Bohemian vibes? Beautifully captured by Gretchen Gause. Gorgeous farm venue? Olympia’s Valley has that covered. Super creative couple who took on all the planning themselves (and totally pulled it off)? That would be Vanessa and Brad. Brad is an advertising copywriter + Vanessa is an art director-slash filmmaker (and they also run a rad wedding vid company) so they had no shortage of ideas for showing off Northern California to their 85 fam and friends.
Shotgun Floral Studio was behind all the floral details. Vanessa says, We’d never planned an event like this before and didn’t hire a planner—coming from a production and design background, we felt comfortable tackling this on our own. Turns out, it is A LOT when you also have fulltime jobs, and when your family and half of your closest friends are scattered all over the world. Luckily, we somehow hired the most incredible vendors who all happily answered every question we had and who gave us invaluable advice in the process.
Don’t you love this unexpected bridesmaids look? They all wore crochet dresses from from Urban Outfitters, arm cuffs, and floral anklets instead of shoes.
These succulent escort cards doubled as favors… Cute!
The groom’s fave moment… We created our ceremony to be very spiritual and non-traditional. Our officiant lit a palo santo stick and passed it around to cleanse the space and bring everyone together, we had some amazing married friends give us words of advice instead of readings, and before we said our vows, our moms made a sage circle around us with sage taken from canvas bags our friend Bärbel had made and which they’d filled themselves just the night before. I usually don’t like being the center of attention, but I felt incredibly comfortable, calm and present. We were just surrounded by so much love and joy.
And the bride’s… My heart is on the cusp of exploding with happiness just thinking about any moment of the day, but one of my favorites was walking back down the aisle with that hunky soul of a husband by my side. Everyone was waving their flags and throwing all those rose petals in the air, woohoo-ing and laughing and clapping along, and I felt like the biggest, most ridiculous waves of joy just kept rushing all over me. Here’s a clip one of our friends recorded on his phone, we love this lil’ snippet so much:.
In the design, they included everything they love to be surrounded by: California, macramé, greens, midcentury modern, cacti, southwestern vibes—all of it. Engaged Cakies, they recommend you do that too… Don’t be afraid to make it an experience that fully reflects *you*. We must agree!
Congrats to Vanessa + Brad!
Photographer: Gretchen Gause / Videographer: Austin Hendrix / Venue: Olympia’s Valley / Planning & Design: Bride + Groom / Partial Coordination: Day of Gal / Florist & Flower Crown: Shotgun Floral Studio / Hair: David Johnson / Makeup: Alexia Ogle / Invitations: Bride / Cake: A Spoonful of Sugar / Catering: Jenna & Amon of Full Belly Kitchen / Lounge & Bar Rentals: Yeah! Rentals / Tabletop, Ceremony Rug: Frances Lane / Tables, Décor: One True Love Vintage / Farm Tables: Encore Events Rentals / Iko Geometric Wood Structure: The Iko Space / Macrame, Vintage Arrows, Rugs, Tolix Chairs: Bride + Groom / Officiant: Lauren van Ham / DJ: Michael Antonia of The Flashdance / Photobooth: Tomfoolery / Bar: RYE On the Road / Lighting: Got Light / Bride’s Dress: Rime Arodaky, ordered from her Paris showroom, fit by Harput’s Own in San Francisco / Shoes: Bryr Clogs / Earrings: Kathleen Whitaker / Groom’s Suit: J. Crew / Shoes: Timberland / Ties: American Apparel / Wedding Bands: Fiat Lux / Bridesmaids: Amuse Society from Urban Outfitters / Groomsmen Pants: J. Crew
