A Cheery Springtime Wedding with a Forest Train Ride

Nicole and Jesse got engaged near the end of November, and started planning their “dream wedding” immediately. Unfortunately, Nicole’s mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer just weeks later. They put the wedding planning on hold and decided to get married in her parent’s backyard in San Diego, in just 14 days.

Nicole shares “To keep things simple, we decided to keep the guest list just to just a few relatives and a couple of my family’s closest friends. I’m grateful that my mom got to be there to see me marry the man of my dreams. My mom passed away in March, and I became pregnant in January 2016. Jesse + I both felt that we wanted to involve all of our friends and extended family in a celebration of our love and the upcoming baby, so we got back to planning and decided to call it ‘Wedding 2.0.’ We spent a lot of time discussing what 3 things were most important to us about the wedding and that really helped us decide where we spent our money and put the most attention. It was essential for us that we have all of our friends and family there to celebrate, that we have gorgeous photos to help remember the day, and that we have tasty local food.”

As major foodies, they wanted to showcase the amazing produce that Santa Cruz has to offer. They served local + in season delights, as well as French macarons, pies from Gizdich Ranch, and horchata. The ceremony was held out in nature, amongst a circle of huge redwood trees!