After being raised and educated in different parts of the country, Victoria Edmond and Lonnie Davis finally crossed paths in Indiana. It was a last minute decision for Victoria to specialize in radiology and accept a position at Indiana University, but in the final months of her residency, she discovered it was a great personal move as well. She and Lonnie, who was completing his residency in orthopedic surgery, began to see one another around the hospital. When the two finally had a chance to speak, sparks flew. Even a nurse who witnessed them exchanging numbers noticed. “She smirked and said, ‘Just make sure I’m invited to the wedding,’” remembers Victoria. Over the Valentine’s Day weekend, a little over two years from their first date, Lonnie surprised Victoria by asking her to marry him after a romantic dinner at L.A.’s Mondrian hotel.

Los Angeles is Victoria’s hometown, so it was important to the couple that the wedding take place in the City of Angels. However, with Victoria and Lonnie living in Indianapolis with hectic hospital schedules, planning was a challenge. The bride made monthly trips to L.A. to meet with various vendors and relied heavily on both the power of the Internet and her experienced coordinator and event designer, Sasha Souza, to put all the pieces together. She also received tremendous support and input from her groom. “I must say that Lonnie was much more involved and willing to help than most guys usually are or would be.”

Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills was already the couple’s dream location, but when it was dressed in the event’s springtime theme, “a new beginning,” its charm came to life. Designed around the signature cherry blossom trees of Washington, DC, which represent the surest sign that spring has sprung (and where Lonnie is currently completing a fellowship), the color scheme for the wedding was imbued with creams, pinks and corals accented by subtle touches of orange, raspberry and pale green. And to further enhance the seasonal theme, arrangements and bouquets were all designed to look as though they were freshly gathered from the garden.

Guests arrived at the ceremony to find programs marked with a cherry blossom motif on each chair. With a grand fountain providing the backdrop, Victoria and Lonnie exchanged vows beneath an elegant iron structure draped with pink and coral fabric. The reverend led the ceremony with a personal touch that everyone agreed was, as Victoria remembers, “very moving and inspirational.” So much so, that several of the guests started attending the reverend’s weekly services after hearing her speak at the wedding. Inside the reception tent, tables were covered in various shades of iridescent peach, pink and coral linens with coordinating cushions on dark wood chairs. Arranged in urns to match Greystone’s Old World architecture, the beautiful centerpieces of blooming branches, hydrangea, garden roses, calla lilies, tulips, orchids and peonies deftly matched the soft color palette of spring.

Luring guests away from their seats, however, was a decadent chocolate fountain that was surrounded by a display of goodies meant for dipping. The couple’s five-tier wedding cake was the portrait of spring, decorated in a delicate white design and surrounded by blossoming pink branches with graceful butterflies. After cutting the cake, Lonnie gave a heartfelt toast to his bride and the group. He thanked all who were present and paid tribute to his mother who had passed away several years earlier but would have been thrilled for the blessed couple.

For Victoria and Lonnie, this perfect wedding was truly a new beginning that they were able to experience and plan together. And while the prophetic nurse from Indiana was not present for the big event, Victoria explains, “We did run into her recently, and she was not surprised that we were together.” She adds with a wink: “Now she wants to know when our first child will come. We didn’t make any promises on the name.”