Lily & Ryan's Wedding - Tara Lauren Real Love Tara Lauren

Lily & Ryan’s wedding was a unique fusion of modern design and bohemian romance that reflected their chic personal aesthetic.

Of her DAWSON gown by Tara Lauren, Lily said: “When finding my dress, I wanted something that felt like me and reflected my personal style. The DAWSON gown was actually the first dress I tried. I tried on a few others, but I loved this dress so much, I ended up picking it and cancelling all my other appointments that day!”

Names: Lily & Ryan

Wedding Date: 08.01.21

Guest Numbers: 75

Wedding Location: Hangar 21, CA

Photographer: Laura Huertas Photography

Tell Us Your Love Story

How did you meet?

Ryan and I met in a Christin organization during Freshman year at the University of Southern California. We met a few times, but both didn’t pay much attention to the other. After both going to the same conference together on Catalina Island, we finally started getting to know each other and developed a strong friendship. Eventually, with the encouragement of friends, we decided to try dating and the rest is history.

How did he put a ring on it?

Ryan went to medical school after college and ended up in Albany, New York while I stayed in Los Angeles. Every couple months, I would fly out to NYC and we would spend a weekend together catching up. One trip, we had dinner with some friends in Brooklyn. As my friends and I took a stroll after dinner, Ryan slipped away. When we strolled to a pier during sunset, Ryan had asked strangers to hand me roses as I walked down the pier to meet him, and then he asked me to marry him.

Where did you draw inspiration from?

I wanted our wedding look to be modern, moody and a little boho. As a construction manager, I love clean lines, great architecture, and modern design. I didn’t really want a super traditional style wedding, but something unique to us and that really reflected our personal aesthetic.

What made the wedding personal to you?

Our wedding marked 2 years of patiently waiting during COVID to finally bring our closest friends together and celebrate. Because of COVID, we had to significantly downsize our wedding which was a difficult decision. However, because of that, it made us cherish the moments with friends & family even more. It was also wonderful to see our families finally come together. Ryan’s aunt was the officiant, my younger brother along with our dog was the ring bearer, and Ryan’s twin brothers were the flower girls. All our family members helped make this wedding happen seamlessly which made is a truly personal experience.

What were you most nervous or excited about?

Since many of our friends are outside of California, we were most excited to spend quality time with our close friends. We were also so excited to do our first dance – Ryan and I had been practicing in our basement with Youtube videos because we are definitely not dancers!

I was a little nervous about making sure everything went well on the day of, however Candace with Fawn Events made all my worries disappear.

Now, the most important part – the Dress!

Tell us about your dress?

When finding my dress, I wanted something that felt like me and reflected my personal style. I don’t typically wear dresses so I wanted something clean and simple, but with a little extra embellishment to make it special. The day we went to try on dresses, I had 4-5 appointments lined up. The first appointment I had was with Styled by TC. I described my style and showed some inspiration photos to the stylist and she went off to dig for dresses. The DAWSON gown was actually the first dress I tried on that day. I tried on a few others, but I loved this dress so much, I ended up picking it and cancelling all my other appointments that day!

What stockist did you get it from?

Styled by TC, CA

What was your most memorable moment from your day?

When we did our first dance, we did a couple twirls as we practiced. It was beautiful and went perfectly. When we went for the final dip, Ryan got extra confident and dipped lower than we had practiced. He ended up almost dropping me, but caught me at the last moment! Everyone thought it was such a cute moment except for Ryan. I personally loved it!