While attending the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Dr. Rachel O’Connor and Luis Cardenas Casillas struck up a friendship that continued into their respective careers as professional French horn and trumpet players. Though Rachel moved to Baltimore to continue her education, she received a grant to go on a teaching tour in Latin America and thought to invite Luis to be part of a brass festival she organized in Mexico, before parting ways and traveling across Europe for the summer. “Along my travels, I couldn’t get Luis off my mind,” Rachel remembers. “When I got back to school, I convinced him to come visit me in Baltimore, and the rest is history!” 

Luis proposed while visiting Rachel’s family where she grew up in Toronto. “The actual proposal was at my childhood home, where we would later have the wedding!” smiles the bride of the intimate site. “I always knew that I wanted to get married in my parents’ backyard,” Rachel explains. “As a kid, I would always lay on my bed and stare out the window, looking up at the enormous pine trees and dreaming about what life had in store for me… It was so special to sit in this room, getting ready with my dearest loved ones and watch the ceremony procession unfold.” 

Attendees were dressed to impress, wearing pastels and whimsical prints à la the recommended dress code, as they found their seats for the alfresco ceremony. “Our guests absolutely nailed it!” notes Rachel, adding that friends and family had fun playing dress up for the soirée featuring a ball-meets-garden-party feel. “The entire wedding was based around a Bridgerton theme, as well as my wedding dress, Claire Pettibone’s ‘Ophelia.’ As soon as I tried on the dress at The Castle [Claire Pettibone’s flagship salon in Los Angeles], I could see the whole wedding before my eyes.” 

The couture masterpiece showcasing champagne and pastel tones, as well as gold Chantilly lace, lavender embroidery, and botanical embellishments in soft blue, green, and buttercup influenced the hues selected for the event design. In fact, every single detail followed the romantic palette – from the attire of everyone in attendance to flower gardens that were planted in the father of the bride’s backyard to match the décor. Guests were seated as string arrangements of Rachel and Luis’ favorite classical pieces and modern songs such as “In My Blood” by Shawn Mendes and “Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift were performed. “As professional musicians – and with a Bridgerton theme – music was an essential part of the ceremony!” Rachel affirms. 

“The entire wedding was based around a Bridgerton theme, as well as my wedding dress, Claire Pettibone’s ‘Ophelia.’”

Following the elegant vow exchange officiated by the couple’s close friend, Rachel and Luis walked up the aisle as husband and wife, before joining three of their friends to perform as a brass quintet while their nearest and dearest exited. “A lot of guests described it as their favorite part of the event [and] it was also a nice way to pay homage to our careers and passion as musicians,” notes the bride. Signature cocktails – “The Darcy” and “The Lizzie” – named after the pair’s dogs were enjoyed by loved ones prior to the family-style dinner under the stars that beautifully married the duo’s shared love of Vietnamese food and the groom’s Mexican heritage. 

While the newlyweds dined at a regal sweetheart table befitting the Regency-era theme with its ornate gold cast-iron design in front of their repurposed ceremony arch of lush florals in shades of blush, blue, purple, and ivory, attendees were seated at one of three tablescape designs. Light-wood harvest tables showcased a blue color scheme and round tables highlighted either green or pink charger plates, all featuring complementary arrangements of dahlias, roses, delphinium, lisianthus, and additional garden blooms. Vintage-inspired china in floral prints, menus adorned with the couple’s wedding crest, and napkins, taper candles, and glassware in varying pastel tones completed the dashing look. 

“Once it got dark, it really felt like a scene from Bridgerton!” shares the bride of their fairy-tale wedding that was illuminated with bistro lights and chandeliers suspended from the trees. Luis adds, “Rachel had a vision [and] it all came together to make a really memorable evening.” Guests surrounded the dance floor with sparklers as the newlyweds shared their first dance to a string rendition of “Latch” by Sam Smith. “Having everyone gathered together with so much love, there was a feeling of magic in the air,” remembers the bride. “I felt like I could feel the presence of ancestors not with us anymore, but present in spirit… It was magical!”

This real wedding was originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of Inside Weddings magazine. 

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