Colorful cali wedding featuring all of your favorite aussie designers

Morgan and Justin’s extraordinary love story unfolded across continents, beginning when Justin, an Australian doctor, defied work constraints to attend a wedding celebration in LA, leading to a serendipitous meeting with Morgan. Their connection blossomed against the odds, navigating a long-distance relationship, the pandemic, and a move across the world.

I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted the atmosphere of the wedding (and weekend) to be, and Katie and the team at Intertwined Events certainly delivered! We decided to lean into color to contrast the very green atmosphere of our venue (The Ranch at Laguna Beach) and I’m so happy we did! I also really wanted to use natural wood to bring in the outdoorsy vibe and we ended up with the perfect bright garden party that I had dreamed of.

I love Australian fashion and designers, and I wanted to bring that vibe with me to our wedding in California. I had my wedding dress designed by Steven Khalil, an amazing Australian wedding dress designer. The experience was incredible. The dress was made completely custom for me based on a design I had seen Steven make for another bride. We tweaked it to be perfect for my body and the result was amazing. The team there was so incredible throughout the fittings and made me feel so special! I got my dress for our Welcome Party at Zimmermann, and my outfit for the recovery brunch from SIR the label, so I just embraced the Aussie fashion all around!

I also wore my grandmother’s bracelet as my something old (this was also such a special way to have her with me on the day as she passed in 2016 and would have loved everything about our wedding), my beautiful white Manolo Blahnik kitten heels as my something new, my mom’s diamond stud earrings as my something borrowed, and a small little sapphire as my something blue.

Justin got his tuxedo from an Australian company called InStitchu. Justin’s tux was also completely custom. He got to pick out the wool, the types of pockets, the lining–absolutely everything! He wanted to feel special as well and I think they delivered.

My bridesmaids were all in Bec + Bridge, another popular Aussie brand. Each bridesmaid picked their style dress in their ‘Sand’ color and I loved the neutral tones against our bright florals. Everyone could wear their own shoes and jewelry, but as a small thank you to wear on the day I gave each bridesmaid a Gorjana bracelet (as it’s a local Laguna Beach brand). Our groomsmen rented black suits from a rental company in Sydney that graciously made it so easy given everyone wanted to try them on before but needed to travel internationally with them.

We are both Jewish, and the horahs in Sydney are at another level! I wanted to bring that energy to the US and our friends and family did not disappoint–we had a full 15 minutes of jumping up and down, flying in the air, capped off by Justin and I both being lifted on our friend’s shoulders for a kiss at the end! Finally, everyone told us that the day goes by so fast and to try to stop and take a few moments to soak it all in. There were a few minutes in the night where we stood together looking out at all of our friends and family celebrating our love. We’ll never forget the feeling of being in that moment.

We have two dogs who we are absolutely obsessed with. Since we couldn’t bring them to California for the wedding, we incorporated them in fun ways. Anne Robin (who did our invitations and other paper goods) created the perfect watercolor illustrations of them. They appeared on our cocktail napkins and the bar menu as the names of our signature cocktails. We also had little figurines made to have them poking out of the cake (a trend that I am sure would be labeled as ‘out’ but we loved)–do what makes you happy on your wedding day!