I GOT MARRIED!!! How I Planned my Wedding | Enchanted Oasis Part 1

AHHHHHH!!!!! I am officially married to my best friend, the love of my life, and my partner in everything…Sam Livits! After 10 years of being together, we walked down the aisle, said our vows in front of all of ur friends and family and had THE MOST MAGICAL day of our lives! The ceremony was so emotional for both Sam and I. I don’t know what it is about weddings, but it heightens all the feels. I was laugh-crying (but like a different kind than I had ever experienced) as I was walking down the aisle. I am so grateful to have found my soul mate and am soooooo happy that we got to spend our day with the people we care about most.

I am currently in a state of bliss but also majorly crashing from the high. No one tells you about these post wedding blues. Ugh. I never wanted it to end!! So that’s why I NEED to do a lot of blogging – to keep the happy feelings alive!

So, this is part 1 of the Enchanted Oasis Wedding series! In this post, I will tell you everything I did to plan the wedding of my dreams! And let me warn you…I let my creativity and extra-ness run wild! Ready!!???

#1. FINDING THE DRESS

As soon as I got engaged in Kauai, my sister IMMEDIATELY booked some bridal gown try on appointments in LA! OMG I cannot tell you how fun this was. I truly felt like all my princess dreams were coming true. Like, can I just do this for fun all the time as a hobby!!???

I decided to keep my “audience” small for this. Low drama. Not too many opinions. So the only people in attendance were me, my sis, and the person helping me put on the dresses! The mission? To find 2 gowns. An ultra grand one for the ceremony and a whimsical, romantical one for the reception!

The designer we ended up choosing was Galia Lahav! Walking in to her store was like walking into a haute couture dream. Here are some of the stand outs I tried on!

This is the Gia. I was so close to getting this one! The corset fit so well and the skirt was just so flowy.

Okay, I just had to try this on. A bridal cape!!??? Why not!!!

As soon as I put the Lidya, I knew this had to be my reception dress. I loved the little polka dots and how the dress hugged my silhouette. It was the definition of romantic. I ended up customizing the dress by adding fluttery drop sleeves to soften the look.

The train on the Ms. Elle was DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA and I LOVED IT. I mean, when else in life can you really drag a huge train behind you?!!??  I loved how the exquisite little beaded details on the dress elegantly complemented the low back before it waterfalled out into a longest tulle train I have ever seen!!! This was TRULY GRAND.

To customize the gown, I ended up changing the color to blush, I added in a dramatic low V detail to the sweetheart in the front, changed the low back to a V shape as well (to help make my booty stand out!), and then added fierce side cut outs to accentuate my waist.

Then I waited several months to even get a first look at my gowns! They were all hand crafted in Tel Aviv!

#2. FINDING THE VENUE

This was really hard. We spent several weekends driving all over California trying to find the most magical, whimsical venue that “hadn’t been done” before. I basically wanted a modern day castle on the West Coast. So, my sister and I looked into renting out private estates.

The problem? Well, at first, a lot of the listings we ran into were fake! Some websites collected pictures of gorgeous venues in Italy and France and then put it in a gallery to trick brides! Then when contacted, they told me to pay a fee to see the venue. Like…what!!??

So after running into a bunch of those scammers, scouting numerous hotels, countless wineries, and some beautiful homes – nothing felt right.

I was exhausted from looking, so I took a break for a couple months.

Then one night…I came across a random real estate listing that ended up leading me to the PERFECT venue: The Solomon Estate in Rancho Mirage, CA.

When Sam and I first walked onto the property late January 2018, we fell in love!! It oozed glamour, class, and Gatsby vibes all with a west coast feel.

The best part? We found our dream wedding planner. When I first met Laurie Lund of The Events Department (she’s the planner for this specific estate), I was drawn to her positivity and her energy. She’s such a happy person!

I told her everything I wanted to do (which included miniature horses and other crazy wild ideas at the time), and she was ALL IN. To be completely honest, I do not think our dream Enchanted Oasis wedding would have happened as seamlessly as it did without Laurie. Not only is she an experienced veteran in the wedding planning business, she’s so giddy and happy about all the details as if it were her own wedding! The woman is amazing and truly made my journey to wedding day as fun as can be.

(Oh yeah, and just for fun, there’s a “mini” lake in the front :P)

Finding the venue is what set the tone for the wedding theme. Three themes that really stuck out to me were “Enchanted Forest”, “Boho Desert” and “Tropical Jungle”. I cannot tell you how many hours I spent on Pinterest (probably thousands) trying to figure out what I wanted. When I couldn’t find a theme that was exactly what I was going for, I decided to mesh them all together to create our own: “Enchanted Oasis”.

#3. THE INVITATIONS

Now that we had our venue, and we knew what the theme was going to be, the next step was to create the invitations! I wanted to set the tone for Enchanted Oasis RIGHT AWAY so that our guests could start dreaming up what was waiting for them!

I knew from the beginning of time that we HAD TO  have acrylic invitations! (Thanks Pinterest.) I also wanted it shipped in a classy box so that the whole opening process would feel luxurious.

The logo you see of “Sam & Cassey” came to be from a bunch of doodles I was making back in February. I had an issue with “Sam” looking like “Jam”. It took a while to figure it out!

I am fortunate to have learned graphic design and how to use Adobe Illustrator back when I was an intern at a fashion design company in college. Those are the same skills I use today at work! And the same skills I used to draw the custom monstera leaf cut out for the acrylic. (The leaf was my sister’s idea by the way.) There wasn’t anything like that on the market (boy don’t I just make wedding planning so easy on myself…LOL) so I had to find someone to custom laser cut the acrylic leaf shapes for me!

Then I ordered supplies, DIY’d hard, and made an assembly line at home. My sister became a pro at folding cardboard boxes and I fine tuned the art of stuffing small boxes with live moss. It was tedious labor.

Though oftentimes unsure of why I have to make things so complicated for myself, Sam understands my hunger to embrace art and design. He’s always so supportive! I am proud to say that Sam and Jackelyn’s boyfriend Nick helped on the assembly line too!

#4. THE FOOD

Sam and I are foodies. We love eating. A lot. In fact when we first met, we both gained so much weight because we explored restaurants and even fast food joints as a hobby. Hahaha.

Since Sam and I are of two totally different cultures, we wanted to unite our guests through food. So, we worked with Fusion Flair to create a totally authentic menu that would represent both the Chinese and Vietnamese flavors for my side while also paying tribute to the Israeli and Jewish side for Sam. Instead of doing a sit down plated dinner, we got everyone up and tasting “cultural tapas”!

Ah yes, the tacos. No they are not Asian or Mediterranean, but they were there to represent our life in LA okay!!??! And we didn’t end up going with the tomato soup and grilled cheese (though it was super good) and opted for a vegan gazpacho instead to be more veggie friendly!

The tasting was SO MUCH FUN and we were SO FULL. Chef Heng did an incredible job with the food. Everything was extremely flavorful and delicious.

#5. THE CAKE

The one cake that Sam and I both equally love is Blue Velvet Cake. Have you ever tried? If not, YOU MUST. We first discovered it at MILK in LA when we first moved here together. It’s so buttery and dense! With fresh blueberries and thick cream cheese frosting (ugh I am salivating as I write this), you cannot go wrong!

So we knew even 5 years ago that our wedding cake HAD TO be blue velvet! I called up MILK to ask if they could make our wedding cake, but unfortunately they’re not in that business. So we asked our wedding planner to help us find a bakery out in Palm Springs that could help make our cake. Laurie recommended Exquisite Desserts and they did not disappoint!

Here’s what our tasting looked like. All sorts of cake flavors and a wide variety of frosting flavors. Everything was SOOOOOOOO GOOD. But nothing beat the blue velvet. So, we decided to go all in and get the ENTIRE 4 tiered cake all in blue velvet with cream cheese frosting!

#6. THE MATCHA BAR

Sam and I LOOOOOOOVEEEEEE matcha!!! So much so that we even made a shirt that is one of our best sellers on POPFLEX:

Since I don’t drink alcohol, and I know some of our friends don’t either, I wanted to create a unique bar experience. We thought that in addition to the regular bar bar…why not also have a matcha bar!!??

I reached out to my friends at Midori Matcha and asked if they’d be down to make this happen. They had never done a matcha bar for a wedding before, but were excited to make it a reality for our cocktail hour!

Midori also catered the matcha desserts table for the reception! Above is a photo from our initial tasting. OMG everything was SOOOOOOO GOOD – but ESPECIALLY that matcha croissant. I basically LIVE for it.

If you guys are ever in Southern CA, check out their newest Midori Matcha Cafe location in Old Town Pasadena at 165 S. De Lacey Ave #1049, Pasadena, CA 91105! They also have a cafe in Little Tokyo and Orange County!

#7. THE FLOWERS

Did you know that the amazing person who did the flowers for our wedding also did the flowers for the Bridal Bootcamp series?

Jeany, the owner of Lovesome Blossoms is also a POPster and she reached out when she found out that I got engaged! It was so special to have a florist who I felt connected with!

The photos that inspired everything floral for the wedding were this cupcake photo from Baker P (OMG look at that color palette)…

…and this whimsical chuppah photo from Mark’s Garden.

To create the “oasis” look, we decided to incorporate some tropical greenery! We specifically chose to decorate with the Monstera leaf – yes, the same leaf that I drew out for our acrylic invitations  – to bring out the tropical-ness!

#8. THE LIGHT BOX TENT

In 2016, Sam and I went to Australia for my POP Pilates tour and while there, we walked through one of the most beautiful structures I had ever seen!

This light tunnel was so magical. It never left my thoughts. So when it was time to design the outdoor tent for our dinner reception, I knew we had to recreate some version of this!

Here’s a picture of me admiring the tent construcuted by BRIGHT 2 nights before our wedding. At this point, it was totally still in progress and did not have the hanging florals and glass orbs that Jeany would later suspend from the top!

#9. INCORPORATING PETS

Before we got our puppy baby love Sir George the Magnificent, I wanted to have a miniature horse walk down the aisle with our flower girl! Yes, totally leaning in to that magical theme. But then…in January 2018 we were blessed with our first puppy, so we canceled the horse idea and began thinking of interesting ways to have Sir walk down the aisle!

(Don’t mind his back arm – he just got a shot at the vet and they had to shave him!)

At first I was like, maybe he should float down the aisle in a hot air balloon! Then we deemed it too dangerous.

Next, I was like, let’s have 4 men in tuxedos carry him down the aisle in a Cleopatra style bed! Jackelyn and Sam were like NO.

I thought I was close when I decided that we should construct a mini rose parade float for him to ride on! But there was no way we could find someone small enough to “drive” the car beneath the float.

Finally, Jackelyn had the genius idea of having him drive down the aisle in a fancy car.

BOOM. So that’s what we did.

#10. THE FIRST DANCE

Sam knows I love dancing, so when it came time for first dance discussions, there was no negotiation that it would be a choreographed number! I was so surprised at how much Sam embraced the lessons and the rehearsals. In fact, most of the time, it was HIM who initiated dance practice at home!!!

“New Light” by John Mayer was our song of choice. Why? We just liked the song! We learned a fun two step by our dance teachers at Your Night Choreo!

#11. THE CALLIGRAPHY

My goal for 2018 was to learn how to do calligraphy. I NEVER expected to do it for our wedding, but when the person who was supposed to do the calligraphy bailed on us, I was left with no choice but to do it myself! Through numerous YouTube videos, one live class, and tons of practice, I eventually got here:

Not bad, eh!?

I am still trying to find my style, but I am proud of how far I’ve come in less than a year! I’m glad that person bailed because the situation made me a better calligraphist!

 

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#12. THE SURPRISE

Concerned with cocktail hour (I’ve been to so many weddings where this time period is just so awkward and boring), I wanted to have an activation that would get everyone talking and having a good time!

First I thought…tethered hot air balloon? We tried, but then found out we didn’t have enough space.

Ferris wheel? Eh, but then kinda scary.

Maybe a rotating swing set!? Someone’s gonna be whacked.

Then I thought…wait a minute…a carousel!!! A carousel would be so whimsical and magical! The imagery of our friends in their evening gowns riding the horses with their legs swept to one side was all I needed to lock down the idea!

This was no easy feat though. The Solomon Estate did not have a carousel. We had to bring it in. It was almost impossible at first because we were told that the big semi truck could not fit through the side of the house to get to the backyard.

But then Laurie had an incredible idea. Bringing in the pieces one by one, by hand. Amazingly, Christiansen Amusements agreed and made it happen!!!!

YESSSSS now that is the level of commitment to excellence that I’m talking about!!!!

Oh boy.

That concludes part 1 of the Enchanted Oasis Wedding series! The planning!

If you loved the visuals but want EVEN more, watch me and my sis talk ALL wedding deets with over the top giddy-ness in my latest YouTube video!

Until part 2…tell me…what would your dream wedding be like?

45 thoughts on “I GOT MARRIED!!! How I Planned my Wedding | Enchanted Oasis Part 1”

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  1. Celeste M. says:

    Love these invitations. I was thinking of doing something similar for mine. I am curious as to where you purchased the black boxes to hold your invitations?

  2. Monica Soni says:

    You are looking like a princess. I always love to read your blog. Wishing you a great life ahead.

  3. This is so rad how you documented everything from the very start to the wedding. Loved how you tried on some of the glam glam princess wedding dresses 🙂

  4. Fiona Manoon says:

    Thank you!!

    i made it today.very yummy and easy
    Made this for the first time today and it was amazing! Thank you for the recipe!

  5. Most of the wedding planning guides only tell you what to do and what not to do while planning a reception. If you are looking for creative and fun ideas, then this is where your search ends.

  6. Jennifer says:

    Your wedding looks amazing, and your puppy is adorable!! I am in love with your acrylic monstera leaf invitations. Would you be willing/able to share what company printed these?

  7. Lilian says:

    Really loved your blog, just discovered it. congrats Cassey, you are a beautiful human being 🙂

  8. Patton says:

    Love this. Really appreciate you taking the time to detail this out in the post. It gives me a lot of ideas for future event planning and perhaps even my own wedding thanks so much :-).

  9. Cassey 💖 Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful and amazing wedding experience. Sure, there were ups and downs but the most important moments are the lessons you learn. You were absolutely beautiful and Sam looked really cool. I’ve seen your pictures and videos on Instagram and I must say – it was a truly magical experience. It’s kind of giving me wedding FOMO rn .. Anyway, thank you for sharing and I hope you are enjoying your new life with your cute little family. Lots of love from South Africa 😉

  10. Lisa says:

    I’m so happy you could afford the wedding of your dreams! You deserve it! Xoxo

  11. Lu says:

    OMG! Congratulations Cassey!!! These photos are sooooo beautiful! I love your wedding dress and the design of you and your hubby’s name! I am sure that you two had a wonderful and perfect wedding~~

  12. Lu says:

    OMG!!! Congratulations Cassey!!!! These photos are so beautiful! and I absolutely love your wedding dress and the design of you and your hubby’s name! I am sure you two had such a wonderful and perfect wedding~~

  13. Yolima Mont says:

    AHHH so many cute things!! thank you for inspiring me! I’m getting married next year!

  14. Sa Huynh says:

    Congratulations Cassey! I’m so happy for you! This is gorgeous!

  15. Krista says:

    Wow! This was amazing! You are so beautiful & creative!

  16. Amelia says:

    Can you please show us the video of Sir George driving the car?? That would be amazing to watch!

  17. Calla Hii says:

    AHHHHH!!! That carousel is an amazing idea…. your wedding looks amazing!!!!!

  18. Once again congratulations Cassey! You wedding stories has made me want to do my wedding over again! Hahaha! Your wedding was very colorful and bubbly…just like you *smiles* Happy Married Life to you and Sam.

  19. Raksha B says:

    Ahhh!! All of this is soo beautiful and all so whimsically magical! I followed ur stories like mad to know it all, Thank you for sharing it with the world. ALSO! all the details love it! I just helped and arranged my elder sister wedding I was so like this with planning everyone thought I am A FREAK. This makes me feel so good.! I already documents for my wedding ready! Happy to do it! love you

  20. Kzlawrence says:

    Congrats on the wedding! I’ve loved seeing all the pics and videos you’ve been sharing, looks like such a wonderful day!
    I was just dropping by to say I love your workouts and that you come up with such fun and creative ways to be active 😀
    I’ve been following you and doing your workout videos for years, since 2013. I am a cosplayer and that year I dressed as sailor moon for an anime convention and I thought it would be fun to do a sailor moon themed workout to get ready so I searched for some ideas online and found exactly this with blogilates! I still do this routine, sometimes I add a round of burpees for fun (because when I think of fun, I think burpees right? Lol)
    Thank you for just getting it, and for being there when I needed inspiration!

  21. A.J. says:

    Congratulations to you and Sam on your wedding which was the day BEFORE my birthday! I L=O=V=E the Jewish, Chinese/Vietnamese theme you used. My husband and I had our Jewish wedding in March 2011, enjoying each other on our special day. I do your workouts after my one hour (Billy Blanks) Tae Bo Power workout with emphasis on my abs, legs and upper arms. Although I’m whipped afterwards, it always makes me feel a lot better. Thank you for your passion and (giving me results); you & Billy Blanks always inspire me to be the best [me] I can be.

  22. Dean Johnson says:

    Ahhhh, looks amazing! Congratulations!

  23. Tiff says:

    How much did your entire wedding cost and how are you guys paying for all this??!! Very beautiful though your creative side definitely shines through.

  24. Hosanna says:

    Love this!!! I’m getting married in 3 months and it’s total diy, I love putting so much creativity in our wedding to make it our special one! Your blogs have been so inspirational too! Love seeing how creative you are!

  25. The long awaited blog post! I drank up every word of this recap. Now I cant wait for the vlog video.

    Is Sam religious, or is his family, Cassey? 🙂 I know you mentioned he was jewish!

    Major, major, major congrats. One day you’ll have kids! ^^

  26. Hallie says:

    This is hands down the most magical and whimsical wedding I’ve ever seen. I love your vision and creativity!

  27. Meems says:

    I love seeing your vision become the wedding reality of your dreams! Thanks for sharing your planning stages and beautiful day with us, Cassey! <3

  28. Jackie says:

    I love you as a strong warrior queen that you are and this wedding was just exquisite! But – I am incredibly disappointed to know that you support the Israeli genocide by engaging in the commerce and marketing the work so incessantly in your posts. As someone who cares a great deal about making the world more colorful and loving and accepting – supporting a genocidal regime that continues to deprive humans of their basic United Nations sanctions rights (and just last week murdered a mother with 30 bullets on her way to get water) is beyond me. I thought you’d be more cognizant of your choices and their consequences… my friends and I are really left confused and disappointed.
    From Seattle,
    Jackie

    1. Tori says:

      I’m confused. Please explain further? I really want to know. I’m genuinely curious.

  29. Jordan says:

    Your gorgeous calligraphy is making me want to learn in time for my wedding next June! Congrats to you and Sam!

    1. ME TOO! I can use the skills for bullet journaling 🙂

  30. Tina says:

    Your blog is SO INSPIRING!! I’ve always been put down for wanting a magical wedding like yours, and your exampl really teaches me to embrace who I am and what I love. Thank you so much Casey. You showed me that I should chase my dreams and not care about what others think, and you did it by such a beautiful example. You’ve inspired me to chase my own dream of a lovely, magical wedding.

  31. MIKAELA says:

    Your wedding is literally THE wedding of my dreams. The amount of creativity in every single aspect of the wedding from the invitations to the carousel is just AMAZING! I’ve heard of baby fever and puppy fever, but is there such thing as wedding fever because I feel like I got the bad case of the wedding fever. I got so insanely emotional because you’ve been such a big part of my life since I was 12 (almost 9 years ago!) and seeing you happy just fills me with so much inspiration and happiness. I love you!!! and Congratulations!!! <3

  32. Nadia Stadnik says:

    This looks so beautiful!! Major inspiration and congratulations 🙂 Currently planning our low key wedding, white, gold and rose are key colour palettes. My partner loves rugby so instead of a “guest book” we’re having a t-shirt for people to sign! And of course delicious food.

  33. Bea says:

    Wow Cassey! Congratulations! If feels like just a dream!

  34. Melissa says:

    I’m just so impressed with your creativity and can-do spirit! Instead of settling for anything you could have paid anyone to do, you grabbed the bill by the horns and made your vision come to life. ❤️

    1. Melissa says:

      The BULL by the horns! Autocorrect. LOL

  35. Melanie says:

    Your wedding looked so amazing! I’m not going to start planning anything till February but I’m so excited about the process. We agreed on a Disneyland theme because that’s how we met and I have the color pallete picked out along with the date.

    1. blogilates says:

      OMG I love Disney!

  36. Clara Damasceno says:

    SO happy for you!!! I just loved everything. I’ve never wanted to get married but seeing this made me think twice hehehe. Anyways, you should spend your honeymoon here in Brazil! It’s taking too long for you to visit your Brazilian popsters!

  37. Holy moly talk about wedding inspo! I’m in the middle of the planning process myself and seeing your beautiful details come together is so inspiring. Congrats again Sam and Cassey! <3

  38. Anja says:

    Cassey & Sam, Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like your weddingday was a dream come true, wishing you all the best!!!!!!!