Outdoor Deer Park Villa Wedding in Fairfax, CA

Mark and I go wayyy back! We used to work at 1300 on Fillmore together, in fact I’m fairly certain he got me the job (which is coincidentally where I met my bestie, Jistine!). Along with a few of Mark’s other homies, I used to help out with his catering company and I pretty much visit anywhere he’s making magic in the kitchen! Naturally when I met Jessica (while they were taking their pup Thanda on a walk at Chrissy Field beach, where he later proposed!), I was thrilled to see them both as crazy happy as they are together. Not only are they madly in love, they are surrounded with incredible family and committed, long-time friends. Their wedding was a celebration of family, love and a damn good time!

Online Dating Success Story!

So where does one find love like this? Tinder of course! That’s right – this solid, down-to-earth, authentic-in-the-truest-meaning-of-the-word couple met on a dating site. And I think its amazing! Love is powerful; when you find the one, no matter where or how, it’s real!

A Deer Park Villa Wedding

The wedding was at Deer Park Villa. It was my first time there and it instantly became one of my favorite venues! Tucked away deep in Fairfax, CA and surrounded by giant redwoods, the light is delicious and the ambiance is magical. Seriously. Their ceremony pictures make me swoon every time I look at them!

The ceremony was full of meaningful Jewish traditions, from signing the ketubah right before the wedding ceremony, to the breaking of the glass, to dancing the Hora as the first dance. You know me – I’m a sucker for tradition and good dance party!

Natural Beauty & Amazing Food

I do my best to impress upon all my clients, that the best way to have a headache free, easy going and extra beautiful wedding is to hire a planner. Nancy Marshall was all of that and more! The décor fit right in with the venue: shades of teal, natural and blush, with picture-perfect flowers by la bodega flora. Strings of lights were everywhere, and their Chuppah (Jewish wedding canopy) was made of white branches and covered in wispy white fabric with more flowers. Even the food was beautiful…

Mark & Jessica had their food catered by Fogcutter and it was out this world delicious! From the passed apps, to the three-course dinner, to a dessert spread that I still dream about (think cookies, custards, rice crispy treats and of course their wedding cake!). And because they are awesome, they had The Chairman food truck come bring late night snacks for everyone. What a great idea – and again, totally amazing food!

Special Touches

Everyone dreams of making their wedding unique, but I’m here to tell you that this couple succeeded with flying colors. Their favors? Mini cookbooks full of their favorite recipes (they love to cook, obvi!). Their wedding party? Best friends, five uber-adorable nieces and nephews, and Thanda, their dog (her name means love btw; how perfect is that?). Their officiant? Jess’s uncle. Their cake topper? Well, let’s just say you’ll have to scroll through the pictures and see it for yourself. It was definitely a one-of-a-kind event!

Please Don’t Stop the Music!

One of their passions as a couple is concerts, so it only makes sense that they would have the most awesome music at their wedding celebration. Mark walked in to the Beatles’ “Here comes the Sun”, while Jess walked in to “Africa”. The Electa Quartet trio played the ceremony and cocktail hour, and then the fabulous and if you ask me, famous Hot Einstein came on for the boogie down party! Their couple’s dance was Gomez’ “Goodbye”. And the Hora was a blast! This was a group of people who knew how to have a damn good time on the dance floor and it didn’t hurt that they had an epic band.

Congratulations, Mark and Jess! Keep loving, keep living life to the fullest, keep dancing; keep being you. Here’s wishing you all the best!!