Two musicians out on tour, falling for each other between shows in different cities. Sounds like something out of a song, right?
Well, that’s the real life love story of musical artists Tessa Violet + Dante Cimadamore, who met out on the road. Their October wedding weekend in Ashland, Oregon was beyond enchanting, and we are so excited to give you a peek.
“Our desire was really to create a memorable event that was all about community,” says the couple of why they chose to gather their friends + fam in Tessa’s hometown for a whole weekend full of activities like capture the flag, welcome drinks, and eclipse watching. “It was really special because so many of the guests knew each other so it was like this giant group on vacation together. Everyone after was saying how sweet it was to be running into everyone all weekend between activities.”
To put the whole thing together they enlisted the help of close friend Sydney Westra (aka @squidwestra on TikTok) who also happens to be a wedding planner, content creator, and bridal influencer. Event Crush was on hand, too, to help with day-of coordination and rentals.
The whole celebration took place in the gardens + event spaces of Ashland Springs Hotel (with a quick side quest into a nearby park for some Fall foliage photos). There were moody autumn florals. There were bubbles and several beautiful bridal looks and of course some incredible musical moments.
One of our fave details was the black tie dress code that Tessa + Dante gave their guests “because how often do you get to really dress up as a grown up?”
So press play on your fave Tessa Violet track and get ready to dive into all the gorgeous photos that Jes Workman took of Tessa + Dante’s day!
We are loving these ornate + delicate wedding heels from Kailee P.! Lace, pearls, bows, subtle sparkle: they’ve got it all.
Tessa’s chic short bridal hairstyle and rosy bridal makeup look were created by Beauty By Whitney.
How gorgeous is this rich, red, sheer sleeve mother of the bride dress! Perfect for a black tie Fall wedding.
This glorious hairpiece custom made by Athena Lawton is giving us medieval princess vibes. Loving the short wedding veil that Tessa paired it with!
Sometimes, wedding dress shopping doesn’t go super smoothly, but bride Tessa handled it all beautifully: “To find the ceremony dress I went to like six salons and finally found a dress i loooooved, and ordered on the spot. but then when the dress finally came it had a different bust and neckline than the one I had tried on. It seems so silly, why does it matter? but I felt really beautiful and like a bride in the original and felt very plain and not myself at in this new dress. They said they’d fix it and took it back but then wouldn’t answer my emails or return phone calls. Three months passed, and it was two weeks out from the wedding, and I was starting to wonder if I’d even have a dress…”
A Garden Ceremony
Our Musical Choices Processional: "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds
Recessional: "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin
First Dance: "Just In Time" by Frank Sinatra
Teary-eyed groom pictures are our favorite 🥹.
A Post-Ceremony Parade!
“Following the ceremony, the newlyweds led their guests in a lively parade through the quaint town, accompanied by live musicians, to Lithia Park for unforgettable photo opportunities amidst the vibrant Fall colors,” says planner + friend Sydney Westra, seen here in an amazing, sheer structured bodice black tulle wedding guest dress. (Shop this super similar look!)
We love the playful, celebratory feel of this bubbly moment! Snag some wedding bubbles so your guests can fill the air with bubbles like Tessa + Dante’s did!
Take a look through our collection of the best Fall bridesmaid dresses for even more sage green, deep red, glowy gold, and rich purple bridal party color palette inspo.
And that’s not the only part of her look that she switched up! For the first portion of the reception, Tessa rocked this incredible empire waisted look from Anthropologie Weddings! Those floral cutouts along the bottom! 😍
“I knew I wanted one dress for the ceremony and one for dancing,” remembers Tessa. “I knew I wanted an empire waist which I didn’t think would be hard to find with the popularity of Bridgerton but couldn’t find one anywhere, I guess people think they’re “unflattering” which really means “I don’t look thin in them” which is a whole other Ted talk, but i think they’re stunning and romantic and reminds me of Sailor Moon. Anyway, I finally found the perfect empire waist dancing dress at Anthropologie, something that was so sweet – and half off!”
Tessa + Dante’s playful-yet-traditional three-tier wedding cake was created by none other than Tessa’s mom, Lysa Williams!! So much creativity in their family. 🙂 And love that they included a classic bride + groom cake topper!
Check out our list of the best puff sleeve wedding dresses if you’re loving Tessa’s second look as much as we are.
photography: Jes Workman // venue name: Ashland Springs Hotel, Ashland, OR // planning: Sydney Westra // florals: Manzanita Home and Flowers // wedding dress: Lian Rokman and Anthropologie Weddings // wedding dress boutique: Lovely Bride LA // hairpiece: Athena Lawton // hair stylist: Beauty by Whitney // makeup artist: Beauty by Whitney // videography: Deej Martinez // catering: Ashland Springs Hotel // cake: Lysa Williams // music: Mandy Mac // officiant: Jesse Cale // lighting: Sights & Sounds Unlimited // photo booth: Adventure Box // cocktails: Ashland Springs Hotel // wedding dress: Rita Vinieris // day-of coordinator + rentals: Event Crush // wedding illustration: Ballpoint Chapel // audio guest book: After the Tone // square dancing: Andy Wilson + Band