Ever since I saw the sneak peak of this wedding that Noa posted a few weeks ago, I’ve been dying to see the rest of it – and it didn’t disappoint. Photographed by the talented Noa Azoulay-Sclater of Featherlove Photography, this wedding is the magical collaboration of two creative + lovely people. Kestrin is an actress, musician, and event producer and Jonathan co-founded web startups Get Satisfaction and Rubyred Labs. They had a 2 day wedding celebration in Carmel + San Francisco a few months ago and the photos Noa captured are stunning! Oh – and their reception was at the most amazing store in San Francisco, Flora Grubb – yep, Jonathan’s sister owns the store! Ok, onto the photos…
Carmel River State Beach was the location for the family ceremony. Kestrin’s original wedding vision included 10 guests gathering in front of a particular rock on the beach near her Pebble Beach boarding school. When Jonathan pointed out that his immediate family included more than 20 people they agreed to expand to the parks-department-limit of 50. Kestrin’s wedding gown was by Monique Lhullier and Jonathan wore a black slim fitting Dolce & Gabbana suit.
The bouquet and corsages were constructed from Tillandsia air plants by Susie Nadler at Flora Grubb Gardens. How beautiful are they??!! Love them. Oh, and another favorite part of mine was that they had Paul Cartwright, a friend & Kestrin’s band mate in his Orchestra, play a cover of Do You Realize (Flaming Lips) and everyone sang along! I bet that was an amazing moment.
The photo above is my favorite – the colors are so beautiful!! Below is the bench where Jonathan proposed.
Kestrin’s orginal idea was to have a picnic lunch afterward, but her mother insisted on something a bit different since all the guests were flying across country. They had a post-ceremony dinner at Monterey Peninsula Country Club Beach House. I’m obsessed with all the gorgeous centerpieces, bouquets, corsages, and cake decor that were created by Susie Nadler of Flora Grubb.
I LOVE her dress #2 – a perfect vintage green dress! Made by Rebellion Dogs, Kestrin said: “It felt like I was wearing a ladybug tutu, an absolute dream.” She found it on a whim, just before the wedding, at Tavin on Echo Park Blvd in LA. So so fun!!
Day 2 started out at their hotel at the Palhttps://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sfolc-palace-hotel-a-luxury-collection-hotel-san-francisco/ace Hotel, San Fransisco. I love this impromptu boudoir session…
The Day 2 reception was held at Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco with about 300 guests. I would have loved to attend this wedding! Guests wore formal attire to both the ceremony and the reception, but were free to interpret the word “formal” as they pleased. From Jonathan: “We originally thought it was pretentious to tell people how to dress, but having over and under dressed for friends’ weddings we decided to send some guidelines.” An email sent the week before the wedding included these notes:
• Attire is creative formal. Dress for an audience with Alice in Wonderland’s Queen of Hearts. It will get cold, so an extra jacket will be nice.
• Gents: One can’t go wrong with a suit, from tweed to tux. Feel free to overdress in strange and unexpected ways.
• Ladies: This is your opportunity to get wonderful and wild. No ball gowns required, but you can easily get away with wearing a funky one if you happen to have it. However, if your style is more subdued, a nice cocktail dress will be perfect.
• One should avoid dirty old Burning Man costumes and clothing items with the word “sweat” in their name, be they shirts, suits, pants, or bands.
LOVE this idea! Lots of times I’m never sure how dressy to dress for a wedding – I’d love to get some creative guidelines like these :)
How fun is this pedal-powered ferris wheel they rented from Cyclecide Bike Rodeo.
Each guest was given a yellow or saffron-colored flag that Kestrin hand-made in the weeks before the wedding. They created an aisle through the crowd, holding the flags aloft like a giant game of London Bridges.
Jonathan: “We expected it to feel like a processional of Tibetan monks in space, with gongs and gentle flag waving, but our guests had already had a few strong drinks by the time we started. They were, screaming, dancing, and waving the flags like they were inciting a revolution. It was way better than the monk thing.” Kestrin: “We had intended to make it mostly a party with a short set of toasts, but even our less intimate friends were asking for some ceremony. It was a little like my mom’s sentiment: I wasn’t going to have my friends drive all the way up from Los Angeles and give them some god damn boring speeches. We ended up making it a full second wedding.”
These are only the highlights – and yes, that is Adrian Grenier waving a flag above! He is their neighbor and dear friend. Anyways, you must go to Noa’s blog to see so many more photos. There are probably over a hundred on her blog – so stunning. She also has their vows they wrote which are so sweet, fun and perfect.
Thank you Noa for letting me share this amazing wedding today and congrats to Kestrin + Jonathan. I LOVE how creative and personal your wedding celebration was. Feather Love Photography is based in San Diego, CA, but available for travel worldwide.
Where is the brides gorgeous dress from? & WOW! Adrian Grenier @ your wedding? AMAZING!!!
umm… Amazing! I love how personal the wedding was. I still think she was able to get the picnic feel that she wanted at the first reception too, with the floral arrangements. Love the boudoir pics and the orange and yellow flag welcome…. seriously I wish they could have their wedding again so I can be invited!
her bouquet is awesome! love flora grubb also – on my list of places to visit :) love this photographer’s style also – thanks for sharing
OMG! These photos are amazing. It looks like a dream. Love her style!! And those dresses? How beautiful. Love that they incorporated so many personal touches.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I love it when stylish couples match up with stylish photographers. These are beautiful photos.
what a amazing celebration! i especially love the brindle boxer at the ceremony.
I’m in love with that tillandsia cake! And a wedding reception at Flora Grubb! Unbelievable!
I love the ceremony photos – her dress and hair billowing in the wind look just perfect!
wow… what a stunning wedding!
These are fantastic photos! Love all of them!!!
Stunning photos! Love the guy in the blue blazer at the beginning! And the flowiness of here dress make my heart melt. :-)
STUNNING!!! So much personality.
This is just stunning!!
I love her wedding dress! I love the flowy-ness to it!
Just the right amount of whimsical,and enchanting
This is beyond incredible. I love the smoky, vintage look to the first several photos.
XO
Carly
All this is Grace and Charm
http://allthisgraceandcharm.blogspot.com
i have been obsessed with air plants ever since i was a young girl and grew up seeing them hanging in the trees at my grandma’s house…i hope they make a big splash this year in floral design! xoxo, c
The hilltop ceremony reminds me the wedding in Mamma Mia.
Love the table settings – so unique and bet they could be re-used and planted in the garden after :)
The photos are spot on.
WOW
completely blown away!! amazing everything! Everything-everything! I feel very inspired and happy for the couple! :D
Hi! Gorgeous shoot :) Can you tell me where that rock and bench are? (Which trail I should take – is it the Pebble Beach to Carmel trail or the Point Lobos trails?) I’d like to explore the trails there and love rocks!! Thanks!!!
I just stumbled across this blog post, while searching for some boudoir inspiration and WOW! I love your style. So artistic!