A Spring Villa Micro Wedding at Villa Francesca

An Ocean-View Villa Ceremony in the Courtyard

The ceremony was in the garden courtyard, the couple's closest family and friends in the chairs, a deep green hedge behind them. Donna Lynn Chavis officiated in a dark stole, and Rachel and Brian traded vows and rings in the warm midday light — Rachel laughing wide mid-ceremony while both of them held hands against the greenery. The tiled arches, the hand-laid tile underfoot, and the bougainvillea at full color made it the version of the villa a May wedding gets to use.

It was exactly the ocean-view villa ceremony they'd planned for, and the whole small crowd sat close enough to be in on every word.

“Our Little Wedding did an absolutely fantastic job helping us put together the wedding of our dreams in just nine and a half months.”

Portraits in the Villa Gardens, a SoCal Spring Wedding

Family portraits happened across the property after the ceremony — the front lawn, the seasonal gardens, and the arched villa entry with bougainvillea spilling over an iron urn. Both sets of parents gathered around the couple at the doorway, the flower beds bright at their feet, while Rachel held the vivid bouquet. Villa Francesca was built in 1928, and the historic estate gives a range of portrait settings without asking anyone to move far from the courtyard.

The spring light in Southern California did the rest. Rachel and Brian worked their way through the garden paths, past the koi pond and the mosaics the owner has built into the grounds over the years, while their people settled in ahead of dinner — the afternoon warm and unhurried the way May usually is this close to the water.

Dinner, Toasts, and Cake Under the Wooden Awning

Dinner moved under the villa's wooden awning, a long table run down the center with a eucalyptus garland and pillar candles, a round candle chandelier and string lights overhead, and the warm timber wall behind. Toasts came from the people who knew the couple best, red wine going around, the whole table laughing at once. The room was small enough that everything said in it landed.

Rachel and Brian cut a single-tier cake from Sugar & Scribe, textured white buttercream dressed with dried citrus and greenery, in front of a dark arched wood door — Rachel mid-laugh as the first slice came free. The spring night stretched on easy around them, the bougainvillea still bright, the courtyard holding the last of the day's color while the conversation ran long.