The Brides Hosted a Whimsical Los Angeles Wedding Filled With Butterflies and Chartreuse Details
When fashion designer Ariel Rezek opened up her Raya account, she didn’t intend on coming across documentary photographer Lindsay Apatow. “Due to a glitch in the system, my profile, which wasn’t supposed to appear in searches for women, somehow showed up on Lindsay’s page,” shares Ariel, the founder of Rezek Studio. “It kind of felt like the universe was stepping in. I was intrigued and flattered, and from that very first message, there was an instant connection.” The Los Angeles–based pair would not both be in the city for the following two months, so they first built a genuine friendship through conversation. “That made our eventual meeting all the more meaningful,” she says.
Lindsay says she knew by their third date that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Ariel. “I could hardly wait to propose,” she says. “By the third month of dating, I already knew the exact kind of diamond ring she loved. I had the ring in my hands by the sixth month, originally planning to propose on our one-year anniversary.” However, Lindsay could hardly hold back her excitement and decided to pop the question a month earlier when the couple went on a birthday trip for Ariel to The Parker Palm Springs in April 2023. “It felt like the perfect opportunity. We’d always talked about wanting our proposal to be something private—something just for us,” says Lindsay. “So, on the morning of her birthday—with the ring safely stashed under my pillow all night—I asked her to marry me before she’d even had her first sip of coffee. And we’ve been celebrating ever since.”
When it came to choosing their wedding location, Ariel already had a venue in mind. “I have had photos of Tony Duquette’s Dawnridge Estate saved on my computer since 2018 when it was a location option for Rezek Studio’s first campaign,” she says. “It didn’t happen, but I always had it in the back of my mind as a beautiful place to one day get married. As soon as we got engaged, we had a tour planned within days.” The couple fell in love with the estate’s maximalist design, bold color, and Art Deco touches. “Stepping into Dawnridge felt like stepping into another world without leaving Los Angeles, and this was the feeling we wanted to create for our wedding guests. A night full of surprises, magic, whimsy, and romance,” shares Ariel. The to-be-weds knew it was a perfect match and set the date for June 7, 2025. They also tasked Melissa Sullivan of Studio Sully with planning the celebration. “We knew she was the perfect person to bring that dream to life…she just gets it,” says Ariel. “Every detail, no matter how big or small, was executed with care, creativity, and so much heart.”
One of the details that would have a major moment throughout the design was butterfly motifs. “They’ve always held a special meaning for us…symbols of magic, transformation, and a kind of quiet beauty that’s become a good omen in our relationship,” shares Ariel. “The motif appeared all throughout the wedding; woven into all of the details.” One place guests could spot butterflies was within the dramatic flower arrangements by Ren MacDonald-Balasia of Renko Floral. “I knew from the start that flowers were my number-one priority,” says Ariel. “I envisioned something lush and romantic—like a traditional oil painting, but with brighter, more vibrant colors. I knew Ren could take that classic look and elevate it with the unique, extraordinary flowers she sources, creating something truly special and one-of-a-kind.”
Butterflies would also appear in both of the brides’ attire on their wedding day. For Lindsay’s look, she hoped to curate an ensemble that fit her vision of “black-tie cowboy.” She explains, “Western influence has always been a part of my personal style…woven into the details, the silhouettes, the attitude of how I present myself. So when it came time to design my wedding suit, I knew I wanted to elevate that everyday sensibility into something worthy of the occasion.” Lindsay tapped Los Angeles–based suiting brand High Society to help craft the look. “We designed a black double-breasted suit with a flared pant—a silhouette that nodded to traditional Western tailoring while pushing it into something more refined and more fashion-forward,” she shares. “It was the cowboy suit of my dreams: sharp, kinda sexy, and unapologetically personal.” Since every cowboy needs their hat, Lindsay turned to hat maker Nick Fouquet to create a custom, black felt design adorned with a vintage silver butterfly she sourced for the day. “I finished the look with a pair of Nick Fouquet x Lucchese cowboy boots, which were cool and unapologetically Western,” says the bride.
Lindsay’s favorite fashion detail, however, was something that no guest could see. “Hidden inside the jacket and hat was a custom silk lining, printed with a scribbled note Ariel had given me on our third date. Just three words: ‘I love you,’” she shares. “Knowing that message was with me, literally stitched into the fabric, made the entire look feel even more meaningful. It was the kind of detail only we knew about, and somehow, that made it all the more special.”
Ariel always knew that she wanted to design her own custom dress that felt deeply personal for her wedding day. Her inspiration came from a photograph she found of her grandmother Yvonne’s wedding in the ’30s. “In the image she stood in a satin gown with cascading fabric, framed by a dramatically long veil that billowed around,” she explains. “I was immediately taken with the elegance of the Art Deco period. I knew that I wanted to design a gown that honored that legacy while telling my own story.” Ariel decided to weave together elements of the image with the ethos of her brand Rezek Studio in collaboration with Noa Fineout. “At the heart of the look was a custom corset, hand-embroidered with delicate silk butterflies and florals in a muted, Deco color palette. It was a labor of love, blending my style and silhouettes with the romanticism of a bygone era,” she explains. At the last minute, she decided to swap a more classic veil for one that was adorned with butterflies. “That whimsical detail turned out to be one of my favorites, as it added a layer of magic and made the whole look feel uniquely mine,” says the bride.
While the couple didn’t have a wedding party, they did emphasize to guests that chartreuse would be the color of the night. “It was woven through everything from our guests’ black-tie gowns down to the table linens. It was a bold thread tying the whole celebration together, drawn straight from Rezek Studio’s signature palette,” shares Ariel. Custom attire for servers and performers in the color by the designer also helped create a colorful cohesion throughout the event.
