How did you meet?

We met in SCUBA diving class at Sonoma State University during Hannah’s first and Margaret’s second year of undergraduate studies.

How did the planning go?

The best part of planning was that we got to look forward to our honeymoon! We had so much fun planning a long trip for just the two of us. Also, our cake tasting and dinner tastings were so much fun, thanks to our vendors.

#VendorRaves

All of our food and desserts served were allergen free. We had kosher and halal options for some of our guests and had a focus on creating the most inclusive dining experience possible. Food was served family-style at each table on a lazy susan handmade for the event. Juan Barajas is the owner and operator of Savory Cafe and we chose him because he has a focus on farm-to-fork slow food that is grown local by our neighbors in the valley. Every ingredient was sourced from a farmer we know by name and the meal featured olive oil from our family farm: Capay Gold Olive Oil Company. Juan Barajas included wild mushrooms that our friends in Fort Bragg foraged for and sent special for the event.

Biggest Challenge

The biggest challenge of wedding planning was picturing what a space would look like before it was ever put together for the first time. We were working with a space that was originally a rundown mobile home and turned it into a pine tree-edged magical square with a 200-person tent, a bar, a stage and dance-floor, a LOVE sign with 20-foot letters, luxury portable trailers, a charcuterie table, cake table, gift table, a bonfire, and lighting to light the place up. Going with an experienced venue and team would have made this seamless but the way we did this has never been done before and was unique to our personal desires. We wanted no noise curfew, no additional time fees, and basically no rules. We hired inclusive security to make sure there were no problems and we really enjoyed having a layer of security to create a safe and inclusive place for ourselves and our guests.

Funny Moment

A guest accidentally got stuck in a ditch while turning around and Margaret’s dad had to get the tractor and pull them free.

Unique Day

We grew our own flowers to create an aisle and altar area. With the help of friends and family we all planted seeds and bulbs and they magically came up right in time for our wedding. We saved thousands of dollars to create this effect by planting our own. Several were collected by the matron of honor to create pocket bouquets for those with suits.

#WeddingGoals

We wanted the ceremony to be short and sweet. One thing that people still comment on was how much they loved our vows! In truth, we wrote them 24 hours before the wedding and we kept them private until we shared them with each other and our loved ones during our ceremony. A unique aspect of our ceremony is that we gave ourselves away—we walked each other down the aisle. And for our reception, we forwent the gendered garter toss, bouquet toss and money dance. For every aspect of our wedding, we went with what felt right for us.

Hannah’s Best Part

The best part of my day was our first look. Seeing Margaret took my breath away and having those few moments before we officially got married was really special. We were all glammed up and got to see for the first time what each of us had chosen to wear for our special day. I loved seeing the special touches she chose.

Margaret’s Best Part

The best part of our day for me was also our first look. We had gotten ready separately so we had not been together the whole day. I was so excited to finally be with her to enjoy our day together and then she was absolutely stunning and it was incredible.

Advice from the couple:

Go with your heart. It is your day and you should 100% do exactly what you want.

What would you have done differently if you had the chance?

There is not one thing you could have said to either of us to change our minds BEFORE we had our wedding but going through everything, we both agree we would have eloped or had a micro-wedding. There is so much work and money going into a wedding and there are so many moving parts. We each loved having every single soul at our wedding.