We are back with the second stop on the Kestrin and Jonathan love train and it just so happens to be their radical reception at Flora Grubb Gardens. These two know how to think way outside of the wedding box and their festivities reside in a land where funky meets gorgeous. Noa of Feather Love Photography completely blew it out of the water with this one. From the getting ready shots to the flag-filled ceremony, we are squealing with sheer delight. This is heart melting, out of this world kind of love stuff and lucky for us there is a huge gallery of pictures to pour over.
{click here for the FULL wedding gallery}
The reception was held at Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco, an exquisite plant and tree store run by Jonathan’s older sister. While the beach ceremony was meant to feel quiet and intimate, the reception was meant to feel monumental. The guests stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a covered outdoor area. Each guest was given a yellow or saffron colored flag that Kestrin made in the weeks before the wedding. They created an aisle through the crowd, holding the flags aloft like a giant game of London Bridges. “A few weeks before we got married I had a wedding dream where the couple flew up into the air when they kissed and I went on a mission to make that happen for us.” The flying rig from a trapeze company turned out to be uninsurable but they managed to capture the feeling of flight. The couple stood on a “spinny platform” that began turning slowly while they read their vows and by the time they kissed they were spinning at a dizzying speed above a sea of waving flags.
The couple is non-religious so they looked to science and music to find inspiration and greater meaning for their ceremony. They read thoughts on the universe and love by Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Douglas Adams, Mark Twain, Buddha, and The Beatles and combined the words and concepts into a few paragraphs that were read by friends and family at the ceremony and reception. Here is a snippet from the vows the couple read to each other:
Jonathan: I vow to love you
Kestrin: I vow to love you
J: to be your best friend ever
K: to constantly generate a force field of awesome to guide and protect us
J: to live as long as possible
K: to live a charmed life
J: to take you on one hundred honeymoons
K: to rock out with our great grandchildren
K: Do you vow to be my husband?
J: I do. Do you vow to be my wife?
K: I do.
There was a make-your-own grilled cheese sandwich station, a photo booth, a pedal powered ferris wheel, a dada peepshow (where a whole cast of performers put on a show for two people at a time), a tiny tea party, a dance floor, and a karaoke lounge. As usual, the karaoke stage was the last thing standing at 4:00 am.
“I strongly recommend any bride (or couple) with a clear vision to do exactly what they want to do and deviate from the plan as much as necessary in the 11th hour. All of my favorite interactive and simple elements came to me in my dreams (literally) just days before our wedding. If you want to spin in the air surrounded by your loved ones, it’s completely possible.”
Congrats on a unique and beautiful wedding Kestrin and Jonathan and a HUGE thank you to Noa for capturing such an amazing wedding AND letting us share! Be sure to check out the Feather Love blog for even more fabulous images from the day.
Photographer: Noa Azoulay-Sclater of Feather Love / Venue: Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco / Getting Ready: The Palace Hotel San Francisco, Ca / Florals: Susie Nadler of Flora Grubb / Event Planner: Jim Kumiega of Flora Grubb / Spinning Platform: Paul’s Rides / Cake: The Cake Maker / Pedal-Powered Farris Wheel: Cyclecide Bike Rodeo / Photobooth: Photoboof / DJs: Wade Harpootlian, Raviv Ullman, Mark Laramee, Greg Patterson / Ceremony & Reception Musician: Paul Cartwright / Karaoke: Paul DeJong / Cake Table & Succulent Tea Party Decorations: Rebecca Marshall / Bride’s Silver Taffeta Dress: designed by Sterling Capricio of Los Angeles / Reception Food and Beverage: Christopher’s Catering