Photo: Donna Newman1/51Ian and I kicked off the wedding weekend with a rehearsal dinner and welcome party at the Los Angeles Country Club. I wore a custom dress by designer and friend Johanna Ortiz. Ian wore a blue deconstructed Neapolitan sport coat and ecru pants by Cesare Attolini.
Photo: Donna Newman2/51For the rehearsal dinner, I wore a custom dress by designer and friend Johanna Ortiz. Johanna created the design of this dress with the Beverly Hills setting in mind, and it worked so perfectly. I love how playful and feminine her designs are—they make for the most fun evenings!
Photo: Donna Newman3/51We lined the lawn with hundreds of votive candles. After dinner, when the sun had gone down, the flickering lights illuminated the lawn.
Photo: Donna Newman4/51My mother-in-law, Lindsay, worked with Moon Canyon florists to create these gorgeous centerpieces that were inspired by the design on our save the date.
Photo: Donna Newman5/51The green and white of our wedding ceremony program was a continuation of the theme that we carried out throughout all of the wedding decor. We were inspired by all of the lush greenery in the garden where our ceremony took place.
Photo: Donna Newman6/51My beautiful dress and shoes. I had the pleasure of working with the talented designers at Oscar de la Renta, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, who made this one-of-a-kind strapless beaded beauty and blush shoes for my big day.
Photo: Donna Newman7/51Our wedding bands were designed by Betteridge in Greenwich, Connecticut. Ian also designed my engagement ring with them. They are the best!
Photo: Donna Newman8/51My mom and sister were by my side throughout this entire process. The day of the wedding, they kept me calm and continuously made me laugh, so I didn’t have any time to be nervous. Here they are helping me into my dress.
Photo: Donna Newman9/51During one of my fittings at the Oscar de la Renta showroom, I saw a sample of these shoes from one of their upcoming ready-to-wear collectsions in black. I loved the simple yet elegant silhouette of the shoe. So, the designers made the shoe in a light blush satin to pair with my dress.
Photo: Donna Newman10/51My makeup artist, Liza Zaretsky, and my hairstylist, Calista Sanderson, did such a fabulous job. My makeup was natural with a rose-color lip and my hair was pulled back into a traditional low chignon.
Photo: Donna Newman11/51Ian and his groomsmen started their day by the pool and then moved into his room to get ready for the ceremony. Ian wore a midnight blue tuxedo by Ralph Lauren.
Photo: Donna Newman12/51My beautiful bridesmaids in their floral dresses right before the ceremony. I love how all of their dresses were different yet looked so nice together.
Photo: Donna Newman13/51My dad and I knew the moment when we first saw each other would be pretty emotional, so we made sure to have tissues handy. I was so excited to see him and couldn’t wait to show him my dress. How sharp does he look in his tuxedo?
Photo: Donna Newman14/51Sharing this moment with my father was so special. I know we will both cherish this memory forever.
Photo: Donna Newman15/51Off to see my groom!
Photo: Donna Newman16/51My maid of honor, sister, and best friend, Nina. I think Nina was made for this role, she couldn’t have been more helpful and supportive throughout the entire weekend. She also brought the house down with her toast that night.
Photo: Donna Newman17/51The original five Kempners. We are a very close-knit family, and I think the wedding brought us even closer. My parents, Cynthia and Jamie, have been married for over 30 years and have taught us through example what a loving marriage looks like. Chris, Nina, and I are so lucky.
Photo: Donna Newman18/51I couldn’t imagine my wedding party without these guys. David Ryan; my brother, Chris; Hunter Ryan; and Alex Hammerschlag are some of my closest friends, so they had to be bridesmen. David (left), had a vision for their look based on an inspiration image he loved. Together, we worked with Gucci to create these custom tuxedos. The white dinner jackets looked so nice next to the bridesmaids’ dresses.
Photo: Donna Newman19/51All of the flowers at the wedding were white and ivory mixed with greenery. My bouquet was a mixture of peonies, cherry blossom branches, ranunculus, flannel flower, and a hint of ferns.
Photo: Donna Newman20/51My adorable flower girls, Rose, Joan, and Coco, in their adorable Brock Collection x Maisonette dresses.
Photo: Donna Newman21/51After a scenic stroll through the gardens, I finally reached the end to see Ian for the first time. I couldn’t wait to see him!
Photo: Donna Newman22/51The beautiful garden where our ceremony took place. We wanted it to feel natural and emphasize all of the greenery. We built the wood plank aisle and brought in wooden chairs to keep with the organic feel. The temperature was perfect and the light was beautiful.
Photo: Donna Newman23/51The string quartet set the mood for guests as they entered the garden. They played contemporary songs before the ceremony and then we had more traditional music during the ceremony. Our families and bridal party entered to “Hallelujah” and my dad walked me down the aisle to Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” After the ceremony, we all recessed to “This Must Be the Place” by the Talking Heads.
Photo: Donna Newman24/51Ian and I were so grateful that all of our family and friends traveled to L.A. to be with us for our big day. We were so lucky to be surrounded by our favorite people on the best day of our lives.
Photo: Donna Newman25/51My flower girls making their big entrance.
Photo: Donna Newman26/51Ian’s best friend, Parry Sorensen, escorted my best friend, Alexandra Michler, into the ceremony.
Photo: Donna Newman27/51I love this picture of my dad and I right before we took our walk down the aisle. My dad was suggesting that we take a moment to pause at the top of the aisle and take it all in, so we would remember it for the rest of our lives. I am so glad we did.
Photo: Donna Newman28/51My beautiful mother, Cynthia, just after my brother, Chris, walked her down the aisle. My mom helped me plan every detail of the wedding. The two of us had so much fun throughout the process.
Photo: Donna Newman29/51Walking down the aisle with my father was a dream. The wood aisle was edged with gatherings of ferns, foliage, and growing white and ivory flowers.
Photo: Donna Newman30/51During the ceremony, we had two very special people recite readings. Ian’s cousin, Isabel Boswell Phillips, read Ever to Be Near Ye!, by Robert Burns, and my best friend, Alexandra Michler, read Love, by Roy Croft.
Photo: Donna Newman31/51Here we are under our beautiful arbor as our reverend, Lee Lakso, announced us husband and wife.
Photo: Donna Newman32/51The first kiss as Mr. and Mrs. McLean!
Photo: Donna Newman33/51One of our flower girls was my cousin, Miss Coco Fletcher, here with her father, Tim. Coco is acting shy in this picture, but she is the coolest California girl I know!
Photo: Donna Newman34/51During cocktail hour, Ian and I went back into the garden for a few moments alone to enjoy the beautiful setting. Then, we joined our guests to celebrate.
Photo: Donna Newman35/51An intimate moment captured during photos by our photographer, Donna Newman. Ian and I hadn’t seen each other since Friday night after the rehearsal dinner, since we spent the night before our wedding apart. All of our nerves melted away once we were together.
Photo: Donna Newman36/51Ian and I in front of the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel channeling a Slim Aarons photograph.
Photo: Donna Newman37/51The ballroom looked magnificent. The delicate ceiling treatment, the hand-painted stage backdrop, and deep emerald velvet tablecloths really pulled the entire room together.
Photo: Donna Newman38/51The Velvet Garden created a truly magical environment using various forms of verdant ferns, petite garden greens, blooming camellias, garden roses, peonies, ranunculus, sweet pea, and hellebores.
Photo: Donna Newman39/51We created all of our paper items with our planners and East Six from scratch to make sure everything felt cohesive . . . the save the dates, invitations, the wedding monogram stamps, and illustrated menus.
Photo: Donna Newman40/51We loved the idea of embroidering our monogram on white hemstitch napkins that we could keep in our apartment in New York City for future dinner parties!
Photo: Donna Newman41/51Ian and I shared our first dance to John Mayer’s cover of “XO” by Beyoncé.
Photo: Donna Newman42/51Toward the end of the night, Ian and I went up to a hidden balcony above the ballroom and got to look down and take in this beautiful setting. It was a special moment for the two of us. I may have also thrown my bouquet from up there.
Photo: Donna Newman43/51Following dinner, the two of us snuck away to change. I changed into a long-sleeved ivory beaded Naeem Khan dress. I wanted my next dress to be completely different from my wedding gown and the white and silver beading on this gown felt perfect for dancing. Ian changed into a white dinner jacket by Ralph Lauren. I loved that we were both in white.
Photo: Donna Newman44/51Our cake was inspired by vintage botanical prints—The Butter End did such a beautiful job creating our very own original design. We couldn’t decide on a flavor, so we had alternating layers of vanilla and carrot cake (my favorite)!
Photo: Donna Newman45/51Our cake was almost too pretty to eat! We couldn’t decide on one flavor, so we had alternating layers of vanilla cake and carrot cake. It was absolutely delicious!
Photo: Donna Newman46/51We wanted the after-party to feel like more of a lounge. We brought in an emerald green circular dance floor, low pink modular couches, and had the “Megs Ian Love” neon sign hanging above the DJ booth.
Photo: Donna Newman47/51The neon sign with our hashtag, #megsianlove, was such a fun addition to the after-party lounge.
Photo: Donna Newman48/51A few of my beautiful bridesmaids dancing their way into the after-party.
Photo: Donna Newman49/51I’m not sure I ever stopped dancing that night. I guess this action shot is proof.
Photo: Donna Newman50/51My final look of the evening was a white Victoria Beckham dress with lavender tweed Chanel shoes. The perfect after-party look.
Photo: Donna Newman51/51A fabulous end to a fabulous night!
