This adorable duo’s love story stretches all the way from San Francisco to Sydney—and all it takes is one look at the beautiful imagery from Closer To Love Photography to know that no matter the distance, they were meant to find one another. With just a short couple of months to plan their wedding, the rustic-elegant result is jaw dropping to say the least!
From Closer To Love Photography… Tamara and Tim (also referred to as TimTam) met through a dating website and conversed for a year and half before officially meeting in person in Australia. Tamara is from Sydney, Australia and Tim from San Francisco, which often times made their courtship difficult due to distance, but they kept in touch via phone calls and Skype. They looked forward to reuniting time and time again in Australia and TimTam made the most of every opportunity whenever they were on the same side of the planet. Ultimately, their attraction for each other’s values, honesty and off-beat humor won both of them over and Tim would soon ask Tamara to be his beautiful bride! Having only 2 1/2 months to pull their entire Wedding Day off due to immigration terms, TimTam succeeded at planning and creating an inviting, intimate and homey Wedding at the Rengstorff House in Mountain View, California! Surrounded by dear ones from near and afar, their Wedding Day was filled with so much joy, laughter and endless love from all that were present.
From the beautiful Bride…We feel incredibly blessed and grateful to have found each other from such a distance. Foremost, our Wedding Day details were inspired by the joy of merging our two wonderful families and cultures together (Australia and USA). Our families were over the moon to come together from both sides of the world in celebration. Planning & styling all wedding details ourselves was a fun, creative, and crazy challenge! We set the basics via long-distance, yet had only 2 1/2 months to pull our wedding together following immigration terms, when I arrived permanently in San Francisco. After an exhaustive search of wedding / engagement ring designs, Tim decided to custom design our rings to capture the unique style and characteristics that we envisioned. Lorraine from Derco Fine Jewelers was so helpful, and had them produced just-in-time. I am still amazed that Tim created such beautiful keepsakes, under such pressured circumstances. Our wedding theme began with the words “rustic garden elegance” and ended in a happy mix of decor & a fabulously eclectic selection of music. We aimed to create an atmosphere of fresh, relaxed elegance for our guests and Rengstorff House provided just the right ambiance. It was stately yet inviting, intimate and homely. The lovely gardens also complimented Tim’s passion for gardening. Air plants and succulents are among our favorite plants, so it felt natural that we should integrate them as our guest favors and alongside floral arrangements. We incorporated little Australian details into our stationery & table ornamentation to commemorate my relocation and pay homage to dear absent friends & family who could not be with us at such limited notice. Additionally, our names are Tim and Tam. There was a prevailing unspoken -and spoken!- expectation that we serve TimTam’s on our big day- A favorite Australian biscuit (US translation: TimTam ‘cookies’). We obliged by featuring every available flavor on our dessert table! My family arrived just in time to save my sanity in preparation. Tim likes to refer to his home during this two week period as a “Pinterest Sweatshop”. Friends and family honored us endlessly in their offers to contribute their time and talents to our day. We were absolutely thrilled to have them involved as MC, Photo Booth Operator, Videographer, Day-of Coordinator, Welcomers, Helpers, Heavy-Lifters, Log Choppers, Thrifting Decor Sourcers, Amazing Crafters, and Upscaling Spray Painters! They truly made our day special, and we left smiling from ear to ear.
Photography: Closer to Love Photography | Floral Design: Twigs And Petals | Stationery: Wedding Paper Divas | Rings: Derco | Bridesmaid Dresses: Dessy Collection By Vivian Diamond | Catering: Continental Caterers | Make-Up: Hale Koa phineas Estate | Hair: Church Of Evangelical Faith | Wedding Venue: Rengstorff House | Bridal Accessories + Flower Girl Dresses: Etsy | Bridal Gown: Pronovias | Bridal Shawl: David's Bridal | Cake & Desserts: Martha's Pastries | Groom + Groomsmen Tux: Paper And Petals | Linens, Rentals + Lighting: Danny Thomas Party Rentals