- Dan and Leah Horne were married on June 3, 2023 in Big Sur, California.
- They decided to have a smaller wedding to have a good time with their guests.
- The decor is inspired by summer camp and their love of Greece.
Photos of the couple’s intimate wedding in Big Sur
by voiturerobert.com ·
A chance phone call between Dan and Leah Horne.
In 2018, Leah, 27, and Dan, 33, were both working in finance, and Leah ended up making a call to Dan because he was a client of her company. The conversation quickly veered away from professional topics as they spoke.
“We didn’t know what each other looked like, but we had good conversations,” Leah said.
“I really liked that her voice was completely honest, and I was drawn to it,” Dan said.
Leah was living in Charlotte, North Carolina at the time, and Dan was in Salt Lake City, Utah, but they continued to talk on the phone.
When Dan finally traveled to Charlotte a few months later to meet Leah, they were smitten, and Leah ended up inviting him to join her on a trip to Greece even though they barely knew each other. To her surprise, he said yes.
“Our family and friends definitely thought we were crazy, but it worked,” Leah said. “Since then, we have been inseparable.”
Today, the Horns live in Nashville, Tennessee. Leah owns the mental health company Damn Good Monday, and Dan works in the cryptocurrency industry.
They got engaged in March 2021 and decided to have a destination wedding to celebrate their love of travel.
Dan and Leah initially toyed with the idea of returning to Greece, where their relationship actually began, to tie the knot, but they decided to keep their wedding in the United States to make it easier for their families to attend.
They ended up choosing Big Sur, California, because it was beautiful and because Leah grew up in beach areas and Dan grew up in the mountains. It was the perfect marriage for their upbringing.
They hired Mariposa Events Company to plan their big day, and Asha Bailey photographed the event.
Dan and Leah decided early on in wedding planning that they wanted to have a smaller guest list.
As the Horns’ wedding plans began to come together, they realized they would need to “do the rounds” if they had a large wedding, spending most of their day greeting their guests.
“Dan and I looked at each other at one point during planning, and we were like, ‘The last thing we want is to miss time with each other and our guests because we just need to say hello,’” Leah said.
They decided to invite only 55 guests to their wedding.
The Horns said “I do” at a rented house overlooking the ocean.
Leah and Dan’s original wedding venue collapsed after being damaged by a mudslide, so they ended up choosing Wind & Sea Big Sur for their big day without ever seeing it in person.
“We just went through the pictures, and honestly, Dan and I are a very depressed, quiet couple,” Leah said. “We trusted our wedding planner and said, ‘We’ll get married on the side of the road if we have to.’
Fortunately, the place turned out to be perfect for them.
The Horns said their vows overlooking the ocean, and stayed in the estate’s 3,000-square-foot home on their wedding night.
Leah found her wedding dress during a trip to Paris.
“I knew I wanted something glamorous and flowy but still timeless,” Leah said of her vision for her wedding dress.
Leah accompanied Dan on a business trip to Europe, and while he was working, she wandered into a wedding dress store where she saw a dress designed by Dylan Parente in Paris. It was perfect.
The mermaid gown had a square neckline, sheer sleeves, and was covered in subtle sparkles. Ruffles covered the skirt that flowed into the train.
The sleeves of the dress were unique.
The sleeves were embroidered with interwoven strips of shiny ornaments.
“I wanted to feel glamorous and glamorous, and that’s how this dress made me feel,” Leah said of how she knew the dress was right for her.
Lea accompanied the look with a long veil, did her hair and makeup herself, and was only with her closest and dearest people while she was getting ready.
“I wanted to feel like I was getting ready with my friends before I got out of writing,” Leah said.
Dan wore a classic tuxedo to the wedding.
“He was like, ‘I don’t care if we do it on the beach or somewhere, but I definitely need to bring a James Bond vibe,'” Leah said of Dan’s approach to his wedding day look.
Richards Bespoke designed the tuxedo.
The picturesque reception was marked by white flowers.
“I wanted flowers everywhere,” Leah said of her vision for the ceremony. “I definitely wanted the party to be white and elegant.”
“We made sure there were only white flowers and greenery at the venue where the ceremony was held,” she added of the flowers provided by Mariposa Events.
Oversized arrangements lined the aisle, while they didn’t place flowers in the front so the surroundings would be clearly visible as they said their vows.
“During the ceremony and reception, there were whales,” Leah said. “Our guests have seen about seven to 10 whales along the ocean, which just added to the magic factor.”
The Horns compared their all-white ceremony to a colorful reception.
Dan and Leah chose whimsical decor for their reception inspired by their time in Greece.
“We chose these emerald green clear plates, and the place cards were lemons with people’s names on them,” Leah said.
Wildflower arrangements completed the tablescapes, and they also added disco balls to the area to enhance the party atmosphere.
“We wanted it to be just magic,” Leah said of the decor. “We do things that feel a little bit unconventional and off the beaten path, but we also wanted it to be composed and elegant and timeless.”
They also incorporated a camp atmosphere into the event.
Since their wedding was smaller, Dan and Leah wanted there to be a sense of camaraderie and fun among the guests, which they thought was the energy of summer camp.
For example, they added camp-inspired touches to their decor, such as baby showers stocked with drinks inside the canoe.
They also held a welcome cocktail hour the night before the wedding near the river, and guests could enjoy their feet while mingling.
Coordinating the shirts also helped incorporate the camp vibe.
T-shirts bearing the word “Horn” and the number 23, the year they married, were waiting on Dan and Leah’s chairs at the reception, giving them a memento of that day.
Mariposa Events Company employees also wore t-shirts, which was super fun because they introduced the entire staff to the event.
“Our wedding planner’s husband was the DJ, they were the chefs and they were the coordinators,” Leah told Insider about their DJ Hummus. “They actually played all the roles, which is truly amazing and miraculous.”
Having a small staff made it feel more intimate, Horns told Insider.
“There wasn’t anyone who didn’t need to be there if that makes sense,” Leah said.
Leah also changed into a short dress for the reception.
Leah’s best friend, Alicia Fraser, designed the reception dress, making it even more special.
The short dress had sheer sleeves, and the neckline was lined with daisy embellishments. Floral embellishments with subtle sparkles covered her bodice, highlighting her first dress perfectly.
The reception was relaxed and fun, just as the Horns wanted.
The Horns made sure their wedding looked like them.
“Dan and I created each playlist for every moment of that day,” Leah said, so they loved every song played at their wedding.
They also personalized the wedding by preparing a small wedding cake and offering various sweets to their other guests, and their gift bags contained edible items.
The reception made Leah and Dan even more grateful that they kept their guest list small.
“It was a relief to be honest,” Dan said. “We got to enjoy more time with each other, spend more intimate time with our friends and family, and it was, in my opinion, a better experience than spending limited time with 300 people.”
Leah said some of her favorite moments at the wedding happened while taking photos with the photographer.
“It was just me and Dan, and it felt very organic,” Leah said of the shoot with Billy. “With the way she films and takes pictures, I feel like her clients don’t know she’s there.”
They loved that taking photos gave them intimate moments with each other throughout their busy day.
“That was how Dan and I disappeared for a minute even though we were taking our pictures,” Leah said.
The Horns’ wedding planner also made sure their time at the venue was magical after their guests left.
“After the wedding, our planner was there and prepared the house for us,” Leah said.
Their planner set up star lights around the house and prepared fresh macaroni and cheese as a late-night snack.
“It was surreal sitting there in this dress that my best friend made, eating macaroni and cheese with my husband, and you could literally hear the sea lions on the rock that was wild,” Leah continued.
Their planner also set up baths for the Horns the day after the wedding in the Wind & Sea Big Sur outdoor pools to ensure they were completely relaxed after their big day.
When Leah and Dan look back at their wedding, they say they think about the people they celebrated with.
“It’s not like families get together a lot, especially if you’re spread out across the United States,” Dunn said. “The wedding coincided with Leah and I’s desire to travel, bringing everyone together in one place and everyone having their own adventure once they got there.”
The intimate wedding allowed everyone to spend time together, and the Horns said some of their guests planned a family reunion after bonding at the wedding.
“You just talked about the moment of intimacy and connection,” Dan said.
Dan and Leah can’t wait to continue having fun together now that they’re married.
“I love how honest, raw and unapologetic we are with each other, and I love how I can have a good time with Dan,” Leah said of her relationship with her husband. “It’s all fun. Going to the grocery store is fun.”
“Leah’s love and compassion for everyone around her is something I fell in love with very early on,” Dan said of his wife. “I’ve never met anyone like Leah before.”
