Real Wedding: Kestrin + Jonathan’s Whimsical Wedding at Flora Grubb

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…

wedding in Northern california on the coast

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.

wedding along the coast with umbrella

wedding photography featherlove

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.

wedding along the coast unique bouquet

wedding couple with airplant bouquet

The photo above is my favorite – the colors are so beautiful!! Below is the bench where Jonathan proposed.

wedding couple on bench

wedding photography vintage featherlove california

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.

succulents wedding decoration reception

flora grubb wedding san francisco

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!!

green wedding dress

flora grubb boutonniere airplant

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…

vintage boudoir photography

vintage boudoir photography

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 :)

flora grubb wedding san francisco

succulent wedding cake flora grubb

How fun is this pedal-powered ferris wheel they rented from Cyclecide Bike Rodeo.

pedal power ferris wheel wedding

succulents in tea cups airplants wedding

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.

flags wedding exit

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.

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