04/11/2025
In the months following my wedding, I was honestly at a loss for words. To be surrounded by family and the friends that have truly stood the test of time was a pinnacle experience. Having photographed a couple hundred weddings before our big day, I had a lot of ideas when it came to making our wedding unique, interactive, and beautiful. Here are some of the highlights:
1. We hosted a weekend-long wedding in a remote part of California. While arguably inconvenient this narrowed our guest list to those who really wanted to be there with us and were down for the kind of quality time we desire. We had key events span 4 days, including an intimate family dinner, an opening cacao ceremony, a fireside sing along, and a Sunday ecstatic dance along with our wedding day activities.
2. I did an exceptional amount of DIY projects (wish I had done more, and photographed them all) including the florals, confetti cones with pages from a book I love, gold and silver hearts lining the path to our venue, a tree displaying portraits we’ve taken of our guests over the years (Michael is a photographer, too) and geode seat cards.
3. We prioritized interactivity. We matched each guest with someone they didn’t yet know, and provided a conversation starter. We also gave guests a calling card to connect with a new friend after the wedding.
4. We did the “first kiss” at the start of the ceremony and encouraged everyone to take out their phones and get the photo. This was intended to make them laugh and have them satisfied during an unplugged ceremony, but it meant we also got a great first kiss photo!
4. Our guests showed up big time. With friends bringing their talents to multiple aspects of the event from catering, to video, to planning, to photography…it was a deeply personal event. My dear friend even created a ritual bath for me the night before the wedding.
5. We did a sparkle outfit theme and made a suggested attire board. I will have to make a separate post to share how amazing everyone looked!
Photos by the amazing