Nate and I were married in October 2019 at OVY Camp in San Gregorio! See our favorite photos from our weekend wedding in the coastal redwoods. Scroll through some of our fave photos from the day! At the bottom, I share our plans, DIY projects and how we broke out a timeline so we could enjoy a full day of love.

THE VENUE

We chose OVY Camp in San Gregorio. It had everything we were looking for. We had had the whole venue from Friday through Sunday. There were on-site cabin accommodations, area for tent camping, and RV hookups. The redwood grove sold us for our ceremony site, and the venue was a 6-minute drive from San Gregorio state beach. There was no cut off for the party on Friday or Saturday, and we partied until the band gave its encore around 11 pm. From there, we had an after-party bonfire in the upper meadow. This experience allowed us to spend quality time with our closest friends and family.

THE TIMELINE

Our wedding was in mid-October, so the sun set earlier. When planning your wedding day timeline, I recommend finding out the sunset. Especially for photos – I like to plan the flow of the day around that sunset time so I know how much daylight I have. We had a 3:30 pm ceremony and decided to do all our photos before the ceremony. We had a first look which we loved. Because of the first look we received 30% more portraits of us together. This made a special moment for us and we were able to take in the moment and process that we were living the day! After the first look, we took the wedding party portraits and the had family meet us at 2:30 for portraits. This allowed us time to join the cocktail hour and be with our guests!

THE DRESS

I found my dream dress at AE Bridal in Chico Ca. Zoe worked with me, and it was such a fun experience! I wanted something bohemian and lacy. I found the perfect one. It was by Wilderly Bride line Allur, Style: F102-Marigold. It was at the Yuba city AE Bridal location and new that it was my dress. I chose the Gold under later with Ivory lace, so there was a little more dimension and contrast. I also had the most incredible seamstress that made the dress FIT me like a glove. She replaced the cups and trimmed them down because they came up so high on my torso. We also brought the lace down from my collar bone, so the lace wasn’t swallowing me.

THE COLOR PALETTE + THEME

We decided on Rust Orange, Emerald green, Ivory, and Navy with gold and wood accents. We wanted to keep to earth tones because of our venue but stay away from shabby chic. I gravitate towards mid-mood, bohemian, and romantic (the vibe you see in my portfolio).

THE BRIDESMAID DRESSES

I had my bridesmaids decide on a dress within a palette of cream, nude or dusty rose. I wanted them to feel like their person in a dress they loved. I had each of my girls alternate by texture or pattern next to a solid. Other than that, we winged it, and it worked out.

THE RUST GROOM SUIT

Nate looked incredible in his rust orange suit! He almost went with the Oxblood burgundy, but I’m so glad he followed his intuition. He purchased it Esos, online. We had it altered by the same seamstress who worked on my dress.

THE LIVE MUSIC

We had the Decades Band, and it was a massive highlight of the evening. All our guests loved the music from varying ages 4-80+ and were dancing the whole night. With a packed dance floor, our guests overflowed onto the gravel. If I could do it again I would get a bigger dance floor!

THE FOOD

Friday Night Nates Parents had a taco truck come and cater to the rehearsal dinner at the camp. The food was terrific, and it was so lovely to be able to stay all on-site for each event. Guests were on their own for Breakfast and Lunch on Saturday. Halfmoon Bay was a 15-20 minute drive north and has many great restaurants. We provided snacks from our trail mix bar and Verve Coffee. We LOVED our wedding food. It was a little different, we had Richard from Cooking for Friends (aka) the paella man cater. He started cooking the morning of in huge dishes. The cooking process was an experience of its own to see. It was the perfect dish for a chilly October evening. We had enough leftovers for our guests to serve themselves to 4th and 5ths late into the evening. For Sunday breakfast, My uncle who is a retired firefighter, cooked. He made a breakfast of eggs, sausage, leftover paella, and bagels and cream cheese. It was very chill, everyone was still in their camping clothes and it was the best way to end an incredible weekend.

THE DESSERT

Nate and I have huge sweet tooths! We wanted a ton of gluten-free to share with our guests. We had Cupcakes, cookies, and ice cream,, our favorite saltwater taffy flavors and a smores bar! The smores bar was extra cute with a custom wooden box my father in law made.

THE STATIONERY + SIGNAGE

For those who don’t know this, I went to school for Graphic Design. Stationary and signage were a fun project for me to take on. I designed and printed; wedding invitations, save the dates, thank you notes, our wax seal monogram, wedding logo, and all camp signage. My favorite piece a hand-drawn map I did in ink and converted to digital for the weekend itinerary. Also, I loved our website! I was sad to not re-up it, I built it on Squarespace.

THE THRIFT STORE + ETSY DECOR

The linens and runners came from Etsy and thrift stores! I found a stellar online dealer that sold bulk glass candle tealights. Every vase and brass candlestick was either borrowed, purchased from a thrift store. I scoured craigslist and Facebook market place for aisle rugs and rugs for the band. My father in law made beautiful wooden A-frame signs. We used those for directions and signage around the camp. He sourced the old wood from my husband’s business side yard.

THE DIY PROJECTS

My amazing Aunt Trig did all my flowers for the wedding. Everything from bouquets & boutonnieres to table arrangements. She ordered flowers from a wholesaler and had the greenery runners delivered to the camp. She could open her floral shop if she wanted too. It was a tremendous gift and not an easy task; I’m so grateful to her creativeness and craft. My mom had been cutting and saving the pompous grass in from her yard leading up to the wedding. Online, a stick of that is so pricey, so we saved money on those.

THE PHOTO + VIDEO TEAM

EVERYONE asked who my photographer was since I couldn’t photograph my wedding, LOL. Hillary Jeanne Photography was my college roomie in Santa Barbara. Now, she is out of San Francisco and is killing it with her photography business there. She was the perfect fit for us and did such an incredible job!

We had World Love Weddings do our wedding video! We have known the owner, Jordan, for a long time. He and his girlfriend Kelly are dear friends of ours.

There are so many other details that went into planning this beautiful day. Any destination wedding comes with its own set of challenges. Packing up the cars and getting everything to the venue was half the battle. It was a labor of love, and if I had to do it again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I relive this day all the time. It’s now a beautiful memory of a tribute. Photography and videography are hands down, two of the most important investments you’ll make on your wedding day. That, and a wedding planner!

Questions or comments? Please reach out if you want to know more about our DIY projects, places we purchased from, or anything about our decision-making process.

Vendor List:

Venue: OVY Camp

Photographer: Hillary Jeanne Photography

Day Of Coordinator: Kelly Young

Videographer: World Love Weddings

Cater: Cooking for friends

Live Music/Band: The Decades

Florist: My Auntie Trin!

Rentals: A Festive Affair Party Rentals

Hair: Styled By Julialynn

Makeup: Ruth Baker

VRBO Rental for family: Lobitos Creek Ranch

Engagement Ring: Victor Barbone Jewelry

Wedding Bands: Juliannes jewelry

Wedding Dress Designer: Wilderly

Bridal Boutique: AE Bridal

Campfire smores bar: Bu Stix

If you loved this, chances are you’re engaged and planning a wedding of your own! I think you’ll LOVE my engagement session guide jam packed with EIGHT helpful tips all about preparing for your engagement photos! The best part? It’s FREE!