Eclectic Santa Barbara Historical Museum Wedding: Jessica + Mike

Santa Barbara Wedding

Happy Friday everyone! We have the prettiest wedding at the gorgeous Santa Barbara Historical Museum to share with you all today. We’re totally loving all the Spanish + Mexican elements they incorporated with the help of the talented team at Beijos Events. Think floral crowns, bridesmaids in pastels, hanging flowers, leather + copper details, amber glassware, and churros for dessert! We just love, love, love! So happy that Jacqueline Pilar was there to capture it all!

Let’s hear a bit more about their wedding day inspiration from Jessica + Mike…

Living in Santa Barbara both of us wanted to represent Santa Barbara and the Spanish Heritage in the wedding and also Jessica grew up going to her family’s home in Mexico, so the memories spent there in Baja had a huge influence on the decor and food. We both love Mexican food, so we had a a taco buffet with someone making fresh tortillas, a ceviche station, and an elaborate salsa bar. The Churros for dessert were an ode to our favorite festival here in Santa Barbara, Fiesta! Super important to both of us was making sure McConnell’s (local Santa Barbara brand) Ice Cream was present at the wedding. They brought their ice cream cart and guests could choose between the groom’s favorite Mint Chip or the bride’s favorite Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. The table decor was reflective of the Spanish theme as well with crocheted lace covering the tables and Spanish tiles as coasters for the ornate amber glasses. Local Santa Barbara olive branches were tucked into each napkin and all flowers were local and seasonal. We served all local wines and our specialty cocktail was each of our favorite margaritas.

bridal flower crown

Watters Wedding Dress

Jessica wore a Watters gown with a floral crown by Terra Malia Designs and her bridesmaids all wore pretty Joanna August dresses!

gray and pink bridesmaids

gray and pink bridesmaids

Watters Wedding Dress

gold succulent bouquet

bridal flower crown

carnation garland

Our Musical Choices

Processional: Ray LaMontagne - You are the best thing (for the bridal party); Mason Jennings - Be Here Now (for the bride)

Recessional: Marvin Gay - Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing

First Dance: Ben E King - This Magic Moment

Santa Barbara Wedding

Santa Barbara Wedding

Santa Barbara Wedding

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

For both of us this centers around the ceremony.

Jessica: My brother who has been close to both of us throughout our whole relationship was the officiant of the wedding. His heartfelt and thoughtful service was touching, funny, and unique to us. At one point during the ceremony he had us turn to look out on the crowd of our friends and family and it was the most special and overwhelming feeling (in a positive way) to see all of those you care about smiling at you and sharing in your joy. After that as a surprise my brother had all 5 of my nieces and nephews read Dr. Suess’ Oh the Places You’ll Go together. It was so fun for them to participate and seeing as they range in age from 11-21 they each had their unique spin on their reading. Also, each of our sister’s read a reading of our choice that was special to us. All of this lead up to the pinnacle of our ceremony in which we exchanged our vows that we wrote for each other. Both of us expressed our love and commitment in our own unique way. Post wedding we have framed the papers that each of us read from that day as a reminder of this beautiful moment. On a less sentimental note- rocking out on the dance floor with everyone was awesome!

Mike: For me my most memorable moment was when Jess was walking down the aisle and I got to see her for the first time on our wedding day.

Santa Barbara Wedding

Santa Barbara Wedding

Santa Barbara Wedding

Santa Barbara Wedding

pink door escort display

leather escort cards

A bit about the design elements from Jacquelyn of Beijos Events: When Jessica came to us and said she wanted a Mexican/Moroccan feeling wedding we were already obsessed. We loved playing with these colors and using different elements like brass, tile and leather. Terra Malia Designs knocked it out of the park with her florals, the vibrant colors and exotic flowers mixed with the gold and cut fruit were jaw dropping. The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is so naturally beautiful but we loved the pops of color this wedding added! The bride’s sweet and talented sister created and designed all of the paper goods adding such a personal touch. 

moroccan lanterns

amor marquee sign

Santa Barbara Wedding

lace tablecloths

yellow goblets

protea bud vases

custom drink napkins

moroccan lanterns

Santa Barbara Wedding

vw bug getaway car

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

Our first piece of advice is to hire a planner - Both of us felt so fortunate not to have to worry at all on the day of the wedding. We knew we were in the best hands and that everything would be taken care of. This piece of advice goes along with working with vendors that you truly like and communicate well with. We cannot say enough about each of the vendors that we worked with and we could both gush on but we will spare you that - everything was so thorough leading up to the event that we knew there was nothing left to be concerned about! This really allowed us to enjoy our families and bridal parties leading up to the ceremony. There are a lot of beautiful emotions the day of leading up to the big event and it was great to be able to be present to experience all of them.

Which leads us to our next piece of advice which is to do your best to be present during the planning and most definitely during the wedding! We both found it so easy to get wrapped up in all the details - napkins, favors, seating arrangements, etc., that at times it almost seemed the significance of the day fell to the wayside. It was helpful to remind each other that the most important thing was our commitment to each other and our families. I had heard many brides say that the day would go by in a blink and it most definitely did! It was helpful throughout the day to pause, take a deep breath, and look around- there was nothing like having all the people you love around you at once and we will always cherish those memories. Next, we both found it super important to remember that the day was about us and what we wanted. LOTS of people will have opinions about what is right or unacceptable whether it be your food choice or maybe the size of your bridal party. It is after all your day and it should reflect the two of you.

Lastly and absolutely most importantly - let it all go and have a blast! It’s your wedding day!

Congrats you two on an amazing day! We wish you all the best!

photography: Jacqueline Pilar // venue name: The Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Santa Barbara, California // event design: A collaborative effort between the bride and Beijos Events // planning: Beijos Events // florals: Terra Malia Designs // wedding dress: Watters // bride's shoes: Vince Camuto // bridesmaid dresses: Joanna August // hair stylist: Dreamcatcher Artistry // makeup artist: Dreamcatcher Artistry // groom attire: J.Crew // groom's shoes: Seavees // paper goods: Rachel Reisig Design // catering: Omni Catering // cake: Your Cake Baker // music: Vox DJs // officiant: Bride's Brother // flower crown: Terra Malia Designs // videography: Arcade Edit & John Kline // rentals: Ventura Rentals

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