Anyone who has visited LOHO Bride knows that owner Christy Baird doesn’t do traditional. The store’s name is an acronym for “League of Her Own,” and Christy lived up to that sentiment and more when she married LOHO co-founder and entrepreneur Brian Doxtator last fall.
The couple admit it wasn’t love at first sight. They met through work in San Francisco, and while they admired each other and were friendly, professionalism prevented them from crossing the line into flirtation. That boundary collapsed when they attended a mutual friend’s wedding in 2012. “I told him I would set him up with a few cute girlfriends, but as the weekend progressed, we ended up falling for each other,” Christy says. “We didn't see it coming, but being in an environment outside of work allowed us to drop the walls a bit and we surprised each other. We've been together ever since and have never looked back.”
The couple moved in together in 2014, around the same time they founded LOHO Bride, a commitment almost as significant as their marriage. Their relationship is one that works on both a personal and professional level. “We’re complete opposites, and as much as that can cause some barriers, it has also allowed us to learn the most from each other,” Christy says. “There’s beauty in filling each other’s voids.”
The engagement was just shy of their four-year anniversary, and a subject they’d already discussed. “I didn’t want to go ring shopping, I didn’t want a white diamond, and I wanted to be surprised,” Christy says. “Other than that, I left it up to Brian.”
Getting free rein over the design of a ring for a woman who has seen it all in the wedding world would be daunting for most, but not Brian, who “has excellent taste,” according to Christy. He enlisted the help of Christy’s friend Bliss Lau, a fine jewelry designer, and found their creative lead at the opening of the LOHO Bride flagship in Los Angeles: “I had asked Bliss to bring a huge variety of rings ‘for our models and staff to wear,’” Brian recalls. “An oval diamond ring caught Christy’s eye and we rolled with that as inspiration.”
Over the next few months, Brian and Bliss created “The Futurist”, a unique three-piece ring in yellow gold with a champagne diamond. “They created a ring that I never knew could exist, and I absolutely love it,” Christy says.
For the proposal itself, Brian had planned a surprise dinner with friends in San Francisco, but changed his mind at the last minute while they were visiting Christy’s family in Santa Cruz, CA. “That meant so much because it was a precious moment to share with them,” Christy says. “[Brian] woke up early to ask for my parent’s blessing over coffee… [Later] we walked out to a point on a bluff above the beach. I was so clueless, but so overwhelmingly happy. It was pure and unflashy, just like Brian. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
That surprise dinner back in San Francisco ended up being an engagement party with all of their closest friends—“a night we’ll never forget,” Brian says.
The couple planned their wedding with the help of Ashley Smith Events, but having worked with many brides themselves, they had firm ideas about what they wanted. “We definitely wanted a weekend affair, which is why we chose to have the wedding on a Friday with a recovery brunch and pool party on Saturday,” Christy says. “[For] so many brides, the regret always seems to be that they didn’t have enough time to socialize with their loved ones, so we looked at Saturday as a chance to really be with our friends once the wedding was over.”
Neither Brian nor Christy are fans of traditional, “overly decorated” weddings. “The venue had to bring the wow factor on its own,” Christy explains. “The Frederick Loewe Estate [in Palm Springs] ended up stealing our hearts because it was so quintessentially Midcentury; not contrived in any way.” The couple regularly escape to Palm Springs on weekends, too. “The swanky vibe and warm weather is hard to beat,” Christy says.
The couple’s Midcentury aesthetic ran like a thread through every element of the wedding, beginning with the invites by Goods Gang and paper goods by Jen Kay, with illustrations by Tabitha Hope. Guests were invited to “Meet the Doxtators,” a phrase that became the wedding hashtag.
The couple took advantage of their spectacular venue with a pre-wedding shoot with Sarah Falugo, a BAZAAR.com top wedding photographer, and loads of footage for their wedding video by Gold & Gumption. “We didn’t do a first look or engagement photos, so we wanted a moment with our incredible photographer to do an editorial with my yellow [Toni Maticevski] dress and Brian’s 1969 Mustang Mach 1,” Christy explained. “They ended up being some of our favorite photos of the weekend because it wasn’t rushed and we could really utilize the architecture of our venue, without the pressure of a wedding day timeline.” Christy completed her look with a single Balenciaga earring and Miu Miu heels. Brian wore his wedding tuxedo, by Ralph Lauren Purple Label, with Gucci boots.
The yellow dress was the first of three by Maticevski that Christy would wear that weekend. “Owning two bridal stores was a blessing and a curse,” she says. “Ideally, I wanted to wear LOHO designers, but when you’re curating for numerous brides, your store doesn’t always reflect your personal taste completely… I [also] felt weird going to other bridal stores or designers [to shop].”
As it turns out, Maticevski was a new addition to the LOHO offering. “[Toni] sent in a handful of gowns from Australia, and I ended up falling for my ceremony gown from that selection,” Christy says.
While Christy’s second Maticevski gown, Balenciaga earring and Acne heels might have suggested otherwise, the couple’s rehearsal gathering was intentionally low-key. “We did the rehearsal at the venue, [followed by] a very casual party at a place called Bar,” Christy says. “It reminded us of a dive bar in San Francisco… Because our wedding was formal, we wanted a relaxed environment the night before.”
The décor for the wedding day itself reflected LOHO’s minimal, down-to-Earth yet modern aesthetic. “We purposely picked a venue that didn’t need a lot of dressing,” Christy said. Solar-powered light balls dotted the estate; clear beach balls mirrored them in the pool.
Christy wore the third of her Maticevski looks for the ceremony: a single-shouldered corseted gown with a customized, super-long square train and Pierre Hardy black heels. Hairstylist Christine Symonds styled her hair in a low chignon with a Jennifer Behr black net face veiling, while Danielle Frankel pearl drop earrings grazed her collarbones. Her makeup, by Jen Tioseco, was understated with the focus on flawless skin and a nude, matte lip. The bridesmaids’ dresses, from Cortana, A La Robe and Halston Heritage, adhered to the wedding palette of mustard yellow, blush, black and gold. They also wore Jennifer Behr headpieces, along with gold jewelry by Kamryn Dame. The groomsmen’s suits were by The Black Tux.
For Christy and Brian, the highlight of the ceremony was surprising their 165 guests with a gospel choir. “It’s an inside joke that I’ve always loved Sister Act 2 and we wanted to throw everyone off somehow,” Christy explains. “We found a fabulous gospel group called RAISE, and had them dress formal as wedding guests, so our friends and family had no idea what was coming. Our officiant introed them in her welcome, and they stood up, put their robes on and started singing ‘Oh Happy Day’… It was not only hilarious, but it helped me loosen up before my vows because I was incredibly nervous.”
After the vows, guests were photographed upon arrival to the reception in front of a concrete backdrop created by Jessie Browning, and enjoyed cocktails on daybeds from LOHO and loungers from Flexible Love. A formal dinner by Room Forty followed on the grounds of the estate. Long tables were decorated with floral arrangements by Eothen that complemented both the architecture of the estate and the arid Palm Springs landscape. ACV Studio vases and LaTavola and Hensley linens elevated the tabletop, while string lights and a Paul Simon soundtrack set the mood. The menu included a smoked tomato bisque, and a main course choice of Atlantic cod or braised beef. Mochi ice cream was passed out instead of wedding cake for dessert.
For the reception, Christy wore a dress by Odylyne with long sleeves, puff shoulders, and a thigh-high hemline at the front. She teamed it with Nicholas Kirkwood heels and the same Danielle Frankel drop earrings she wore for her ceremony. “[Odylyne founder] Stephanie White is one of my best friends in LA, and we created my reception gown together two weeks before the wedding,” Christy says. “[It] gave me my ‘legs moment’ that I knew Brian would love.”
The first dance, to Charles Bradley’s ‘Loving You Baby’, made for an emotional moment. “We found out about [Bradley] in the beginning of our relationship and instantly fell in love with his music,” Christy says. “He got his first break around 2011 when he was in his mid-60s. You could say he had a five-year moment of fame, and it perfectly matches the years of Brian and I dating. He passed a month before we wed. Dancing to him as we entered this new chapter was even more emotional than we could ever imagine.”
The couple hosted an afterparty at Seymour’s, the new private bar from Palm Springs stalwart Mr Lyons. “Because our venue required us to stop the party at 10pm, we needed to know we could move on to somewhere later,” Christy says. “[DJ collective] Dart really brought the vibe and also set up a silent disco–they were a big thing at Treasure Island music festival in San Francisco, so it was an ode to those good times.”
Christy saved one final fashion surprise for guests at the afterparty. “Houghton designer Katharine Polk created a reflective skirt, bodysuit and fur [for me],” she says. “Combined with gold Manolo Blahnik over-the-knee boots, I quite literally felt like Beyoncé.”
It will come as little surprise that the couple’s friends describe them as the life of the party. “We finally threw the party of our lives,” Christy laughs. “[Our wedding planner] Ashley nailed it.”
But for all its polish and fashion moments, it was the intangible, sentimental aspects of the wedding that were most memorable for the couple and their guests. “I think our wedding was real and people just felt that,” Christy says. “It’s something we can’t overly explain; it just felt right.”
The. End.
Tamara Abraham is a UK-based journalist and the former Managing Editor at Business of Fashion. She spent six years in New York where she launched and ran the fashion and lifestyle team at Dailymail.com. Now back in her native London, she writes on fashion, lifestyle and royals for publications including Grazia, the i Paper, and of course, BAZAAR.com.
