Every detail of this gorgeous Santa Barbara wedding was planned to perfection with the help of design company Toast & of course, a gorgeous couple to boot. Captured by Jonathan Connolly Photography, it doesn’t hurt to have a stunning backdrop like Bacara Resort & Spa. To watch even more loveliness, be sure to watch the video from Cloudless Weddings and check out all the details here!
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Megan and Doug live in Ohio, but feel in love with Santa Barbara on one of their many visits to Doug’s family’s vacation home.
Megan and Doug hired Magnolia Event Design 10 months before their wedding day to be their full service event design and planners. In our initial meetings Megan expressed her love of navy, coral and fresh white. We set out to design an event that would give their friends in attendance from all over the USA a taste of Santa Barbara’s Beach Chic lifestyle.
We worked with Birch and Main on designing the perfect invitations that would give guests a hint as to what was to come when the arrived in Santa Barbara. The invitations were open navy folders with coral stitching/thread holding the white letter pressed invitation in place. We used a loose type writer font to complete the invitation suite. Megan and Doug love their golden retriever, who sadly couldn’t make the wedding, so we created custom stamps to have Wilson (their dog) somehow involved in the wedding.
When guests arrived at Bacara Resort and Spa they were greeted with an oversized jute gift bag with the Santa Barbara coordinates printed in navy- the bags were filled with maps of Santa Barbara, and other items to help keep guests comfortable during their stay.
Wedding party and family members were greeted to a private wine tasting the day before the wedding at Megan and Doug’s favorite vineyard in the Santa Ynez valley- Demetria. There everyone listened to live music, picnicked and tasted all the delicious wines that the vineyard had to offer.
After wine tasting guests were brought back to Bacara to freshen up and then whisked off down the 101 coast to the San Ysidro Ranch for an intimate dinner under the stars and loquat trees. Here, in terms of design we wanted to create an event that enhanced but didn’t compete with the beauty of the San Ysidro Ranch- lots of potted herbs, tall taper candles in vintage brass holders and place cards that were herb seed packets wrapped with kraft paper belly bands with each guests name hand calligrahied in white. Guests were greeted with a blood orange margarita on arrival (the bride’s favorite drink at the San Ysidro Ranch) and encouraged to enjoy the gardens, grounds and sunset prior to dinner. Everyone seemed to enjoy walking through the chef’s vegetable garden and posing for photos at the lily pond.
On the big day Megan and Doug woke early- Megan to begin hair and makeup with Lunabella Makeup Art and Doug and his father and our officiant for the ceremony set out for a round of golf at Sandpiper. Each enjoyed their quality time getting ready before the wedding.
Megan and Doug opted to have a first look in hopes of getting the large group and family portraits shot before the wedding ceremony and so they could have some time alone after the ceremony to take in everything that just took place.
Megan walked down the aisle in a stunning Vera Wang wedding gown and Doug in a tbd suit.
Megan’s bridesmaids wore navy dresses by JCrew and carried bouquets of coral calla lilies designed by Toast (one of Megan’s favorite flowers). The aisle was lined with drift wood, glass lanterns and had tucks of greens, lilies and dahlias.
For the reception the wood feating tables featured driftwood, lanterns and mercury vases with dahlias, eucalyptus pods and coastal grasses.
Guests danced the night away to Elite Disc Jockey’s dj Bennett.
Photography: Jonathan Connolly Photography | Videography: Cloudless Weddings | Floral Design: TOAST Santa Barbara | Wedding Gown: Vera Wang | Invitations: Birch & Main | Reception Venue: Bacara Resort & Spa | Bridesmaids' Dresses: J.Crew | Entertainment: Anthony Ybarra | Entertainment: Elite Disc Jockeys | Transportation: Gold Coast Limos | Wedding Venue: Bacara Resort & Spa | Event Producers: Magnolia Event Design | Hair & Makeup Styling: LunaBella Make-up and Hair | Rehearsal Dinner Venue: San Ysidro Ranch | Wine Tasting: Demetria