Today is my husband Yoni and my 1 year wedding anniversary! We eloped last year, on June 11, 2019 at the Santa Barbara courthouse. We had grand plans to have an overseas honeymoon on our first anniversary this year, but obviously our plans have been put on hiatus indefinitely. Instead of celebrating with a vacation, we are celebrating digitally with all of you.

I've always wanted to elope, but convincing my husband took a lot of time and work (we were engaged for 3 years before getting married!), but our simple Santa Barbara elopement ended up being the best day of both of our lives, and was even featured in Harper's Bazaar; https://www.harpersbazaar.com/wedding... and People; https://people.com/style/celebrity-ha...

Our engagement and wedding came at a particularly busy time in my career and I felt daunted by the thought of having to plan a wedding. We even met with wedding planners, but the idea still overwhelmed us so we never got around to planning something. We finally decided it would be best to elope and celebrate this special moment in our lives without any stress or pressure.

I was so inspired by Bianca Jagger's courthouse wedding, so I knew I wanted to wear a suit and hat. I asked Michael Costello if he would be comfortable designing something for both Yoni and I, and in just a few weeks he came up with the perfect fit.

We had the best day, driving up the coast in a Mustang, to the beautiful Santa Barbara courthouse. I grew up in the Santa Barbara area and it's where Yoni and I met. We used to live a couple blocks away from the courthouse and would walk there on the weekends for outdoor movie nights and picnics. It's one of the most beautiful courthouses in the world and a popular wedding destination. I actually spent the early years of my career doing hair and makeup for weddings in Santa Barbara, so it felt full circle and nostalgic to be back.

We decided to get married at 11:11am, as 11 is my lucky number and particularly auspicious. I even consulted with an astrologer who advised the 11th of June around 11am would be the ideal time to wed given both our charts.

After tying the knot, we drove to my hometown of Carpinteria, CA and went to a local burger stand, The Spot. We took our food to the bluffs overlooking the ocean and enjoyed it with the view and our puppy Cashew.

We spend the next couple nights at one of Santa Barbara's most beautiful hotels, the Belmond El Encanto, surrounded by nature. It was truly a peaceful and magical experience.

My husband Yoni has been my biggest supporter since we first met. I feel so lucky to have a partner who encourages me to be the best version of myself without any judgement or jealousy. I may be more spontaneous than he is, but he keeps me grounded and we always have a great time together. I think the best thing about our relationship, besides complete trust, is how much fun we have. We love making each other laugh and he is the most optimistic person I know.

We met at a time when we were both young. Before meeting, I had written on a piece of paper everything I wanted in a partner. Within weeks, we met and knew something was different. After being in a few young and unhealthy relationships, I made the decision to be completely upfront and the truest version of myself around him. I didn't want to play games or try to fit myself into a mold of what I thought he wanted. I realized that the only way to find the right relationship was to find someone who saw and appreciated the truest version of myself. Instead of second guessing my actions around him or wondering if I should or shouldn't do something, every time I questioned myself I decided to just do what I wanted to do instead of succumbing to self doubt. After confessing this to him later, he revealed he had the same revelation with himself and went into our relationship with similar intentions.

My best advice to anyone single and looking for a relationship would be the truest version of yourself, to trust each other, and know that if the two of you are meant to be together, there is no need to doubt yourself or play games. Allow yourself to accept the love you deserve and believe that you deserve it. In fact, when we first started dating everything was so great, I would get scared that there had to be a 'catch,' and something was bound to go wrong, but I realized that was conditioning. Instead, whenever those thoughts creeped in, I would tell myself that there wasn't always a catch and things were allowed to be good. I reminded myself that I was worthy of love, and I hope you will too.

I am so proud of this video, created by our friend Blair Brown;   / blairbbrown   who truly captured the essence of our wedding day.

Song is 'Petals' by Tops.

Thank you for watching!