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After Trying on Over 200 Different Wedding Dresses, the Bride Designed Her Own Gown for Her Chic, Elevated California Nuptials

A dingy college basement might not sound like the most romantic place to meet your future spouse, but for Solla Park and Paul Seufert, it most certainly was: The two crossed paths at a post-orientation gathering in Toronto, Canada, on September 12, 2014, and though Paul waited exactly 48 hours to text Solla, they were inseparable from that point on. Eight happy years alter, Paul surprised Solla with a trip to White Sands National Park, where he knew his longtime girlfriend had envisioned getting engaged or married since she was a young girl. 'I boarded a flight without knowing the destination,' Solla says. 'Paul had an entire itinerary planned—a waterpark trip, a fancy dinner, a shopping spree, and a night at the opera.' On the last day of their vacation, they drove to the national park, where a photographer Paul had hired was waiting to capture the proposal. The couple spent two years touring over 70 venues for their October 12, 2024, wedding day. In the end, they fell in love with the panoramic views at a private estate in Temecula, California, a venue they found in an unconventional way: Solla stumbled across their TikTok page. 'The design of the property perfectly exemplified the new life that we built for ourselves in California,' she explains. 'Our favorite part is undoubtedly the view, and how cozy we felt with our guests under the stars and among the endless mountains.' The couple invited 90 guests—many from out of the country—to join them for their wedding weekend, so the fact close family members and friends could stay on-site and the couple's welcome party could take place on the property were added bonuses. Guided by Laura Garcia at Moon Velvet Studio, Solla and Paul hosted a chic, elevated weekend packed with interactive moments, including late-night laser tag, an on-site engraver, and a live painter. 'We heard from multiple guests at the end of the weekend that our wedding had so much to do that it 'felt like Disneyland,'' the bride says. 'Truly the highest compliment in our eyes!' Read on for the stunning photos from this couple's wedding weekend, as captured by Kurt Boomer, and see how they their décor was inspired by the transition from summer to autumn. Related: Your Biggest Destination Wedding Etiquette Questions, Answered Solla and Paul worked with Nicolette Sherman of Isidore & Augustine to design a stunning invitation suite with floral envelope liners with a custom illustration of the venue. Their invites introduced guests to the weekend's color palette, which showcased "soft, neutral tones accented by rich espresso browns and subtle hints of lush green,' the couple's planner, Laura, says. "An October wedding in California is still quite warm and sunny, with the beginnings of a fall breeze, so we were excited about embracing a summer-autumnal transition with our touches of brown that evoked fallen leaves," Solla adds. The festivities began with the couple's welcome party, which took place in the estate's courtyard on October 11, 2024. 'Our vision for the wedding was to create a celebration that felt both timeless and elegant, with an emphasis on understated beauty and refined simplicity," Laura says of Solla and Paul's overarching goal. "We aimed for the entire experience to feel like a blend of tradition and contemporary style. We also wanted to honor each of our guests by immersing them in the celebration through meaningful, interactive moments that made them feel truly part of the weekend celebration.' Hosting the welcome party outside was important to the bride and groom. 'We're Canadians and we both grew up embraced in nature, so we wanted to feel intimately surrounded by spectacular landscapes,' Solla says. The couple encouraged guests to wear neutral-toned cocktail attire. 'We encouraged light, airy, natural, linen-like fabrics,' the bride adds. Related: 11 Common Wedding-Related Events and Parties to Know About Before the party started, Solla and Paul spent time with their photographer, Kurt Boomer, taking portraits in traditional Korean Hanboks as a nod to the bride's Korean heritage. "Our Korean traditional Hanboks were deeply meaningful to us," the bride says. "They were a way to cherish and honor my roots as a first-generation immigrant." Later, Solla and Paul changed into a bias-cut Cortana open-back dress with cape-like strands trailing behind her. 'This dress was my favorite dress of the entire weekend,' Solla notes. 'The light Italian silk georgette of my dress rippled in the air like water as I ran through the grass.' Paul wore a custom Perte D'ego suit featuring a cotton blazer with autumnal floral embroidery detailing. A mix of long and round tables were arranged on the property's courtyard; long tables were topped with white linens while green linens were used on the rounds. 'For our florals, we gave our florist, Stephanie Howard of Floraltique, full reign to be creative,' Solla notes. 'She played with shape and created architecture pieces with interesting autumnal, bright colors, adorned with different kinds of fruits.' The couple chose not to map out a strict schedule for the welcome party because they wanted the gathering to have a relaxed and unstructured atmosphere. 'We intentionally didn't have a strict itinerary for our welcome party; we wanted the evening to feel relaxed, unstructured, and candid,' the bride explains. 'Some of our favorite memories are lightly dancing together in front of our live jazz band, seeing people from all chapters of our lives getting along so well, and hugging our guests tightly.' A live jazz band performed throughout the evening. After listening to tunes and taking in the stunning view, guests then moved to the bar for drinks. Inspired by the bride's career in film and television, Solla and Paul served four signature cocktails named after their favorite films. For example, the drink 3683 Days of Solla was a twist on Solla's favorite movie, 500 Days of Summer, marking the exact number of days from when the couple met to the night of the welcome party. Guests enjoyed an artistic grazing table of the couple's favorite fruits and cheeses. For dinner, everyone enjoyed tacos from Taste Nomada, which were made with custom fillings like Korean bulgogi and kimchi. 'It really felt like we were sharing a big family dinner with all our favorite people in a Tuscan villa in the middle of nowhere,' Solla remembers. Loved ones gave speeches during dinner, and Solla and Paul made sure to soak up everything that was happening around them. "Seeing people from all chapters of our lives getting along so well and hugging our guests tightly were some of our favorite memories of the night," the bride notes. "The perfect coziness and peaceful solitude of our venue made our welcome party feel like a place outside time." On their wedding day, Solla and Paul got ready with their respective wedding parties. 'We had bridesmaids and groomsmen, but we chose not to have a maid of honor or a best man,' Solla explains. 'Our closest families and friends all live far from us, so we didn't want to burden them with any responsibilities!' Solla didn't just work with Cortana for her welcome party look: The Spanish designer also created her first look and reception dress. "Each of their pieces are handcrafted from sustainably sourced, all-natural materials, meaning they minimize environmental impact and that was a big consideration of mine," the bride says. Solla chose an A-line gown with cotton tulle and raw silk organza for volume, which she was able to customize to look slightly different during the first look and wedding reception. "A thoughtful feature of all Cortana garments is their ability to mix and match," Solla notes. For the first look and portraits, she wore a high turtleneck top with sheer silk tulle sleeves by the designer as an overlay on top of her ceremony gown. Solla wore two Harriett Falvey veils on the wedding day. The first, a cathedral length veil with scattered French Chantilly lace edges, was worn for the couple's first look and portraits. She accessorized with a Kinn Studio bracelet, a Gorjana necklace, and Bella Belle shoes. She chose a high updo with a middle part curtain bang as her hairstyle to accentuate the length of her neck. As a finishing touch, Solla carried a bridal bouquet of muted nude and white sweet peas, explosion grass, hyacinth, and dancing lady orchids. The couple went shopping for their wedding-day scents together, a clever pre-nuptial date idea. 'It was so fun to make a day out of it, and we spent hours at Jo Malone experiencing all the perfumes they had to offer and learning about layering scents and notes,' she says. Solla chose Jo Malone Red Hibiscus Intense as her fragrance. Solla's bridesmaids wore mismatched dresses in the wedding color palette of neutral tones, rich espresso browns, and subtle hints of green. Instead of a full bouquet, each bridesmaid held a single stem of Cymbidium orchid to make a statement. 'The blooms were ivory cream with beads of brown and to this day, I can't believe how a flower could have captured our wedding vision perfectly in one single stem,' Solla says. Paul wore a custom black wool tuxedo from Hall Madden featuring satin-striped detailing on the pant legs and a matching vest. Solla gifted him a pair of mother-of-pearl cufflinks for their ten year anniversary, so he wore those on their wedding day. 'Mother-of-pearl is a very significant part of a traditional Korean craft called Najeonjang, and this was very personal to me because I always want to celebrate Solla's Korean identity and incorporate many of these traditions into our future family,' he says. For his big-day fragrance, Paul chose Jo Malone's Wood Sage & Sea Salt. 'The sea salt brings a minerality that reminds me of the desert,' he says. 'White Sands where I proposed to Solla, Joshua Tree where we did our engagement shoot, and where we've done some of our favorite hikes.' Solla and Paul shared a first look to celebrate their last moments as fiancés. 'This quiet moment was the perfect prelude to the ceremony we had been building towards for the last 10 years,' Paul says. Solla remembers the moment being so emotional that they spoke in whispers. 'The first look was when the wedding stopped being something abstract and logistical, and instead became real and magical,' the bride says. 'We had made it.' Solla tried over 200 different wedding dresses, and while she loved many of them, she admits that there was always something she wanted to change about each. She impulsively drew a sketch of her dream dress in the middle of the night and sent it to a dressmaker. "I had always envisioned wearing a classic, off-the-shoulder, ivory ballgown for the ceremony ever since I was a young girl," she says, but nothing off-the-rack was living up to the vision inside her head. With the help of a seasoned pro, Solla designed her silk satin wedding dress with a structured neckline, basque waist, gathered skirt, low back, and a thigh high slit. "I took the risk, and I'm so happy I did," the bride notes. "Seeing all the parts come together in one final dress was a wonderfully surreal, emotionally-rewarding creative experience." She accessorized with a lace-trimmed royal length blusher veil in the most sheer lace she could find, which she designed with an Etsy vendor. They added embroidery of the couple's wedding date embroidered on one side of the trim and five flowers representing their relationship on the other side. The flowers were a mix of different blooms that represented Solla's birthplace of Korea, Paul's dual heritage of Hungary and Germany, the place they met, Canada, and an orchid, which was the first flower Paul gifted to Solla after a few weeks of dating (and is still alive today!) 'This veil really completed my ceremony look, enhancing the simplicity of my dress,' she says. "I loved how it flew softly behind me as I walked down the aisle!' Related: How to Create Your Own Custom Wedding Dress The couple's ceremony was designed to take advantage of the venue's sweeping mountain views. Solla, Pual, and their wedding planner worked with their florist to create arrangements that looked as if they were growing naturally from the ground. 'We didn't want the florals to stand out too obviously,' Solla explains. 'The landscape of the venue was already so inviting and grand that we used the florals to simply map out and enhance the ceremony space.' They chose an asymmetrical ground arrangement for the altar and lush aisle arrangements that wrapped around the back of the amphitheater-style seating. A small fan and a cone of flower petals were left on each guest's seat. An opera singer performed live as guests arrived at the ceremony. Once the wedding was about to get underway, a string trio took over; the group was specifically chosen as a nod to Solla's time playing the cello as a child. Solla chose to honor her independence and walk herself down the aisle, but she had a hand-embroidered blue patch featuring both her mother and father's names in Korean stitched into the bodice of her ceremony dress as her "something blue." 'I surprised them on the wedding day with this detail,' she notes. The string trio performed a custom arrangement of 'Time to Say Goodbye' by Andrea Bocelli during her entrance. The couple asked their friend, Cale, to officiate the wedding. After a few readings, they exchanged personal vows they wrote for each other. 'When reading our vows together, it felt like it was just me and Paul, under the warmth of the sunny blue sky and the olive trees bristling next to us,' Solla remembers. 'Paul's vows completely shook me to unstoppable tears.' Paul notes that the vow exchange made him feel incredibly seen by his soon-to-be wife. 'She remembered little details that I had forgotten, and it was incredible getting to see our relationship through her eyes,' he says. After a dramatic first kiss as husband and wife, the newlyweds recessed back up the aisle to an arrangement of Starships' 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now,' a song they love to listen to on road trips. Related: 90 Wedding Recessional Songs You'll Love Before moving into the cocktail hour space, guests stopped by the seating chart display, which consisted of shelving decorated with textured florals and candles. A few Korean wedding ducks were sprinkled into the setup, a tradition that symbolizes an eternal love and fidelity, as a personal touch. 'Entertaining our guests in unique ways was a top consideration!' Solla says, so a jazz trio performed at cocktail hour. Guests enjoyed the couple's signature drinks as they listened to the live music: On offer were a hibiscus paloma called 'The Seoul' (hibiscus is the national flower of Korea), and an Old Fashioned with maple-infused demerarra called 'The Ottawa' (a nod to the couple meeting in Canada). For another fun personalization, the couple downloaded their Facebook Messenger text history from the last 10 years and combed through it to find quotes that captured their growing relationship. They chose 15 statements to print on their cocktail napkins, which were set out on the bar. 'Our guests enjoyed trying to collect them all,' Solla says. Guests were also asked to leave messages on the bride and groom's audio guest book and were encouraged to visit a station where an artist was painting watercolor portraits of each attendee. "Solla works in animation and many of our guests are various kinds of artists so we knew they would have fun with this,' Paul says. 'We also had a live calligrapher who engraved favors for our guests to take home—there was a selection of leather passport covers, luggage tags, and compact mirrors all in different colors for guests to choose from.' For the reception, Solla changed back into her dress from the first look, but she swapped the overlay top with a neck scarf made of English netting. "I was so impressed with the dramatic change that it made and how seamless it looked with the dress," Solla says. It looked drastically different even with a simple neck scarf." The reception décor was designed with minimal lighting to create an intimate, sophisticated, cozy atmosphere. 'We wanted to keep the starry night sky above us unobstructed and open, so we chose to do grounded up-lighting instead of market lighting or chandeliers,' Solla says. 'It allowed the warm, candlelight glow to really shine, and seeing our beloved guests' faces lit up around us was the most comforting feeling.' Guests were seated at two long tables draped in neutral linens. The entrance to the reception space was framed by olive trees illuminated with soft lighting and a canvas welcome sign hung from the branches. Place settings incorporated layered floral-shaped dishware, gold-rimmed smoky brown glassware, and matte silver flatware. The architectural centerpieces contained dancing lady orchids, white hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, sweet peas, and mocha roses. 'Another favorite detail from our reception was our stationery, especially the custom designed menus,' Solla says, which were created by the couple's invitation designer. The menu border matched the envelope liner design, creating a cohesive, connected design. "It was the only intricate detail of our tablescape and we loved the moody dimension it brought to the overall simplicity," the bride notes. When Solla and Paul began planning their wedding, they knew they would share an unforgettable first dance together. They spent six months working with ballroom dancer, Mariia Usanina to choreograph a waltz-salsa fusion dance to Stephen Sanchez's "Evangeline." All that effort paid off. "After countless private classes and practices, we flawlessly executed our three-minute routine for our guests under the sunset sky,' the bride says. 'Our bridal party surprised us with confetti cannons during the final big lift, which was undoubtedly one of the most magical moments of our lives.' The couple chose a menu they described as a "seasonal Californian twist on classic American-French cuisine," which consisted of dishes like spinach gnudi, flat iron chimichurri steak, a buratta salad. "We wanted the food to be filling, familiar, and warm but with sophisticated flare," the bride notes. Solla and Paul admit they're not foodies, but they both love sweets, so they wanted to emphasize the evening's sweet offerings. To that end, they worked with Peggy Liao to create their textural three-tiered wedding cake, which contained vanilla bean cake with passionfruit curd, mascarpone, blueberry sauce, and cream cheese frosting. 'Peggy was also kind enough to experiment on a custom flavor for us, a chocolate cake with a Biscoff butter cream and cookie crumble,' Solla says. 'Biscoff cookies holds a special place in our hearts, as its often served on planes we strongly associate it with our many international adventures.' The couple also selected a variety of different small desserts including earl gray cream puffs, fruit tarts, and raspberry rose lychee macarons. As a late-night snack, they brought out a full Korean barbecue station, which the couple says was the biggest food highlight of the evening. Later in the evening, Paul changed into a Banana Republic white tuxedo jacket and Solla changed into a Danielle Frankel silk slip dress. They hired a mobile vendor to set up a fog machine, rave lights, sound effects, and bunkers for a late-night game of laser tag. 'It was intense, cut-throat—the only way to play laser tag,' Solla says. 'Our guests bonded immediately by playing in teams and it made our hearts full to see our friends who had met on our wedding day make plans to hang out for the weekend after.' Solla and Paul plan to spend their honeymoon in Spain and Tahiti for a combination of history and beach relaxation. To couples planning their wedding, Solla recommends getting creative with your vendors to add personal touches. 'I took inspiration from wanting our wedding to embody a childlike, nostalgic fun; hence why we ended up reaching out to mobile laser tag vendors,' she says. 'All to say, our advice is to first brainstorm what you and your partner love to do without thinking of logistical limitations.'Wedding Photographer Kurt Boomer Wedding Planning and Design Moon Velvet Studio Flowers Floraltique Bride's Hair and Makeup Alisha Hopps Invitations and Paper Products Isidore & Augustine Music Alex Mansour Music, Dart Collective, Stephanie Wright Music Catering Colette's Catering Bar That's The Spirit Cake Peggy Liao Live Artist Mallory Clinger Engraved Leather Good Favors Calligraphy by Michelle T Rentals Found Rental Co., Signature Party Rentals, Casa De Perrin, BBJ La Tavola Transportation Stryder Transportation Videographer Flame Films Wedding Content Creator Content By Kam Laser Tag XP Mobile Laser Tag Photobooth Jupiter Booth Dance Choreography Mariia UsaninaRelated: 50 Small Wedding Ideas Perfect for an Intimate Affair Read the original article on Brides