If you don’t handle stress well, pay the additional price of a wedding planner to help up front. They will make sure you do all the necessary things at the appropriate time and is great for advice and tie breakers. Not worth hating each other for months leading up to the wedding.
The amazing team of vendors involved with this wedding
Venue: Richard Nixon Presidential Library
Photographer: Frank Salas Photography
Attire: Grooms Grotto
Caterer: White House Catering
Cake Baker: Beverly’s Bakery
Stationer: Truly Engaging
Entertainment: Ocdamia Music Group (OMG)
Diana Li Music
Visions Entertainment
Caricatures & Silhouette by Darci Herbold
Pixster Photo Booths
Hair Stylist: Steph Farrar Hair
Jeweler: Alexander Jewelers
Florist: Kevin Reeder Wedding Flowers
Wedding Planner: Rebecca Calagna Events
Other: Vista Print
Decor: Mark Clayton & Joshua Felsenfeld
Wedding Website: WedSites
