Tom and Rachel initially met when they were just 17 but went their separate ways. Destiny brought them back together in Los Angeles five years later. During a birthday trip to Mendocino, Tom decorated their hotel room with various trails of flowers and candles leading to a variety of presents. He saved the best stop for last. Tom was on bended knee inside a heart created from candles. Since she was a little girl, Rachel fantasized about finding her prince charming and pledging their love in a beautiful bucolic setting. With part one handled, she looked to Event of the Season to turn the rest of the dream into reality. San Ysidro Ranch with its impeccable grounds, beamed ceilings and stone hearths was the perfect place for the next chapter in their story. The palette of natural whites, blush, lavender, champagne, gold and silvery green furthered the ethereal theme.
The setting was dressed with natural-colored cement urns and magnificent floral displays bursting with garden roses with fanciful names like Angel Face, Claire Renaissance and Princess Charlene, ranunculus, blushing bride protea, clematis vine, tiny orchids, delphinium, nerines, foxglove, ferns and many types of acacia. A grand arch was created as the ceremony and portrait backdrop. The bride walked down an aisle made of white petals. The bride’s bouquet was loose and asymmetrical, a perfect complement to her simple yet elegant gown and jeweled “vine” hair accessory. An oversized wreath filled the porch of the old adobe house and held the table assignments (delicate calligraphy on cards hung from silk ribbons). Even the chandeliers were stuffed to the brim with blooms.
Tom wanted to celebrate his English heritage when he designed the ring with Rachel’s mother, a jewelry designer. Serendipitously Rachel’s favorite flower happens to be roses. Her rose gold stunner inspired the custom logo— their initials surrounded by a wreath of pink roses—which was printed on the stationery suite, napkins, menus and petal toss bags. A laser-cut wood version of their monogram was hung on the wall at the reception. Velvet table linens and slightly distressed white Chiavari chairs upped the romantic factor. At each seat, a sea glass place card harkened back to their engagement as Mendocino is famous for its glass beach. They matched the colored glass candleholders and crystal flutes. Napkins and menus were bundled with a wide silk ribbon tie-dyed in the coordinating colors.
