Outdoor Elegance at the Kohl Mansion
Can I just say that California brides have it oh sooo good? Not only are they working with about a million stunning venues and consistent days of sunshine, but they've got vendors like Carlie Statsky, Violetta Flowers and The Makeup Dolls right at their fingertips. They're the kind of artists that take a bride's distant dream and bring it all to life, and we've got the proof sitting pretty right here.
From the Bride...We knew instantly that Kohl Mansion in Burlingame, CA was the ideal location for our wedding day. The venue stunned us with its elegance and beautiful grounds, and the location was perfectly placed between our two families (from the North Bay and the South Bay). Dana’s grandparents were married on the same date (August 24th) in 1946, and we felt that we wanted our wedding to reflect a modern vintage look to pay homage to both this shared wedding date and the historic venue setting. Our amazing designers from Echo Letterpress crafted our desired modern vintage look for our invitation suite, including an imaged map of the location.
Framed signs, hand-painted by a dear family friend, directed guests to both the gates of the mansion and to the ceremony location. Kohl’s beautiful inset courtyard canopied with bistro lights from Thomas John Events gave our ceremony an intimate setting. Our florist Arlene Boyle from Violetta Flowers created contrast with the mansion’s bricks and lush green grounds by using soft blush and white tones in all of the floral arrangements. We wanted our wedding party to feel chic, so we complimented the groomsmen with engraved silver pocket watches, and the bridesmaids’ slate gray dresses with chandelier earrings and Joan & David rhinestone shoes (flats, to give our TWO pregnant bridesmaids some relief!). I complimented the lace and satin of my wedding dress with chandelier earrings, a vintage hair clip, and rhinestone shoes from David Tutera (wedges, to give ME some relief!).
Our amazing caterer/coordinator Carrie Delucci from Thomas John Events made our vision come together for our reception: She helped us find the perfect dinnerware and place settings to create a romantic feel, complimented by the use of mismatched silver goblets selected by our florist to hold our centerpieces. Throughout the reception, we incorporated additional elements that we felt added a personalized touch to the modern vintage look: an antique silver coffee service from Dana’s grandparents, framed signs with love quotes from our favorite classic novels, and a vintage typewriter borrowed from Dana’s boss. The food was extremely important to us, as cooking and eating out are some of our favorite things to do together. Thomas John Events blew away our expectations, and everyone continues to compliment us on the meal!
Every moment of our journey, from our engagement to the serving of our midnight snack, was captured by our amazing photographer Carlie Statsky. We feel so blessed to have such beautiful images to remember our special day. Our incredibly talented team of vendors perfectly interpreted and delivered our vision, reaching far beyond any of our expectations. We truly could not have asked for a more perfect wedding day. Our dear family friend and pastor Brian Morgan began our wedding day with a blessing on our ceremony and new life as husband and wife; a blessing made palpable through the love that we felt surrounded us through our closest family and friends as we celebrated our marriage. We have both been blessed by parents who have (each!) celebrated more than 30 years of marriage, acting as shining examples for us as we begin our life together. We are forever thankful to our parents, our families, our friends, and to our vendors (who became friends!) for all of their love and support throughout the wedding planning process.
Framed signs, hand-painted by a dear family friend, directed guests to both the gates of the mansion and to the ceremony location. Kohl’s beautiful inset courtyard canopied with bistro lights from Thomas John Events gave our ceremony an intimate setting. Our florist Arlene Boyle from Violetta Flowers created contrast with the mansion’s bricks and lush green grounds by using soft blush and white tones in all of the floral arrangements. We wanted our wedding party to feel chic, so we complimented the groomsmen with engraved silver pocket watches, and the bridesmaids’ slate gray dresses with chandelier earrings and Joan & David rhinestone shoes (flats, to give our TWO pregnant bridesmaids some relief!). I complimented the lace and satin of my wedding dress with chandelier earrings, a vintage hair clip, and rhinestone shoes from David Tutera (wedges, to give ME some relief!).
Our amazing caterer/coordinator Carrie Delucci from Thomas John Events made our vision come together for our reception: She helped us find the perfect dinnerware and place settings to create a romantic feel, complimented by the use of mismatched silver goblets selected by our florist to hold our centerpieces. Throughout the reception, we incorporated additional elements that we felt added a personalized touch to the modern vintage look: an antique silver coffee service from Dana’s grandparents, framed signs with love quotes from our favorite classic novels, and a vintage typewriter borrowed from Dana’s boss. The food was extremely important to us, as cooking and eating out are some of our favorite things to do together. Thomas John Events blew away our expectations, and everyone continues to compliment us on the meal!
Every moment of our journey, from our engagement to the serving of our midnight snack, was captured by our amazing photographer Carlie Statsky. We feel so blessed to have such beautiful images to remember our special day. Our incredibly talented team of vendors perfectly interpreted and delivered our vision, reaching far beyond any of our expectations. We truly could not have asked for a more perfect wedding day. Our dear family friend and pastor Brian Morgan began our wedding day with a blessing on our ceremony and new life as husband and wife; a blessing made palpable through the love that we felt surrounded us through our closest family and friends as we celebrated our marriage. We have both been blessed by parents who have (each!) celebrated more than 30 years of marriage, acting as shining examples for us as we begin our life together. We are forever thankful to our parents, our families, our friends, and to our vendors (who became friends!) for all of their love and support throughout the wedding planning process.