Melissa & Mina recently had their wedding at Temecula Creek Inn at the Stone house. The ceremony and reception site is tucked away and practically hidden from hotel guests which makes this an ideal setting to have a wedding. The highlight of the TCI venue is the 130- year-old building made of granite and stone, which is situated amongst the serene hills of Temecula Creek Inn's golf course and is surrounded by century-old oak trees.

Take a look at a few favorites from their amazing day, followed by Melissa and Mina’s responses to how they planned for their wedding.

Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?

 Mina and I grew up from pretty different backgrounds, so we each went into the process with different expectations of what our wedding day would look like. On one hand, him being raised Coptic, he’s always felt it was important to get married in the church. Me, on the other hand, I’ve always been a fan of very personal ceremonies where the guests can really get a feel for the relationship from the ceremony. We decided to do both. We started the day off by getting ready at a house we had rented out for the entire wedding party and immediate family. From there, we had an intimate Coptic Orthodox ceremony with close family only. This ceremony included the traditional Coptic wedding symbolism where the ceremony builds on the idea that the couple is going to be starting their own kingdom together (hence the crowns).

 After the religious ceremony was over, we headed over to Temecula Creek Inn for the second, more casual, wedding ceremony. There is little to say about Temecula Creek Inn other than the fact that it’s gorgeous. We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding, and as soon as we saw TCI, we knew that was the place for us. It was outdoors, without being too rustic, and the reception area wasn’t too big which meant it would give us a more intimate experience with our guests. The décor of the wedding was set by the venue, we just added subtle flowers and minimal decorations to make it more personal.

 Overall, the palette was nudes. We loved having white as our accent color and a little bit of blush peach to bring out a little bit of color.  

 What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?

 Florals were a rather minimal part of the wedding, because the venue didn’t need very much to make it pop. We had florals for the bouquets, the boutonnieres, and centerpieces. The only place where we felt we really needed to add flowers was inside the Stone House to liven the interior up a little bit more. We also did this by adding some candles and pictures of the two of us inside the Stonehouse.

 Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?

 The venue already had a bocce ball court, but based on previous wedding we had attended, we knew we wanted to add some lawn games for our guests to enjoy during cocktail hour, or even during the reception for guests who didn’t feel like dancing. We brought in a giant Jenga and corn hole.

 We genuinely enjoyed the ENTIRE DAY. It all went better than we had planned – everyone had told us to prepare for something not to go right, so that’s what we were mentally prepared for. Luckily, everything went according to plan. Both of us had been really looking forward to enjoying the dance floor, and I’m so happy to say that we both got our wish because we were able to enjoy it from the very beginning! We had a good amount of guests that traveled internationally and from different states to attend, so we were also really looking forward to being able to see them and party it up with them since we don’t get to do that often.

 Let's talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.

 Like I mentioned earlier, the venue really set the tone for the entire event. As soon as the venue was picked, it was like the décor and the wedding looks all fell into place. As soon as I tried on the dress, I knew it was the perfect one for that venue. Not to mention, I loved it. I knew from the very beginning that I didn’t want a dress that was tight around the hips and legs, because that would mean I wouldn’t be completely comfortable throughout the night. It was an A-line dress that was loose as soon as it passed the waist line, so it was extremely comfortable for dancing.

 I was also determined to wear comfortable shoes. It was the one time I was going to be wearing a dress where you wouldn’t be able to see my feet, so HELL YES, THAT MEANT SNEAKERS. Unfortunately, my bridesmaids were all going to be wearing heels, which meant I needed to wear heals during the ceremony unless I wanted to look like a Hobbit next to them. As soon as the ceremony was done, it was sneaker time. This make it pretty challenging to bustle the dress (we had to do it using safety pins on the day of), because it meant the front had to be bustled too (it was a good length for the heels, but as soon as I changed into sneakers it would have been too long). Luckily, I had bridesmaids that came over to practice bustling until we got it down.

 As for hair and makeup, I didn’t want anything extravagant, because that just wouldn’t be me. In previous weddings I’ve been to, I’ve always felt it looked strange when the bride walked down the aisle wearing a lot more makeup that we’re used to seeing her in (I get it…the pics). I just knew that when I looked back at pictures, and when people saw me that day, I didn’t want anyone to think they were seeing someone who they didn’t recognize. It ended up being a very nude makeup look and a simple half-up do with a flower on the back.

 Mina knew he wanted grey from the beginning, and that he wanted to look slightly different to the other groomsmen. He went with a charcoal tuxedo with a grey tie, while the groomsmen wore lighter grey suits and navy-blue ties. They all wore the brown shoes. I don’t know that there’s much more to the men’s’ looks than that….they’re so lucky.

 What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?

 Mina and I were just super excited to get to hang out with all our friends. It was a party where no matter who we talked or danced with, we would know everyone there. We both had our childhood friends and close family there along with everyone else who has been important to us in some way, shape, or form. Before the wedding day came, we just kept talking about how much we were looking forward to seeing everyone and DANCING IT UP. We really tried to plan everything such that we would be able to actually be a part of our wedding. A lot of our friends who had gotten married said “It’s really a party that your guests get to enjoy, but you’re usually running around doing other things or saying hi to everyone before you can enjoy it yourself”. We knew we wanted to avoid that as much as possible. Luckily, it worked out!

 Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you'd like to share with other couples planning their day?

 Biggest piece of advice is to do WHAT YOU WANT and to invite WHOEVER YOU WANT. If someone gets offended about it, then let them – they’ll get over it. We often try to please so many people when planning a wedding, but this is really not about anyone else other than the bride and groom.

Looking for ideas for your wedding? There are so many beautiful wedding venues in Temecula, with all of the different wineries, the vineyards are beautiful to have your wedding. We are a huge fan of the Temecula Creek Inn Stonehouse. It is tucked away from visitors and must be accessed by a golf cart making it feel like you really are away from the city. We love being a part of this venue, as local wedding photographers it really inspires us to shoot in creative settings like the stone house. We would love to talk more details and offer advice on venues to look at, if you are looking for a Temecula wedding photographer or Temecula wedding videographer feel free to give us a call.

 A little about us... We are Andy & Brittney. We love shooting weddings and would love to help capture your day! We offer full service photo and video packages for weddings in Southern California. We are based in San Diego and also have a location in Temecula, making us conveniently located to capture your big day! We have built a team of talented local wedding photographers and videographers that are capable of producing incredible photos for your wedding. If you are looking for a San Diego wedding photographer please feel free to send us an email to talk more details!