A Silverlake Wedding Weekend with Old-Hollywood Disco Energy
Shauna (she/her) and Gin (they/them) hosted their wedding weekend in Silverlake, Los Angeles, the neighborhood where they’ve spent the last few years building community together.
Across two days, their celebration moved from an intimate backyard ceremony and colorful lunch reception to a theatrical evening at the historic Paramour Estate. It was part garden party, part old-Hollywood fantasy, part interactive experience, and entirely rooted in the life they’re building together.
How did you two meet?
Gin: Shauna and I met on Tinder within my first 24 hours of swiping, ever. Up until several months prior, I’d been in a relationship for nine years. I was struck by Shauna the minute I saw her on the apps; she was cute, she could dress up, she could dress down, she could wear bright red beanies with confidence, dance on top of cars, and was a ‘highly therapized’ creative director. Very intrigued, I swiped assuredly right.
When we met the next night at Broken Shaker, a rooftop bar in downtown LA, I fell in awe of Shauna’s imaginative assumptions and direct questions. She was self-assured, 36, wanted kids, and dreamed of a queer fairytale where equal partners could build the life they wanted. I was taken by her.
After talking for hours, we left the bar to meander the streets, where we had an impromptu photoshoot in front of a graffiti mural that read, ‘ALL I WANT IS A DIOR SADDLE BAG, A BLUNT AND FOR YOU TO LOVE AND HOLD ME FOREVER AND EVER.’ The rest was history.
Shauna: I felt safe with Gin immediately. They were loving, curious about me, attentive, and not at all threatened by my ambition or intensity. Within two months of dating, I knew Gin was ‘the one.’
Tell us about the proposal!
Gin: The Miller family was planning a vacation in Cabo for the end of March 2024. It would be the perfect setting for the proposal, and right on schedule according to the five-year plan Shauna and I made one year prior.
The proposal happened on the beach as the sun set over the Baja. I told Shauna we were freeing baby sea turtles, but as we walked down the beach and stumbled upon a picnic blanket, we both laughed and acknowledged there would be no turtles.
Ten minutes in, Shauna found the notebook I’d hidden under the picnic blanket. It told our love story up until that very moment. As she finished reading, I kneeled and asked her to marry me. Collapsing to meet me at eye level with tears flowing, she said yes as the sun disappeared completely.
It was dark when we made it back to the house to meet her family, but as we got closer, we heard the blaring music of the surprise celebration they had set up for us with printed photos of our vast travels, gold balloons, champagne, and a chef who prepared dinner for us and her seven family members.
The next morning, I whisked Shauna off to Mexico City, where we explored the metropolis with endless walks, sampling sushi and ceviche and cementing the promise of future adventures.
You split your wedding into two days. Tell us about day one!
Instead of doing a rehearsal dinner on day one and the wedding on day two, we split our ceremony and celebration across the weekend. Friday became our ceremony and “rehearsal dinner” mixed into one, while Saturday felt more like a wedding reception. We knew we wanted to host our wedding weekend locally in Silverlake, the neighborhood where we’ve cultivated a community over the last few years.
Our Friday ceremony took place in our newly landscaped backyard, a magical setting with 180-degree views of the city and the same space where we’re building our future together. Guests were seated on vintage wooden chairs and benches on our sunlit brick patio, framed by wild, organic florals by Yasmine Mei, pastel parasols, and a handmade chuppah that Gin built from black acacia branches. Before the ceremony, the hillside garden became our private sanctuary for the first look. I waited at the bottom of the hill in my wing-like dress, and when Gin finally made it down, I turned to face them and burst into tears.
Our ceremony was led by Rabbi Susan of Nefesh, with music by Duvid Swirsky and violinist Leah Zeger. We wrote our own vows and structured them like a back-and-forth conversation, before exiting to “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros as LA Marching Band joined in from the distance. Afterward, we headed to Tacolina for a bright, Baja-inspired lunch reception with celery tequila cocktails, family-style food, embroidered linens, citrus-hued florals, funny and heartfelt speeches, and a surprise performance by Cuban feather dancers, a preview of the opulent energy still to come at the Paramour Estate.
Nice! What about day two?
Saturday marked a shift from intimate to theatrical. We chose the Paramour Estate, a historic property across the street from our house, for our celebration. Built in 1923 by heiress Daisy Canfield and her husband, silent film actor Antonio Moreno, the estate once hosted extravagant Gatsby-like parties. When Steve, the manager, and Dana, one of the owners, heard we were planning our wedding, they generously gifted us use of the property for the night. We were stunned by their generosity. It felt like our dreams were coming true.
We wanted the evening to feel immersive and interactive, allowing guests to roam through every room of the mansion the same way we had when we first discovered it. Cocktail hour unfolded by the pool with Magic & Cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres by Untitled Events, including edible flower spring rolls and caviar crème fraîche canapés served by a caviar-strapped woman. As the night deepened, guests wandered past open fire stations with dinner by Modestos: whole salmon and cauliflower hanging like offerings, lamb kabobs and tomahawk steaks cooking over coals. Later, we moved inside for a decadent spread of French and Middle Eastern desserts from La Provence Patisserie & Cafe and late-night snacks on the dance floor.
The party was driven by sound and spontaneity. DJ Jeremy Sole and DJ Captain Planet created seamless soundscapes layered with live saxophone by James King and percussion by Gerardo Morales, while rhinestone bunny masks, kitschy hats, and light-up accessories transformed the dance floor into something playful and unrestrained. Throughout the night, meaningful moments unfolded: our “make a wish” bracelet escort cards carried intentions beyond the party, and during dinner, Shauna’s brother Josh premiered a 10-minute documentary about our journey, projected against the mansion’s walls. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
How did you decide what to wear?
Putting together all six outfits for the weekend came easily to me. I used to be a fashion stylist, and I love hunting for the perfect pieces to bring a look together. For the ceremony, I wore an Oscar de la Renta silk mikado column dress with a dramatic bow in the back. The minute I put it on, I knew it was the one. The giant wing-like bow stole my heart. Because of the attached bow, wearing a traditional veil was tricky, so I wore a Jennifer Behr veil headband, with blue Maison Margiela feathered mules as my “something blue.”
For the celebration, I wanted to play into the Paramour’s theatrical setting with an equally theatrical look: an Alex Perry silk faille gown sourced through Loho Bride, styled with a Vivienne Westwood opera coat made of recycled tulle with organza. I questioned whether it was too much, but as soon as my mom saw it, she said, “That’s it. You’re done.” For the afterparty, my 20-year wedding dream came true: a white sparkly catsuit à la ’70s Cher from Harmonia NY. Nothing gave me more joy than reappearing on the dance floor at midnight in my disco getup.
Gin wore a tailored white Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo jacket with Dolce & Gabbana pants, a Valentino blouse, white Tod’s loafers, and an oversized custom Oscar de la Renta orchid pin inspired by my dress. When Gin tried it on for the first time, the whole store gasped. For Saturday, they wore a custom white jacquard tuxedo by Sharpe Suiting with a white silk scarf and an antique diamond-encrusted bumble bee pin, gifted by my parents at our Persian engagement party as part of a family tradition.
Tell us how you brought your wedding to life.
We wanted to invite guests on a two-day journey filled with wonder and surprise. Friday had a spring-forward palette of soft peach, blush, green, natural wood tones, and pops of magenta, while lunch at Tacolina brought in citrus orange, golden yellow, coral pink, and leafy green. Saturday at the Paramour Estate shifted into jewel tones, ruby reds, fuchsia, emerald greens, and candlelit gold accents.
As a couple, we do a lot of home and decor projects together, and our wedding was no different. Gin built our chuppah using acacia branches from our yard, we sourced mismatched tequila shot glasses from Olvera Street and personalized them as place cards, handwrote ceremony signage on scrap wood from our garage, and designed an eclectic gallery wall in our living room two days before the ceremony.
Every aspect of getting married at home felt personal and sacred. Instead of renting coffee cups for the espresso bar, I borrowed my mom’s collection of handpainted flower mugs. We curated our mantel with heirlooms from both families, including a generational vase from my family and a menorah from Gin’s childhood. We served mini scones, heart-shaped black and white cookies, and quiches from my uncle’s cafe, La Provence Cafe, where I had my first job as a teenager. We also designed a crest with our handwriting that appeared across everything from invites to napkins and server uniforms, and drove to lunch alone in our ribbon-covered 1998 VW Rabbit convertible, decorated by the Studio Sully team, with infinite blue sky above us and neighbors honking congratulations.
Did you have any standout vendors?
We worked with planner Melissa Sullivan of Studio Sully, who helped bring together a team of wildly creative people who shared the same values as us. We tried to work with female business owners and local vendors as much as possible, and Melissa helped us source all our wine from female winemakers.
Our wedding was photographed by Samm Blake, who flew to LA to capture the weekend with so much emotion, grace, and elegance. Florals were by Yasmine Mei, videography was by Brian Morrow at Shark Pig, and our venues were our backyard, Tacolina, and the Paramour Estate.
We also sourced all our desserts from Shauna’s uncle’s local bakery, La Provence Patisserie & Cafe in Beverly Hills, the same place where Shauna held her first job as a teenager.
Captured by Samm Blake
Afterparty Look Harmonia NY
Bartenders Magic & Cocktails
Cake Chariot
Catering Blank Beverage, Fia Hospitality, La Provence Patisserie & Cafe, Modestos, Tacolina & Untitled Events
Dress Alex Perry, Loho Bride, Oscar de la Renta & Vivienne Westwood
Dress Alterations Orsolina Massimo-Garcia
Florals Yasmine Mei
Gin’s Outfit Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta, Sharpe Suiting, Tod’s, Valentino & Yves Saint Laurent
Gin’s Grooming Ashley Cornett
Hair Kylee Heath
Makeup Liz Castellanos
Music Captain Planet, Duvid Swirsky, Gerardo Morales, James King, Jeremy Sole, LA Marching Band & Leah Zeger
Officiant Rabbi Susan Goldberg of Nefesh
Paper Goods Aardvark Letter Press
Planner Studio Sully
Rentals Found Rentals & The Ark Rentals
Shauna’s Headpiece Jennifer Behr
Shoes Maison Margiela
Videographer Shark Pig
Venue Paramour Estate & Tacolina
