Will & Rachael

Rachael shares her story so sweetly, “On our first date, Will instantly won me over when he picked me up in his car and was playing my then favorite album. We both like to find new music and go to concerts, our mutual love of music has played an important role in our relationship.”

“Early on in our engagement, Will and I went to see a concert at the Henry Miller Memorial Library. We were amazed by how gorgeous Big Sur was with its sweeping ocean views. When we were on the lawn of the library, surrounded by redwood trees, with the artist Tallest Man on Earth playing, we were overwhelmed by how naturally beautiful it all was. We didn’t look at any other possible venues after that. We knew that after sharing that perfect night listening to great music, there wasn’t anywhere else that could compare.”

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue: My something old was a leaf brooch I wore in my hair that had belonged to the grooms grandmother (I also wore small flowers I collected from my preschool garden). The something new was a silver friendship bracelet from Anthropologie that my maid of honor also has. I borrowed small studs from my bridesmaid Mary. The something blue was almost forgotten but came together when my sister in law and bridesmaid, Amanda, painted a tiny blue heart on my toe while I was getting my hair done.”

“We named our 5 long tables after flowers that were taped to the seating chart with washi tape. Guests could find their seat by looking for the table that was decorated by that flower. Some of the flowers were chosen for a significant reason, like Gardenias for the table with the mother of the groom because they are her favorite, but others were just chosen because I think they’re pretty. We used mexican-style blankets with guest’s names stamped on them as our place cards. The blankets doubled as our favors and also helped keep guests warm once the sun went down. “

“We wanted our table decorations to highlight the beauty of the nature surrounding us and be fun with pops of color. We found affordable clear vases from Cost Plus World Market and painted the top inch with hot peach paint. Then we planted leafy green plants in each vase and used them to decorate the tables as well as to give to family or friends who had been extra helpful. To add more fun to the decorations, we collected small plastic toy forest animals and Will spray painted them white (an idea I had while teaching preschool). We used a combination of white and metallic vases scattered down the tables to hold flowers. The antique engagement ring that Will gave me has both silver and gold so we decided to mix different metallics in our decorations too. Silver and gold CAN go together :)”

“There was a special moment when everyone was dancing, that Will and l stepped back from the reception and realized that the sun had gone down and the wedding had taken on a magical glow with the candles and the overhead stringing lights. We both smiled at each other and laughed, realizing that all of the months of hard work and the stress was so worth it that we could share a truly beautiful moment together with all of our closest family and friends. It really was more magical than we could have ever dreamed.”