Modern brides, today’s J. Verno Studios wedding is for you. If you consider yourself contemporary and minimalist, you’re going to love the clean lines, chic color palette, and somewhat edgy details of Talia and Zac’s soiree. This pair lived in Las Angeles for years, so you know they have killer style. They wanted to weave this in with their Pittsburgh roots. With a little help from Wanderlust Weddings and Events, they were able to seamlessly marry (see what we did there?) West Coast vibes with East Coast flair. The effortlessly cool vibes kicked off with the bridal party – Talia wearing a sleek Liancarlo wedding dress from Bridal Beginning that featured an off-the-shoulder neckline and button back, while her bridesmaids donned a variety of little black dresses. A bold red lip from B. Morgan Makeup and super soft hair by Katrina’s Hair Story completed the bride’s look. The gorgeousness didn’t stop there, however. The ceremony and reception space featured jaw-dropping details, like hanging crystal chandeliers, moody blue uplighting, acrylic signs, and mixed metallics. In typical Steel City fashion, there was an epic cookie table – and each and every single treat (and even the cake!) was baked with love by the bride’s mom at Debbie’s Deluxe Cookies and Cakes. Combining urban hipness with cool girl style, this wedding could only be captured this well by none other than Rachel Rowland Photography and Penderville Wedding Films.
About the Couple
We met in 2004 through mutual friends. Zac lived in Ohio and would make the trek to Pittsburgh every weekend to see me at our mutual friends’ parties. We began dating in 2005 and we moved to Los Angeles together in 2009! Even though we dated for so long, we never put pressure on getting engaged and married…but a few years ago, I started wondering when it was actually going to happen! Little did I know, Zac spent the good part of a year planning everything.
He flew to Pittsburgh to pick up a diamond from my parents that was passed down from my great aunt. He then spent time having my custom ring designed exactly how I envisioned it. The day before Thanksgiving 2017, I woke up from a nap and we decided to go out to eat. Zac was acting very strange and nervous. Right as we were walking out of the door, he popped the question! He knew that at this point, being together so long, that if he took me anywhere out of the ordinary I would suspect something. I love that he asked me in our favorite place – our home in Los Angeles! I was so surprised; we spent the rest of the holiday weekend celebrating our engagement with our friends and family!
About the Wedding
I love modern decor – clean lines, chic, and minimalist. I realized that there were very few venues in Pittsburgh that fit this look. When I walked into J. Verno Studios, I knew it was the perfect venue for me. What is even more fitting is that Zac and I started hanging out at our friends’ parties in the Southside…so to find the perfect venue in the Southside made everything come full circle. It was meant to be!
I wanted my wedding vibe to be a mix of “home” with an LA twist. Modern and chic but not stuffy. I am not into colors so naturally went with black and white with touches of gold. I think the most unique thing about my wedding was my cookie table. Of course, this is a common thing in Pittsburgh, but my mom owns her own baking company. She made every single cookie herself. We had over 6000 cookies…about 35 cookies per person! Our California friends have never heard of the cookie table tradition so they were pretty shocked to see such a display. I love that my mom made the entire thing – including my wedding cake!
Favorite Moment
My favorite part of the day was doing our first look and bridal party photos before the ceremony. We had Rachel Rowland as our photographer. I am obsessed with her style of photos and was the most excited about having her be a part of our day. Doing the first look with Zac was so special. We were both so nervous but it really helped to ease into the actual wedding. Doing our bridal party photos before hand was so much fun too…we had a blast! My favorite moment of the wedding was Zac’s vows. Zac is a pretty quiet guy in front of a bunch of people, so I was not sure how his vows would play out. He blew me away with his vows and had the entire room crying! I loved every second of it. It truly made our ceremony so special.
