When real wedding couple Jessica and Josh told us their forest wedding was a "mix of boho and romantic décor, with a touch of disco" we just knew we would love every detail, and my goodness, we do! Their dreamy autumn wedding day features tons of swoon-worthy bohemian décor from an abundance of candles and dried flowers, to gold accents and flowy fabrics, all in a warm palette of burgundy, plum, earthy pink, and dusty mauve.

With Ashley Carlascio Photography and World Love Weddings behind the cameras, the duo set about celebrating with 60 of their very favourite people (including 7 bridesmaids and 6 groomsmen!) at the Redwood Grove ceremony venue followed by a reception at Deer Park Villa – two utterly beautiful outdoor settings for their boho forest wedding. We fell hard for this one, and think you will too!

Today's lovely couple are Jessica and Josh from Sacramento, California. The duo first met as kids back in 2005! The bride tells, "We first met after school one day in 8th grade, although we didn’t become friends right away. Josh was a quiet, somewhat shy kid, and I was the wild and somewhat rebellious new girl. Maybe opposites do attract, because by the end of the year we had started hanging out after school every day and flirting over MySpace (we were definitely in each other’s “Top 8”). After about a year of trying to convince people we were “just friends”, Josh finally worked up the courage to ask me out and we started dating freshman year of high school, in 2007."

Although the pair were dating for quite some time, the proposal came as a complete surprise to Jessica! The bride telling the tale says, "Josh completely threw me off by proposing the day before my 30th birthday. We had a weekend in Zion National Park and then Vegas planned with my siblings. Everything special and exciting that was happening, that might normally make someone suspicious, only made me less so (I was under the impression that it was all about my birthday!). I was so thrown off that I almost shot down the sunset hike that would lead to the proposal. Josh proposed at the end of the Canyon Overlook Trail in Zion at sunset w/ all my siblings (4 brothers) and some of my SILs there. We then left for Vegas the next day to celebrate and I was further surprised by my cousins who flew out to celebrate with us. It was so special to have my family there to be a part of it. We partied and danced the night away."

Jessica chose a Maggie Sottero Designs gown which featured a lace bodice and dramatic train with lace trim. She completed her bridal ensemble with the eye-catching Saskia earrings by SHASHI, a gold crown from Layla Creation Studio on Etsy and the Blaine embellished block heel by Badgley Mischka.

Groom Josh and his groomsmen looked dapper in merlot and wine suits from The Black Tux. We love that burgundy jacket and dried flower boutonniere combo!

On the morning of the wedding the couple did a sweet first look and exchanged sweet gifts with each other. The bride reminisces, "My gift to Josh was a bracelet of blue beads which resembled one I gave to him back in highschool and was probably my first ever gift to him. Josh gave me a dainty gold bracelet with an inscription on it."

Jessica had something pretty special for both her 'Something Borrowed' and 'Something New'! The bride tells us, "For my wedding bouquet, I attached my mom’s lace fan that she had on her wedding bouquet. Leading up to the wedding, my mom showed me a picture of her from her wedding day and it was so beautiful and I couldn’t get over her bouquet with the lacy fan. Turns out, she kept it after all these years and was happy to lend it to me for my wedding day. It was really special to have something handed down and be my “Something Borrowed”." She adds, "It was also special that two of my sister-in-laws were pregnant with my (first) little nephews. I had them be my “Something New” Crew to honor them and their little somethings new/on the way."

The mismatched bridesmaids dresses and shoes were found via multiple styles and brands and included ASTR The Label, Baltic Born, BHLDN, Birdy Grey, Revelry and Selfie Leslie. The final look was perfect for their boho forest wedding, don't you think?

Once the date was set and couple began planning their day, they tell us what their
priorities from the very beginning were; "It was important to keep the guest list to our closest friends and family, keeping it intimate. It was also important that we had an outdoor wedding. I love the outdoors and spent a lot of my childhood playing outside with my brothers. The redwoods have an extra special place in my heart and they’re also the place that Josh joined me on his first trip with my family, so it was really nice to find a venue with a redwood grove."

The beautiful and enchanting Redwood Grove ceremony area at the Deer Park Villa venue set the scene for Jessica and Josh's boho forest wedding ceremony.

The bride chose dried flowers for her bouquet and her bridal party bouquets which she sourced on Etsy sharing this tip for other couples, "I ordered the flower girl size for my bridesmaids and the bridesmaid size for my bridal bouquet to save money and the sizes were perfect!"

Jessica walked up the aisle to meet her beloved Josh to “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen. The bride tells us, "This felt like the perfect song for a lot of reasons. For one, there’s the line, “Been with you such a long time, you’re my sunshine…” Josh and I have been together since high school and truly are each other’s best friend, so it was fitting. This song is also upbeat and light, which is exactly how I wanted to feel walking down the aisle."

The couple were married by Jessica's brother. Says Jessica, "One of the most special things for both of us about our wedding day was having our family so central to it, as they are in our lives. Brothers, cousins, and sister-in-laws were all in our bridal party and my brother officiated our wedding. It was a family affair to say the least."

After the ceremony, the couple and their guests moved to the magical reception area at Deer Park Villa.

The couple curated lots of the wedding décor themselves as well as created lots of DIY details for the day. The Altar flower arrangements were done by bride, the reception table numbers, seating chart, s’mores and cake station signage were designed by the couple, as well as the wedding favours for their guests which were personalised name cards that doubled as magnets.

Offering advice for other couples planning their day, Jessica says, "Take your time up front. There really is no rush in setting a wedding date. Start planning and researching only when you feel ready and after you’ve had a chance to soak it in and enjoy your time being newly engaged. This is a special time that can get overlooked when jumping right into it. Wedding planning is a lot, so once you start, carve out time to do other things together that don’t have anything to do with the wedding. "

"The bride adds, "And lastly, don’t ever feel pressured to do anything for your wedding based on other people’s expectations or opinions. Even though you may think about and consider other people during the planning process, at the end of the day, it’s YOUR DAY and what you want matters the most. I say each of these things partly because, to some extent, they’re bits of advice I didn’t always follow myself and I wish I had."

Another priority when planning their day was to keep things light and fun, so the couple made sure to set aside plenty of time for dancing, bought bubble wands and bubble guns for guests, had a donut cake and wall, a s’mores bar and fire pits, plus, a dance floor full of metallic streamers, neon signage and disco balls to get the party started! "Our family loves dancing and I knew we’d be spending a lot of time on the dancefloor, hence my wanting to deck it out and make it a little disco- and bubble-filled spot to boogie the night away. I also love disco music and 70s vibes, so it felt right", the bride says.

The newlyweds made the most of their band and DJ for their first dance, with a fun noughties throwback. "Our first dance was to “My Boo” by Usher and Alicia Keys. Josh and I met in middle school in 2005 and we both loved (and still love) 00s R&B music. We knew we wanted a throwback song for our first dance, something to take us back to those days when we first met. My Boo was it!"

After their busy wedding festivities, the couple jetted of to Germany and Italy, for their well-deserved honeymoon. The bride says, "I would definitely recommend it. Neither of us had been to Europe at all so it was a lot of fun exploring some European cities. In Germany we went to Munich and Füssen; in Italy we visited Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, and the Puglia region. Each had its own uniqueness and beauty. My personal favorites were Munich and Puglia."

Huge congratulations to Jessica and Josh! Thank you for sharing the beautiful stories of your boho forest wedding day with us. Thank you also to Ashley Carlascio Photography for sharing today’s imagery. You can also watch the couple's wedding video by World Love Weddings on One Fab Day right here.