HOW THEY MET
Luciana and Tyler, both California natives, met during their freshman year of college. But it wasn’t until after graduation their relationship blossomed. “Tyler was playing baseball for the Chicago White Sox and spent his off seasons training with the team in San Diego, where I lived,” Luciana says. “What started off as a friendship turned into several dates and now here we are today.” Though Luciana makes their coupling sound somewhat random, once you dig a little deeper into these two go-getters’ personalities, it makes perfect sense how they got together.
Luciana co-invented the AirFort, an inflatable kid’s fort sold in big-box stores and at airfort.com. And in spring 2022, she launched Luciana Emilia, a luxury evening wear label based in San Diego. For Tyler’s part, after spending two years as a professional baseball player, he founded both Barkley’s Bag, a raw dog food company sold in grocery stores nationwide, and TS3 Logistics, a premier freight and logistics brokerage. Tyler is now vice president of Golden Valley Industries, a meat processing plant in California’s Central Valley.
THE PROPOSAL
After they’d been dating for about three years, Tyler proposed while they were on vacation in Newport Beach, California, at the Lido House Hotel’s rooftop lighthouse. “Little did I know, Tyler had flown both of our families out to surprise us and celebrate with the most amazing dinner afterward at Malibu Farm overlooking the boats and docks at Lido Isle,” Luciana recalls. “It’s a night I will never forget.”
WHY UTAH
Well before their engagement, Luciana and Tyler had dreamt of a winter wedding at Deer Valley Resort. “We had spent many winter vacations there skiing with my family and loved the idea of bringing our family and friends to a place that was so special to the two of us,” Luciana says.
The couple looked at several venues in and around Park City, but ultimately landed on hosting an intimate celebration for 45 guests at a family friend’s private, slope-side home in Deer Valley.
THE THEME
Luciana and Tyler’s vision was to host a timeless and classic black-tie wedding with a twist of 1950s glamour. After struggling to find just the right dress to fit the scene they were going after—and that was winter-appropriate (“It’s definitely not easy to find a winter wedding dress in California,” Luciana says.)—Luciana decided to make not only her own dress, but her bridesmaids dresses and the dress her mother wore as well.
For her wedding gown, Luciana chose silk Mikado fabric, long sleeves with pearl detailing at the wrists, a plunging open back and an oversized bow with ribbons running the length of the train. Her bridesmaids dresses were navy blue one-shoulder silk gowns with a draping shoulder bow (which paired stunningly with navy blue fur coats the bridesmaids wore during the outdoor ceremony). And her mother’s dress was timeless taffeta and velvet. Tyler wore a smart navy velvet tuxedo while his groomsmen were clad in traditional black watch tartan plaid tux jackets paired with black trousers.
THE SCENE
As guests arrived, they were greeted with steaming hot toddies and live saxophone music. The couple’s family friend, Ray Dutchman, officiated the wedding outdoors in the snow under a clear, bluebird day sky. Crews dug out snow “stairs” that led to transparent Lucite chair ceremony seating—every other draped with a white fleece blanket.
Pine and boxwood garlands, draped with white satin bows, lined the aisle to the ceremony arch made from aspen branches and more greenery garlands. Inside, dining tables were set with off-white velvet tablecloths, snowy white florals and crystal candelabras. At each place setting was a velvet ribbon bow embroidered with the guest’s name. “We loved how from the two long dining tables guests had a view of the slopes and the classic Deer Valley trees lit up in the distance,” Luciana says.
THE RECEPTION
To honor both Luciana and Tyler’s Italian heritage, the reception menu included veal osso buco, roasted branzino and butternut squash ravioli. In addition to chocolate wedding cake, the dessert service featured a cannoli tower and hot chocolate bar. “And, as true Italians, we topped off the meal by sipping limoncello,” Luciana says.
THOUGHTFUL DETAIL
A tradition in Luciana’s family is giving guests a “pillow present,” or gift placed on the bed in the room where the guests are staying. At the two homes in Deer Valley that Luciana and Tyler rented for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to stay, they placed black watch plaid J. Crew pajamas, tied with a large blue bow, on each bed to greet members of the wedding party as they arrived for the weekend of festivities.
THE PLAYERS
PLANNING & DESIGN: Marae Events, maraeevents.com
PHOTOS: Heather Nan, heathernanphoto.com
DAY-OF EXECUTION: Canvas Weddings & Events, canvasweddingsandevents.com
REHEARSAL DINNER: Courchevel Bistro, courchevelbistro.com
BRIDE’S, BRIDESMAID AND MOTHER-OF-THE BRIDE DRESSES: Luciana Emilia, lucianaemilia.com
BRIDE’S GETTING-READY PAJAMAS: Crepe-de-chine Party Pajamas, the-sleeper.com
BRIDE’S SHOES: Bella Belle Georgia Ivory kitten heel bridal shoes, bellabelleshoes.com
CATERING & BAR SERVICES: Culinary Crafts, culinarycrafts.com
CAKE: Flour & Flourish, flourandflourishcake.com
FLORIST: Artisan Bloom, artisanbloom.com
RENTALS: Diamond Event & Tent, diamondevent.com
LINENS: La Tavola Fine Linen Rental, latavolalinen.com
STATIONERY SUITE: Tori Frey Art + Design, torifrey.com
HAIR & MAKEUP: Janelle Ingram, janelleingram.com
MUSIC: Rob Bennion, echotalent.com
VIDEOGRAPHY: David Perry Films, davidperryfilms.com
CEREMONY SNOWSCAPING: Moonlight, moonlightutah.com
