Native Poppy’s Wedding at the Pearl Hotel

May 10, 2022
⎯ Weddings

Native Poppy’s wedding was unconventional, retro and full of color at the Pearl Hotel in San Diego. Many local San Diegans, especially in the wedding industry, know of Native Poppy. Native Poppy is a San Diego floral shop, founded by Natalie Gill in 2015, and has since turned into one of the top flower shops in the country. So, when Natalie and Steven got engaged everyone could not wait to see what they would come up with. Natalie hired Brogen Jessup to style and photograph her wedding and Laurel Street Events to execute the planning. This wedding is full of surprises so get ready to see this incredible day! And to top it off it was also featured on Brides.

Because invitations are the first impression, Natalie wanted hers to stand out and for their guests to get the vibe right away: colorful, fun, lighthearted, sophisticated, and a little wacky. So they started with a retro green envelope with a selection of vintage stamps.

For Natalie’s flowers she worked with her team at Native Poppy to bring her vision to life. Her bouquet included Japanese sweet peas, clematis, orchids, garden roses, and tons of mums and carnations. She even knocked on someone’s front door because she spotted orange marigolds in their front yard and knew she had to have some for her wedding.

Natalie and Steven spent the morning getting ready together, rather than doing a normal first look. They wanted the day to feel low-key and comfortable, so getting ready at their home with their pets was perfect.

Steven’s suit was custom designed through a bespoke process with Randy Reisman. They chose a tan birds-eye pattern with opal green buttons and a deep brown velvet collar accent. Natalie also bought Steven tiki cufflinks to celebrate one of their favorite hobbies together. The lining of the suit was a tiki print, and they sewed the words ‘Tuesday Everyday’ on the inside of the jacket since every Tuesdays they have date nights.

After getting ready Steven helped put Natalie into her Cult Gaia dress. Natalie loved how it was untraditional, full of texture and the way it moved with her.

Natalie’s Chloe Goesselin Jean heels ended up being her favorite statement because she loved the pearl clasp and bows.

Before the festivities began, this bride made sure to grab a bite to eat of her favorite food: pasta!

Natalie made her own bouquet the day before the wedding and she says “It was a sweet moment of calm and creativity”.

Because they wanted to spend some quality time together before the wedding, they opted to do wedding portraits before heading to the venue to maximize their party time with guests.

Every detail of Native Poppy’s wedding was them. It was like they threw the wedding rule book out of the window and just planned their dream party.

Natalie and Steven knew they wanted an untraditional wedding and The Pearl hotel allowed them to have more of a cocktail party atmosphere. For the ceremony decor they opted for a hanging carnation garland backdrop, complemented by poofs of florals around the pool.

Instead of traditionally walking down the aisle, Natalie and Steven stood at the alter and the ceremony began after all their friends and family cheered them on.

Natalie and Steven recessed out to “You’re my Best Friend” by Queen and the atmosphere shifted to cocktail hour. The couple mingled with friends and family and made sure to grab a picture with their stylist Brogen Jessup and her husband.

The first surprise of the night was the Acqualillies synchronized swimmers and because the hotel is centered around the pool it made for the perfect performance!

Since Native Poppy’s wedding reception was cocktail party-esque they only decorated two long tables and added pace cards that said anyone. They filled the tables with as many flowers as they could hold and tons of candles in mismatched colors.

The speeches were easily a favorite moment for the couple because they loved hearing all the fun stories and well wishes.

Natalie and Steven’s cake was a crowd favorite! The vanilla sponge cake had passion fruit curd, coconut buttercream and a rum simple syrup drizzled between layers. They had people calling a week later saying they never like cake and but they loved this one.

And then for the best surprise! At 8 PM they opened up a secret speakeasy in Room 8, which was a cat-themed tiki bar with a smoke machine and tropical tiki music playing.

From the synchronized swimmer performance to the unconventional ceremony to the speakeasy their day was filled with so much joy! Interested in how the wedding was created? Check out the mood board below!