You would never believe that this wedding, captured magnificently by Zoom Photography, was put together in seven short weeks. The air of peace, serenity, and calmness that was evident in this California affair is breathtaking. It is put together so perfectly, at times it almost feels like an inspiration shoot – but then you see the love and affection between the gorgeous bride and handsome groom and realize it has to be their wedding day. It is pure perfection. Zoom’s got more of this sweet affair on her blog, so click here!
Our story is a testament to “third time’s the charm.” We first met about a decade ago in San Francisco. We were both out with friends, and ended up striking up a conversation ourselves. However, the timing proved not quite right. Several years later, our paths crossed again into at a charity benefit and there was a mutual attraction, but the timing still quite wasn’t right. In August 2008, we ran into each other again and this time the timing was great! We began dating and fell for each other pretty quickly. We shared lots of great times together and our connection grew to the point where we knew we wanted to spend our lives together.
We were engaged in December at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, right outside of Pescadero. Steve planned to make his proposal at sunset, and fortunately the weather was calm, not too cold and gorgeous that evening, a rare occurrence at the Lighthouse, as it sits out on a point and is prone to fog and high winds. After the proposal, we spent the night at Costanoa. We both loved it so much that we decided to make it our wedding spot. We were married there on two months later.
The few days before our wedding were blustery, cold and rainy. On our wedding day, the sky literally opened up and the sun came out. In fact, during our ceremony, there were clouds above, but there was a “ring of blue sky” directly above our heads. This was especially interesting because both sets of our parents have passed away, but it was almost like the clouds parted that day so they could look down on us.
The most meaningful touch of the day were the four long-stem roses on the four chairs closest to us, to represent our parents. We also lit three unity candles, one for us, and one for each set of parents. We hired the music teacher from Steve’s School to play music for us, including “Feels Like Home” and “Everlasting Love” as our recessional Song.
For our reception, I hand-stamped and hand wrote each of the name cards for a personal touch. Instead of traditional wedding favors, I created a “candy bar” with green and purple candies in large glass jars, which was placed on a table covered by a vintage inspired tablecloth. Each guest could fill their own wax paper bag with their candies of choice and affix a sticker to seal it.
Instead of a traditional guestbook, I created a photo book using photos from our respective childhoods leading up to our dating years. The final two photos in the book were our parents’ wedding photos. Guests could sign throughout the book with a message (like you would do with a high school yearbook). This way, we can display the book in our home to enjoy, instead of just having a book full of signatures.
We chose Zoom Photography because I had seen the amazing photos Lauri had taken at a friend/former client’s wedding about four years prior. I asked her to be my facebook friend because I knew one day I wanted to ask her to photograph my own wedding. And fortunately for me, it worked out!
I planned my wedding start-to-finish in seven weeks, so I am sure there are things I would have tweaked if I’d had more time, but overall I was really happy with how it turned out. I made quick decisions and went with my gut instinct instead of second-guessing or agonizing over everything like so many brides do. In some ways, planning it in that short amount of time was tough, but I also think in some ways I planned it better because I didn’t have time to over think things.
Ceremony Site: Costanoa Lodge & Resort, Lodge Lawn / Event Coordination: Tricia Rhoades of Costanoa Lodge & Resort / Reception Site: Costanoa Lodge & Resort, The Ranch House / Photographer: Lauri Levenfeld of Zoom Photography, Second Shooter, Jessica Epstein / Officiant: Dave Glass / Hair & Makeup: Allison Sharpe / Ceremony Musicians: Colin Williams / DJ: Joel Domhoff / Flowers: Sheri Hermone / Cake: SusieCakes