The bride, Jamie, is the owner of Sea Stars! Jamie and Andrew wanted their wedding day to be an excess of music, fun, and kids in a magical, romantic setting. It came easy for Jamie to choose a venue in her home town of Big Sur. They chose an incredibly peaceful setting that stretched along the Big Sur river. Their vows were exchanged in front of a majestic ancient redwood that had a 10 foot wide base that branched into 2 trees at the top, symbolizing their union, and how strong it was to become.
In the morning of the wedding, Jamie was greeted by her acupuncturist/masseuse, who gave her a lengthy treatment to get the day started right. Jamie got ready at her house, which is the oldest standing house in Big Sur, the original Pfeiffer homestead cottage. She had all 8 of her bridesmaids, their kids, her baby and some more people with her to celebrate and get ready! Jamie gifted all her bridesmaids with a custom made set of earrings, done by a local Big Sur artist, Jill Woyt, who paints butterfly wings on leather. Andrew had spent the night surfing in the dark with his groomsmen, and then camping out in the tipi at the wedding site down the road from their house.
Music is so important to this couple and what they fell in love over, so they wanted the wedding to be focused on music music and more music. For the ceremony, they had some old-timey classic bluegrass musicians playing acoustic right on the river side as guests arrived. For the ceremony procession, they played an acoustic version of Johnny Cash’s Port of Lonely Hearts. For the recessional, they played a version of Bob Dylan’s You Ain’t Goin Nowhere. The band continued to play throughout the cocktail hour, as guests enjoyed signature cocktails (a watermelon-jalapeno margarita and a dark ‘n stormy) and cheese and charcuterie boards.
The dinner was more of a celebratory feast. The bride owns her own catering company, Sea Stars, and had her own staff cater the wedding. The chef who works with her is an amazing wizard at roasting a whole pig, and at Jamie’s request, he deboned the pig and stuffed it with homemade sicilian sausage, grilled fennel and carmelized shallots, then roasted it for 18 hours on the wood fired bbq pit at the campground. He had to stake out overnight to watch the fire and rotate the pig. The pig was served with a gravy of drippings and a fresh stone fruit compote. The sides were farro, salad and farmers market veggies.
At the end of dinner, the couple’s friend Magnus Toren, of the Henry Miller Library, stood up and sang them Bob Dylan’s “Wedding Song” as his toast.
After dinner, the couple fed each other from a towering croquembouche, (instead of a traditional cake) then went and did their first dance under the trees. The band that played first was friend’s of theirs, The Carolyn Sills Combo. The first dance was to an old Marty Robbins song that the band learned for them, “A White Sportcoat and a Pink Carnation”. After the Carolyn Sills Band played, the groom got up on stage and his band played. They are called The Good Sams. Then the Maid of Honor got up and her band played and really rocked the forest. The bonfire was lit, and if you weren’t dancing, you were sitting by the fire and watching the bands. There were s’mores fixings and an endless bar. Since everyone was camping out on the huge private campground, the party was able to get cozy and last until late, enjoying the light cast through the trees from the August supermoon.
The bride and groom had a one year old son as well as 28 kids under the age of 5 attending, and 80 adults, so making sure the kids were having fun was very important. They put up 2 tipis, one was just for kids and they stocked it with fun camping themed toys. The kids were in and out of that tipi all day and night, it was endless entertainment. The 16’ tipi served as the bride and groom’s honeymoon suite and a fun late night hangout.
Details: The rings were custom designed by the groom and created for them by Latta Jewelry in Capitola, Ca. They are made of rose gold and meteorite with a ruby sun to represent their son, who is a cancer. The napkins were hand dipped in indigo, the plates were hand sculpted by a local potter. The bride’s necklace is a real solid gold nugget, lent to her for the day by her father, a gold prospector by hobby. The bride’s nails were done by a salon in Seaside. Hair by Mantra salon in Carmel. She did her own makeup but it was all bought from Mac.
Bridemaids Gifts: Butterfly and Hawk wing earrings by Jill Woyt
Acupunture/Massage: Sue Malinowski
Groom’s Attire: Macy’s Bar III suit and vintage tie
Guest gifts: Baby redwood trees
Table Florals: Sea Stars Catering and Events
Table florals: Jamie’s garden
Personal Florals: Burst And Bloom
Live Band #4: Traditional Bluegrass players
Live Band #3:: The Good Sams
Live Band #2: Carolyn Sills Combo
Live Band #1: Songs Hotbox Harry Taught Us
Wedding Rings: Latta Jewelry
Wedding Dress: Vera Wang
Photography: Lauren Massie
Cakes: Lafayette Bakery
Rentals: Stardust Rentals
Catering: Sea Stars Catering and Events
