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✦ A Wedding Recap
Today marks two years married. It feels wild that our wedding was already two years ago. That weekend was probably the best of my life. Over a year of planning and intention went into creating a weekend surrounded by the people we love, celebrating our commitment to each other and the life we’re continuing to build together.
The design of our wedding was a true labor of love. A billion small decisions that added up to something I’m so proud of. I’m curious how I’ll feel about it all when I’m older, but for now, I still love the vibe and stand by every choice we made. And honestly, I think it still holds up!
I want to thank my family for making our wedding possible. My parents were incredibly generous, and their support meant the world to us. It turned the weekend into something so much bigger than just a celebration of us, it became a rare chance for our extended family to come together. Even now, when I look back on that weekend, I know my family is the reason it all came to life. I’ll always cherish that.
THE VENUE
I truly loved our wedding venue. I can’t say enough good things about The Holly Farm.
From the start, we imagined getting married somewhere meaningful to us, like Joshua Tree or Big Sur. Both places have been special throughout our relationship, with lots of road trips and memories tied to those landscapes. We seriously considered hosting it at our Joshua Tree property, but it quickly became obvious that the logistics weren’t ideal: no bathrooms, rough dirt roads, nowhere nearby for our guests to stay, etc.
So we shifted our focus to the Big Sur area. But even there, finding a venue that was both beautiful and could comfortably host the number of guests we were inviting was harder than expected.
That’s when we brought on a local wedding planner, and she showed us The Holly Farm. It was further north than we had planned to look, and not even on our radar, but the second we stepped onto the property, we knew. It had this eclectic, outdoorsy charm and a kind of homey magic to it. Even better, it was large enough for many of our close friends and family to stay on-site, which was one of our biggest priorities.
THE VIBE
Riley did the branding with my art direction. This sparked several fights over design and “brand,” eventually resolved by us compromising and me getting out of his way lol. I made a map of our (somewhat complicated) venue layout, and he designed the invitations. Our color palette was bright pinks, oranges, and yellows, which popped beautifully against the tropical greenery of the space.
THE CEREMONY
More than anything, I wanted the ceremony to feel personal. I wanted our guests to feel included, like they were stepping into our world for a moment. We chose music that felt classic and familiar. My Aunt Cheryl officiated and opened with a short reflection about us - who we are, what brought us here, and then Riley and I read our vows to each other.
We ended the ceremony with a tea ritual from our SGI Buddhist practice. My sister, acting as our “tea pourer,” guided us through it. Riley’s mom, who’s been part of SGI for decades, gifted us a special wedding tea. And in a detail that still means so much to me - we had a local ceramicist in Joshua Tree (just down the road from our property) create a custom teapot just for the ceremony. It felt like a small but meaningful way to bring a piece of our land and life into this moment.
We ended the ceremony with a tea ritual from our SGI Buddhist practice. My sister, acting as our “tea pourer,” guided us through it. Riley’s mom, who’s been part of SGI for decades, gifted us a special wedding tea. And in a detail that still means so much to me - we had a local ceramicist in Joshua Tree (just down the road from our property) create a custom teapot just for the ceremony. It felt like a small but meaningful way to bring a piece of our land and life into this moment.
We walked out to Stuck in the Middle with You, one of our all-time road trip favorites. It wasn’t too serious and signaled that it was time to party, and that’s exactly what we wanted.
THE FOOD
Cocktail hour included passed apps and the now-iconic tomato bar (so many people still bring it up). I wish I could take credit, but that was actually our caterer’s idea when we said we wanted the meal to feel like an Italian summer.
For dinner, one thing I was very adamant about was serving everything family-style. I personally hate buffet-style service, it disrupts the flow and breaks up the experience. Everyone has to get up in groups, tables eat at different times, and some people end up with tons of downtime while others barely have a chance to eat.
We really wanted to encourage people to connect at their tables and share a meal together. Family-style service creates that opportunity, it invites people to truly break bread and fall into conversation without interruption. The flow of the evening was intentional, and this choice was a big part of that.
THE PARTY
If you know my dad, you know he knows how to party. An open bar and good DJ were non-negotiables. I wasn’t super picky about the music. I gave the DJ a general idea of what we liked but told him to read the room and play whatever kept people dancing. That was the goal.
THE WEED BAR
This was something Riley really wanted at his wedding. Living in California, cannabis is a pretty normal part of social life - it’s something we use casually to unwind or hang out with friends, and it’s not unusual to see it at parties. That said, my family wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of a weed bar at our wedding.
To meet them halfway, we came up with a few ground rules:
No weed smell or smoke near the dance floor or main party areas. If you didn’t want to see it or smell it, you didn’t have to.
No signage. My mom was very firm about not having a “WEED BAR” sign anywhere, so we leaned into the speakeasy concept. It became a low-key, tucked-away space for those who knew about it.
Safety was the biggest non-negotiable. It had to be 21+ only, and nobody should be able to overdo it by accident.
We set it up at the Banana Cabana, a space on the property where a lot of our friends were staying, close enough to be accessible, but far enough to keep it separate from the main events.
Even though weed bars are becoming more common in California, they’re still pretty niche, so we wanted to make sure it was done right. We partnered with a local dispensary and made it clear that we wanted the experience to feel elevated and safe. Presentation mattered. Attire mattered. And most importantly, everyone was served by a trained bud-tender. No self-serve. Guests had to chat with the bud-tender about their comfort level, whether they were seasoned or just curious, and then were offered something appropriate.
It ended up being a huge hit. Lots of guests have funny stories about unexpected bonding moments, like cousins smoking together for the first time or friends and parents sharing a joint. It felt like such a uniquely California detail and one that, in the end, I’m really glad we included.
THE CAKE
We kept our cake super simple. We found a local bakery, tried a few flavors, and ended up ordering cupcakes and a small, plain white cake. We topped the cupcakes with edible flowers and reused the floral centerpieces to decorate the cake table after dinner. It looked beautiful and was very budget-friendly.
We topped the cake with a mini Scout figurine I ordered custom on Etsy. Scout couldn’t be there in person, but obviously had to make an appearance.
THE VIDEO
We had the whole day filmed on Super 8, and I just love how it captured everything. There’s something so nostalgic and timeless about it, feels like watching a memory. When we got the footage back I cried and still do every time I watch it. This was the sneak peek from Carli, our amazing videographer.
VENDORS
I can’t say enough good things about Elyse. She and her team handled everything with total ease and saved the day more than once in those final days and hours. They were exactly what we needed. Organized, calm, and completely on top of it, even with all the ups and downs from our families. Truly worth every penny. So, so grateful for these women.
Ryan and Erin are a brother-sister team who inherited the property from their dad, who originally designed and planted everything on-site. They are the kindest, most welcoming people, and you can tell they genuinely love what they do. The energy they bring to the space is unmatched. They (and their staff) thought of every little detail and were always there to help with anything we needed.
Husband and wife duo behind all the beautiful photos in this newsletter. They usually deliver around 900 images, but they ended up sending us over 2,000(!) because they loved the wedding so much. Insane and amazing. They captured every moment with so much care.
Carli is an absolute gem. We wanted a wedding video that felt timeless and nostalgic, so we went with Super 8 film and found Carli on Instagram. She completely nailed the vibe and made something we’ll treasure forever. Sweetest human and such a talent.
I wanted our florals to feel wild and natural—like they belonged in the space. Our wedding planner connected us with Willi Wildflower, whose work was exactly the vibe I was going for. I gave her our color palette and a simple moodboard, then trusted her to take it from there. She completely delivered. Everything she created was beautiful and perfectly in tune with the setting.
My best marriage advice - marry your best friend. Here’s to two years and a lifetime more <3
