“It’s the stuff of childhood day dreams,” Erica Sheerin and Daniel Davis share about their earliest encounter. Erica had started a new job at The Walt Disney Company, and in an attempt to get to know her new coworkers, allowed them to make a dating profile for her. As luck would have it, her “fairy godmother” friends carefully selected Daniel. “We grew up three miles away from one another, but it took 28 years to meet in a tiny Starbucks,” Daniel muses.
It wasn’t long before the two began dating; and even though Daniel’s job took him down to Orange County, they worked twice as hard to ensure the distance didn’t take a toll on their relationship. “I knew she was the one – I wasn’t about to let her get away,” says Daniel. “I decided to propose while we were in Iceland with Erica’s family, because I knew it would mean the world for her to be able to share the experience with them.” Daniel kept it a secret from everyone; and on a cliff in Dyrhólaey, in the middle of fierce, Gale-force winds, he dropped to one knee.
"I KNEW SHE WAS THE ONE – I WASN’T ABOUT TO LET HER GET AWAY."
As true Los Angeles natives, Erica and Daniel wanted their wedding location to reflect the storied heritage of the city. Through her work with the Junior League of Los Angeles, Erica fell in love with the Jonathan Club. Partnering with Tessa Brand of Tessa Lyn Events, the wedding décor was designed to emphasize and complement the surroundings. “We wanted the wedding to fit the space, rather than change the space to fit a certain kind of wedding,” Erica shares. “We wanted our guests to look at the space and know it was a January wedding. It’s not often that you attend a winter wedding, and we wanted to embrace it.”
The bride wore something borrowed, blue, old, new, and even had an 1834 sixpence in her shoe – a relic from her father’s childhood coin collection. Erica wanted a wedding dress inspired by the one her mother wore, but her father was the one who found the winning gown. “I promised I’d try on anything he selected, and on his first try, he quietly dug this dress out of a mass of white dresses in the back of a showroom,” Erica recalls.
Even the invitations were a sentimental detail for the couple. The calligraphy was done by artist Paul Ruscha, a dear family friend who wrote Erica’s parent's wedding invitation and her baby announcement. Struggling to find a song for their first dance, Daniel surprised his bride with a brilliant and touching idea – friend DJ Cabrillo mixed a custom song comprised of music by Miles Davis and Ed Sheeran, musically paying homage to the union of both family surnames.
“The dance floor was always full,” Daniel describes. “By the end of the night, everyone was tossing flower petals in the air, singing passionately to Journey. That feeling of joy is something I’ll never forget. To be surrounded by so much love is truly a blessing.”
The newlyweds spent their honeymoon along Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
WEDDING TALENT
Planner: Tessa Lyn Events, Los Angeles, CA: Wedding Dress: Gemy Maalouf; Bridal Salon: The White Dress, Corona Del Mar, CA; Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss; Linen: Luxe Linen, Carson, CA
