Fate brought Karen, 32, and Joel, 36, together one night at a bar in San Francisco. "We were standing around waiting for our friends, who were flirting," explains Karen. "We started talking and discovered that we're both from Ohio!" Eight years later, Joel proposed on a boat in Vietnam's Halong Bay, and Karen started dress-shopping.
Karen and Joel bucked tradition with a pre-ceremony stroll at Cavallo Point, part of the Golden Gate National Park.
Real Weddings
Karen & Joel in San Francisco, CA
Published on December 5, 2011
Inspired by a stunning, swanlike dress, two San Franciscans conjured a creative soiree in the heart of a national park
Venue & Caterer
Florist
Baker
Bride's Dress
Photographer
The bride's bouquet featured pieris, hypericum berries, garden roses, and feathers—a nod to the "nesting" theme that sprang from her fluffy gown.
Karen originally planned to wear something short but fell hard for a long, feathery frock that would eventually inspire her entire "rustic chic" wedding at the lodge of a national park. "I got the gown first, and then started envisioning the textures and colors of the Bay Area," says Karen.
"There was something imperfectly perfect about the uneven chiffon pieces," says Karen of her Tadashi Shoji gown.
"Cavallo Point embodies Northern Californian beauty," she explains of the stunning Sausalito site where the couple exchanged vows on a cool September evening.
Guests lit candles during the twilight ceremony: "The passing of the flame represented their support," explains Karen.
The florist created a floral "altar" on the lodge's terrace.
Feathers on the rose boutonnieres echoed the wedding's nest motif.
The candleholder by Ohio artist Don Drumm was a gift from Joel's mother, who used to take him to Drumm's studio when he was a child.
After the ceremony, surrounded by just 18 of their closest friends and family, they feasted on Michelin-rated fare at the lodge's restaurant. "The evening had this creative, organic spirit that felt somewhat unplanned—representative of nature's course, our relationship, and our approach to life," says the bride. "It just all came together beautifully."
Joel and Karen surveyed the room before their guests entered. "We couldn't believe how stunning everything looked," recalls the bride.
Rather than using a tablecloth, which would have hidden the beauty of the wooden dining table (crafted from the trunk of a fallen walnut tree), Karen opted for place mats; it was decorated with cozy arrangements of roses, feathers, and foliage.
The couple scattered framed personal photos around the dining room.
During the cocktail hour, guests snacked on crispy salmon croquettes topped with basil aioli.
The bride posed with grade-school friends Molly (left; she officiated at the ceremony) and Kara.
The wedding cake, reminiscent of Karen's frothy dress, was adorned with vines and twigs, and topped with edible flowers that matched her bouquet.
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