Photo: Lauren Gaba Flanagan1/36We stumbled across Jonathan Wright’s shop on a walk one day and fell in love with both the man and his work; as someone who works in design and loves print, I particularly appreciated his old-world style and attention to detail. We chose a traditional engraved ecru suite and made it our own by using Florentine paper to line the envelopes and back the insert cards.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae2/36My wedding gown and veil were Oscar de la Renta, and it was one of the quickest and easiest decisions I’ve ever made. It was exactly what I’d envisioned; something traditional with long sleeves but still appropriate for a wedding at home in the garden.
Photo: Carolyn Seuthe3/36The bustle of my dress was hard to find due to the many layers of fabric, so my tailor at Oscar de la Renta had the brilliant idea of drawing a diagram to help my bridesmaids.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae4/36My something borrowed, something blue, and something old was my mother’s sapphire ring, a gift to her from my late father.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae5/36Getting dressed upstairs in my mother’s room. All of us got ready together and the mood was perfect—ceremonial yet relaxed. The collectsive energy between my bridesmaids is really a marvel; they are such smart, hilarious women, and they kept me laughing the entire weekend. I’ve known most of them for at least 10 years.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae6/36Thanks to years of ballet, I feel most like myself with my hair up. I wanted something classical in the front, with many interwoven braids in the back—I like fussy hair! These earrings that look like flowers were my mother’s; she passed them on to me as a wedding gift.
Photo: Amy / Docuvitae7/36Brian’s tuxedo was Turnbull & Asser and the bow tie was from Drake’s. His film reel suspenders came from Trafalgar, honoring both of our careers in entertainment. His cuff links were an anniversary gift from me several years ago; they’re engraved with our initials.
Photo: Lauren Gaba Flanagan8/36Brian decided to boot tradition and make his wedding ring a signet ring with his family arms, and he had one made for me as well to celebrate joining his family. They were engraved by hand by the Classic Oxford Style Gold Signet Ring Company, craftsmen in the U.K. who have made signet rings for decades. Not pictured is my wedding band, which is my mother’s from my parents’ City Hall wedding.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae9/36My parents built this home together long before my father passed away, so every corner has meaning to me. This was taken in my first moments in my wedding dress, right outside their bedroom.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae10/36Beyond the beautiful silhouette, the details are really what made my dress so special; namely the dramatic back, the tiny pink and blue flowers embroidered on the bottom, and the layers of diaphanous lace. I opted for a white silk ribbon rather than a belt and tied it in a big long bow in the back.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae11/36Right before Brian saw me for the first time.
Photo: Amy / Docuvitae12/36Our florist, Jeff Leatham, is a genius of the highest order—and also one of the kindest people I’ve ever come across. Beyond colors, we gave very little direction in order to give him the freedom to do what he felt was right in the environment. What Jeff and his team created was magical; it looked like it had been growing there forever and only enhanced the beauty of the existing garden.
Photo: Amy / Docuvitae13/36My father passed away when I was 18, and we were incredibly close. The last page of the program was a letter to him from me; I was very touched by the response of our guests, and it was such a meaningful way to share how special our relationship was.
Photo: Amy / Docuvitae14/36The groomsmen got ready at Four Seasons The Biltmore; here they are heading to the car before the ceremony. Brian’s groomsmen were a mix of friends from Harvard and his first job in New York. His brother Neil was his best man.
Photo: Amy / Docuvitae15/36The bridesmaids and groomsmen were hidden away before they walked down the aisle as guests were arriving. While they waited, the bridesmaids had Champagne while the groomsmen opted for some Hilhaven Lodge whiskey.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae16/36Making my way to the aisle. My bouquet, a small bunch of lilies of the valley, was wrapped in an embroidered handkerchief that belonged to my father and tied with antique French ribbon I bought on a trip to San Francisco.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae17/36On my way to meet my mother, who was waiting to walk me down the aisle. I wanted to honor Brian’s Catholic heritage by wearing a cathedral-length mantilla. In retrospect, I love that it didn’t cover my face, because the photos show lots of authentic big smiles and teary eyes.
Photo: Michelle / Docuvitae18/36I love this photo because you can clearly see how far ahead my mother was walking; her rushing me along became the running joke of the evening! Her dress was a beautiful gunmetal Jenny Packham.
Photo: Amy / Docuvitae19/36A deep breath right after my mother gave me away—and before we arrived at the altar.
Photo: Amy / Docuvitae20/36We decided to have a ceremony that wasn’t religious but honored our respective family traditions. Gregg Field, a dear family friend, got ordained to marry us. It was the perfect mix of sentimental and light; we felt incredibly comfortable the entire time.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae21/36First kiss beneath the magnificent floral arch. We actually watched Jeff’s team make it from my bedroom window, and the process was extraordinary.
Photo: Amy / Docuvitae22/36Officially Mr. and Mrs. Flanagan.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae23/36This photo really captures the euphoria of the moment. I like that you can see the mountains so clearly behind us.
Photo: Amy / Docuvitae24/36This is the table where we eat as a family, and it turned out to be the perfect place for guests to pick up their escort cards.
Photo: Lauren Gaba Flanagan25/36We used two motifs throughout the weekend; the hydrangea and the clover. The hydrangea comes from the blue hydrangeas that cover the front of both my family home in Los Angeles and our home in Santa Barbara. The four-leaf clover, a classic Irish symbol of luck, represents the Flanagan side of the family. Everything until the moment we were married featured hydrangeas, and everything after I became a Flanagan had shamrocks. Our cocktail napkins had both.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae26/36While our guests were enjoying the cocktail hour, Brian and I took a walk around the grounds together to have some time to ourselves.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae27/36This walk up the driveway was one of my favorite memories from the day; the light was perfect, and it produced some really magnificent photos.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae28/36This is normally a fountain, but Jeff’s team transformed it into a cascading floral adornment that was truly a work of art. It made guests feel like they were leaving the cocktail hour and descending into a secret garden.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae29/36Walking into the reception under a full October moon. Our phenomenal wedding planners, Sharon and Alexis, had us stop and look down at the reception tent before we entered. It was such a nice moment and something only they would know to have us do.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae30/36We had our first (unplanned, unrehearsed) dance to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae31/36We had a mix of large rectangular tables and smaller rounds, each shape with its own style of centerpiece. In keeping with the forest feeling, we used many different varieties of flowers and greens. The way the flowers, bell jars, votives, and candlelight reflected on the mirrored tabletops gave the tables so much depth and dimension.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae32/36Our wedding cake came from Sweet Lady Jane, a bakery in L.A. that has long been a family favorite. It was its famous triple berry flavor, but completely undressed; we wanted it to look delicious and not so perfectly prim. The cake topper was the same one Brian’s grandparents used at their wedding in 1950.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae33/36By the time the reception started, it was fairly dark out and the tent was barely visible; we chose a clear tent because we wanted to give people a view of the garden and the stars. The centerpieces were full of very fragrant flowers, so there was a wonderful floral scent that lasted all night. The pieces hanging from the ceiling were covered in vines and full of tiny lights, making the space feel like a romantic woodland.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae34/36My best friend from New York, Anna, and her brother—they are my honorary East Coast family. We met on a summer program in Italy 10 years ago and have shared many a dance floor since!
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae35/36As much as I loved my wedding gown, I knew I would need an outfit change because as you can see, I like to really take on the dance floor. I slipped out when the music picked up and came back in this silk Zac Posen dress and a pair of socks. The style felt very Old Hollywood and was a nice contrast to the formality of my wedding dress.
Photo: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae36/36We danced all night, ate breakfast sandwiches at 3:00 a.m., and somehow made it to the farewell brunch the next morning.
