Who What Put on Weddings: Hannah Anderson and Bradley Mackeson

“The night before, we had an intimate rehearsal dinner with just immediate family and whoever was in the ceremony.”  

“We did a walk-through of the ceremony, and then Brad’s parents provided dinner for us.” 

“I wore a Hill House dress, and my footwear have been from Hereu. I wanted to keep it really simple and easy! [My friend] Anica gifted me the bow at my bridal shower, so I thought that would be fun to wear for the rehearsal. [She] also helped me coordinate the day of the wedding [and] threw a beautiful bridal shower for me the week prior to the wedding for the L.A. girls. It was perfect! One of her best friends, Alana Jones-Mann, made a vintage-style wedding cake that said ‘Mrs. Mackeson’ on it. I wept when I saw it.”

WWW Weddings tip: “Go with the flow!”

“I got ready with a few of my girlfriends. We didn’t have a bridal party or groomsmen, but I at least wanted the experience of getting ready with my girls! My friends Caileigh, Carly, Emma, and Anica all helped me prep tablescapes and décor and then stayed to get ready with me. It was so much fun!” 

“I wore a vintage yellow slip dress that I thrifted. It was so chic and delicate! Unplanned, a few of the other girls wore vintage slips too! It was meant to be.”

“I wanted the beauty to feel kind of ’60s mod but didn’t want to feel like I was in a costume. I did my own makeup and hair and felt really good. I felt the most me I have ever felt.” 

WWW Weddings tip: “There is a lot of pressure when it comes to planning your wedding. Choose your battles! Find things that you’re willing to be more relaxed with, and find the things that are the most important to you and stick with them. For me, that was my dress and my guest list!”

“Being that the wedding was going to be outside, I wanted something shorter. I have been obsessed with ShuShu/Tong for a while and started scouring the internet for a white piece from them and ended up finding this piece on Ssense. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one.”

“Since the dress was cropped, I almost went with an extra-long veil until I saw this cropped veil on Etsy and loved it.” 

“My outfit came together so perfectly—it was meant to be. I had tried on more traditional gowns, but they didn’t feel like me.”

“The shoes I got online at Pêche. The floral, the jacquard—what more could you need? I paired the shoe with a sheer white knee-high sock. I made my earrings! My pearl mini purse is vintage. I thrifted it in Palm Beach the week after my Miami bachelorette trip this summer.”

“How we dress and our fashion choices are a form of nonverbal communication to the exterior world,” says Mackeson as he stocks the main points of his glance. “It’s a way we can subtly communicate our values to others. As an artist and person, I’m especially inspired by the people and art of the mid-’60s the early ’70s. Peace, love, freedom, and open-mindedness. I also love the sophistication and clean lines of late ’50s and ’60s mod.”

“Another defining aspect of my person is a resilient ‘never say die’ independent attitude and gusto, so I knew I wanted to get a little Western grit in the mix. I’m all about peace and love, but I still want people to take me seriously. You know what I mean? A distinguished gentleman who likes his LSD and isn’t afraid to rough it when he has to.

“With that during thoughts, I was at paintings surfing impaired antique fits on Etsy and eBay. I knew I sought after one thing a minute weighty for me so I may tailor it to my wishes. Nearest a lot looking out, I ran throughout an ivory ’90s zoot swimsuit that had a mod vibe to it! Nearest taking a large amount of dimension off the jacket (if you happen to’ve perceivable a zoot swimsuit, you realize what I’m speaking about), I had the tailor upload a intriguing flare to the pants. No longer plethora to be the focal, however plethora to can help you know. I additionally knew this could pair neatly with my boots and hyperlink the Western facets of the glance.”

“My favorite part of the look, other than the snakeskin boots, is the vintage Western ribbon tie. I found both the ribbon tie and boots on Etsy. In 2020, my wife and I founded our record label SlickPony Records as a place to release our music. The tie has a hand-stitched mirrored image of two horses. For me, this represents the duality of our feminine and masculine energy coming together and joining in union.” 

“Our venue was Brad’s parents’ backyard. They live on a river, and it felt like the perfect setting.” 

“Brad’s parents, Dean and Shireen, did a lot of work to prepare the property. Shireen planted this wonderland garden that bloomed perfectly for the wedding.”

“We had gone between doing a Joshua Tree wedding (where we first connected) to a Hawaii wedding (where we got engaged) and ended up landing on the river.”

Hannah and Brad on the venue.

“Because we didn’t use a venue, we had to source everything from tables to kitchen gear for our chef to tables and chairs. Brad’s mom sourced all of our vintage dishware from estate sales, Facebook Marketplace, and thrift shops.”

WWW Weddings tip: “I didn’t hire a planner for my wedding and think it would’ve actually been amazing to have a third-party mediator for details, seating, etc. Tensions may get high during planning, so whatever you can do to alleviate those tensions I highly recommend.”

WWW Weddings tip (from the groom): “Weddings can be very overwhelming—not only for you but also your parents and family. At some points, it may not even feel worth it. My advice to you is that it is worth it. Once the ceremony starts, it’s all love. Stay present and enjoy the beautiful moment with your loved ones.”

“Although we both grew up in religious families, we aren’t religious in any way now. We have done things quite differently from our families, and in planning the wedding, my friend Emma sent me this quote from Bert Hellinger called ‘The Black Sheep.’ When I read it, I wept. Brad and I both agreed this would be the theme of our wedding, which is why we put the black sheep illustration on the invitation.

“‘The unlit sheep, those that don’t adapt, those that yell rebelliously, play games a plain function inside of every kin gadget. They restore, pick out up, and assemble brandnew and spread branches within the kin tree. Thank you to those contributors, our timber renew their roots. Its insurrection is productive landscape. Its insanity is H2O that nourishes. Its stubbornness is brandnew wind. Its pastime is fireplace that reignites the bright of the guts of the ancestors.'”

“Jonpaul, who officiated, also wanted to photograph throughout the night. He asked if he could shoot photos during the ceremony. It was so sweet and playful.”

The couple celebrating post-ceremony. 

“My nephews were the ring bearers, and I had three flower girls. The boys wore matching baby-blue plaid vests and trousers with little patent black-and-white schoolboy oxford shoes. The girls wore white puffy dresses with knee-high navy socks that I embroidered baby-blue flowers on.”

The bride’s and groom’s households. 

“The overall vision was an end-of-summer garden party. I knew the garden and outdoor scenery would really make the night, so apart from that, I didn’t want to have too much additional décor.” 

“Everyone got an embroidered napkin for dinner. This was the take-home keepsake from the evening. I spent weeks and weeks embroidering these! Thankfully, a friend let me borrow her embroidery machine so I didn’t have to do each one by hand.”

“I made paper flowers and paper-mache vases to put throughout the dinner tables. I realized at the last minute that I didn’t buy sign holders for the table numbers, so we propped up the numbers with river rocks. It ended up being a nice natural touch.”

“I hand-painted the entry sign and the seating chart with watercolor.”

“I also made this paper-mache angel that I hung at the entrance. He was the guardian angel of the night.”

WWW Weddings tip: “Remember why you’re doing this when it gets stressful! There’s a lot to plan, so many details, so many things to juggle. Just remember that this is about you and your partner and about sharing the love you have for each other with the most important people in your life. So special!” 

“For us, this whole wedding felt like a time and opportunity to showcase everything we are about—love, creativity, and community.”

“For our first dance, we danced to ‘Out the Blue’ by John Lennon. Our dog, Rufio, danced with us the entire time!”

“[Something] that used to be in point of fact notable for us used to be a family-style meal. Our pal Natalia Pereira of Woodspoon came to cook for us. We created a makeshift kitchen in Brad’s dad’s barn for her. My friends, Julie and Lori, and a couple of Natalia’s friends all rallied to make it possible for us. We had salmon, lamb, seasonal vegetables, Natalia’s signature potato salad, rice and beans with crispy pork, Asian pear salad, yucca fries, and more. It was phenomenal.”

“For our cake, we had a GF chocolate cake with a whipped coconut cream icing and loaded with seasonal, local fruits. I made the cake! We got all of the produce from Burns Farm in Troutdale. They grow some produce and work with local farmers to supply other meat and produce. It’s the cutest place ever.”

“The main vision I had for the reception was the dance party of the century, and I think we pulled that off.”

Visitors dancing on the reception. 

“I kept the same look on through the night—I just removed my veil and added my little grill. I had it custom-made for a video earlier this year and always love wearing it for parties! Brad’s mom had given me this antique floral crown that I had revamped and added gingham bows to, but I forgot to put it on!”

“Me and a few of the ladies ended the night with an icy river dip.”