Real Wedding Laurel and Scott at Santa Barbara Zoo Featured on Snippet & Ink

 16

FEB

REAL WEDDING: LAUREL and SCOTT

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Nancy Neil is one of my favorite photographers to feature – not only does she take lovely photos, but her clients always have the loveliest weddings! In a fun twist, Laurel and Scott were wed at the Santa Barbara Zoo…

Before the ceremony, guests were offered water and lemonade in miniature jam jars.

I asked Laurel and Scott why they chose this location for their wedding:  Scott is from Santa Barbara and we knew we wanted to get married somewhere outdoors in his hometown. Because he grew up there he was initially skeptical about the zoo (he hadn’t been since he was a kid), but when we saw it we knew it was just right for us. It’s very pretty and has beautiful views of the ocean and mountains. We also have lots of family and friends with kids, and we wanted to be able to include everyone in our celebration, including their children. We both love animals too – who else can say they got to feed a giraffe right after their ceremony? And it’s a little different and not too formal. We really wanted everything to be relaxed, casual, fun and still beautiful.

How darling are these animal alphabet cards?! Says Laurel: The amazing custom wedding day stationary was made by my best friend, who was also one of our officiants. She did 17 original watercolor paintings of different animals at the Santa Barbara Zoo that start with a different letter, and then each table at the reception had a custom-printed version of her paintings as the place card for that table (instead of table numbers). She made printed sticker versions of the animals and we hand-stamped guests’ names on the escort cards. She also drew the program and custom zoo map, which included activity information for our guests.

Did you include any traditions in your wedding?  My father passed away three years before our wedding, and he was remembered in many ways during our wedding, from the flower my mother carried in his memory when she walked me down the aisle, to the ceremony and toasts at the reception. We included some other traditions, but including the memory of my dad in the day was the most important.

What advice do you have for other brides?  Don’t sweat the small stuff. Things that don’t go according to plan are either so memorable that they’ll make for great stories, or are so forgettable that even you won’t remember a year from now. All the little details can be fun if you want them to be, but truthfully, most of your guests won’t notice or care. Everyone’s there to celebrate, and at the end of the day, if you get married and have the people you love with you, that’s really all that matters.

Is there anything else that helps tell the story of the day? Scott and I have known each other a very long time – we first met in college almost 16 years before our wedding, so that means we’ve also known each other’s families and friends a long time too. Because the large majority of our guests were traveling from other places (and even other countries) to attend, we wanted to have as much time with everyone as possible and tried to extend the celebration all weekend. Everyone was invited to a party on Friday night, and we had a big brunch on Sunday that lasted into the afternoon. To have almost everyone you love together in one place – there’s truly nothing better.

Vendors

Photography: Nancy Neil / Event planner: Tonya Szele for Soigné Productions / Venue: Santa Barbara Zoo / Bride’s dress: Junko Yoshioka from Mark Ingram Atelier / Beaded belt: Oscar de la Renta / Hair stylist: Lucy at Salon U / Groom’s suit: John Varvatos / Flowers: Holly Flora / Ceremony music: Chris Fossek / Reception DJ: Jon Harris / Photo booth: The Traveling Photo Booth Company / Catering, rentals, lighting: Zoo Catering Services by Rincon / Cakes:Jeannine’s


tags Ceremony, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Event Catering, Santa Barbara Wedding Location, Santa Barbara Wedding Locations, Southern California Wedding, Wedding Location Venue, Beach Weddings, Soigne Productions, Ranch Weddings, Barn Weddings, Tricia Fountaine Designs

Santa Barbara Mission and Firestone Vineyard: Mayo + RJ

Mayo and RJ are the sweetest couple and I am so excited to share their wedding photos with you.  Their beautiful ceremony and reception were held at the Old Mission Santa Barbara and the Firestone Vineyard in Los Olivos.

This happened to be the same weekend as the La Brea Wild Fires and even though we were a safe distance away, ash snowed down on the Vineyard, so we moved the celebration indoors.  Luckily, Firestone has a large barrel room that was able to accommodate us and the combination of the natural woods-like floral blended perfectly with the surrounding oak barrels.

Photographers Michael and Anna Costa captured the evening beautifully and Los Angeles Florist, The Velvet Garden created individual works of art on each of their guest tables.

Enjoy!

Mayo carried a gorgeous bouquet in shades of whites and ivories with accents of green... The flowers included exquisite lady slipper orchids, parrot tulips, fragrant gardenias and stephanotis... RJ's boutonniere was designed to match and included succulent, stephanotis and a white rose petal backing.

Each of the bridemaids held bouquets created from a single floral element to include (from left to right) green hydrangeas, green cymbidium orchids and kermit mums... The groomsmen wore matching boutonnieres.

Pocketfold invitations were written in both Japanese and English and included a weekend schedule, map and response card... Matching escort cards were placed in the tasting room- their colors indicated guest meal selections... Instead of a traditional guest book, we used a flat barrel head carving from E Wood Art.

A simple white buttercream cake, provided by Decadence Wedding Cake, was decorated with green roses, hydrangeas and kermit mums... Guest tables, covered in Colchester Chocolate Linen from Classic Party Rentals, were adorned with zen inspired centerpieces that were three dimensional, "enchanted gardens" incorporating pieces of driftwood, vines, moss, flowers and fruit... Instead of table numbers, each table was named for a different varietal of wine...  Guests received a box of homemade truffles from Jessica Foster Confections.

Guests enjoyed a delicious three course plated meal prepared by Duo Catering and Events... After dinner, they were invited to the Firestone Wine Club Lounge to dance to music provided by DJ Anthony Liebetrau of Red Shoe.
 
Congratulations Mayo & RJ!!

tags Ceremony, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Event Catering, Santa Barbara Wedding Location, Santa Barbara Wedding Locations, Southern California Wedding, Wedding Location Venue, Soigne Productions, Bijoux Event, Wine Country Wedding

Montecito Country Club: Caitlin + Jared

I am very excited to share the photos from Caitlin and Jared's fabulous wedding and reception at the Montecito Country Club.  Together with an amazing team of professionals we gave them the Santa Barbara wedding of their dreams. 

The talented Michael and Anna Costa captured all of the event's special moments and Tricia Fountaine did it again with beautiful, brightly colored flowers and decor. Perfect for a late spring/ early summer wedding.

Enjoy!

White rose petals and ribbon lined the aisle...Flower pomador balls with yellow roses and fuchsia hydrangeas hung from the chairs...The bride carried a bouquet of white garden roses and bright yellow freesia...Two adorable flower girls carried moss covered baskets filled with coral petals...Bridesmaids, dressed in coral, tea length dresses, carried matching bouquets with yellow and white roses, tulips and stock.

 Following the ceremony, guests were invited to the main longe for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres where they were welcomed by a custom sign made by Wedding Chicks... Two photo guest books were displayed- one of New York City Photography representing the groom and one of California Photography representing the bride... A console table held a collection of family photos... Caitlin looked gorgeous with her hair and makeup styled by Julie Morgan.

 Guests were invited to the Santa Cruz and Anacapa rooms for dinner and dancing... Hand calligraphy escort cards held photos of the bride and groom at a corresponding age... A creative way to incorporate adorable childhood photos.

 A custom wood stand held the most delicious cupcakes from Robyn Loves Cake... For a fun touch, we displayed silver cups filled with "C" and "J" lollypops as well as hershey kisses- each with a photo of the bride and groom kissing... Gorgeous centerpieces with hydrangeas, roses, queen annes lace, stock, tuplips and champagne grapes decorated each table... Specialty linen toppers from Classic Party Rentals in Allegra Sage and Sunset Crush were placed over the MCC house linen...  Fruitwood chivari chairs from Fushion Event Rental were brought in to replace the MCC's banquet chairs.

After dinner, DJ Anthony Liebetrau of Red Shoe kept guests on the dance floor all night long... Irish Claddagh Dancers made a special surprise performance...But as an even bigger surprise, Caitlin removed the bottom half of her gown and she, her brother and her sister gave their own Claddagh performance.

Congratulations Caitlin & Jared!!!