Afternoon Lovely People and what a gorgeous one it is too!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Now it’s no secret that here at Festival Brides we have a HUGE wedding dress crush on US bohemian bridal label Daughters of Simone. Their free spirited company ethos completely mirrors that of our own and we just love every single dress they create. From delicate two pieces that dare to push the boundaries of bridal fashion to beautiful long lace dresses that echos the heart of the 1970′s hippy – their collection is just full of gorgeous dresses that are all unique and designed with the non traditional bride in mind.

The lovely Brit Castanos, owner and designer of Daughters of Simone, is currently in the midst of planning her wedding and recently held her engagement party with fiance Jeff Osborne. The party was “around the world” themed, playing on the couples mutual love for backpack travelling, and was full of bohemian style decor and mouthwatering sharing platters – a food trend that is taking the UK by storm. There were touches of Morocco, India, and the couple even had a blues band from New Orleans play! All of Brit’s girlfriends wore Daughters Of Simone dresses & vintage gowns in keeping with the brides ties to all things bohemian.

When Brit got in touch to see if we wanted to share their engagement pictures with you of course the answer was going to be yes!! Her gorgeous dress and bohemian hair style alone was enough to warrant a feature let alone the decor and food!

So you get to know a bit more about the gorgeous lady in all these pictures and because, lets face it, we are downright nosy, we asked Brit a few questions about her wedding plans, her inspiration and of course, that all important wedding dress!

Tell Us A Bit About Your Engagement?

The first time I crushed on Jeff we went “secret beach” camping with a load of friends and my older sister off the coast of Davenport Beach near Santa Cruz. One of our buddy’s worked at a strawberry farm near the beach so before we headed out we cooked this smorgis borg of a feast with all the vegetables they grew on the farm. We all sat around this long table and ate while laughing and cheers-ing all to really loud and (of course) really good rock and roll. It was during this dinner that I began to notice Jeff. He was funny, and fun to be around. The long hair didn’t hurt, or the fact that everyone seemed to really gravitate to his open demeanor. After the dinner we all walked down to beach where we set up a huge bon fire and blasted music all while running down to the surf just kicking up salty water as we moved to the beat. At some point I noticed Jeff off in the distance sitting on a rock that was inching it’s way in the ocean. It was here where I decided to make my move, so I climbed up the rock with one thing on my mind, to give this man a kiss. 4 years later (and every year since) we continued to visit that rock except this year Jeff had something up his sleeve and instead of our annual kiss renewal he asked me if I would marry him.

Why Jeff?

Well, less than 24 hours after our first kiss Jeff mentioned that he was going on a spontaneous trip to Mexico and that I should “just come” with him. I gotta say, I really like that in a man. It took a couple hours of weighting out the possibilities but in the end I went with my gut, booked my flight that very night, and away we went. I figured the trip could only go one of two ways but if it went the way I wanted it to then I would be with just the perfect partner for me. After 10 days of jumping in the back of trunks, barefoot hiking on lush hill tops, and eating tropical fruit on quiet beaches i was pretty well hooked. Since then he has continued to push me to the edge of the earth doing things I’ve always wanted to do but needed that extra push to go even further. Jeff has allowed me to see living in a whole new way. That you really can live however you want wherever you want, you just have to do it and it will come together. It is this philosophy that has moved us to different places in the US and backpacking to the corners of the earth. I like who I have become just by having him around. He’s a unique being, one that doesn’t need much and will jump on a plane, or a rocket ship for that matter, with just the clothes on his back. With Jeff I never have to compromise the things that I love or the things that make me me. I have someone that likes to them also and seem to be apart of him as well. Having that person means I’m never missing out, and means we get do to what we love together.

What plan’s do you have for your wedding?

We have a mutual love for camping in the middle of nowhere which kind of started as a result of a place my family backpacks to that we’ve coined ‘The Hole’. The Hole is a place to fish, it’s a place for long talks, for tequila drinking, and for lots of Tom Petty dance parties around the fire. It’s a place to take it all in and leave it all behind. We both agreed that is was exactly what we wanted for our wedding so, on a separate camping trip, we discovered this somewhat remote meadow and knew it was the spot. From there, we’ve just been creating everything else from the ground up from the band, to the tents, to the epic bon fire that will light up the sky all weekend long.

And that all important dress – will you be designing something especially? Are we allowed to know any details!!?

Oh man, it changes day to day! But I can say it’s coming together…

Your engagement party was travel themed – is this something you will bring to your wedding as well?

Yes, of course. Since it’s hard to pick one overall theme we have elements of mexico, native american culture, etc…It’s looking like we might just have to tow Jeff’s rickshaw up there. He had it imported from India after he motorcycled through there last year. It’s always a big hit. (You can see it in the pictures from the engagement party. Since guests had to park far away from the party we used it as the valet pick up.)

Daughters of Simone is the epitome of boho festival chic – will we be seeing more of this gorgeous style at your wedding?

Oh yes. The whole wedding is centered around being at a festival or sorts in the woods. We’ll have crazy tents, a blues band, and as much out of the ordinary as our grandparents can fathom.

Do you have any exiting plans for your honeymoon?

At some point there was talk about doing a east coast road trip down the coast of Australia, rent a camper van and just pitch a tent on the beach as we move from town to town. We’ve heard good things about the diving, and I bet we could catch a couple shows along the way and meet up with some fellow traveler friends that live there. It all sound’s like a dream to me! We’ve always talked about moving there one day so it will be a good inclination to see if we want to.

Lastly, if you had to choose any festival in the world to go to, where would it be?

I’ve always wanted to go to Byron Bay’s Blues Festival. My dad got my sisters and I into the blues when we were young and we’ve never looked back. I hear High Sierra is really mellow and has beautiful landscaping for camping on site. There’s also this smaller one in Iowa called Hinterland Music Festival that looks rad but I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it this year…might just have to do it though.

The Line Up