Timeless Elegance: A Black & White Wedding at a Private Residence

Planned by Ashley, Real Wedding

June 17, 2025

Kaysia and Ryan

Private Residence

March 18th, 2023

I have a love/hate relationship with private residence weddings. I know you aren’t supposed to admit that, but it’s true. They are by far the hardest weddings we do. They take so much more planing time having to look into power, water for mobile bathrooms, sometimes landscaping adjustments, how to hide a pool pump, how to light a pool so people dont fall in, how to fit your guest tables in to an irregularly shaped yard, where can we hide generators, how will the cateres prep and where can we put them that doesn’t interfere with the guest entrance, visiting the site many times with different vendors to make sure they are fully prepared and have what they need, and the list goes on and on. There is no venue coordinator to help, no setup team on site, it’s just us (and the expertly curated team we bring together) spending multiple days setting up the space. They are some of our most grueling weekends, but…

The reason I love private residence weddings, is because they always stretches me, they always keep me thinking on my toes, finding creative solutions, pushing me out of my comfort zone. The payoff for a well-executed private residence wedding always feels more exhilarating because it feels like you have really transformed a yard into an event venue. You create something that will give greater meaning and memory to that yard and its honestly really special.

This wedding (again from 2 years ago because blogging is near the bottom of my to-do list) was a special one because it was for the brother and fiance of one of our team members. It was at her parents home, one they had beautifully remodeled along with a back yard that was just begging to host a celebration. Also, Kaysia’s dress is still an all-time favorite. I also loved that for cocktail hour, they brought in a separate caterer to roll fresh sushi- a favorite of the couple.

Looking back on this wedding, I am feeling very sentimental. Perhaps it’s because Kaysia and Ryan have a child of their own now. A child who has probably gotten to play in her grandparents’ yard, where her parents got married, and somehow that feels very full circle to me.

xoxo, Ashley