We swooned Carmen Santorelli’s stunning boudoir captures of this crazy beautiful bride, and now the entire wedding celebration is just a scroll away. Set at Sunset Cliffs with ocean waves crashing below, it’s simple, seaside romance styled by Meadowsweet Events with no shortage of pin-worthy blooms by Plenty Of Petals. Get lost in the gallery for your first-hand peek at each and every bit.
From The Bride… Stevie and I were introduced by his sister Jessica, who so happened to be a friend of mine. It was sort of an ongoing joke between Jess and I that I would be the one to marry her brother. When Jess and I first met she immediately told me this story about her visit to a psychic several years before. The psychic told her that her brother would marry a woman with two children who was a few years older than her brother. Being a single mom purely focused on my kiddos I laughed off her charming story for years.
In mid-September 2013 at a farewell dinner for Andy, Jess’s husband, it was then that I finally met Stevie. He was in town from Kansas City to help Andy drive home. We barely spoke, but there were moments when our eyes would meet, and quickly divert. As if we didn’t want to be caught being interested. The next day Stevie and Andy loaded the truck to head back to Kansas City. To my complete surprise I received a message from him the next day “saying it was nice to finally have meet.” We began to get to know each other through long written conversations. Over the next year we maintained an exciting long distance relationship where we’d only see each other about once a month. We built up a lot of frequent flyer miles between Kansas City, and San Diego. But on June 15th, Father’s Day, we took another step forward when Stevie proposed to me. On bended knee he asked if he could be my husband and the father to my children, it was one of the happiest and most surreal moments of my life.
We didn’t start planning right away, we took a few months after the engagement to just enjoy being engaged, that was really important to us. But when we finally started in August we knew we had to kick it in to high gear if we wanted a January wedding. As a photographer, the photography was my first priority. I had followed Carmen Santorelli for years completely captivated by the way she captures light on film. I knew I HAD to have Carmen shoot our big day, no one else would do. The day I received her email saying she’d be our photographer I was on cloud nine, I think I knew after that everything else would be easy to plan.
When it came time to look for venues for our wedding Stevie, a Midwestern boy from Kansas City, Missouri was adamant that he wanted to marry me by the ocean. I immediately thought back to a photo shoot that Carmen Santorelli had shot at Sunset Cliffs. I was inspired by every single element she had incorporated into her shoot, the pastel florals, the soft breeze, and the beautiful light. Stevie and I visited Osprey point at Sunset Cliffs and knew right away that’s where we would be married. We chose a beautiful patio area at Balboa Park for our reception. The Casa de Prado patio was enclosed with tall archways and lush greenery, it was open and airy but still gave us that intimate feeling we wanted for our guests.
For décor, I wanted a certain look but mostly I wanted a certain feel. Kasia from Plenty of Petals completely understood my vision and bought it to life. The soft romantic feeling that I had envisioned came to life with rows of olive branch garlands lining half of the tables and full loose pastel centerpieces on the rest. I’m a sucker for details, and I wanted to give my guests a beautiful table setting. I spent many of my weekends before the wedding in small antique shops hunting for the perfect brass candle sticks, gold trimmed china, and just the right gold silverware. The results were breathtaking, when I walked through the archways and into my reception I was completely taken aback.
Lastly, Stevie and I wanted a certain look but we also wanted our guests to have a blast, and our musician made sure they did. We found Winship on Gigsalad.com and knew right away he had the perfect sound for our wedding. We didn’t realize he lived in Washington D.C when we first contacted him. Luckily he’s a surfer and was excited to have a weekend in sunny San Diego. Winship, the flames of hundreds of ivory candlesticks, the smell of palm trees and peonies, and the sound of laughter from our guests created the most perfect ambiance, it was the perfect day.
Photography: Carmen Santorelli Photography | Floral Design: Plenty Of Petals | Wedding Dress: BHLDN | Stationery: Olive Branch & Co. | Ceremony Venue: Lake Hodges | Reception Venue: Balboa Park | Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids' Dresses: BHLDN | Catering: Vigiluccis | Makeup & Hair: Hale Koa phineas Estate | Bride's Hair: Doll Me Up Makeup And Hair Artistry | Bride's Head Piece: Twigs & Honey | Ceremony Violonist: Jeanne Gregory | Desserts: Azucar | Name Cards: Hope Scott Calligraphy | Photo Booth: ShutterBooth | Planning And Design: Meadowsweet Events | Reception Musician: Winship | Ribbon: Bellame Ribbon | Tables And Lighting: Farm Tables And More