Our Beautiful Wedding at Stones & Flowers, Santa Cruz CA

We were married on an August day at Stones & Flowers Retreat in Santa Cruz, CA. We said our vows among the redwoods in front of our family and friends. Here are the details!

Ryan and I were married on August 11, 2013, in the forest on the most beautiful of days, surrounded by our friends and family. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about our magical day — it was absolute perfection.

I wanted to share some photos of the day with you, as well as link to some of the projects we did. All the photos were taken by our amazing photographer, Jessica Stout, who also took our engagement photos. Let me know if you have questions about our day — I’d be happy to answer them in the comments!

Table of Contents

Getting Ready & Venue

We had two cute little cabins to get ready in at the Stones & Flowers Retreat in Ben Lomond, CA (outside Santa Cruz) where we got married. Robyn Kelley did my hair and makeup. I loved having my girls around me that entire morning, and I’m sure Ryan enjoyed his guy time as well.

A woman getting her makeup done by another woman

A man helping another man button up his shirt

A close up of a woman having mascara applied

A man standing in a room putting on a tie

A mirror reflection of woman helping a bride into her dress

A man standing in a dark room putting on cufflinks on his long-sleeved shirt

A man putting on cufflinks on his long-sleeved shirt

First Look

We decided to do a first look for a few reasons. First, we didn’t want to take too much time after the ceremony for photos. Second, I wanted to be at my freshest for our photos. Third, it made walking down the aisle a much less jittery experience because I had already seen Ryan that morning. I don’t regret it one bit. Plus, we now have a great photo of Ryan’s eyes nearly popping out of his head when he turned around.

A man standing in the foreground and a bride walking up a trail

A groom and a bride standing among trees

A bride and a groom standing among trees

A bride and a groom standing among trees and hugging each other

Me and Ryan

We decided we wanted to get married in the redwoods (before we even got engaged we knew this!). When we got our photos back from Jessica, we were so happy we’d made that choice. The way the light played through the trees made everything magical.

About some of the details: my dress is a Maggie Sottero and I chose it 42 days before the wedding. I’m not sure if I blogged it, but my first wedding dress manufacturer went out of business and abruptly stopped shipping dresses or returning phone calls. Commence Total Bride Panic. I had to quickly pick a new dress that they had in a sample size they could alter for me. Thankfully, I loved this dress even more than my first!

I decided to forgo a veil and bought my hairpiece from Le Flowers on Etsy. My earrings were from my mom. Ryan’s and his groomsmen’s handsome gray suits were by Vera Wang from Men’s Warehouse. Our amazing florist was Sweeley’s Design out of Santa Cruz — flowers were not really a priority for me, so she literally had two short emails from me about what I wanted, and then proceeded to far exceed my expectations.

A close up of a bride and groom smiling at each other

A bride holding a bouquet of flowers and posing with a smile for the camera

A black and white phots of a close up of a bride and a groom hugging each other

Full picture of a bride holding a bouquet of flowers and showing the back of her dress and train

A black and white photo of a groom kissing his bride among tall trees

A bride and groom walking on a trail in the woods

The sun peeking through the trees in the woods

A groom kissing his bride in front of trees

Bridal Party

When I thought about choosing colors for the wedding, my mind could never settle on one or two. So I chose a bunch of colors that would stand out and make a wildflower splash in the forest. My maids (all of whom are actually matrons) included my maid of honor Amy (who may win the award for Best Maid Of Honor Ever EVER), my lovely sister-in-law Alicia, and my two close friends Brittney and Carolyn. I absolutely love, love, love how my girls look in their dresses — each picked out her own style (not to mention my girls are all gorgeous!!). Their bouquets matched their dresses, which I thought was a fun detail.

A group of women holding bouquets and posing for the camera

A bride and her bridesmaids posing for the camera

A bride and a bridesmaid posing for the camera

A bride and her bridesmaids looking at each other and smiling

Ryan’s guys were his brother Ben and three of his closest friends, Jonny, Tyson, and Gary. Each groomsman had a boutonnière that matched a bridesmaid (and matching socks!). The guys look so dapper in their slim-cut suits.

A groom and his groomsmen posing for the camera

A groom and one of his groomsmen posing for the camera

A group of men jumping up in the air and holding up their pants legs to show off their socks

Our Ceremony: We wanted our ceremony to truly be a reflection of us. Our pastor Mark officiated our wedding, and our friend Grayson played the guitar and sang. I love that they both prayed with Ryan before the ceremony.

Three men in a circle holding each other with their heads bowed

Walking down the aisle was surreal. I could barely hold it together.

A bride walking up the aisle by her father

A group of people in the woods standing by chairs and watching the bride and father of the bride

Bride and her father hugging one another

When Mark asked my dad who blesses this couple in their marriage, he answered, “her family and her friends,” which was really sweet. Instead of special music, we had two readings — my brother Chris read the funny and poignant How Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog by Taylor Mali and Ryan’s sister Ashley read a beautiful Jewish blessing.

We said the traditional marriage pledge, and also wrote our own vows (Ryan’s vows…oh…how I love that man.). Mark was outstanding as our officiant — funny, thoughtful, and full of the truth. Best of all Christ was at the center of our ceremony and is at the center of our marriage. I loved every second of the ceremony.

A bride and groom getting married in the woods

A bride and minister looking a person reading from a piece of paper

A bride smiling and looking at her groom

A woman in a blue dress reading from a piece of paper

A bride and groom kissing and people clapping

A bride and groom walking down the aisle

The Details

When we sat down to budget, we knew the things that were important for us to spend our money on — a great photographer (worth it!!), good food and a capable caterer, a beautiful venue. There were a few things we cut entirely, like a DJ and dance floor (my friend Jeremy emceed the evening) and cake.

Then there were things I knew I could DIY and not spend a ton of money creating — I did almost all the decor, with a little help from some rentals from Ramona at Simple Country Weddings (she’s fab!), like the redwood table number holders, easels, and the cafe lights. I made all the signs (printed on my dad’s computer), and my friends and family helped me make and fluff nearly 500 paper flowers for the tables. We had trail mix as our favor, and I made the stickers for both the trail mix and the s’mores at moo.com. Our friends waved fabric streamers to celebrate. I love how it all turned out!

Close up of a diamond ring and wedding bands

A sign that says, \"You Don\'t Have to Pick Sides, Sit Wherever You\'d Like! (and get cozy)\"

Sitting on a table are small jars filled with trail mix and a label that says, \"Cori & Ryan Are the Perfect Match - Thank You for Celebrating with Us\"

A sign that says, \"Giant Junga\" and the game pieces sitting on the grass

A sign that says, \"Ladder Golf\" and the game sitting on the grass

A close up of a paper cut flowers, a table number and place settings on a table

The Reception

Ryan and decided that since neither of us particularly likes to dance, we’d have lawn games instead! Croquet, ladder golf, giant Jenga (that we built!), and cornhole (that Amy and her husband Nick built). And because neither of us particularly likes cake, we had ice cream and s’mores! The wedding was catered by Michael’s on Main in Soquel, and I can’t say enough good things about them — they were on top of everything! The food was delicious, the staff was attentive, and they even did the ice cream, which was one of my favorite things.

A bride and a groom feeding each other a cookie

Two dessert cups filled with ice cream, a spoon and a cookie

Ryan’s dad, my dad, Amy, and Ben all gave toasts (Amy’s included giving us each a Snickers, so double win) — each one was lovely and personal and perfect. We also played the Shoe Game, and that was absolutely hysterical. Amy had done it at her wedding, and I’d wondered if it would be as fun — oh yes, it was SO much fun and provided so many laughs!

A groomsman standing next to a microphone

A bride and a groom laughing and holding a glass of champagne

An older gentleman holding a glass of champagne and standing next to a microphone

A group of people standing inside a building

An older gentleman standing next to a microphone

A couple laughing and sitting at a table

A bride and a groom sitting back-to-back and each holding one of each other\'s shoes in the air

A bride and a groom sitting back-to-back and each holding one of each other\'s shoes

We chatted with friends and family, played a round of cornhole, ate some ice cream, and stuffed s’mores in our faces. Then, before we knew it, we were being sent off in my dad’s little red Mini Cooper. We drove away, sort of dumbfounded it was all over, but glowing with happiness and ice cream.

A woman sitting in front of a grill a man helping her make a s\'more

A bride and groom standing and eating a s\'more

A man and a woman sitting in front of a grill roasting marshmallows

A man in a suit and tie sitting on a chair roasting a marshmallow

A group of people waving streamer as the bride and groom walk down the steps

And the next day we were off to Europe! You can read all about our epic jaunt around Europe, starting here in Sweden. Hope you enjoyed all the details of our big day!