This Vintage Boutique Owner Wore Archival Calvin Klein for Her Intimate Backyard Wedding in L.A.

Yahoo

4 days ago

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It all started at Erewhon—the salad bar to be exact. "I thought he was cute and asked him if he was going to eat his salad outside and if he wanted to sit with me, which he did," RLT owner and model Rachel Tabb recalls of her impromptu meet-cute with photographer Eric Davidson. "Very L.A." After their serendipitous lunch together in 2018, the couple dated for seven years, but Davidson knew almost instantly that they would end up together. "On our first date, he told me he would marry me, which he obviously stands by being an amazing call," Tabb says.
Just like the relationship they share, the couple's engagement was warm and personal. "We got engaged in our home. I had hoped he would do something that felt like us: cozy and easy. Nothing too over-the-top, no flash mobs or Jumbotrons," explains Tabb as she reflects on their engagement. "The only 'rule' I had for him was that it was necessary that his daughter, Wylder, be involved in the proposal because it isn't just about us two. I love her so much and wanted her to feel like this was a family moment."
Soon after the proposal, the wedding planning began. The couple chose places with a special connection from their time dating, including a backyard setting at the bride's family home and a local restaurant they frequent. Fashion, too, played an important role in the wedding. "As the owner of a vintage shop who is deeply preoccupied with sourcing clothes, I knew I was going to wear all vintage," Tabb explains. The bride wore archival pieces she'd collected for all of her big wedding moments—from her bridal shower to her honeymoon—including a special Calvin Klein dress that she saved for her wedding day.
"I sourced a Calvin Klein dress, which I wore to the ceremony. I always envisioned myself getting married in a slip-style dress with a high neck and lower back. This was the only dress that I had any vision for when I was sourcing. Everything else just came to me as I went."
"I got ready with my mom, sister, and Wylder."
"To get ready, I wore this amazing white feathered robe that honestly was kind of hilarious looking back on it. I bought it years ago with the intention of getting ready for my wedding in it. It felt very Old Hollywood glam meets Frederick's of Hollywood."
"For all things beauty and glam, I can be a bit boring. I know what I like, and I don't really stray from it, especially for a day that would live on in photo albums forever. My glam references were mostly Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Kate Moss, and Christy Turlington—all very clean and simple. It was very important to me that I felt like myself.
"The incredible Ricky Fraser did my hair. I opted for a French twist as an ode to my mom, who wore the same hairstyle when she married my dad. Wylder gave me one of her rhinestone hairpins so we could match. It was very sweet, and it worked perfectly in the updo and something borrowed. For glam, Jen Tioseco, who is not only the most talented but also a wonderful friend, did my makeup. I knew I was in the best hands."
"While I didn't have a first look with my husband (we were together the entire day), I did have a first look with my dad. It was one of my favorite parts of the day. This was when he helped me put on all my jewelry, which was very sentimental because it was his grandmother's. We are incredibly close, and it was a very special shared moment between us I'll remember forever."
"For shoes, I wore Manolos with both looks. For the ceremony, my mom put a little blue heart-shaped sticker on the sole of my shoe with a special sentiment we've been saying to each other our whole lives. It was my something blue."
"Before I went downstairs for the ceremony, a few of my best friends came up to my parents' bathroom where I was getting ready. We all laughed and hugged and had champagne. Wylder called it 'the girls' room' and still says it was one of the highlights of the whole day for her."
"I kept my jewelry very simple; two pieces were really all that mattered. I wore a family heirloom necklace and bracelet from my great-grandmother. It has been passed down for four generations in my family. I had always dreamt of the opportunity to wear them ever since I saw my grandma in it when I was little. My grandma, Momom, is one of the most important people in my life and, undoubtedly, my number one fashion influence. She got me hooked at a young age, playing dress-up in her closet as often as I could. Wearing something that I admired on her felt so special."
"Our wedding ceremony took place in my parents' backyard, a place that has held so many of our happiest memories. We've spent nearly every Saturday in the backyard as a family since Eric and I started dating, so to me, it just felt right. We wanted to do something intimate for the ceremony, so we kept it almost exclusively family."
"My family came together to build the chuppah ourselves by hand, which was incredibly sentimental and something I would definitely recommend."
"The ceremony was very moving. My grandmother walked me down the aisle with my dad to 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong. I loved being held by two of the most formative people in my life."
"The ceremony was co-officiated by our dear friend Kelly Cole and our daughter Wylder, which was deeply meaningful. Eric had asked her to be his best man, and I had asked her to be my maid of honor. In the end, we gave her the role of the co-officiant so she would be right between us the whole time. She wore a very sentimental look: a dress of mine from when I was her age covered in purple flowers."
"Wylder gave the most incredible speech—there wasn't a dry eye in the house (including mine). Eric's vows were beautiful. l wish I could've stood up there forever."
"Eric wore a Ralph Lauren Purple Label suit. It felt very him—timeless and not fussy. He paired it with vintage Salvatore Ferragamo boots I had gotten him for Christmas the year prior. He looked perfect while still maintaining a sense of ease. We found his ring at the Santa Monica flea market. It was from 1907, brushed 22-karat gold with a perfect patina. His daughter and I surprised him by getting it engraved with our three initials—completely her idea."
"Rarely is the ceremony the best part of the wedding, but in our case, it felt like it was. It was intimate—only 30 guests."
"I found my wedding ring in Paris over the summer with my mother and grandmother. We took a girls' trip and stumbled into a vintage shop after seeing the Brâncuși exhibit. An Edwardian ring with three old mine-cut diamonds (symbolic of the three of us—Eric, Wylder, and I) set in 18-karat brushed gold. It fit perfectly. It was a no-brainer, and to find it on such a special trip to Paris was more than I could've ever hoped for."
"I had very few references for what I wanted my look to be as a bride. Kate Moss at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival was a major inspiration for my bridal look. The entire glam, the thin straps, the necklace—that was my most referenced look. The other was an old Ralph Lauren ad, which I'd had saved forever. Marrying those two looks was my goal for the evening."
"For the party, we rented out one of our favorite restaurants, Loreto. It was very important to Eric and I to make our celebration feel as accessible and easy for our guests as possible. When looking for a venue, I had very few specificities, but I knew I wanted the celebration to be food-centric, romantic, [and] outdoors and feel like we weren't in L.A. Loreto had all of that."
"At Loreto, 100 more guests joined us. It was exactly as I described it to my planner—a big outdoor, sexy dinner. It was full of toasts, mezcal, and wonderful conversation. Everyone was laughing and dancing, and you could feel love in every corner of the room."
"We had a double father-daughter dance to James Taylor's 'Fire and Rain.' Eric danced with his daughter, and I danced with my father. It was beautiful."
"[For my second look, I chose] a hand-beaded Giorgio Armani runway gown—exactly what I was looking for. Something simple yet elegant while still feeling so incredibly special and very me. I fell in love with the beading patterns and the thin little straps. Not to mention, with no tailoring, it fit like a glove."
"One of my closest friends, Sophia, made our wedding cake. It was delectable. We also had pavlova for our guests, which was very important to me because my grandmother and I have a very special shared love of pavlova, and I wanted to bring that to the menu. I feel so grateful I did it my way and was unconventional enough to have a wedding at a Mexican restaurant. Having my closest friends and family get to know each other over crudo, branzino, and pavlova was perfect. It was everything I could've wanted and more."
"After dancing in the kitchen to it together for so many years, Eric and I had our first dance to 'La Vie En Rose' by Louis Armstrong."
"[I feel] deeply grateful to my friends and family who came together to help with all the aspects, big and small, of the wedding—my friends, who did the music, designed the invitations, made the food, and made the cake; my dad, who made all the paper goods by hand; my family, who built the chuppah. It felt so warm and beautiful to have everyone come together for our day."
Planner: Erika BellittPhotographer: Jamie StreetFlorist: Aris FloralHairstylist: Ricky FraserMakeup Artist: Jen TiosecoCeremony Caterer: Arlo CollectiveRestaurant: Loreto
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