A Fairytale Wedding at a Private Residence in Newport Coast, California

Gabriella Langston and Christopher Christian were first connected through Autumn, a mutual friend. Autumn has known Christopher since high school and married his best friend, and met Gabriella at a barn, who was the trainer for her daughter Natalie. According to Gabriella, it seemed like Autumn’s life mission to get her and Christopher to meet.

Through a picture and phone number exchange, Gabriella and Christopher slowly got to know each other, and a temporary game of phone tag led to conversations that materialized in several memorable dinners.

For their first encounter, Christopher flew in from Arizona to California. “My initial thought was, ‘Thank goodness, he looks like his picture,’” says Gabriella. “Christopher laughs now, but he told me that I should have dressed up a little more.”

It was Easter Sunday in 2018 when Christopher arranged for an airplane to pull a banner that read, “Gabbi Quinn will you marry me love CC.” Before the plane flew by the house where Gabriella’s friends and family were gathering, Christopher made sure it flew over his family’s house first to inform him of his Easter plans.

With the groom-to-be being a chef, food and handcrafted cocktails were two of the main details during the wedding planning process. “I took over from there,” Gabriella adds. “My amazing mother Michelle, the right wedding planner Vanessa, and I created my dream wedding. Flowers from a fairytale, music that sounded like the artist themselves, and a dress that made me feel like a princess.”

A classic June wedding unfolded, and the bride was thrilled to be marrying her best friend and confidant. The perfect romantic garden ambiance was set, guests were surrounded by an abundance of flowers, and champagne was steadily flowing. “Honestly, I wasn’t nervous – it was one of the easiest days of my life,” says the bride. 

“No stress, excited, and focused on putting on foot in front of the other walking down the aisle. Making sure everyone that came to the ceremony was recognized by a simple ‘Hello’ from their neighboring attendees set the tone that this wasn’t going to be your traditional black-tie event.”

“The feeling was truly amazing to see friends and family enjoying a night of love,” she continues. “Plus, when you find one of your friends passed out next to grandma, you know it was a wild night.”