When we came to, we were sitting on a giant piece of
driftwood on Stillwater Cove Beach in Pebble Beach. To our left we had a view
of the 4th hole on the famed Pebble Beach Golf Course and 10 feet in
front of us was the beautiful Pacific Ocean. It was one of those rare days in
Pebble Beach…no fog, crystal blue water and about 70 degrees. It was perfect…the
MOST perfect day.
On August 24, 2013 I woke up at my parents house,
my sister, aka maid of honor, by my side. It was a beautiful day, about 75
degrees. My mom and aunts made my girlies and I a tasty champagne brunch as we
were pampered by the M.U.A.H ladies (Make-up & Hair). I felt excited, happy
and completely relaxed as I prepped to get married.
Around 2 o’clock I slipped into my all time favorite dress,
here comes the giddiness and restlessness, and we snapped a few photos at my
parent’s house. Taking pictures in my dress, all dolled up, was exciting but
all I really wanted to do was get to Corral de Tierra Country Club where I knew
my groom was awaiting my arrival. I don’t know exactly how many times I said,
“okay, I think we got enough pictures…let’s go” or “we better go because I
don’t want Jacob to be waiting” but one can safely guess 10+.
As the limo pulled up to the country club (I finally got
everyone to leave), I was so eager for the “reveal” I could barely stand it. I was
just minutes away from seeing my man, the love of my life, my best friend, my
future husband…and in a tux!!!!
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For those of you about to say, “I do” I highly recommend
doing a reveal before the ceremony. I know it takes away from the tradition but
that is the only time you will have a moment just for the two of you until the
nights over. It was so special to have that time together where we could talk
and share our “I cannot wait to marry you” type of words…oh, and KISS. We still
had the excitement of the first time we got to see each other but it was just
us…no crowd. And even though we had already seen each other, when I finally did
walk down the aisle it was still so exciting to be approaching him and seeing
his face as I did. At this point you know you are about to be married and about
to say your vows and nothing can take away from that excitement. I also think
this helped to make it less nerve-wracking because we are both on the shy side.
I remember being so nervous to walk down the feather and
rose petal covered aisle. The idea of all those people (even though they were
our closest friends and family) standing and staring at me made my stomach
turn. I was starting to tear up as I waited with my dad. There were so many
emotions running through my mind. However, as I approached the aisle and saw
Jacob it all went away. I was suddenly calm again. Just as I was when I woke up
that day knowing I was marrying my best friend. Just as I was when I first saw
him only two hours earlier. My fears of everyone staring at me vanished and all
I could see was him and boy did he look handsome.
For our ceremony we did things a little different. You
see, I am a Christian and Jacob is Jewish. I was up for a Jewish ceremony but I
wanted it done our way, in a way that was special to both of us. In the beginning of the ceremony we talked about
blending the two traditions:
“Out of two different and distinct traditions, Jacob and
Jenna have come together to learn the best of what each has to offer,
appreciating their differences, and confirming that being together is far
better than being apart from each other.”
We had a Chuppa (which was my absolute favorite piece of
décor with feathers, succulents and branches), we drank from the Kiddish cup
and of course stomped glass and shouted “Mazel Tov” but we also added some
elements that were just ours, like having our sisters sign our marriage license
during the ceremony and adding our personalities to the ceremony by writing our
own vows and making silly promises like: “I promise to never stop doing the
chicken dance and to cook more pasta, I promise to stop adopting furry
babies…for a little while anyway. I promise to never stop calling you stud
because even when we are old and grey (or bald) you will always be a stud in my
eyes.” And “I promise to love your cats like my own. You are my comfort, my
pasta and meatballs, my chili cheese dog, my sundae.” Of course there was the
mushy love stuff too but I guess you had to be there. ;-)
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After the ceremony the party begun and it was an absolute blast.
Hands down, the best party I have ever been to!
It truly was the MOST perfect day!
Our wedding details:
Venue/Catering:
Corral de Tierra Country Club (we had our first date here
and as you can see in the photos it is a stunning wedding venue).
Attire:
Girls:
Epiphany in Carmel-by-the-Sea. My dress (Watters), the bridesmaids
dresses (Robert Cavalli), mother of the bride and the mother of the groom dresses were from
here…oh, and my rehearsal dinner dress (French Connection). I wore my Grandma Nell's jewelry and the handkerchief I had wrapped around my bouquet was a gift from my Grandma Mavis; that way they were both with me. My minx wrap was my great aunt Pansy's.
Hair Pieces:
A Lil’ Bit Fancy. I provided the feathers to Katie (owner
and designer) and she went to town. I knew she would make the perfect
hairpieces and she did. I absolutely love them. I plan on wearing it again one
day.
Men:
Florist:
We never met and we hired her only 4-6 weeks out but she
completely nailed my vision. We wanted everything to be natural but elegant. I
wanted all types of feathers throughout. Our colors were blush, ivory, peach,
pastel yellow, champagne, and antiqued gold. I wanted a little texture so she
used dahlias and succulents. Everything was gorgeous. My Chuppahh was my
absolute favorite. I wish I had more pictures of the ballroom.
All of our personal floral (bouquets, corsages and
boutonnières) were a wedding gift from a friend and my former boss, Christine.
I provided her with the feathers I wanted and she worked her magic and also
nailed it. Textural, natural, muted and gorgeous. They looked gorgeous next to
the antiqued gold sequin bridesmaid dresses.
Hair & Makeup:
Owned and run by two chicas that just so happen to be my
friends. They are so fun to work with and so professional. I wanted everyone’s
makeup to be somewhat natural with gold tones and I wanted everyone to have a
braid incorporated into their hair. They nailed it and everyone looked simply
fab. Not that they didn’t before.
Photogaraphy/Videography:
Alli is a dear and long time friend of mine and she shot
our engagement photos. These babies are framed all over our house. She did a
great job and it is easy to be yourself around somebody that you are close
with.
Tom O’Neal shot our wedding. I had worked with him before
(he also shot the images of me wearing the floral/cotton head wreath you find
throughout the blog) and I just knew I wanted to work with him. He is a lot of
fun and did a great job.
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Rentals:
Illusions of Grandeur
Another former employer of mine. I went to them for my
tables, chairs, specialty bars and linens. They have farm tables that fit my
vision and I just had to have them. In the ballroom I mixed round tables with ivory
satin linen and antiqued gold, metal chivari chairs and the rectangle wood
(farm) tables with matching wood chairs and Illusions white rock runners down
the center. Illusions also set up a wine barrel bar at our ceremony site as
well as a slate rock bar at our cocktail hour. Again, I wish I had more
pictures of these details to share but take my word, it looked beautiful.
Music:
Jon was also the disc jockey at my sisters
wedding so I
knew immediately that I wanted him. He did our ceremony and reception. I have
heard from several people that our wedding was one of the most fun weddings
they had ever been to and it was a great dance party. I have also heard that
about my sisters so I guess it is safe to say Jon rocks.
Family’s entrance to ceremony: Stand By Me By John Lennon
Bridesmaid’s entrance to ceremony: Better Together by Jack Johnson
Bridal Processional: Lost in this Moment by Big n' Rich
Recessional: Stuck on You by Meiko
Bride & Groom Introduction at Reception: The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson
First Dance: Only You Can Love Me This Way by Keith Urban
Father, Daughter Dance: My Little Girl by Tim McGraw
Mother, Son Dance: The Prayer by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion
Last Dance of the Night: Hell on the Heart by Eric Church (one of our favorites and kind of our song...inside joke :-))
Dessert:
Pastries and Petals for the cupcakes and our mini
cheesecake. Red’s for the doughnut holes (they are the best in the area) and my
family made the rice krispy treats (chewey gooeys) because they are the only
one’s that can get it just right.
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