Lawn Games, a Gelato Truck, and All of the Summer Camp Vibes Make This Wedding the Coolest of the Summer!

Samantha Melei
September 3, 2019
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog

As Summer comes to an end, we are packing in all of the Summer Weddings we can, and this one just so happens to fit the bill with a couple who met as camp counselors and had the coolest color palette! Madix & Co planned quite the wedding day full of lawn games, a gelato truck by Cafe Apae and picture-perfect floral centerpieces by Laura’s Floras! From waltzing through the wildflowers to singing songs from their camp days, Scott Clark Photo captured one great shot after the next at the captivating Beltane Ranch. Scroll away and soak in these last few days of Summer with us…

From Madix & Co…Mikayla and Jamie bring such joy and positivity to each experience and those that surround them. Down to earth, with a natural zest for life, Beltane Ranch was an easy decision for their wedding venue. They came to me to help produce a wedding that maintained a casual and warm ambiance, while still feeling elegant and artfully curated with thoughtful details.

Wanting to capture their vibrancy and story, I designed a colorful palette with lots of whimsical and fun twists including mismatching bridesmaid dresses, floral groomsmen ties, two different table designs, and a whimsical mauve linen seating chart installation. The ranch setting, Gelato cones, lawn games and the sounds of Mikayla, Jamie and their Wedding Party singing songs from their counselor days, created a Summer camp vibe, while the food, decor, and florals maintained a very elegant fête.

From the Groom…Mikayla and I met in college at USC through a student-run volunteer organization called Troy Camp, which tutors and mentors students in South Central Los Angeles. Troy Camp counselors are each given nicknames based on a funny story or experience; I became “Lumberjack” (I rocked a lot of plaid flannel back then) and she became “Chumbawamba” (the one-hit-wonder band behind “I get knocked down, but I get up again…”). We fell into the same tight group of friends and became close, Skyping each other regularly when Mikayla went abroad to Spain for a semester and after I graduated and moved to Boston for a job. We lost touch for a few years while dating other people and finally reconnected when I invited Mikayla to Boston for a long weekend. I pulled out all the stops–sunset boat cruise, fancy dinner (a splurge on my then-$39k/year non-profit salary), picnic along the Charles River–and finally (terrifyingly) declared my feelings for her. When we told our friends we were dating, the reaction was the same: “Finally!” Fast forward 5+ years later and we’re married, living together in San Francisco, and couldn’t be happier.

My favorite part of our wedding day was this moment on the dance floor when I remember looking around me and soaking up the fact that all of our favorite people in the world had come from near and far to celebrate us.

When else in your life does everyone you love take the time and expense to be somewhere just for you? It was humbling and honestly, totally surreal. That’s what I remember most from that day. Oh, and the dance floor was out of control!