At a time when distance kept the world apart, Britni Sumida—a model, actress, and fitness instructor—found an unexpected connection with professional skateboarder Sean Malto. The two first met at a mutual friend’s 51st birthday during the pandemic, where guests stood six feet apart on curbs in a parking lot. “It wasn’t the most romantic situation,” Sumida admits, but in that fleeting moment of cautious connections, she took matters into her own hands and broke the ice. “I got down on one knee and asked him to take a shot with me… of tequila.” He refused but swiftly explained why. Malto had driven to the soirée, offering to give Sumida a lift to her car instead. “He says that’s when he ‘risked his life’ to be with me because stranger danger during a global pandemic, but love knows no limits,” she adds.
From that night on, the two became inseparable. Their relationship grew through a shared love of dive bars and the Kansas City Chiefs and, more importantly, through their family and friends. “Every day we get to spend time with each other is cherished, especially since we both travel a lot for work,” Sumida says. And travel they did. For a skateboarding trip to Japan, Sumida had the opportunity to join Malto. Since she is half Japanese and had never visited the country, she had always dreamed of being fully immersed in her culture, and this was her chance. “I made the mistake of thinking we were getting engaged in Italy the year prior and felt slightly defeated when it didn’t happen, so I told myself to put the expectation of a proposal on the back burner and focus on Japan and all of its beauty,” she says.
After traveling from Tokyo, the couple arrived in Kyoto, checked into their hotel, and prepared for the evening. “I heard Sean pacing upstairs,” she recalls. “He asked me to meet him on the second story to take a ‘fit pic,’ which is extremely out of character.” Moments later, everything changed. “I agreed and posed next to him, and before I knew it, his arms fell to his sides, and suddenly, [he] dropped to one knee,” she continues. “He asked me to spend the rest of my life with him, and I shouted ‘Yesss!’ I think everyone in the quiet town of Kyoto heard me. Sumimasen!”
When it came time to plan their wedding, the couple approached every decision with intention. They initially considered locations tied to their roots in Missouri and Arizona, but ultimately, Ojai, California, felt like the perfect choice. They previously stayed at the Capri Hotel, and its grounding, welcoming energy drew them back. “It’s a place that didn’t feel like his or mine. It felt like ours,” Sumida shares. They set a date for October 1, 2025, and leaned into an “elevated backyard party” aesthetic. “Initially, I tried to force a springtime feel for our October wedding, influenced by other events, and I lost sight of what felt authentic to Sean and me,” Sumida notes. “A month before the wedding, my amazing florist and coordinator, Brittany [Porter], helped me pivot. We traded the bright bunches of flowers designed for our reception tables for bud vases filled with a single red poppy and tea lights that gave the perfect orange glow throughout the evening.” Read on to admire Sumida’s two-in-one One Of look from LOHO bride and all the small but significant details that made their wedding incredibly meaningful and personal.
“My good friend and longtime makeup artist, Victoria McGrath, did the makeup for my wedding and engagement photos. I wanted to work with someone who knows my face like the back of their hand and would be a grounding energy to spend my morning with. She knows every minor to major detail about my face and skin, which made the entire experience so seamless. It felt like we were just hanging out.”
“The [makeup] look we went for was natural and radiant. I wanted warm tones and flushed cheeks.”
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