California Redwoods Wedding

If you haven’t yet seen the Redwood forest of California in person, you absolutely must add it to your bucket list. For any of you who dream of marrying amongst the California Redwoods, it doesn’t get much better than Nestldown. Sun and Life Photography captured the wedding day of Kim and David, who blew us away with their incredible handmade reception.

From the bride, Kimberly: When we got engaged, we were certain of one thing. We knew we wanted a wedding that highlighted both our personalities without being too obvious. Our goal was to have our guests arrive at our wedding and think “This could only be Kim and David’s wedding.” When it came time to choose our venue, all the sites we looked at felt too generic. Surely they could host nice weddings but we really didn’t have any strong feelings about them. Then came Nestldown. My mom went online and searched for local wedding venues and this was the first place that popped up. We rolled our eyes when she first showed us, mostly due to the fact that we had our mind set on a modest, personal wedding set in my parent’s backyard, but we thought we’d humor her and take a tour. As soon as we stepped on the property, we knew. A natural chapel created by California redwoods, a meadow for post-ceremony celebrations, and a gorgeous barn to finish the night in. We were sold.

While planning, I kept thinking about the fact that I would only do this once. This day had to be exactly what we wanted, from my dress to the place cards to the flowers, because this is what we will remember forever. I’m a details kind of girl, so every little thing needed to be something that made us smile. My mom spent the months before the wedding cutting, sewing, and stenciling 180 flags, one for each guest to wave following our ceremony. My mother-in-law and I designed the table menus, place cards, and table numbers which combined with our gold china and vintage-inspired floral arrangements, provided the romantic, rustic feeling we had dreamed of.

Any advice for couples planning their own weddings now? If you’re a bride planning your wedding and thinking about doing a First Look, do it. It was our favorite part of the day (and an awesome time saver for photos). Taking that time for just the two of us was priceless.

See Also

15 Spectacular Wedding Dresses for Under $500

Wedding Location: Campbell, CA / Photographer: Sun and Life Photography / Floral Design: Bloomster’s / Venue: Nestldown / Makeup: Ile Bailey Makeup Artist / Caterer: La Bocca Fina / DJ: Big Fun DJs / Photo Booth Equipment: Magnolia Photo Booth Co.