Whimsical Bohemian Hilltop Wedding: Kris + Darren

California Hilltop Wedding

Both designers by trade, Kris + Darren had one thing in mind when planning the overall feel for their day: to create a truly unique experience for their closest friends + family. They were eager to find a location that had a dreamy atmosphere and the Tomales Bay/Point Reyes area of Northern California – where Darren proposed! – felt like the best fit they could imagine. As luck would have it, their friends owned the perfect plot of land for the wedding + from there thoughtful details, dreamt up by the two of them, brought to life the amazing celebration you’re about to see.

We love that they kept the specifics of the day a surprise for their friends and family right up until the moment the VW shuttles picked them up and brought them up the hill! And the amazing design elements incorporated into the setting – think handwritten menus and Shelter Co. tent lounges – helped make the day undeniably Kris + Darren. We’re sure it’s pretty obvious already, but truly every little bit of this special celebration, captured by Daring Wanderer, is just too good to be true!

ring

lace veil

California Hilltop Wedding

vw bus

We can’t think of better way to arrive to a hilltop wedding than by a VW busdixie land parade.

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

tent decor

California Hilltop Wedding

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

Kris: When my dad and I walked around the hill corner to see my friends and family waiting a few hundred meters a far, they all wooped and waved. The moment and sound of the people I love captivated everything I was feeling at that time: extreme love and happiness. To top it off, I was arm and arm with my amazing dad who loves California as much as I do. A girl couldn't be any happier on her wedding day.

Darren: Driving up to the site a few weeks prior to the wedding, just Kris and I and a rental lawn mower. We marked out the site that would house the tents and catering team with red solo cups from the market in town and then spent the afternoon cutting the grass in the middle of a hundred acre hillside as if it was our backyard while the longhorn cattle watched, confused from across the field. It all seemed so surreal. A runner ran past that we’d seen coming from 10 minutes away, the only person we saw all day; we felt like we were about to get in trouble from a neighbor for leaving a mark on the landscape, and he just said “it's going to take you a while if you’re cutting the whole hillside with that mower…” and kept going.

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

We’re over the moon in love with Kris’ Guinevere dress by Temperley London.

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

California Hilltop Wedding

tented wedding

farm tables

fur seating

band

dancing

tented wedding

Kris + Darren say, We feel so lucky to have such crafty friends and family and amazing vendors who were so easy-going and willing to jump in the deep end and help us with everything while we were still figuring it all out. We tried to take on a lot of things ourselves, but were so grateful for all the help we got as the weekend got closer. Being able to delegate moments like the food experience to our fearless caterer, Stacy; the cocktail hour music to our four-piece dixie band; and elements like the flowers and cake to Kris’ sisters along with the logistics of the beach bonfire the night before to her twin sister and brother-in-law were immeasurably helpful and left a few wow factors and surprises for us even after we’d spent so much time planning those moments beforehand.

Congrats on a beautiful day + wishing you two a life filled with love!

photography: Daring Wanderer // venue name: Private land in Nicasio Valley, California // florals: DIY by sisters of bride // wedding dress: Guinevere dress by Temperley London // bride's shoes: Kate Spade // groom attire: Boglioli // catering: Stacy Lauer in Marshal // cake: Liz Woyzbun, sister of the bride // music: The Dixie Giants // veil: Sibo Designs // rentals: Encore Events // tent: Shelter Co. // vw shuttle: Vantigo SF // menu design: Santiago Sunbird

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