You might need to sit down for this one. Today’s wedding is oozing with authentic designs + unparalleled inspiration! Both Product Designers, Karyssa + Andrew had all the creative tools to conceptualize + design every-single-amazing-detail of their wedding.
Nestled above the coastline, K + A’s old world fair wedding was held at Cuffey’s Cove, overlooking the Mendocino Coast. K shares some insight to their wonderful, whimsical day: Our friends + family live all over the world, so we were happy to have the excuse to get them together and throw a killer party over a nice long weekend – bonus points for making them do one of our favorite things: a road trip along the California coast. Most of our friends camped out on the property, and we had events going on for a few days (floating around the river, going to the Mendocino County Fair + Apple Show, etc).
And how about sleeping under the stars? Throughout wedding weekend, guests stayed at ‘camp,’ where they had canvas tents on the property for lodging. Ah! We have mounds of old world festival vibe wedding details to share with you (cue illusions, fire-breathers + tarot readings).
Kristen Marie Parker snapped it all, and we’re ready to dive in. Admit one, please!
Admit One
The bride showing off her artistic ability with these fun invitations; including the couple’s favorite spots along the coastline!
Festival Vibes + First Looks
Whoa, this is a stylish group! We’re loving the forest green + gold pops.
Avant-Garde Design – Meets Coastal Fair
Florals were avant-garde and colorful, designed by Ampersand SF. We’re obsessed with those ceremony arrangements dressing the 3D triangle pillars. The floral + design just gets better as the barn reception space opens up!
Processional: Andrew’s groomsmen played instrumental January by Avett Brothers
Recessional: Groomsmen instrumental
First Dance: Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton
Sparkly, Lovely Bride
A in a forest green suit and K in a sequin dress by Chosen by One Day, they shared their vows overlooking the breathtaking coastline.
And because there has to be a good store behind a stunning wedding dress like that, K shared her dress-shopping story: I wanted something feminine, but not frilly or poofy; sparkly but not gaudy or Art Deco. I knew I didn’t want the typical white wedding dress (bummed my mom out)! I tried on dozens of dresses in San Francisco, but after seeing the ‘Nala’ dress online, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. While I was in NYC for work, Lovely Bride happened to have it in in-store. When I tried it on, I felt glamorous and modern…with the right amount of bling 🙂
So Much Love!
Can’t take your eyes off that K’s dress? Neither can we. Peek at this incredible collection from Chosen by One Day!
These Quiet Moments
Fierce Fair Wedding Reception
Are you ready to experience K + A’s wedding fair? They talked more about what they wanted for their wedding: We wanted to keep the day “traditional” in some aspects, but also stay away from things like forced seating charts, typical bridesmaids bouquets + plated meals. Since we’re huge festival/fair fans, we wanted a similar vibe – with a series of surprises throughout the night: the barn, Photo booth bus, tarot + tea tents were left closed – then we mysteriously opened them up different times. Banners unraveled when we walked by at ceremony, and all kinds of our favorite food and drinks were a must :oysters, paella, mac ‘n cheese, midnight hotdogs, craft cocktails.
Where to begin with these amazing designs?! Should we start with the whimsical throne of cornstalks or the crawling beams of greens?
Throne of Corn
Getting to be surprised ourselves! Since we told our vendors to get weird, we really had no idea how things would come together. Some particular favorites: the big reveal of the interior of the barn – including a massive floral piece that split into 2 on the barn doors, and an awesome set of thrones decked in corn.
Our friend Chris’ (officiant) wacky monologue that kept us laughing with several presentation/PowerPoint references, and “letters” from our pet pig Kevin + dog Brody.
A band full of all our friends who are all professional musicians (and had never played together) playing some of our favorite songs. Not 1, but 2 creatures attached themselves to Karyssa’s wedding dress (a mouse, and a praying mantis)!
The killer old-timey circus performance by the Traveling Spectacular. Partying late into the night with our friends and family (the campers stayed up until 4:30 am) Oh and the highland cattle wandering around the property with long hair in their eyes that made them look like cow-hippies.
We cannot get over all the love + detail that went into planning this wedding! K shares more behind their design inspo: Visually, we wanted to contrast the golden grass and rustic barn with pops of color, and complement the coast by playing with texture + smell: things like dried elements, abalone shells, + palo santo bundles that could be lit in the barn.
We also just decided to incorporate random stuff we liked: lots of brass animals (Karyssa’s personal collection), homages to Kevin (our pet mini pig), and since we call our house the Art Farm – Andrew welded some steel pyramids painted with our wedding colors and made some hand-painted signs. Karyssa designed a bunch of random details, like banners/flags, koozies, napkins + invitations – and Karyssa’s mom folded thousands on thousands of paper cranes!
Tarot Tents + Starlight
K + A enjoy an adorable visit to the tarot tent.
Book everything early, so you aren’t scrambling before the wedding, and have a bit of downtime. We gave ourselves over a year! Think of what makes you unique as a couple, and find ways to incorporate those details. The key for us was finding vendors we clicked with, and explicitly directing them to be explosively creative! Trust their instincts, and have them evolve what you see from blogs and Pinterest.
Also… the day goes by so fast! You’ll get pulled in a ton of different directions, so take time to breathe + bake in moments to be alone or with your person (even if it’s for 5 minutes)!
A & Y Video put together a rad clip of this fair wedding – including Andrew’s surprise for his new bride.
Congratulations, K + A! Thank you for the authentic designs and the infinite inspo!
photography: Kristen Marie Parker // venue name: Cuffey’s Cove, Elk, California, USA // event design: Karyssa Midori // planning: Fern Foot Events // florals: Ampersand SF // wedding dress: Chosen by One Day // wedding dress boutique: Lovely Bride // hair stylist: M Salon // makeup artist: Merce Make Up // videography: A&Y Video // paper goods: Karyssa Midori // catering: Black Dog Farm // desserts: Franny’s Cup and Saucer // furniture rentals: Found Rentals // music: Heart of Gold DJ’s // photo booth: Das Bus Photo Booth // cocktails: Lectures on Libations // glamping tents : Wayward Glamping // renals: Matt Rowland Events // entertainment: The Traveling Spectacular