Our Micro Wedding at the Santa Barbara Courthouse
Not into being stared at by 150 people? Rather spend your money on other things than a wedding? On a budget but want to still celebrate your love for each other with just close friends? You’re in luck because having a micro wedding is more common than ever, and honestly, the least stressful option. Okay, it’s the second least stressful option because eloping is the most stress-free alternative.
According to Brides.com, a micro wedding is — “an intimate affair, typically with no more than 50 guests. They still feature time-honored traditions that make a wedding but on a much smaller scale.”
Wedding Planning
KSOLE and I started talking about what our dream wedding would look like a year before we got engaged, so when the ring came and the wedding planning began, we were both on the same page. We wanted something small, and intimate but intentional. We wanted to celebrate our love with those who mean the most to us and in a way where we both weren’t cutting back too much on our current lifestyle. It’s no secret that weddings are not cheap, and for us, we much rather spend our money traveling.
After some research and asking around, we decided on Santa Barbara Courthouse as our venue. Its aesthetics were exactly what we were looking for, with little corners that provide a tropical feel and the architecture of the buildings gives off charming vibes. Not to mention that Santa Barbara is a place that we enjoy relaxing in, the city has everything you need from luxurious spa days to beautiful hotels like Hotel Californian, and anytime I’m by the ocean, I’m happy. We wanted a calm, peaceful, and beautiful mico wedding and Santa Barbara was the perfect backdrop. (Read on how I created the most peaceful wedding morning here).
Since we planned on having a small wedding with just 15 people in attendance, we did not have to pay to use any of the exterior areas of the Santa Barbara Courthouse. There are six areas that you can choose from, on a first-come, first-serve basis for your elopement/micro wedding. You have the option to either hire an officiant from the courthouse or use your own, which is what we opted to do. Our dear friend, Melanie, flew in from New York to officiate us. Please remember that if you opt for a friend to officiate you, they are certified to do so. Don’t forget that they are also in charge of making sure your application for your marriage license is complete and turned in. So choose wisely!
With the venue selected, our officiant secured, and our photographer booked (which was our friend Wesley), we moved on to the rest of our wedding planning process which included —
finding my dress and his suit (read all about the dress + the story behind it here)
selecting a color palette for our attending guests (more details here)
finding a restaurant to get lunch catered
booking an Air B&B for his family to stay in (we stayed at Hotel Californian while they stayed at this Air B&B)
creating an itinerary for everyone via Notion for the day of (this helped tremendously in making sure everyone knew what was happening and could help if needed)
figuring out what my bouquet would look like (we hired our friend Jeromie as our florist and also my hair stylist because he’s just so talented)
Lastly, I also secretly planned 2 surprises for KSOLE, which his Best Man (aka his sister) helped out with.
The Morning Of
While we didn’t do a traditional wedding, we did keep some traditions such as staying apart the night before. KSOLE stayed at the Air B&B with his family while I was at the Hotel Californian. My MOH ended up arriving halfway through the night to stay with me and to ensure that we get a head start on the day. Our photographer, florist + hair stylist, and our officiant arrived promptly at 7 AM on our wedding day. Everything went just as planned and I shared some tips for my brides to be on how to create a calm and peaceful morning for you too in this blog post.
I remember looking up at some point in the morning and realizing how loved we are, to have such a supportive group of friends and family members who were just ready to help in any way they can. They made sure to keep us stress free and I was honestly the most relaxed I’ve been since planning the wedding. It also helped that I was in a beautiful Kim+Ono robe, had eye masks on, and my friends made sure to get my coffee right before they arrived at my room. Bless them!
My first surprise for KSOLE was that morning, around 9 AM. While the courthouse has a suggested limit of 15 people for the ceremony, I was able to squeeze in 2 more people. We were pretty strict with the guest list at the start but KSOLE was really bummed his best friends couldn’t be there, so I took the risk and had them come right before the ceremony to surprise him. Luckily, no one kept count at the courthouse or said anything to us. Needless to say, KSOLE was very surprised and so happy. I had his sister put me on Facetime for the entire surprise because I wasn’t going to miss his reaction. It was priceless!
We scheduled our departures from our place about 15 minutes apart, to ensure that we don’t run into each other. Our photographer was great at finding a location for the ceremony, as our original pick from the day before was now blocked by a huge crane that appeared overnight. There is some construction going on at the courthouse so be weary if you plan on getting married there anytime soon. Once I arrived, I was hidden away around the corner as everyone got situated for the ceremony. I was then led over to where we would do our first look and exchange our vows in private.
The First Look & Exchanging Vows Privately
We are not a huge PDA couple and so we opted to do our first look with just our photographer, MOH, and best man but then had everyone except Wesley (our photographer) leave when it came to the vows. I’m not going to lie, I thought I would get through mine without tearing up but I choked up toward the last few lines. It was such a beautiful and intimate moment that we shared together, and I would choose this option every single time. You’re going to be sharing the rest of the day with everyone else you love, so why not sneak in moments for just the two of you like this?
P.S. KSOLE did cry during our first look.
The Ceremony + Getting Our Marriage License
Right after our vows were exchanged, we headed into the courthouse to get our marriage license. We had already filled out the application online, which is required 7-days before your ceremony. We then took the oath and signed the paperwork, before handing it over to our officiant. You are able to request an officiant from the court if you do not have your own. Your officiant is the one responsible to fill out the rest of the paperwork and make sure they don’t miss a line! Otherwise, you’ll have to do it all over again (the paperwork portion).
We had a beautiful 15 to 20-minute ceremony. We had a prior call with Melanie (our officiant) to ensure that her speech was what we wanted and to also ensure what we didn’t want to be included. Always make sure to have a call beforehand if possible. For us, we didn’t want anything religious mentioned and also didn’t want to share any of our vows.
Backstory: Melanie, KSOLE, and I all met about 4 years ago on a press trip in Mexico. Since then, all 4 of us (including Wesley) have traveled together and always make it a point to see each other at least a couple of times a year. During 2020, we would have monthly Facetime calls which kept all of us sane. Melanie coincidentally got her certificate to officiate around the time we got engaged, so we asked her to be our officiant since she knew both of us pretty well. She did such an amazing job and gifted us a beautiful book with her speech, and our photos, and had everyone sign it. It is the most thoughtful keepsake!
After the ceremony, we did group photos first then dismissed everyone to go have lunch at the Air B&B while Wesley guided us to some photo spots. We were able to knock out our shots within 45 minutes then headed back to eat lunch with everyone else. During lunch, KSOLE and I gifted both our parents, MOH, and best man a little something as a thank you for just helping whenever we needed it. We gifted both moms a beautiful KIM+ONO silk robe, and jewelry for the MOH and best man, while the dads both got a gift card of choice. It was the perfect day and we would not change a single thing.
Ceremony Details:
Photographer: Wesley Taylor
Hair: Jeromie
Officiant: Melanie
Dresses: Birdy Grey
Wedding Dress + Veil: Casablanca
Shoes: Etsy Shop - Pelino Sandals
Florals: Jeromie
Bouquet Charms: Etsy Shop - Bejewelled Bridal
Venue: Santa Barbara Courthouse
That evening, we had an intimate elopement dinner, or at least KSOLE thought it would be intimate. Click here to see what my 2nd surprise for KSOLE was.
Golden Hour Shoot + The Dinner Surprise
While planning our wedding, and despite agreeing it would just be a small group celebrating with us, I couldn’t help but think of the people in our lives who have supported us since day one. KSOLE and I love our friends so much and I knew it would feel really incomplete if we didn’t have them come celebrate with us at some point. So, together with KSOLE’s sister, we secretly planned a surprise dinner. The dinner itself as not a secret nor was the location, but who would attend was.
Let me tell you, having 35 people keep their mouths close for 3 months was a huge test of trust. But we did manage to keep it under wraps until the day of, which I think is pretty good. KSOLE got a little suspicious around lunchtime when someone slipped (no one shall be named but IYKYK LOL). However, he still couldn’t imagine that there would be 35 people screaming “SURPRISE” once we arrived in the restaurant.
To ensure everyone would arrive tot he restaurant well beyond us, I planned a golden hour photoshoot with Wesley and had Melanie join us. Mel stayed in contact with Keisha (the best man) and when everyone arrived, that’s when Mel indicated that we should probably head to the restaurant. We accidentally also went over the scheduled time by 30 minutes, so our friends actually had to wait longer than expected for us. Once we parked, Mel and Wes swiftly walked inside to warn everyone since we reserved a private space in the back of the restaurant. We walked in, I had KSOLE open the door and there were all our friends staring at him. He was so shocked that he actually closed the door on them and I had him re-open it a few seconds later. He was completely caught off guard and seeing him happy made me happy.
The rest of the night was just magical. We had good food, some speeches made and we felt the love everyone had for us. I’m still smiling about it and I cannot thank our friends enough for making the drive from LA, after work, to Santa Barbara — just to have dinner with us on our wedding day. We have the best support system ever.
Dinner Details:
Photographer: Wesley Taylor
Hair: Jeromie
Jumpsuit: Lulu’s
Tulle Cape: Etsy Shop - Unona Shop
Shoes: Camellia Pearl Pleated Bow Heels by Loeffler Randall
Cake: Mommy’s Sugar Rush
Restaurant: Meet Up Chinese Cuisine
