A Glamorous Tented, Garden-Inspired Wedding At The Huntington Library in San Marino, California

With Joshua being the ninth out of thirteen children and Amber being the youngest of four, the wedding planning process soon began to accommodate a vast 700-person guest list with 15 bridesmaids, 15 groomsmen, and 11 flower girls and ring bearers. The Huntington Gardens in Pasadena made the perfect wedding venue, as it could accommodate the largescale celebration, and provided a fantastic backdrop for the wedding design and décor.

The wedding date was set for February 7th, and an enormous tent was constructed to house guests for the cocktails and reception. A wooden walkway and platform were also built in the sculpture garden, in front of the fountain for the ceremony. Since the weather had been so picturesque, they decided to cancel their ceremony tent–which, of course, resulted in rain beginning to fall as guests were being seated for the ceremony. 

While waiting in a trailer with her sisters and mother, the bride called her groom to join them, as he was worried she would be upset. “I remember looking at my mother and, in that moment, I knew that I would not let her see one bit of distress on my face,” says the bride. “As much time and effort as she had put into this phenomenal wedding, I was not going to let anything put a damper on our mood.”

Thanks to some quick thinking, their wedding planner altered the schedule and instructed guests to head to the cocktail tent, where they enjoyed drinks and hors d’oeuvres first–all, while the crew frantically set up the reception tent to also house the ceremony, relocating the entire orchestra, AV system, and flowers. Once guests had found their seats, the bride and her brother made their way down the makeshift aisle between tables. “As soon as I walked in, everyone was on their feet cheering and giving me high fives,” she says. “I felt like I had just won the championship! The once daunting crowd of 700 felt like our most intimate group of friends and family in our living room.”

The couple were married by a dear family friend, Ambassador Andrew Young, and everyone could feel the energy in the room. It wasn’t until they were standing in front of their guests that they realized neither of them had rehearsed what they were going to say–so they just went with the flow. After a few premature, yet endearing “I do’s,” they finally got it right.

During the wedding planning process, someone had asked them what they wanted their daughter’s wedding to look like, which is a question that stuck in Amber’s mind. After the night came to an end, she and Joshua snuck into the sculpture garden where she said, “Maybe this is what our daughter’s wedding will look like.” The newlyweds are now pregnant with their first child–a baby girl.