Get ready to light up at this disco wedding with a joint bar

Offbeat Couple: Erica & Zack

Date and location of wedding: Our home in our dreamy backyard. San Diego, California — 06/12/2021

Our disco wedding at a glance:

Our original wedding was planned to be in our favorite city – Copenhagen. Due to the world being turned upside down, we had to cancel our wedding… like many brides, I had to pivot. We wanted to do something small and intimate, which can be hard in the town you live in. We had recently bought our first home and spent so much time working on it, so we decided to have our wedding in our backyard.

We wanted the wedding vibe to channel the coveted Danish “hygge” – a feeling of warmth and love, and a celebration of just that, yet incorporate some classic 80's vibes, and a little disco action. Our wedding planner, Nicole of Exhale Events, put together a wedding beyond our wildest dreams!

Our ceremony was the chic 80's for part of the day – clouds of babies breath, my sheer opera gloves, roman columns, lucite chairs, a beautiful tiered cake with columns and swans, and my mother officiating in a chic white suit.

Dinnertime was the Danish part of the evening and embodied the hygge in full effect. We had a tent of twinkle lights, custom cocktails with flowers, a five course meal inspired by Copenhagen's creative dishes like smorrebrod, seared scallop served on a shell, and lobster medallion. The overall vibe was truly a dream.

As the night ended, our garage turned into Studio 54 with an amazing disco ball installation, 80's furniture, checkered floor, and a chic curated joint bar for our guests (which was a real hit of the night!).

You can view the video here:

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A post shared by ERICA STOLMAN DOWDY (@fashionlush)

Tell us about the disco wedding ceremony:

The ceremony was stunning. We had an angel fountain, the roman columns, the babies breath arch. I was walked down the aisle by my dad, my mom was the officiant (her suit really stole the show), and I was preceded by my dogs who wore a white dress and a tux, my adorable flower girl (who also wore a white suit) and our sweet ring bearer. Because of the small space we did not have a bridal party.

I wore a Vera Wang gown that said “I do” on the train and “love” on the veil. This dress was purchased for our Copenhagen wedding. I was worried the dress wouldn't fit the new plan, but it turned out to be a real show stopper along with the sheer opera gloves.

Tell us about the disco wedding reception:

We had a Studio 54 themed disco in our garage, which you couldn't tell was even a garage! We had the floors done to be black and white checkered and it was absolutely gorgeous. The highlight of the disco was for sure the joint bar! I own a cannabis accessories company with my mom (think chic accessories for the stylish stoner), so clearly- we're lovers of the leaf…but I wanted this to be sophisticated! We had a cannabis event planner create a joint bar for us and it was absolutely beautiful!!

I think another big highlight was the customized disposable cameras. Everyone had so much fun with these and we got a TON of amazing photos taken by our guests!

What was the most important lesson you learned from your disco wedding?

Cancelling what I thought was my dream wedding was rough, but when they say everything happens for a reason, they mean it. I couldn't have imagined our wedding any other way and wouldn't want it any other way. It was perfect and I am so glad I was able to go with the flow when plans changed.

Vendors from this disco wedding:

• Planned by: Exhale Events // @exhaleevents
• Photographer: Kevin Fabrizi // @_withlovephoto
• Dress: Vera Wang // @verawangbride
• Makeup: Ryan Crociante
• Hair: Shawn Knudsen
• Food: Toast Catering // @toastcateringsd
• Florals: Native Poppy Florals // @native_poppy
• Rentals: Adore Folklore // @adorefolklore and Bright Event Rentals
• Lights: Brilliant Event Lighting // @brillianteventlighting
• Cake: Hey There Cupcake
• Video: Jack Revell // @jackrevelll

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