A Wedding Among The Books & The Redwoods

And picking everyone up in a school bus beforehand

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Tammy & Andrew

One sentence sum-up of the wedding vibe: An authentic and unique celebration with friends and family among redwood trees.

Soundtrack for reading: “Someone Like You” by Van Morrison

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Other Cool Stuff We Should Know About

We loved our venue, the nonprofit Henry Miller Memorial Library, which set the tone for the whole wedding. It’s on the dramatically beautiful Big Sur coast, surrounded by redwood trees, and filled with quirky, irreverent artifacts. Early on we connected over a love of reading, so having a library (with books hanging from the ceiling) seemed like the perfect spot. We then had our Save the Dates look like library cards. HMML was also full of good luck—on one visit, we inherited leftover centerpieces, linens, and jars from a just-married couple, and the day before our wedding we found they had new overstuffed couches on the deck (couches were an extravagance we wanted but decided against renting).

Big Sur lodging is scarce, so our guests were all spread out. We booked a school bus to pick everyone up. The Monterey folks were taken to HMML first and given beer and wine as they waited. We were the first stop within Big Sur, and it was fun picking everyone up along the way and being immersed in the anticipation and excitement with friends before the ceremony.

We said our vows privately during our first look. A few days before the wedding, we submitted a list of ten things we loved about each other to our officiant. She wove this all together into a simple but meaningful passage, which made our ceremony feel authentic and personal without as much pressure. All we had to do was repeat the traditional vows and say “I do”!

Our food was delicious! We’d always wanted a food truck, so we specifically picked a venue that allowed outside catering. The porchetta sandwiches and rotisserie chicken pairing was a big hit with our guests. We had Mission Mini cupcakes for dessert (with a placeholder small cake)—a treat that had significance for us from our days living in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Favorite Thing About The Wedding

Sharing the day with our family and friends.

Tammy: I’ve never seen my parents dance, ever. So I was shocked when my sister ran up to tell me they were out on the dance floor. My favorite part was dancing the night away with Andrew, my sister, and both sets of parents!

Andrew: Our wedding party and a few other friends stayed near us and we all got drinks at the local pub after our rehearsal dinner and wedding ceremony.

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