Carrie found her silk Alvina Valenta gown on her first day of dress shopping. It was the "simple and elegant" style that she knew she wanted.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Carrie’s bouquet of roses, red calla lilies, orchids and red berries reflected the bright Spanish palette she chose for the wedding.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Carrie's bridesmaids’ fuchsia gowns were custom-made in Hoi An, Vietnam.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Signs painted by the groom pointed to the bride’s hometown (Gridley) and to his own (San Diego).
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Carrie’s mom, Karen Sanford, designed colorful wreaths to brighten the reception hall walls of the Redwood Ridge Estate.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Guests found their table assignments clipped to a big tree. Each table was named for a special place Carrie and Chris had visited while dating. The backs of each card detailed the stories of their visits.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
The couple’s wedding coordinator provided the lanterns that were set on each table; the florist ringed them with flowers similar to those in Carrie’s bouquet. Red-tipped roses, bright hypericum berries, spider mums and bird-of-paradise were highlighted with color-coordinating votive candles.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Menu cards tucked into the napkin at each place setting described the Spanish-accented meal, which began with a cocktail hour featuring Spanish tapas. Guests dined on paella, chicken Madera, grilled vegetables and salad. The couple’s youngest guests were given coloring books, created by Carrie, to keep them entertained throughout the meal.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
The youngest members of the wedding party found plenty to do at the Redwood Ridge Estate. Carrie and Chris designated the oldest child "Youth Coordinator" and provided crayons, candy and bubbles to keep their young guests occupied.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
The 220 guests dined on the patio under a perfect sky. Rather than rent one big tent, the couple chose to have each table sheltered by an umbrella. It was heat, rather than rain, that was the main concern for the couple. "The weekend before we were married, the Santa Cruz Mountains hit 100 degrees," says Carrie. "But we lucked out with more moderate temperatures for our wedding."
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Quite the romantic, Chris proposed to Carrie by having friends spell out "Marry Me, Carrie" in rose petals on a beach in La Jolla. So it’s no surprise that he added a dance-floor flourish to the couple’s wedding song, "What a Wonderful World."
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Beneath the white frosting, the wedding cake featured layers of lemon cake, white cake with raspberry filling, mocha cake and carrot cake. The florist decorated the confection to complement the wedding’s floral decor.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Jars of lemon curd were made by Carrie’s mother with lemons from her own trees. She also created all the calligraphy for the wedding.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
Carrie and Chris’s favorite songs were compiled on CDs titled Perfect Harmony, made by Carrie’s sister. Each guest took one home as a favor.
Bride: Carrie Sanford
Groom: Christian Stafford
Location: Stanford, CA
Theme: Garden/Outdoor wedding
