I’ve talked about this before, but I really need to stress it for this post – I am not a wedding person. I don’t have the bride gene. When I see a show about picking out the perfect wedding gown, I change the channel to a rerun of Law & Order: SVU. Fluffy white gowns, seating arrangements, wedding waltzs, floral arrangements, all of that stuff that brides seem to obsess over – I just don’t care. This is probably one of the many reasons why I’m not married (that, and I’m not a baby person either). If and when I ever get married, it will not be some big thing. I’ll either elope, or go down to a court house while wearing a suit, or maybe something really, really simple with, like, barely anyone there and just a lot of food.
So imagine my surprise when I was reading even more details of Reese Witherspoon’s weekend wedding (go here for yesterday’s post about her nuptials), I found myself thinking, “Damn, that sounds really nice.” Reese invited lots of A-listers to her wedding (RDJ!), but she kept everything really down-home and Southern and the whole thing sounds really cool:
When Reese Witherspoon wed Jim Toth at her Ojai, Calif. ranch on Saturday evening, the couple was 90 miles north of Los Angeles — but the vibe of the night was a universe away from Hollywood glitz! UsMagazine.com has brand-new details on the Oscar winner’s big-time nuptials.
In a courtyard in front of the Ojai house, the Monique Lhuillier-clad actress, 35, and CAA agent Toth, 40, exchanged vows and William Goldberg wedding bands beneath a canopy.
About 120 family members and friends– including Sean Penn, Scarlett Johansson, Renee Zellweger, Tobey Maguire and wife Jennifer Meyer, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew McConaughey and love Camila Alves, Alyssa Milano, Colin Hanks, Isla Fisher and hubby Sacha Baron Cohen– were on hand for the bash.Reverend Jimmy Bartz, of the Santa Monica church regularly attended by the couple, officiated the 20-minute service, and Witherspoon’s children (with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe) Ava, 11, and Deacon, 7, participated in the ceremony.
Matron of honor duties went to Witherspoon’s best friend Heather Rosenfield, whose little boys served as ring bearers; the star’s nieces were flower girls.
In a fitting turn for the Southern-born actress, a bluegrass band played “Tennessee Waltz” as the processional music for Toth and the kids, segueing to “Here Comes the Bride” for Witherspoon’s walk, and playing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” during the ceremony.
Immediately following the “I do” exchange, guests retreated to a one-hour cocktail party behind the house.
The special night’s theme? Rustic, farm-style, of course! (At her bucolic Ojai spread, Witherspoon gardens and keeps horses, donkeys, pigs, goats and chickens.) The outdoor decor included lanterns and chandeliers hanging from trees, mismatched antique chairs and distressed benches set throughout the property, a wood plank dance floor, antique leather sofas, jute rugs, wago wheels and Turkish textile pillows.
Different arrangements of white, blush and lavender flowers were set up on each table in mason jars, fish catcher lanterns and antique pots. And large moss-covered pots with lavender were set up all over the estate.
When it was time for dinner, guests sat down at long tables in a fabric-lined tent behind the house. On the menu, catered by L.A. eatery Lucques: endive salad with olives and fava beans; wild striped bass with potatoes, chanterelles and garlic; mustard grilled chicken with haricort vert and herb roasted lamb with braised artichokes. For dessert? A grand wedding cake designed by Erica O’Brien, a separate table of sweet treats — and a s’mores lounge!
After the meal, guests boogied on the dance floor to DJ-spun tunes. When it was time to call it a night, revelers departed clutching gift bags with pecan currant scones from a local baker.
Says a pal of the couple, who began dating in January 2010: “They feel like they’ve hit the jackpot in this relationship!”
[From Us Weekly]
Okay, if and when Gerard Butler/Michael Fassbender/Ralph Fiennes wants to marry me and he really wants a big, Hollywood wedding, we’re doing it like this. I like Reese’s plan, and I would happily copy it. Now Gerard just needs to buy me a big ring. And Michael needs to rest up for the honeymoon.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Well it sounds nice. I guess. But weddings don’t do it for me either. And for 2nd, 3rd, etc, weddings, I’m of the less is more school of thought. I wish them years and years of happiness.
Tango – Wasn’t Reese knocked up for her last wedding, though? I think her first wedding (the shotgun one) was the low-key one, and this was her chance to have the wedding of her dreams.
That really does sound nice and I’m kind of meh about Witherspoon (though I do tend to like her acting).
So her ex husband was there, after all! I think that’s nice. He got to be there with the kids, and I assume it was all friendly.
Yeah…she was knocked up for her first wedding. I think this wedding sounds great….it’s really a big Southern party and that’s what a wedding should be, a big party with your closest family and friends.
Awwwww!, sounds sweet
It sounds cool, but what I’m really wondering is if there was sweet tea there? 🙂
I like her with her perky hair and beautiful earrings.
My former in-laws forced a wedding upon me when all I wanted to do was elope. I really did not enjoy my wedding and that was probably an early sign that it wasn’t right.
I tell my boyfriend now all the time that IF we were to ever marry I would only do it if we eloped. I think it would give his ultra controlling mother a heart attack.
But… Reese’s does sound like something I’d like.
Some of those A-listers are actually her new hubby’s clients, so that might explain the inclusion of so many at what was otherwise an intimate (by Hollywood standards) affair.
Sounds like a nice time and I wish them a lifetime together, but I’m of the Lainey mind-set that the timing of this is awfully convenient (they only just got engaged a couple of months ago and have barely been dating more than a year, and Reese is in need of a hit and she just happens to have Water for Elephants opening shortly) – particularly now that magically so many of the specific wedding details have found their way to People and US Weekly so quickly.
It sounds very nice. Like a fun party, where everyone could relax and enjoy good drinks and food and music. Most large weddings are stiff and boring.
Sounds like it was a lot of fun though if it was me I would have reconsidered the Sean Penn Scar Jo invite…they might get too many ewwww ideas.
Did anybody else giggle when they saw “(…)including Sean Penn, Scarlett Johansson (…)” ? 😛
Please please please stop shilling for this woman. I am so sick of hearing about her wedding already and she hasn’t even been on the cover of US Weekly in her dress yet. Too many details, too much information, it feels very over sold (to me anyway).
Aww, that’s just what I wanted for mine… except it turns out it either takes a lot of $$ or time and effort to pull off the casual outdoor picnic thing. I had to settle and I will always regret it.
@merski, yup, big snicker here.
I think she has done the full circle many women go through before finding the right guy.. Ryan was her wild crazy/HOT love stage.. Jake younger man but some women do an older guy..then she finds that GROWN ASS MAN .. that wants to build a life with.
good for her..
Not sure about the PR thing. if anything in my mind she wants to get pregnant and soon if she is not already. I mean she dated Jake for a few years.. this relationship went fast, but hey when you find the right person why wait. I have a friend whose parents met and were married within a month. still together happy 33 years later.
I don’t see how a wedding equals BO success. Yes she needs a hit, but so does that Rob guy outside those Twilight films. I mean do people see films because you get married or photographed walking the in the streets.
This relationships has been more public I will say that, but who knows.
never considered myself a not-a-wedding person but holy bride was that UsWeekly quote long, unnecessary and boring! usually love your posts but couldn’t get through this one, sorry.
@lisa…ITA.
@merski: Yes.
I’ve always liked her. She seems really sweet. Congrats to her and new husband.
It sounds like a nice wedding, but “Tennessee Waltz” is a really weird choice for that kind of event.
I think it sounds like a blast!! And I love the music choices 🙂
I’m the marriage type, but not the wedding type either. I don’t like a lot of the stuff to do with weddings, wearing the veil, for instance. I tried to plan a wedding when I first got engaged 20 years ago but was too busy to deal with it, so we bagged it and eloped to Bermuda. Never regretted it.
Reese’s wedding does sound very nice. Wish her the best.
“…something really, really simple with, like, barely anyone there and just a lot of food.”
Yes Kaiser, EXACTLY how I feel. I really don’t get the need to spend thousands and thousands of dollarson a party – I’d rather spend it on the lavish honeymoon.
Good for Reece! Sounds like she and new hubby planned a lovely evening and did it up right in a way that suited her Southern sensibility. (Aww, and who doesn’t love the Tennessee Waltz?)
Jake was the “bearding/being just good pals because I didn’t want to deal with a real romantic relationship until I met and started secretly dating Jim Toth” stage.
they were together even when she was still with jakey….so the relationship wasn’t really rushed.
This sounds like a great wedding in that if something wrong were to happen, it wouldn’t be a big deal. know what i mean? just a great and memorable time.
I would’ve prefer to go to this wedding over Wills’ and Kate’s wedding next month. But since Wills and Kate have begged for my presence I guess I will be there 😉
Very best wishes to the bride and groom. Reese is a very classy woman, and her wedding suited her perfectly. All of the details reflected her love of family and home in Tennessee.
endive salad with olives and fava beans; wild striped bass with potatoes, chanterelles and garlic; mustard grilled chicken with haricort vert and herb roasted lamb with braised artichokes. For dessert? A grand wedding cake designed by Erica O’Brien, a separate table of sweet treats — and a s’mores lounge!
YEAH THAT MENU SOUNDS REALLY SOUTHERN =( NOT
Good on her for having her wedding how she wanted it.
Hubs & I married on the beach (in bare feet) with my parents, kids, and our 2 closest friends. It was lovely.
got married on a beach in maui at sunset, with exactly 11 guests…..and dinner at a fab restaurant…it was perfect we all ordered off the menu
lol fresh and simple.
we’ve been married well over a decade….
worked for us.
we had a big party 6 weeks later in CA, where the rest of the friends and family came to celebrate; catered mexican, had cake again, etc.
Oh, we invited everyone to hawaii; you just know not everyone can make/afford it….that way you are not excluding, but still get the wedidng you want.
i knew i would have been too distracted to enjoy my wedding, if there were a hundred guests there….too nervous/anxious and just not fun for me.
this was great.
you can do mexico, hawaii, bali (we thought of that),italy, etc. and combine it with your honeymoon. Whoever can come, great. The important thing is that you and your spouse-to-be will be there.
lrm, we too had a small wedding — 14 people, I think, including our friend who married us and all our immediate family. We had lots of good food catered afterward, then got home early so we could fly out for our honeymoon the next morning. We later had receptions in each of our hometowns and a big party at our house for our friends. Lovely, and I think the entire thing, including honeymoon, was $5000 (15 years ago).
I’m amazed at how much money couples spend on their wedding.It’s almost as much as a down payment for a house!
Weird guest list.
Aww, it sounds like it was lovely. 😀
I did have the big fairy tale wedding. Two Italian families-350 people, but it was beautiful and felt intimate due to where we had it. I never regretted it and it was 22 years since I met hubby this week and 17 years of marriage this week. I was 25, I wanted the whole she-bang, as I was only doing it once.
For a second wedding, I think you should go small, not such a huge deal.
My first wedding was me, my ex husband, the judge, and the clerk. Needless to say, when I married my husband this time around we did the whole shebang – big white dress, veil, dad walking me down the aisle. We did keep it small though, to less than 40 people. It was exactly what we wanted and I can’t imagine ever marrying someone else.
I hope she has a long and happy marriage.
I think it sounds lovely too.
I was reading an article about Water for Elephants (which looks great despite the Twilight guy) in EW, and they asked her if she was getting married that weekend and she said no, silly rumors, or something like that.
Looooove Reese! She rocks! Though I am quite surprised no one here even brought up how ScarJo brought Sean Penn as her date to this event!
I’m with you, I’m loving it! all boho-chic, mossy rocks, pigs and chickens. And I haven’t quite heard of one like that before, so good for Reese. i hope there are photos somewhere…..mostly weddings bore me, but I never forget how that Sigler chick from the Sopranos had wedding cookies with her and the grooms photo on them…..
I eloped the first time and would do it again!
REESE and her children are SO SWEET! I wish them good luck.
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